The Mooney Suzuki....Hey J, this rawks!

[DarrenH]

That AMG critic guy who reviewed Alive & Amplified is full of sh!t. But you already knew that.

This is a damn good album. Had me movin' and shakin' and bobbin' my head on first listen. Can't wait to hear this on the main system at home (previewing at work now). Will it convert me into a garage rock fan? If it's anything like this album it just might. Highlights for me were Alive & Amplified, Legal High, Hot Sugar, Messin' In The Dressin' Room and Naked Lady. Honorable mention to Sometimes Somethin' as well. It's a nice acoustic ballad with some Hammond B-3 in the background.

If I had to pick a favorite song I think I'd go with Naked Lady or maybe Alive & Amplified. Love those female backup singers on those two songs and I love the way Naked Lady builds to it's final climax.

And there's a hidden track roughly 1 minute after the last song that's not bad either. I believe it's called Love Bus. Well, that's what they keep saying over and over in the chorus line anyway.

I thought The Killers' Hot Fuss was excellent but Alive & Amplified has that beat for sure.

Thanks for the rec J.

Darren

[Jim Clark]

Best Buy didn't have it when I stopped in on Wednesday but I'm still searching for a local copy. Maybe CC? There is an abhorrent (sp?) lack of real music shops around here as of late. I'd hate to have to drive all the way to mid-town, again. Oh, and forget Ridgway in KC. Ain't gonna happen. Guess I need to whip up an online order.

thanks for the additional rec.
jc

[DarrenH]

I found this at my local Barns and Stable.

I was rather surprised to see it really. Wasn't looking per se, just happen to cross by it. After J's write-up, and then reading AMG's write-up, I just had to try it. Glad I did. I've played this 4 times now straight through. Shoot, I'm not even a garage/punk type rocker and I really dig this. It's very accessible.

Darren

[MindGoneHaywire]

Wow, glad you liked it, Darren. Knowing something of yr tastes I'm a little surprised you'd like this, though hardly shocked. The hooks are pretty infectious & there's a pretty strong rock sensibility. Is it garage rock? Sort of, with a lot of production bells & whistles. The sound gives it a much broader appeal; this record could've sounded very, very different. Like every other garage band on the planet, for instance, in which case it would've been heard by probably me & perhaps 32 other people. I'm not always in favor of bringing slickness to a raw form like this that I happen to like, but that doesn't mean I'm standing here yelling 'sellout,' either. And I think that anyone who is ain't got their head screwed on straight. If the rec were full of ballads then cries of sellout sometimes make just a bit more sense to me, at least when combined with ultra-slick production. Here I think it's a pretty good marriage, frankly. I'm still amazed at the hate for this record, but what can you do. Glad you like it.