The Mustard Seeds - "The Mustard Seeds"

The Mustard Seeds - The Mustard Seeds
1996, Entourage

1. Mr. Green
2. Last Man on Earth
3. Cats and Dogs
4. Bulldozer
5. Mother May I
6. Red Mountain
7. Ordinary Man
8. Fool For You
9. Life Goes On
10. Quicksand
11. King Kong

Boy I sure do loves me some Mustard Seeds. After getting their latest album awhile back I went ahead and got their debut too. It was cheap. It's also wonderful. It's a little less commercial and the harmonies are more up-front, I think. The King's X type down-tuned riffs shine through as well. I think I like this one a little bit more than their latest - mainly because of the less commercial thing. Either one is fantastic though. *sigh* If I were in charge this band would have been huge.

Useless Fact: The band has another album called Red which is inexplicabley more expensive than the debut. Why? Hmmm... Anyway, I'll have to track that one down as well.

Panic! At the Disco - "Vices & Virtues"

Panic! At the Disco - Vices & Virtues
2011, Fueled By Ramen

1. The Ballad of Mona Lisa
2. Let's Kill Tonight
3. Hurricane
4. Memories
5. Trade Mistakes
6. Ready To Go (Get Me Out of My Mind)
7. Always
8. The Calender
9. Sarah Smiles
10. Nearly Witches (Every Since We Met)
Bonus Tracks
11. Stall Me
12. Oh Glory
13. I Wanna Be Free
14. Turn Off the Light

When I first heard "The Ballad of Mona Lisa" I was pretty excited for the album that would follow. While I liked Pretty.Odd. alright I never really found myself going back to it as much as the debut. The first single from Vices & Virtues finds the band returning to their more modern emo/pop roots. "The Ballad of Mona Lisa" is an incredible song with an incredible hook but the rest of the album? It's a bit of a grower. I was a little disappointed at first until my wife and I were driving around in the car half-listening to it - and then it clicked. I started appreciating more and more songs. The peppy "Let's Kill Tonight" and the slightly disco-esque "Hurricane" are two of my favorites. I will say the middle tracks are not quite as entrancing. "Memories," "Trade Mistakes," and "Ready to Go" are not bad tunes at all - they just don't quite hold my interest. "Ready to Go" sounds pretty 80's... I first thought this track almost sounds like The Killers instead of Panic. Things pick up again with a gentle ballad "Always." "Sarah Smiles" is the most reminiscent of Pretty.Odd. As a plus, the guys finish strong with the epic "Nearly Witches."

That's when the real fun begins. My deluxe edition contains four tracks not found on normal editions of the album. These four tracks are really awesome. So awesome that I am confounded as to why they didn't show up on the album proper. It's not like Panic has ever shied away from cramming upwards of 15 songs on a disc, so what gives? If I would have gotten the normal version of this album I would have been disappointed. With the extra tracks I feel like I'm actually getting the whole package. Seriously, if you have the normal edition you're missing out. I guess I'm saying I like my edition of Vices & Virtues but I probably wouldn't like the one at Walmart. How's that for an official review?

Useless Fact: Not only is the ! back in Panic! At the Disco, the band now only includes vocalist Brendan Urie and the drummer. Urie also wrote most of the songs on the album. "Sarah Smiles" is about his girlfriend.

Request from the Friends of Terry S. Taylor

Hey everyone! I just received a very sad update on Facebook having to do with Terry Taylor (Daniel Amos/Swirling Eddies/Lost Dogs) and his family. Here's the actual announcement:

"To any and all who been blessed by the life and gifts of Terry Talor, It is with much regret that I come to you with a desperate prayer. Our dear friend and brother, Terry Taylor, is experiencing one of the direst personal struggles of his life. Since the cancellation of Catscratch, his financial situation has been dismal to say the least. His wife and daughter both teach at a pre-school to help make ends meet week to week but it hasn't been enough and two years ago they lost their home in foreclosure. As many of you know, Terry, who is uninsured, has had ongoing medical problems for the past five years, with last year being particularly troublesome and expensive. The bills have mounted steadily and the late fees continue to add more misery. Last month their little apartment was burglarized and items of great sentiment were stolen. As an unwanted culmination to one of the toughest years in the life of his family, this past weekend his daughter Noelle was rushed to the hospital and had to have emergency surgery to remove her gall bladder. He hasn't wanted us to share his story and burden his fans and we've been trying some creative new ideas to raise Terry's income but this last blow has broken the camel's back and nearly broken Terry's spirit. I know many of you would want to help our brother in this time of personal crisis. If we all gave $10 or $20 it would go a long toward relieving this burden for their family. Some of you may be able to give more; some less. Anything would help right now."

I can honestly say that Terry's music has influenced me for the better part of my life. Let's all go over to Daniel Amos' website and donate a little something. Sometimes I feel closer to Terry (through his music) than some of my own family. Our little family is chugging along okay but only because we've had so much help. I don't usually do this sort of thing, but as I said, Terry is close to my heart.

Lord bless Terry and his family. Amen.

UPDATE! 4/6/11 - I just got a message on Facebook saying that the response to the family's request was phenomenal. They raised over $25,000 in three days. THREE DAYS! Wow! There's only one thing to say to that: Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Crashdog - "The Pursuit of Happiness!"

Crashdog- The Pursuit of Happiness!

1992, Grrr

1. Election Year
2. The Pursuit of Happiness
3. It's a Boy's Life
4. Foreign Policy
5. Life to Right
6. Dream So Vain
7. Mommy's Little Anarchist
8. Stop and Think
9. Who?
10. Kirsten
11. See the Unseen
12. 3 is a Magic Number
13. Untitled

I somehow missed The Pursuit of Happiness when it first came out. I had the debut and then later got Mud Angels but never showed any interest in getting this one. I have no idea why. I had a friend that owned a copy but I never listened to it. It's along the same lines as Human Society - old school punk with a serious message and serious music. I'm not sure I dig this one as much as the other two though. I don't think the guitar work is quite as dynamic here. They may have been going for a more old school vibe but I miss the leads and stuff. There are a few here and there, but not as many. What I do like is the fact that the band can take time off from being serious to pen songs like "It's a Boy's Life" which just about being a kid. I also really dig the cover of "3 is a Magic Number." The other thing I like about this album is Spike Nard. Once he left the band didn't hold my attention as much. If you like Crashdog, you'll like this, but it's definitely the weakest of the Nard discs. Awesome, comic-inspired cover art, I might add.

Oh... one thing I need to also applaud them for is the song "Life to Right." It's an abortion song with a little spin. It stresses the need for Christians to care about the mothers and the children so that they have a reason to have the child instead of abort. If you're against abortion, the best thing you can do is help a pregnant girl who is lost and scared. Give her support and love so that abortion won't be such an attractive option.

Trendy Monolith Appears in Mailbox! Family Stunned!

So yeah... today I came home and my wife told me there was some huge package in the mail. I wasn't expecting anything huge - yet there it was. It was this...

For those who don't know, this is the deluxe edition of Panic! At the Disco's new album Vices & Virtues. Panic! is one of those few bands that both my wife and I really enjoy so we went all out for the new album and picked up this monstrosity (special thanks to Uncle Sam). I will not mince words... this thing is HUGE. I took a picture next to some other albums for comparison.

Here you see Ayreon's Timeline - one of the bigger deluxe editions and Crashdog's The Pursuit of Happiness! (review soon!). The Panic! album dwarfs them both. It's about an inch and a half thick as well. It opens up with two compartments, one named "Vices" which houses the album (with bonus tracks) several photo cards and a poster. The "Virtues" side holds a DVD, more photo cards, and the lyric book/liner notes. Overall a really nice package for the money.

Oh... and I'm sure Spike Nard and Andrew Mandell would be just thrilled to see one of their albums beside Panic! At the Disco. Sorry, guys, it was the first CD I grabbed off the shelf.

Petra - "Jekyll & Hyde"

Petra - Jekyll & Hyde
2003, Inpop

1. Jekyll & Hyde
2. It's All About Who You Know
3. Stand
4. Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda
5. Perfect World
6. Test of Time
7. I Will Seek You
8. Life As We Know It
9. 'Til Everything I Do
10. Sacred Trust

I've never been much of a Petra person. I liked Beyond Belief and Wake-Up Call okay. I had that Beyond Belief video about the kid that goes on a mission trip and it's OMIGOSHTHEBESTSUMMEREVER!!!!!11! As the years wore on I pretty much forgot about Petra, until Jekyll & Hyde. If you'll forgive my profanity - Petra is whooping some major ass here. In fact, I would say this is the heaviest I've ever heard. It's a lot less...um... keyboardy too. There's a lot of tasty riffs and big hooks. Along with Jon Schlitt's powerhouse vocals make this one of the band's finest albums. The songs are short and tight without any flowery brik-a-brak or church-friendly ballads. I've heard this was the band's last official studio album. If that's the case then way to end on a high note guys! Great album!

Useless Fact: Jon Schlitt and Bob Hartman are the only remaining members of the band. No Louie Weaver makes me a little sad inside.

Hindalong, Steve - "Skinny"

Hindalong, Steve - Skinny

1998, Cadence

1. Color Wheel

2. To the Wind

3. Candy

4. Winnipesaukee

5. Away With Me

6. Diggin' Your Style

7. Woe is Skinny

8. Skin is Smooth

9. Seven Colors

10. Hey Killer

11. To Be a Blessing

12. Eclipse

13. Love Sanctifies

I've always wondered what this album sounded like. I've seen it in stores before (usually on clearance) but have never been quite curious enough. I listened to samples on Itunes and kinda liked what I heard so I gave it a chance. For the most part I like it when Steve sings on Choir songs even though his voice is, to put it politely, not as good as Derri's. There are some rough spots here vocally, I won't lie, but I still like the songs. I especially like the oddball "Hey Killer" and the groove of "Color Wheel." Some songs are acoustic jams and some are fuzzed up a bit courtesy of Chrissy Colbert. Tim Chandler plays bass as well. I'm surprised Derri is nowhere to be found - not on one single song. All in all - your mileage may very here depending on how much you can deal with Steve's voice. As long as you can give him a little grace in the vocal department you'll probably find something to like on Skinny.

Useless Fact: This album is filled with references to other Choir tunes. "Like a Cloud" is the most noticeable as a lot of the lyrics from that song show up in "Seven Colors."