"Compilation Reviews"

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American Pie soundtrack

Universal Records
The soundtrack from the film American Pie will make an excellent time capsule of late ’90s poppy post-alt rock; it’s got Third Eye Blind ("New Girl"), Tonic ("You Wanted More"), Goldfinger ("Vintage Queen"), and one of my favorites on the current scene, Blink 182 ("Mutt"). Plus, with the CD, you get a picture of a penetrated pie.
- Vic Gemmingen

The Canadian American Story (1959-1968)

X-Bat Records
Here is a compilation co-produced by Caprice International Records artist and mogul Joey Welz that spans over a decade of rock and pop in its formative years. Clocking in at nearly an hour's worth of music and featuring twenty-three tracks, this album is a must for baby boomers and beyond. While there are no major stars represented, per se, many of the artists are very good, reflecting the gamut from doo wop to ballads and even early psychedelia. A young Joey Welz even makes an appearance here, with his group the Angels, on 1964's "Hey Little Moonbeam."
- Eric Harabadian


NOTE: Due to space constraints, the following reviews were not included in the print edition of Geoff Wilbur's Renegade Newsletter.  These reviews are only available here in the online edition.

Alterno-Daze -- Survival of '80s the Fittest

Rebound Records
This is one of the better '80s compilation CDs on the marketplace today. Contains classic tunes such as Wall Of Voodoo's "Mexican Radio," The Waitress' "I Know What Boys Like," The Go-Go's "Our Lips Are Sealed," Modern English's "I Melt With You," Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Relax," Squeeze's "Black Coffee In Bed," Tears For Fears' "Changes," ABC's "Be Near Me," The Buggles' "Video Killed The Radio Star," Bananarama's "Robert DeNiro's Waiting," Joe Jackson's "I'm The Man," and a rare extended 12" version of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love." Put this one and let the party take off for this release is hot.
- Al Slavicsky

Long Beach Blvd.

Long Beach Records/Skunk Records/Cornerstone R.A.S.
An awesome combination of some of the great Long Beach bands of today -- Secret Hate, Corn Doggy Dog & the 1/2 Lb., Das Klown, Juice Bros., and The Pivot Foots. Tracks which are impressive include Secret Hate's reggae influenced "Last American Buffalo," Corn Doggy Dog & the 1/2 Lb.'s "Connection," Das Klown's "F**k Yourself," all the Juice Bros. tracks, and all the Pivot Foots', combining surf and punk elements together. 20 tunes with each band getting four tunes a piece. A great overview of the Long Beach, CA music scene today.
- Al Slavicsky

Revelation Records 1999 Summer Sampler

Revelation Records
Featuring artists from the Revelation Records line-up, this CD has some great hardcore, punk, and alternative music on it, ranging for the metallic sound of Will Haven doing "If She Could Speak" to the psychedelic tune of Kill Holiday, which is very poppy, to the punk like rantings of Where Fear and Weapons Meet doing "Other Face," which sounds like old Suicidal Tendencies, to the noisy mixture of guitars and grunts of The Judas Factor on "Beauty Mark," which includes a special video on the CD-ROM section of the release, plus tons of other bands. 14 bands in all, and all unique in their own ways... so tune up this compilation on your studio and give it a listen.
- Al Slavicsky

Magna Carta Records -- Multi-Artist Radio Sampler Six Pack

Magna Carta Records
A sampling into the artists on the Magna Carta record label, which includes tracks by the following musicians/bands: Mullmuzzer, Liquid Tension Experiment, Derek Sherinian, Tiles, Dali's Dilemma, and Ice Age. Most of the martial would appeal to people who like progressive guitar-oriented rock in the veins of Rush, Styx, Jethro Tull, Steve Vai, or Dream Theater. In fact, half of the bands featured here have a least one member or ex-member of Dream Theater -- Mullmuzzer (James LaBrie - vocals), Derek Sherinian (keyboards on his solo release), and Liquid Tension Experiment (John Petrucci -guitars, Mike Pourtnoy - drums, and Jordan Rudess - keyboards). The rest of the bands are some of the new breed of progressive rocksters with impressive selections from Tiles (which brings out the roots of progressive rock while maintaining the original spirituality of the music), Dali's Dilemma (who have an unique approach to progressive rock with time changes and more), and Ice Age (who does some the best-heard progressive rock heard since the 1970s). Overall a great sample of what Magna Carta is all about.
- Al Slavicsky

Olive's Army

25 Records, P.O. Box 3006, Poole BH12 2HU, England
A mixed bag of various musical styles ranging from punk to alternative to dub on 23 tracks for almost 74 minutes of some of the new breed of music. Bands include Spotless, The Holsteins, Blaze, Trophy, Dead After Dark, Chocker, Curious Oyster, Grasp, The Cats, Red Ash and the Love Commandos, Garfield's Birthday, Memil, Weekend with Adam, Bluster, Angry Sole, Arse, Magic Music, Doris, Famous Sons, Deckchair, V.element, and Parkstone Dub Foundation. Most of these bands sound like British snotty-voice pop like Blur with a slightly different vibe, but standouts are Arse with "Your Mother," which sounds like old '77 punk, Parkstone Dub Foundation's "Shaz 'n' Kells" with its warped trance dub in the middle of the tune, and Spotless's "Extremist Pacifist." Not recommended for everyone, but if you need something refreshing and different, this might do some good, for at least you can hear some new bands.
- Al Slavicsky

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