Those who can, do. Those who can't, review.

Mixed Bag 4 Reviews

Well, if I can’t get mine out on time, I can at least give those who did some feedback.

It’s Not That Hard Bein' Green by Roger Green

According to his commentary, Roger used a lot of songs with some personal meaning or attachment to them.

I really like every song on this CD. The opening cut, 45 Men in a Telephone Booth by the Top Hatters is one of the most fun songs I’ve heard in a long time! One can never go wrong with selections from Etta James, Lyle Lovett, and Bonnie Raitt, that’s for sure. And the Johnny Cash/Nick Cave version of Cindy is probably my favorite cut on the disc. The only cut that didn’t grab me right off the bat is the Earth Wind and Fire tune, but it did grow on me, after a while.

As a collection, however, it took a while for the disc as a whole to grow on me. I’m not sure why or how, but the individual pieces were a lot stronger to me than the sum of their parts ended up. It didn't gel completely for me right off the bat, largely because the flow felt disjointed in places. I think if some of the more “novelty” songs were shifted around a bit, then it might help some. I would move the Roger Ramjet theme to the opening track and close with the Spider-man theme, for example. That might make for a smoother listen.

In the end, though, after many repeated listens, it’s a disc that has grown on me as a collection, and one that I think I will be turning to in the future. Nice job, Roger!

In One Ear: My Own Chapter from Thom Wade

So far, this is one of my favorites, a fun mix of pop, rock, folk, country and a bunch of other stuff. Two cuts, Queensrcyhe and Erik B and Rakim, leave me a little cold, but that’s mainly because they represent genres I have never warmed too. The Over the Rhine cut knocks me flat every time. (They are practically local after all), as does the Ramones song that follows it. That could very well be my theme songs. I’m also awfully fond of the Wonder Woman song and the Hollies song. And the last three songs on the disc just knock me out every time I listen to them. The Bee Song in particular just cracks me up! This one’s a winner! Great job, Thom!