| Mega Truth Records Culver City, CA Release Date: July 1999 Distributed by City Hall Records |
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In retrospect, I feel almost bad about writing this. I kind of understand where these guys were going from a "goddamnit, lets try to make this thing go" kind o f way, having travelled down that road a few times. This is a bit mean-spirited in that light.
I think it was the fact that they really didn't put much effort into it. They didn't bother figuring out that the magazine they spent roughly $2 sending a CD to a political magazine that, as far as I know, has never reviewed other things than politlcal flacks. So, perhaps my "review" was a bit colored by that. The album, theme and whatnot was pretty awful. They were trying, though, and they deserve something for that. Good luck, guys. |
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X-Spelled: Rockin 2000
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The first sign that something was wrong was that I had gotten a hold of the album. The publication that is part of the company I work for received the CD addressed to the Music Editor--odd, since to the best of my knowledge the publication hasn't ever covered music in any capacity. It had passed from hand to hand until we all sat around the programming bullpen and cranked it up on my boom box.
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Not since Led Zeppelin I has any album ever evoked so many killer tracks under one cover. --From the promotional brochure |
We were ready for it to suck. Big Time. First, the band name was "X-Spelled". Secondly, it had "2000" in the title (which for us, as programmers, was about the equivalent of biting into tinfoil seeing as how we've heard that particular number jarringly for the last three years or so) and "Rockin". Not "Rocking" which would be bad, or "Rockin'" which would be worse, but plain "Rockin". Perhaps they missed that day in English class after they'd been X-Spelled. Needless to say, when it sucked, we weren't surprised.
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Gimme some more rock-n-roll in the new year, rock it for me one more time/We're gonna rock in the new year - rockets away! Rocket in the socket, lock it to the pocket, kick it into overdrive/Rockin 2000, rock it away --Lyrics from "Rockin 2000" |
Bob Dylan this wasn't. We listened to the first couple of tracks and then more or less dismissed the album as complete crap. Mega Truth Records had sent us the CD at their cost (+ $1.51 in postage), so it wasn't just right to send it to be recycled just yet. Who knew? Maybe there was a gem lying about the coal. I took it home and listened to it a few times, hoping that perhaps something would catch me, leave me humming it later in the day.
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Crowned with the vocals of Annie Bertucci, X-Spelled's sound is as rich as gold. Annie has played some of the largest concert halls in the world including ... the Toronto Speedway. --From the promotional brochure |
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The promotional flyer that accompanied the album described the lead singer to Janis Joplin and Grace Slick. True, she did have that same gritty quality of both performers, but lacked the subtleties of either: both Slick and Joplin used their growls as punctuation to an otherwise melodic singing style. Bertucci sounds more like Axl Rose from the Appetite for Destruction days--think "Welcome to the Jungle". Some, if not all of this could be fixed with a little less flair and a little more singing from the diaphragm, I think. Stephen Tyler can do that "gitchagitchagitcha" thing because he's Stephen Tyler. When you are so big that nobody questions your use of your daughter as a sexual object in your videos, you can put 'em back in--until then, leave 'em be. |
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Joe Newnam, Chris Johnson and Fred May make up the core of the X-Spelled rhythym nucleus and...their sound seems to embody the clean air of Shasta and Trinity county where they write their music. --From the promotional brochure |
If there is a singular failing with the band, it's a lack of tight rhythm section despite having three band members qualified to perform this singular task. In a straight-ahead rock band, you need a strong driving beat to push the music forward and this band simply doesn't have it. Fred "Boom Boom" May (left) takes the brunt of the blame: a drummer should be the last retreat for a band, and one who can't keep consistent, tight time just has to go. This lack of a strong time sense is not helped any by somewhat "artistic" timekeeping. May should start with the basic bass-snare-bass-snare, work up to snare-bass-snare-bass, and perhaps add the occasional cymbal fill when he's feeling really starchy.
If the drummer is having problems, the bassist should pick up the slack, take one for the team. Optimally, the two should play off each other and take turns with fills and flourishes. Unfortunately, bass player Joe Newnam (right) seems more interested in being the next Geddy Lee than keeping the train-a-rolling. He's certainly got the "Closer to the Heart" line down--time to get the ol' 1-2-3-4 down as well.
The only thing that keeps the band intact is keyboardist/rhythym guitarist Chris Johnson (middle). Unfortunately the mix is so bad at times that all you can hear is the vocals the the "bum bum BUMbumBUM" of the bass, and at others just the bass. At this point he's just rearranging the deck chairs on the SS X-Spelled as it sinks from the stern.
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John Bare's guitar tracks take the listener on a trip with recollections of some of the greatest guitar players in history. --From the promotional brochure |
 | Truer words were never spoken--I recalled that Jimi Hendrix also used a lot of sustain. I also recalled that he turned it off from time to time: perhaps Bare could take note. Barring that (or, perhaps, Bare-ing that) there's not too much to be said about JB other than he looks like he eats a lot of meat and could probably kick my ass. And that's all I have to say about that. |
| "Freedom in My Blood" pretty much sums up this band's feelings that won't die [sic] --From the promotional brochure |
The construction of the album is puzzling. The weakest songs are put up front, apparently to scare off the weak hearted, and the better stuff lives at the back of the album. The second-to-last, "Sympathy" is the only track that really, truly rocks or even comes close. The band pulls it together for just one song and shows some real promise. The last track, "Sphere" is a long, sitar-laced groove which is actually the single best song on the album. The drums are on time, the bass lays down a real solid foundation. The lead guitar is with the program, the keyboards fill and fatten the sound real nice and it magically works. This track emerges much like finding a rare work of art in someone's basement: "how the hell did this get here?" It certainly makes one want to take in a bit of Trinity County's better known export.
Special bonus item!! |
In a Lee Harvey Oswald-esque twist, lead singer Annie Bertucci apprarently was not with the rest of the band when the cover photo was taken and was digitally added afterwards. Either that or Bertucci really is bringing up the spirt of Janis Joplin... |
 The tell-tale arm |