SOUNDCHECK: Adding It Up

Dozens of Depeche Mode; Tyler sings the blues










MUSIC BOX



Boss Martians


The Set-Up

Reminiscent of Elvis Costello's Angry Young Man period, meaning the good Elvis Costello, this group kicks ass, from "I Am Your Radio" (voted Coolest Song of 2003 by Little Steven's Underground Garage) to the disc's last, titular track. Start listening now and hold bragging rights over your friends for years to come.



Rick Springfield


Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance

Rick Springfield, '80s pop star, sounds like he's awfully bitter and angry about something. But about what? He played Dr. Noah on General Hospital, for Pete's sake! There's an edginess and grit to this disc, but it sounds forced coming from the one-time teen heartthrob.



Amorphous Androgynous


The Otherness

The pseudonymous Future Sound of London fills the disc with its techno-pop sound. There's a track here to match whatever your drug, er, I mean mood, might be, from dreamily drifting to driftingly dreaming.



The Divine Comedy


Absent Friends

Sounding so much like Ben Folds Five's cover of The Flaming Lips' "She Don't Use Jelly," it's scary. I'm probably a freak for loving the Lounge-a-palooza track, but you know that feeling you get when you see someone who kind of looks like a person you once loved? That's the same feeling the first track gave me. With the second, the resemblance was still there, but not as strong. But by the end of the disc, I remembered why we broke up in the first place.



Piss Ant


Your Best Sucks

There's something timeless about really hot, trashy women singing punk that grabs you by the gonads in a vise grip and refuses to let go until you swear allegiance to Sid and Nancy. Yes, timeless. Like a fine French champagne. Served by a gal with Jersey hair, wearing a bustier and torn fishnets.




Martin Stein


Depeche Mode (3 stars)


Depeche Mode Singles


One band. Twenty years. Thirty-six discs. The six-box set encompasses the group's biggest hit singles, from 1981 to 2001, but does it truly capture the band responsible for hits like "People Are People," "Master & Servant" and "Personal Jesus"? The answer is a resounding yes.


But don't plan your '80s revival party quite yet. Despite having more hit singles than some bands from that decade have empty tubs of hair gel, the catch is that there are few songs per CD. Box No. 1, Disc 1 contains "Dreaming of Me," "Ice Machine" and...that's it. The next disc in the same box doesn't fare much better, made up of "New Life," "Shout" and ... "Shout" Rio Mix. Your stereo had better have a serious CD capacity or you'd best prepare yourself for an evening of getting up from the couch as you swap disc after disc.


Another disappointment is the complete lack of liner notes. Each box comes with an artfully designed book listing the tracks on the accompanying six CDs but that's all the information you're going to get. It's a shame when such an ideal opportunity for producing a rich artifact is passed up.


All that said, this is still the perfect addition to a true fan's collection. Plus, six jet-black boxes with nothing but large white numbers on them look damn cool sitting on your shelf.




Martin Stein



Honkin' On Bobo (4.5 stars)


Aerosmith


At the start of Honkin' On Bobo, Steven Tyler joyfully squeals, "Ladies and gentleman, step right up!" before Aerosmith kicks into Bo Diddley's "Road Runner." It is just one of a dozen scorchers on what easily amounts to the band's best disc since its '70s glory years: Maybe even the best Aerosmith album ever.


Certainly, Honkin' On Bobo is nothing like the traditional blues album fans were expecting. This is gritty American rock at its best, with a nod to British blues legends like John Mayall and the early Rolling Stones. Guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford, in particular, seem positively liberated, for once without the burden of having to accommodate their fire to the crafted hits of Diane Warren, Desmond Child or Glen Ballard.


The band's take on "Baby, Please Don't Go" is potent enough to make Ted Nugent's famed '70s version sound like the Motor City Madman needed a Viagra. "You Got To Move," easily equals the Stones' cover, and with the aid of vocals from Tracy Bonhom, "Back Back Train" comes covered in weary menace. In fact, there are no weak tracks here. It is hard to believe and inspiring to realize, that after almost 35 years together, Aerosmith still can make a record this viscerally exciting and powerful.




Richard Abowitz

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