Purely Piano, by Jordan Oliver, is accurately titled; these ten songs are played entirely by Oliver on a Steinway concert grand. A musical romantic whose style has George Winston written all over it, he's a fine player, and no doubt a lot of moms and dads will find his CD quite pretty. You young folks out there may have a different opinion (Unipeg Records, 2888 Bluff Street, Suite 6, Boulder 80301). ELI is being advertised by the folks at his label, Beverly Hills' Chartmaker Records, as Denver's "karaoke king," and who am I to argue? After all, my versions of "New York, New York" and "Copacabana" sure as hell aren't going to knock him off his perch. On the disc When You Fall in Love, ELI specializes in amiably bland R&B ballads and mid-tempo seducers of the sort that call Lionel Richie to mind. He sings well, and the production on Love is accomplished, but the album won't win any awards for originality (available in area record stores).
Mirroring metal's transition to post-grunge, Skull Flux has dulled its serrated riffs into a blunt instrument that clubs rather than slices. On Ophelia, Conrad Kehn shouts out his gloomy words (like "Don't mind me feeling just a little dead/Don't worry, I won't bite/I'll just stick my tongue straight in your head," from "Manipulate") while guitarist Greg Stretton peels off licks that recall numerous volumes in the Soundgarden library. Derivative, yet still pretty powerful in its own right (Skull Flux, 2075 S. University Blvd., Suite 161, Denver 80210). Dramatically peppier is Out of the Picture by Abdomen (which has dropped the "of Hypnosis" portion of its original moniker). "Probably," a dollop of trebly pop with a guitar solo that's jolting and reassuring at the same time, lays the groundwork for the remainder of the recording, in that it eschews the sometimes atonal experimentation for which the band was once known in favor of comforting accessibility. Hell, some of this might even put you in mind of Matthew Sweet. But not to worry: Mike Jourgensen and his associates are still subversive enough to toss a few sonic shards into the meal. Guess that's why they call it the cutting edge (D.U. Records, P.O. Box 18677, Denver 80218).
Blatant plug time: Computer types who haven't yet checked out Westword's new Web headquarters (at www.westword.com) will find an enhanced Backbeat section waiting for you. The site includes sound samples of most of the artists profiled or reviewed in these pages; for example, you can read about Golden Smog (see page 65) as you listen to snippets from the album Down by the Old Mainstream. Ain't technology grand?
Driving downtown recently, I saw a city bus enveloped in an ad for KOSI-FM that featured Godzilla-size renderings of Michael Bolton and Rod Stewart. Which is my way of saying I'm sorry I hit that phone pole, but I have a good excuse.
Get your motor running. On Thursday, August 1, Melissa Ferrick finds her way to Boulder's Round Midnight, and William Crist plays for his own sake at Cricket on the Hill. On Friday, August 2, Sketch doodles at the Sink; Jeff Wahl and the Explosion wreak havoc at Penny Lane; Carolyn's Mother and the aforementioned Novembers combine forces at Herman's Hideaway; Slim Cessna's Auto Club gets into gear at the Mercury Cafe; Clutch, Orange 9MM, Fu Manchu and Core hit the Ogden Theatre; and Weapon of Choice fires at the Bluebird Theater, with the Psychodelic Zombiez. On Saturday, August 3, Happy Lizard appears at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art; Sister Machine Gun fires at Area 39; Zuba ventures to Herman's Hideaway; Geggy Tah visits the Fox Theatre; Drill powers up at the Aztlan Theatre; and Shammah and Echo Bay play a benefit at the Boulder Theater. On Monday, August 5, the Voodoo Glow Skulls light up at the Ogden. And on Tuesday, August 6, the Jades shine at City Spirit. Dig?
--Michael Roberts
Backbeat's e-mail address is: Michael_Roberts@ westword.comMichael_Roberts@
