FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
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| CD REVIEW ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT · Thirteen tracks produced by Kevin Shirley, who previously worked with Aerosmith and Journey. · Second major label album features Replacements and Big Star producer Jim Dickinson on keyboards. Forget the kitchen sink, these guys throw in a swimming pool's worth of mixed-up musical references; everything from girl group back-ups and punk rock riffs to a big horn section that serves up more beef than a McDonald's drive-through. These guys are determined to build a wall of sound, then spray paint it with campy graffiti and dirty jokes. The sense of humor and the allusions to popular musical history make you wonder whether this should be the soundtrack for Godzilla or Grease 2. It doesn't seem like it should work; at times you wonder whether they can really pull it off, but thanks to riffs as addictive as cocaine, a beat that could out-drive Mario Andretti, and great, perfectly rough-edged back-up vocals with more layers than a shag haircut, this San Diego sextet pulls it off. 4/5 |
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