Tony Mentzer – Smell My Finger – Review April 1, 1997 This just seems like an amateurish and juvenile attempt at humor. Zappa for the Butthead generation? Beefheart toned down to the Beavis level?
Kristeen Young – Meet Miss Young and Her All Boy Band – Review April 1, 1997 No mere ripoff, she’s got the voice and the ideas to pull off her debut album. She throws in strange notes, odd breaks, and fractured harmonies.
Windy and Carl – Drawing of Sound – Review February 1, 1997 At times Tangerine Dream, at times E.A.R., Windy and Carl create accessible ambient music.
Vernon Reid – Mistaken Identity – Review December 1, 1996 Reid’s been through a lot, what with his flirtation with New York No Wave and a salacious funk affair with Living Colour. This disc blends the two.
Sound Gallery – Vol. 2 – Review December 1, 1996 So much Bachelor Pad music, so little space! Where to begin our journey into the depths of the ’50s and ’60s big band/lounge act?
Annals of Improbable Research – Review December 1, 1996 Egghead humor never gets the credit it deserves, probably because so few people actually get it.
101 Strings – Astro Sounds From the Beyond the Year 2000 – Review December 1, 1996 Blasting off with numbers like “Astral Freakout” and “Trippin’ on Lunar 07,” the ubiquitous 101 Strings make the Space Age bearable.
Les Baxter – Que Mango! – Review December 1, 1996 His last non-soundtrack album, he was set to completely weird out the orchestra. Not an easy task, considering that it’s 101 Strings once again.
John Barry – The EMI Years Vol. 3 – Review December 1, 1996 The writer of “The James Bond Theme” himself, Barry wrote of the best soundtracks of the ’60s before going on to become a “serious” film composer.
Gordon Green – Impossible Christmas – Review December 1, 1996 Completely and utterly screwy. How else to describe an album containing “We Wish You A Delirious Christmas” and “The Dance of the Heavy Metal Fairies”?