A review, at last!

So as you may know, there is the Shuffle-athon event being sponsored by Swiss Toni.

I sent my CD dutifully off and I see it has been received...I'm sure that my intrepid listener is stiffening his resolve with a couple of pints before listening. I have a feeling that some of the music departs from his usual tastes. But I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, I found a package addressed to me from our dear Pynchon. In his note to me, he bade me, "Enjoy...I hope."

Other's who have reviewed the CDs they've received have critiqued intelligently every track and I will certainly do that, but I have some additional thoughts I'll add to the overall CD production. But first the individual comments.

1. Introducing the Band - Suede: Never heard this song before, but I immediately liked it. A very strong beginning.

2. Makin' Time - The Creation: Again a new song to me - Groovy!

3. Sometime in the Morning - The Monkees: I had my strongest negative reaction to this song. It's a combination of being a bit too sweet for me and having a difficult time getting beyond internal images of The Monkees television show.

4. The Six Teens - The Sweet: This felt a lot like Queen to me and there's never anything wrong with that.

5. The Ballad of El Goodo - Big Star: Definite ballad and on it's own maybe not a song I would seek out.

6. Standing Here - The Stone Roses: I loved the guitar in this and I wanted to dance.

7. Rock'n'Roll Star - Oasis: Very nice.

8. Baby, You're So Free - Cosmic Rough Riders: I loved the mediterranean riffs in this one.

9. The Flowers of Guatemala - R.E.M.: This feels a bit like an R.E.M. lullaby.

10. She's Not Crying - The Darling Buds: Female Vocalist! Woohoo! I loved her!

11. She's A Rainbow - Rolling Stones: Classic! I've always enjoyed the playfulness of this song.

12. Surf's Up - The Beach Boys: Wow! This is so not what I expect from the Beach Boys, and a nice finish to this CD.

I have to admit that I was impressed from the first with Pynchon's CD. He'd obviously gone to a good deal of trouble with the cover (although I would argue that his title "The Greatest Compilation Album in the World" is not quite true, since that would be my compilation Album...but I digress). It had covers of all the artists on the front on the back and the inside cover. He'd even put the title on the spine of the case, so I won't have to fumble through the CDs in my case to find the right one.

Then, although the music isn't all to my taste, I found myself drawn in by the overall theme of the CD. Pynchon wrote that he "tried to sequence the tracks like an album," and I'd say he did a superb job. The overall feel of the CD is mellow, almost psychedelic. It definitely has an uplifting, happy feel to it. Nice, lazy afternoon music. Even the songs I didn't enjoy as much, and they were few, contributed to the overall mood and were not at all wasted space.

It makes me a bit ashamed, actually, at the crap production job I did on mine.

Well, it's late, boys and girls. It seems only fitting that I finish off with this: Peace!