Aaugh! Records :: join the party

REVIEW ::
RICK WILLIAMS ::SHINKANSEN
Rumor has it, if you look inside the LP "Mommy Doesn't Love Daddy Any More" by the Resurrection Band, you will see the face of a young boy, rather pensive and in thought. That boy is Rick Williams, according to a very reliable source. I first met Rick at one of my early CStone adventures. He was living in the Jesus People commune in Chicago and making music and words in his room. He had formed a band called Brownpeace and had put together a cassette called "Save the Roaches." It had six tunes. It was his first venture in giving away his music for others to hear. (A CD reissue of "Roaches" should be available shortly).

Since that time, Rick has honed his craft and has gotten better. Nonetheless, he has not compromised what he feels and hears in his head - he puts these things on plastic now and this CD is one of those experiments. The CD under review contains seven selections. The title song is an instrumental and shows an influence of non-Western music and culture. A blues tune comes next - "Salvation Army Blues" - pleasant to listen to; movement is slow and mournful in narrative. "Strobe" is a version of a Gene Eugene song from the album "Perfecta." Next up is "Gnashville," which pokes fun at Nashville - "marketing salvation." "Watch What You're Doing" is Rick's take on the Larry Norman tune. "Confuzion" is a bit-fuzzy instrumental (with a vocal near the very end) that feels OK as it plunks along to its end, after 8 minutes and 20 seconds; once in a while it almost sounds like it wants to scream into a Beach Boys riff or two. A seventh song (no title listed) could be called "Confuzion Lite," as it has a more lilting, joyous edge to it.

These 7 tunes are homemade on whatever equipment Williams could find. Over the years I have always found that some of the best heart-felt music moving through the Christian scene was the custom LPs / Cassettes / CDs that came my way because some band or individual took the time to have a vision of the gift God had given.

Are these songs great music? No, but that doesn't truly matter. Just like Danielson, Williams makes the music that he sees and feels. If I can connect to the vision just a bit, I have shared something of the singer / writer that I can take with me for years. The early cassettes of No Laughing Matter, Face of Five and Metal Truck all come to my mind. Williams fits snugly in with them.
+ + + 3/4. (Dan Kennedy)
(c)2003 The Cutting Edge

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?STORE?

Brownpeace
Save The Roaches, 1990 (buy)
The Great Bug & Roach Swindle, 1997 (buy)

The Basket Cases
Individually Twisted, 1996
Symphony For A Lost Civilization, 1995 (buy)

Brian Kruse
The Brian Kruse e.p., 2000

Arsov
Mindless, 2006 (buy)

Aron Noll
Aron Noll, 2000

Ice Cream Factory
Final Madness, 1998 (buy)

Bill Tucker
consistent themes, 2005 (buy)

Rick Williams
rock*paper*scissors, 2006 (buy)
Now The Youth Can Be Sold: 1985-2005
Siamese Connection, 2004 (buy)
Don't Look Now, 2002 (buy)
Shinkansen, 2001
Going Crazy, 1999 (buy)
We Apologise For Any Inconvenience..., 1997
Unplugged, 1995
Songs From The Basement Vol. 2, 1992
Songs From The Basement Vol. 1, 1990
No Jive, 1988
Jiving Around, 1985 (buy)

Neurobic
Discodrama, 2006 (download)

Split Attitude
Island Habitz, 2004 (buy)

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black Aaugh Records T-shirt (buy)

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