Best Kid In Town, The - Sketch (The)

Advantages: Great American instrumental math rock
Disadvantages: changed from earlier work

...How many people have heard of Don Caballero? In fact there are two Don Caballero's, one instrumental math rock group from Pittsburgh, the second a character played by Joe Flaherty on a comedy sketch show Second City Television, and that's where the bands name comes from. As this is the first (and probably the last) review about this band I feel it is necessary to give a little history about the band, and the east coast and mid west rock music scene. The industrial heartlands of America and Canada faced dramatic upheaval in the 80's and early 90's, mass unemployment in these areas and shifts in population spawned many college bands whose music style was varied and experimental. With a hiatus in the music scene many teenage kids strived for something new. Many of these college bands never made it out of college let alone their home... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Talented and whacko Jack Black
Disadvantages: swearing

...I first saw Tenacious D on Jonathan Ross and howled with laughter. Their role-played rock antics combined with their improbable appearance were irresistably funny. Also they are such great singers and musicians. They were a breath of fresh air with their humour and talent. However, my daughter also thought they were great and bought their album. She's fourteen and happily not into smoking and swearing like so many of her mates. Lucky break for me as her dad. But it also means that when she played the album, bought on the strength of the great single, the swearing struck her as offensive. There's a lot of it. Objectionable amounts of it. There's no doubting the brilliance of tracks like 'Wonderboy' and the 'Best song in the world, tribute,' but much of the comedy here relies on absurd spoken sketches. Still, anyone who's seen Jack... Read review

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Advantages: Great travelogue in music of the Old West
Disadvantages: None

...This is a fascinating album presenting Johnny Cash as a singer and a narrator. Each track is preceded by the haunting sound in the background of a steam locomotive and its whistle while Johnny tells a story of the song he is about to sing. Track 1 - Loading Coal (4mins.59secs.) The travelogue begins with a recital of place-names of America and continues with the thundering names of the indian tribes who lived here first. Then Johnny boards the train, stopping first at a small town in the mining country of Kentucky. He presents a brief character sketch of a boy whose father is a miner. "Loading Coal" tells the story of a miner who never expects to get rich but still follows the tradition of his family. Track 2 - Slow Rider(4.10) The train then moves westward onto the prairies where we meet the outlaw John Wesley Hardin, whose... Read review

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