Michael J Bowman has been a mainstay of the home-taper scene for years now and this new CDR single confirms his status. Intelligent, witty lyrics, top notch vocals and instrumentation on 2 damn fine songs. I guess the main track is a sort of celebration of reaching one�s 40th year (�Hey forty, what�re you looking at? We�re all getting bald and fat�. Brilliant!) �Fake Rock� is a more subdued, acoustic affair and comes over as rather sweet and affecting. This guy has a huge back catalogue of stuff, and all of the releases I�ve heard are most impressive. Nice self-deprecating colour cover too.
DON CAMPAU �Man on a Mission� CDR (Lonely Whistle) / [email protected]
If you haven�t heard of Don Campau by now, where have you been? He�s ONLY one of the most prolific underground home-tapers of all time and has ONLY run the amazing radio show No Pigeonholes in his home state of California for years and years. That�s ALL! This is his latest CD, and it contains 6 tracks, all recorded by the man himself (except on the title track, where he�s joined by Mark Kissinger). There�s some pretty fucking hot lead guitar action happening on the title track and the usual fine songwriting we�ve come to expect. �Long Way To Go� is a nice ballad, �My Biggest Mistake� has some rather strange lyrics about mashed potatoes and sniffing glue (!), �What If I Want To� is almost funky with a sort of dancey beat. �Among Other Things� is an awesome rocker, with more of the shit hot lead and heavy bass. This is my favourite track, strangely, as I usually prefer more subdued songs. It�s the kind of song I�d put on before going on a night out. Final track, �I Melted�, has some nice ethereal cymbal crashes and a wispy, Eastern feel. The CD booklet is printed on really nice paper and includes lyrics and arty photos too (taken by Bruce Nauman), so what are you waiting for? Contact the man!
ERIC WALLACK & DON CAMPAU �Wreck A Lilac� CDR (Lonely Whistle) / [email protected] / [email protected]
16 short instrumentals which all possess a haunting beauty reminiscent at times of 60s/70s luminaries such as John Martyn and Nick Drake. Instruments used include mandolin, acoustic guitars, �goofy synth� (their words, not mine!) and many more which go unspecified. Very relaxing and lovely. The kind of music you want to listen to in a darkened room with just your favourite lava lamp for company. The titles are pretty good too (How about �Bridge Over the River, Why?�, �Unused Cue for Rivers and Tides� and �Rear Window Deleted Section�) I�m not usually a massive fan of all instrumental music, but this is done really well and sits nicely beside the instrumental stuff I DO like (a lot of jazz, the band Dakota Suite, certain classical pieces). It�s $6 or a trade (�You decide�, it says) from Lonely Whistle, PO Box 9162, Santa Rosa, CA 95405, USA. Mine came in a lovely cover which looked like it was made from pressed flowers.