| Issue
#97
Jul.
'07
“Hey
you / Get down /
on the Cool Side.”
Summer: a time for cruisin’ with the windows down and the
stereo up. No need for any quiet, contemplative stuff; give me Guitar!
What is
summer without Monster guitar riffs? The Who Live at Leeds,
any Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC or Blue Oyster Cult, Van
Halen’s 1st
album, Gish by Smashing Pumpkins, and now, The
Cool Side by eric D.
Melding dirty, distorted guitar with a punk DIY style
assault, eric D gives us a fresh,
raw, intoxicating sound that has the finesse of a well-seasoned,
veteran Rock
band. Using ripping guitars, ultra cool vocals (and Vox F/X), and
smartly
written, light but meaningful lyrics that’ll have you singing
along with every
hook, eric D belongs on
CBGB’s stage
mind-fucking the audience in a drenching guitar attack that would leave
the
floor sweat-soaked and awash in jaw-dropped beer bottles.
The 1st two tracks, Are You Gonna Marry Jane?
and Better
Days, blow open the disc with a power guitar
straight outta the school
of Billy Corgan. They also invoke early Meat Puppets as well as The
Replacements,
yet all the while they hit us with loud, hard, drenching guitar work
(where
double tracking the lead and rhythm allows for the interaction and
trade off of
the leads, which once again mirrors the brilliance of Smashing
Pumpkins). Using
noticeable, identifying lyrics interplaying with the melody, a la`
Talking
Heads, and a chord progression that works masterfully, eric
D’s accomplished and intricate finesse of the
guitars is
memorizing.
If the 1st two songs argue for a Punk Metal Rock
label, it’s the title track, The Cool Side,
using intense Classic
riffs to jump out into the forefront, that flips the coin to reveal a
“Classic
Rock” perfection. Creating an instantly recognizable guitar
riff that borders
on the Stones classic Brown Sugar, and a bass riff that should go down
in
scenester lore, this is THE “Song of the Summer of
‘07”. Just dig the intense
13 second lead during the 1st bridge, and tell
me the air guitarist
won’t be pushing the limits with this one. I could see Prince
ripping into
this, but eric D rips it up
sooooooo
bad that I don’t think even Prince would have the intensity
needed to pull off
such a perfect Rock liturgy of sex in every metaphor out there
– “Get Up, Get up, Get Up
/ get down...” eric D
Rocks! “Hey you / Get down / on the
Cool Side.” If you want cruisin’ in the
summer and backseat rhythm, The Cool
Side is the place to be.
The albums 3 ballads all slant heavy on the electric guitar,
yet are toned down enough to convey eric
D’s ability to write in all styles of Guitar rock. For All Times
gives a
full musical circle with wide open tuning to allow the song to breath
life into
the affirmation of a wonderful relationship. Tied is where eric
D lays it all out there, exposing
himself to a point where you realize how Hot The
Cool Side really is. Low down Funky, this is New
York City funky in Middle
America
– “ooo..hoo..hoo..ooo…hoo…hoo”
- dripping
with an infectious style that can not be ignored, nor taken for
granted. Happy
Day, which ends the album, is a Flower Power anthem
that could double
as a product jingle, that’s how catchy it is. In fact, the
chorus will have you
wondering if this was the Beach Boys tune that Brian Wilson might have
been
hearing just before aborting the “Smile” sessions
in ’67 – repeat after me – “Everything’s gonna be OK.”
Mixed in-between those 3 ballads are 2 more in-your-face,
punk meets metal, guitar compositions. Compose Myself, with
it’s nasty bass
and ripping, dirty, Tony Iommi Sabbath-esque, guitar, delivers the
classic “2
girlfriends that go to none very quickly” storyline with sing
along lyrics
accented by a bleed through guitar. But it’s Good Guy…Bad
that brings
the whole album to a head. Monster Rock with a Shaft Funk, utilizing a
ringing,
haunting, Fuzz distorted guitar that howls the meanness of the story.
Think a
“devil-to-pay” Bon Jovi playing a cantina in Hell -
it’s a tale of an outlaw
turned bounty hunter to redeem his life, but ironically, his redemption
must
come from killing. Something the high-strung, mid-eastern, guitar
tuning/lead
represents as a subtle expression of our current state of military
presence?
After bomping us over the head with that intense 4 minute
presentation of historic biting wit, eric
D leaps into the above mentioned closing track Happy Day, and plays the
Pied Piper leading us out in a sing-song manner. Repeat after me
– “Everything’s
gonna be OK.”
Ah Summer, a time for cruisin’, guitar heroes, sing-a-long
relationship songs, and being cool.
“Hey you / Get down /
on the Cool Side.”
eric
D - The Cool Side,
is available now for: $8.49 +s/h*
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