Choice Cuts: October 2002

Artist: Badly Drawn Boy

Album: Have You Fed The Fish?

Release Date: November 5, 2002.

The Scoop: OK, this should be in next month's Choice Cuts, but why wait? Badly Drawn Boy's soundtrack for About A Boy was one of the truest, most effective soundtracks of the year. In addition, it seemed to exorcise the "interlude" demons that slightly plagued his deservedly acclaimed debut, The Hour of Bewilderbeast). With the exception of perhaps "Centrepiece," the interlude type of songs on Have You Fed The Fish? are essential components of the album, from the lovely segue of "I Was Wrong" into "You Were Right" to the Beatle-y "Imaginary Lines" to the Zappa-esque kick-off track "Coming In To Land." Like Elliott Smith, with whom he is so often likened, Gough is a multi-instrumental wiz with an impeccable ear for pop melodies. They share a similarly wry, world-weary sense of humor in their lyrics, too, but Gough seems to be more stubborn romantic than jilted lover. Fish focuses more on guitars than its predecessor, but the trademark arrangements of strings, horns, and piano are still in happy abundance. And, again, pay attention to the lyrics, especially when Gough is pining for that one special girl or considering the cult of "minor" celebrity. While it isn't as immediately arresting as the debut-seeing as we're better prepared this time--Have You Fed The Fish? is Badly Drawn Boy's finest album to date.

Highlight Track: "The Further I Slide," which borrows and reworks the bass line from Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing," is Badly Drawn Boy at his best.

For More Info: Visit http://www.badlydrawnboy.co.uk or go listen to the album at http://www.bdbcd.com/

Artist: The Blasters

Album: Trouble Bound

The Scoop: I'll probably catch some heat for this, but I was only mildly enthused about the prospect of a Blasters reunion. The truth is, I like Dave Alvin's solo stuff better. I prefer Dave's vocals over brother Phil's. Things probably would have been different if I'd been old enough to appreciate the band when they were first making noise (I was two years old, I believe, when American Music was released). Trouble Bound is a live collection from reunion shows at the House of Blues in L.A., where th Alvins are still an institution. Make no mistake, while I prefer Dave's later solo work, one can't help but have a deep appreciation for The Blasters. This is California music, after all...but not of the sunshine & hardbody variety. We're talking biker bars, cold beers and rattlesnakes. Dave Alvin's songwriting harkens back to a golden era of bluesy, sweaty rock and roll, and his lead guitar work is the highlight of nearly every song. It's kind of sad, given that he penned much of the Blasters catalog, that Phil Alvin toured without his brother and insisted on continuing to call the band The Blasters. Rhythm sections, meanwhile, don't get much tighter than this one.

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