More on trashing

[Carl E. Anderson]

> Eric and Al have made it pretty clear that they can't stand one another and
> although I think Al has a good case, some of his jibes seem meanspirited
> and low (Eric can't sing, can't play the guitar, looks like an idiot...)
> Setting myself up for a hate barrage from both sides,

        ;)

        I'm going to chime in by saying I think Eric's singing is great
on a lot of the songs.  Not all--Deb's rendition of of "Baby Ice Dog"
blows Eric's away.  But were Eric is good, he's good.  And he's good a
lot of places for BOC--even if Al "rewrote the song for Eric's mechanical
style" _a_la_ "FoUO" the final result *still* sounds pretty damn good.
Take "VotPW" for example ...
        Who cares if Eric can't play guitar?  It was pretty obvious that
he was basically there to look hip and pose with the guitar.  And if
he's there just to bash out the ocassional power chord, then fine.  It's
only rock'n'roll!
        Looks like an idiot?  I don't remember that shot particularly, but
I though Eric's over-the-top stage antics fit BOC quite well.  A silly
image over substance?  Yeah, well, sure ... but's it's only rock'n'roll :)

        Hell, my only experience of seeing the original band in their
heyday is from the rather dodgy "Live 1976" video.  And (as I said in
previous discussions of this video) I got a good kick out of Eric's
bizarre posing.  There's at least one classic gesture from the normally
restrained Buck as well.  The whole thing is just brilliantly over-the-top
rock fantasy.  Eric's shades and cheesy leather suit, Buck's white suit,
Al's huge flanged drum solo with the laserlight show from Yuggoth (not
to mention the amazing Godzilla head, not appearing in this flick, but
you get the idea :)
        Enormously good fun.

        No, if I'm going to castigate BOC it's for firing a significant
part of the song-writing team and then farting about with no apparent
direction.
        Believe me, if tBS produce an album as lame as CN they'll not
receive any mercy  from me ;)  And I'm happy to express my opinion
that I think "Imaginos" is a fairly weak track off the album of that
name (and on an albums full of ... well, _pearls_ ;)
        Now, "Sally" off of _Trepanation_ seems to have certain structural
similarities with "Imaginos", but is a much stronger recording.  When
hell freezes over and _Imaginos_ gets reworked, I'd recommend reforging
the title track :)

        In the end, the success of the Brain Surgeons may be the best
thing that's happened to BOC in a long time!  I can't help but think
that the two excellent albums Al, Deb & Co. have turned out have
to some extent shamed BOC into trying to get their act together.

Cheers,
Carl

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Carl Edlund Anderson              "So that's Terra.  Oohwee, look out
ASNAC Dept., Cambridge U.          wenchlings, here come the Hawklords."
cea20 at cus.cam.ac.uk                -Lord Lemmy (Hawkwind, _Space Ritual_)
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