BRAIN/BOC: To Helen With Love, a fuller review

[Scruton, Jason]

Having digested it now like a good meal, here's a perspective on the Brain
Surgeons and Friends.  Buy it if you have yet to do so.
Tack-by-Track:
The intro Handsome Dick Manitoba gives sets the tone of the album - "we love
you," and the manner in which the following tracks are performed by its wide
cast of characters speaks to that.

lover's loan is an interesting lil rocker, in that it smacks of something
1950's in the performance, probably the Sax by Crispin Cioe (which is done
very well); its like that reconfiguring of 1950's rock and roll that Bruce
Springsteen always tried to do but never quite got right. But in this case
it works well. Its the first track on the disc to feature Buck and the
Bouchards,  which makes it historically significant for all you BOC fans out
there. Was this the first song that the three of them recorded for the
album?

Sinful Love is just a flat out rocker, its harsher and sleazier than the
agents of Fortune performance, replete with horns and a cranking it up a
notch of 5 on the main riff. Well  played live, I might add.

Elle Sol is a really touching ballad - "she is the sun/ we'll be so dark
without her" featuring vocals by D. Roeser  and the Bouchards + Tommy Mandel
(he was on Imaginos right?)on a good solid piano accompaniment. Cool organ
solo break. A very tight, solid tune that expresses sadness in a positive,
forward looking way.

Niagara Falls is again done by the Brain Surgeons, (first time was on
Archetype). Having seen them perform this with Helen on stage, along with
Tattoo Vampire was an unforgettable and a joyful experience; a song
performed by close friends for all who want to listen. This time round it
appears in the three piece stripped down rendition (To these ears the rhythm
guitar track is clearer, and its all David Hirschberg this time.) Excellent
backing vox by Albert and Dave. Deborah gives a heartfelt rendition of the
lyrics, a comparable performance to what she does in Biloxi. Awesome song
and fun. "I can feel the thunder I can hear the roar, I can see the shore so
far below...... Niagara falls" is a pure fun chorus to have the audience to
sing along with. and Dave's got tasty guitar solos, kids. Its all good.

Albert's drumming in general on this disc is very tight, groove heavy, with
really tasty, subtle drum fills. he plays according to what the song
dictates.

Will to Survive has Jack Secret on main vocals and the Bouchard Bros. on
duty. Its a cool bluesy rocker with good cowbell and harmonica to add to the
heavy sound and feel of the track. Would
be a cool live number. Creepy chorus : "Why haven't I died?  it's the will
to survive". a good defiant attitude track.  Who does the organ in the song?


Fallen angel is like I said earlier, a drastic rearrangement of the song
from CE. Longer, more "majestic" rolling rhythm on which the lyrics and song
rest on. A good track. No, a great track. If you liked the CE version, this
will make your jaw drop.

Room to Rage, IMHO, is Helen's personalization of "Kick out the Jams." it's
loud. it's crude. it's in your face and great fun to rock out to. A second
jack secret vocal on this track, and he does it very well.

Hero is a wacky track. with Buck, Sandy Roeser and the Bouchards  alone. A
mix of styles from a bluesy rap thing by D.Roeser(!) in the beginning to a
cool melody line and performance  by Sandy. all in all a complex amalgam of
well honed pop and rock. The tune is  also notable for sporting the return
of Buck and Albert's backup vocal sound. I like this song a lot.  What
strikes me most about Helen 's music most of all is how accessible the tunes
are to the prime directive of rock -- dancing. By the way, Hero has an
oh-so-recognizable Buck solo -- but what's interesting in comparison to
Curse, is how much this solo doesn't sound like what he does there. I can't
quite explain it.

St. Vitus -- what can I say about this that people don't already know from
Box of Hammers or from catching the Brain Surgeons live when it was their
opening number? Well, for one, the bass drum is clearer in the mix and it
keeps a cooool funky heartbeat rhythm in a different way,without that the
wall of guitars which tore through it's predecessor on BoH; Deb's vocal
delivery is different than on BoH; more focussed in a good way. The overall
delivery is more stripped down as Deb is guitar on the track and the "black
hearts of soul" chorus is modified; the guitar line that follows it is sung
this time but A.Bouchard.
I LOVE THIS TRACK and always WILL.

I see it this way:  when something rocks, how can you NOT love to ROCK with
it?

"Goodbye Joe" feels like a J.Bouchard number... its atmospheric and the riff
has this nice lumbering, but ominous swagger to it. Another Buck and
Bouchard Brothers track, but with Tommy Mandel + "Dr.Music" Jack Rigg on vox
and lead guitar. He's really good at vocals and guitar (it never really
struck me how good a guitar player he was till I got the David Roter Method
Live video). This would also make a good live track for the riff alone, and
the lyrics are haunting, too.

As I Bleed is performed by Helen's "Skeleton Crew" as they were called when
in performance with her. But you may know them in the Central NY region as
Static Cling. They're a very good 4 piece -- when I saw them with Helen a
few years ago, they turned in great renditions of classic surf instrumentals
as the opening number and,  with Helen, blasted many a rafter with a ride
down MC5's "Shakin' Street."  The track here is again an interesting mix of
strong melody line and rock attitude. The bass break(I think its  a bass!
need more coffee to help my ears acclimate) has a great guitar solo as the
band kicks it up a notch. Cathi Lee Otis' vox is strong and fits the song
very, very well. The lil' jazzy guitar ending is a nice touch.

Chimes of Freedom is like a party song,  one that's played at the end of a
night around a bonfire where everyone knows they've had a lot of fun and
have stumbled upon, by good fortune of a few guitar players and everyone
knowing the words, with a way to celebrate the joyful night that has passed
and give thanks to the dawn that is ahead.  Although not a Helen Lyric, one
can hear how it fits into the album and why she'd like it.

To Helen With Love a tribute album as it really should be done, because acts
like the title says it does. Thanks should go out to all who committed
themselves in making this album as good as it is.


Jason