Epinions Recent Reviews for HawgWyld

Better than most McCartney solo albums, but not without flaws

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 05:16:58 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - One knock on Paul McCartney has always been that he tends to dive into schmaltzy territory far too often. That tendency haunted him throughout his career with the Beatles, but John Lennon was usually on hand to allow him to wallow in sappy sentimentality...

More country than most of what passes for country today

Fri, 8 Aug 2008 03:49:37 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - While Nashville was busily sucking the soul out of country music, what made that art form so great was being retained by a handful of bands. Rock bands, actually. Bands like the Old 97's. The so-called "alt country" movement that came to a head in the...

One of McCartney's finest solo efforts

Mon, 4 Aug 2008 04:47:38 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - A lot of artists have made the decision to "get back to their roots" and record an album full of oldies. Heck, John Lennon did that with Rock n' Roll, in fact. The problem with most of those albums is that they come across as too much of a...

Early grunge

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 02:27:40 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - When this was released back in 1988, it was regarded as an album that almost defied classification. Ultramega OK was generally regarded as a heavy metal album, but that label didn't really cover this sprawling mess too well. Most of the songs...

Evidence something was afoot in Seattle

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 05:16:25 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - Back in 1989, the term "grunge" wasn't exactly in heavy circulation. Regardless, Soundgarden's Louder than Love is a prime example of the type of music that gave rise to that rather broad label. The Black Sabbath influences are obvious as the band...

"I smell like I sound?!?!"

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:29:37 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - I could be wrong, I've always thought of 1982's Rio as the album that proved that major labels had learned how to take a challenging genre, tidy it up a bit and sell a hell of a lot of albums. Rio falls into new wave territory, a genre that...

Rod Stewart gets down to business

Wed, 9 Jul 2008 02:29:37 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - This album came as a pleasant surprise in 1988 as it was generally regarded as a return to form after Rod Stewart released a slew of fair-to-middling albums. Indeed, it was the opinion in some quarters that Stewart was washed up, but Out of Order...

Sadly, one of Elvis' better "movie albums"

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 04:17:35 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - Out of all of Elvis Presley's movies, Bl
ue
Hawaii has long been my favorite. Is it, technically, a "good" movie? Well, no. But, it's campy and unintentionally hilarious, and that's good enough for me. The soundtrack to...

Very good, but still a letdown

Mon, 7 Jul 2008 01:17:50 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - This album didn't exactly bomb when it was released in 1988, but Tougher than Leather sure did disappoint a lot of people. Some critics maintained that Run-D.M.C. just sounded behind the times -- that audiences were interested in politically aware...

Is Avante-Garde supposed to be this much fun?

Sat, 5 Jul 2008 13:24:37 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - Well, here's one that's hard to describe. In essence, you've got the Residents simply pulling popular songs from the 1950s through the early 1970s to pieces and smashing them back together again. Some of the tracks are very familiar whereas it's hard to...

Good album, horrible name

Fri, 4 Jul 2008 02:56:02 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - Honestly, George Lynch should have used a bit more discretion when choosing a name for his band. The phrase "lynch mob" has a rather nasty connotation here in the beautiful South as it tends to remind us of a past we'd rather forget. Yes, George was just...

Proof that Public Enemy was great right from the start

Thu, 3 Jul 2008 00:23:39 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - When Yo! Bum Rush the Show was released in 1987, it was truly unlike anything else out there and it pointed solidly to the direction where rap was headed. Earlier rap albums, of course, featured huge eats, sparse instrumentation and party anthems...

Sounded great in 1989 and it still does

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 04:28:30 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - Back in college, I spent a year as the rap director for my school's powerful, 10-watt flamethrower of a radio station. Why would they hand the (arguably) whitest kid on campus the tasks of getting rap albums from record companies and encouraging DJs to...

All those hair metal cliches in one album

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 03:15:41 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - If you want an overview of why people both loved and hated hair metal in the 1980s, this disc is the one to analyze. You've got all the stereotypical traits assigned to pop metal bands right here -- a foppish looking bunch banging out recycled riffs,...

The band's not half bad when not driven by commercial concerns

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:43:30 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - Ah, good old Warrant. That was one of those bands I just loved to hate back in the 1980s, possibly because I got beaten over the head with that "Cherry Pie" song back when it was a hit. Everything the band released in the 1980s sounded so desperately...

An example of what was wrong with hair metal

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:20:22 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - Out of all the hair metal albums released when that movement was in its prime 20 years ago, Cherry Pie has to be one of the most cynical and calculated of the lot. Apparently, the title track was written as the insistence of Sony Music...

The best thing from Motley Crue in a long, long time

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:19:40 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - Motley Crue, through the years, has managed to put out a lot of albums that are either horrible or downright terrible. Still, the band has a large fanbase that always hopes that next album won't be the one that returns the band to its glory days...

Just downright confusing

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:14:17 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - There is no way in hell your typical Motley Crue will claim this is his or her favorite album from the band. Heck, I'd imagine you'd be hard pressed to find more than a couple of Crue fans that will have anything nice to say about this disc at all. As...

A welcome return to form

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 03:14:16 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - So Motley Crue is on the verge of releasing its first new disc in eight years (Saints of Los Angeles) and it's already been heralded as a return to form. Truth be told, the same could be said of 2000's New Tattoo, a disc that was easily the...

Philips 7180XL Electric Shaver: Great razor, but needs refinement

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:11:19 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - The Philips Norelco 7180XL is the best electric razor I've owned. The only flaw with this razor -- and it's a pretty big one -- is the rechargeable battery system that has some odd restrictions on it that would have been acceptable about 1983 but not in...

Walker Texas Ranger - The Complete Third Season: Love it but I'm not sure why

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 03:46:03 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - If you don't have a Netflix subscription, go get one right now. Why? You'll wind up ordering stuff like Walker, Texas Ranger: Season 3 and have just hours of fun. I don't know that I'd spring for the full purchase price of this seven-DVD set, but...

A very fun debut

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 03:40:01 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - Of all the bands that showed up in the 1980s hair/pop/glam metal movement, Finland's Hanoi Rocks was easily one of the most entertaining. Actually, lumping Hanoi Rocks in with bands like Motley Crue -- groups that demonstrated Balkanization in a musical...

The 1990s weren't kind to the Dead Milkmen at all

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:32:17 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - It's always sad when a great band releases a disc that is clear evidence that the group has run out of ideas and its days are numbered. Metaphysical Graffiti is that type of album. I bought this one the day it came out, listened to it and thought,...

Very useful and inexpensive

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:49:59 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - I do love my Dish Network setup, but there is a major problem with having a satellite system -- the thing is just plain unreliable when it comes to severe whether. Here in scenic central Arkansas, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms are fairly common and...

"That music's lost its taste, so try another flavor"

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:48:49 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author HawgWyld - Every now and again, an album will show up that sounds virtually unlike anything that has come before it and manages to stay unique decades later. Kings of the Wild Frontier, released in 1980, is one of those discs that sounds as wonderfully odd...