| Cover:
8 Crazy Birds out of 10
It's simply a close up of singer Nina C. Alice's head. The photo
has an overall cyan tint to it, save for Nina's bright red lipstick.
Oh yeah, she's a blonde now. I belive it was Jani Bon Neil who said
that if Nina looked as good in 1992 as she does now, Skew Siskin would've
been huge. I have to agree. She's hot.
Booklet:
9 Crazy Birds out of 10
There aren't any lyrics in the 16-page booklet, and in fact, only 2
pages have any words at all (just basic production notes and minimal
credits and kudos). However, the booklet is filled with full-color artwork
and photos of the band. The booklet is so well designed, with so much
to look at, that it makes up for not having any lyrics. You can get
those at Skew Siskin's Web site anyway. And for those who like visual
aids, there are lots of pictures of Nina to drool over. It's that heavy
stock glossy paper too, so any bodily fluids that happen to drop onto
the pages can easily be wiped off.
Songs: 9
Crazy Birds out of 10
To be completely honest, until Album of the Year, I hadn't
listened to anything released by Skew Siskin since their debut CD from
1992. But even then, this disc seems to have picked up right where that
album left off. And it's not dated sounding at all, as their sound is
basically timeless. Straight ahead rock somewhere between AC/DC and
Motörhead. In fact, Nina C. Alice's voice has sometimes been compared
to a female version of Lemmy, and that especially rings true on the
album's opener, "We Hate," and another one called "White
Trash." At the same time, she manages to sound soulful and sultry
-- 2 adjectives I couldn't even fathom using to describe the vocal stylings
of Lemmy. Not all of the songs here can be put into any one category.
There are 14 tracks altogether on this disc; some are straight-up cock
rockers, as in "The Goddess" and "All Fired Up,"
whereas some are trippy and experimental sounding (check out "Hate,
Lies" and "Strike Me Blind"). Largely due to the Hendrix-modeled
guitar work of Jim Voxx, and likely helped by Skew Siskin's new rhythm
section, every song packs a punch, and not a ballad to be found. Well,
except for maybe "War and Peace Song," yet that one's so eerie
sounding that it could have been written by Alice Cooper during the
Welcome to my Nightmare era. Both modern and old school, this
disc gives me a hard-on.
Comments: Nina C. Alice did
20 Questions back with us in
October 2003, just before Album of the Year was released. I
don't think this disc actually got any 'Album of the Year' awards, but
it probably should have. It's fucking great. Yet it was only relased
in Europe, so if you're in North America, you won't find it at your
local Wal-Mart or Best Buy. Try a specialty CD shop or, better yet,
order it online. It's worth the few extra bucks you'll pay to have it
imported.
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