Search - Adam Schmitt :: Demolition

Great Album after 8 Years

John Perkins | Fremont, CA United States | 08/31/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For those of you who know Adam Schmitt (Urbana, Ill) from his two early 90's CD's "World So Bright" and "Illiterture" you will appreciate his newest (8 year in the making) CD titled "Demolition". His Lyrics, Musicianship, and Self Production are all here in one great CD put out by www.Parasol.com records. The two songs on the album that will receive airplay are "See Me Fall" and "Let's Make This Easy". If they are not here to listen to then go to Parasol Records to listen to the two tracks. All the songs have his trademark catchy acoustic and rock guitar licks along with perfect harmony's. Except for drums Adam plays all the instruments and shows how to take straight pop and rock music with an edge to a to a new level. If you don't have either of his first two albums they are both well worth getting (they are not available here but on Parasol and other CD sites). World So Bright has a Pop and Rock mix. Illiterature is purely Hard Rock. Both were critically acclaimed when they came out.John Perkins Perkins@Home.com"

For Fans of Matt Sweet, Tommy Keene

John Perkins | 12/22/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"One of the sadly ironic things about guitar "pop" music -- by which I mean music written, primarily by scruffy white guys in four-piece bands, with the intent of creating HOOKS and possibly having HITS -- is that when it reaches a certain level of excellence, it becomes . . . unpopular. The domain of connoisseurs. That realm is epitomized by Adam Schmitt. Adam first surfaced in the mid-80's as the melancholy teenage leader of Champaign IL's the Farmboys. Within a year the cream of Champaign's then-thriving music scene were lining up to play his songs. Eventually Adam accepted an invitation to join the Elvis Brothers, who despite their novelty name were actually pure Big Star-ish popsters, with talent on the scale of Adam himself. Although Adam's live sets were good, and always well-attended, his real talent turned out to be his studio abilities. Hermitted away in his room, Adam recorded a set of demos that blew away all that heard them, Warner Bros. included. In 1990 he was signed to a solo deal on Warner's Reprise label, which resulted in two CD's: "World So Bright" and "Illiterature." If you've read this far, you should probably look for those and buy them. Both were critically acclaimed, got "buzz" in the industry, and didn't sell. Which brings us to "Demolition." After being dropped from Reprise in 1992, Adam holed up in the studio for most of the 90's, recording himself, his girlfriend, and other bands. "Demolition" is Adam's pick of his studio work over this period. Adam's "demos," however, sound better than most people's albums.The best tracks here -- "Looking for Fate," "See Me Fall," "Brilliance in Failure" -- show why, in some circles, the excitement over Adam has never died down. The songs have nice melodious hooks, but don't cloy. The production is rich and clear. The playing is flawless. The fact that Adam does EVERYTHING shows that we're dealing with a major talent. So, file Adam with Tommy Keene and the rest of the unpopular pop stars."

Catchy, Memorable Songs Yet Still Unique

John Perkins | 04/16/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Simply put, this is a terrific album that, while not as strong as World So Bright, outshines most of the pedestrian music that resonates across the airwaves. I hesitate to describe Adam's music as "power pop:, the description tends to be overused and often describes music that is lacking in melody but sugarcoated with harmonies. Adam has real chops, great song writing sensibilities and an ear for a tune. It's a shame that he has only put out three albums and will probably continue to toil in obscurity. Buy it, you won't be disappointed."