Caution! Contagious!
Barry Rudolph | 04/07/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I got a rockin' pneumonia and a boogie-woogie flu from just one exposure to Ariel's news opus: "Sure Thing, You Bet!"
CDs this infectious should carry a warning label right? This is the best yet from this band of hardworkin' rockers and it's earned the number 1 respected slot in my car's CD changer. With 16 songs written by JJ Jenkins and George Petersen, every Rock sub genre from sensitive ballads to cinematic/cerebral progressive explorations to solid, down and dirty, beer-drinking biker yells are covered. Did I say versatile? Oh yeah and they're good musicians and crafty music producers too. It's made loud to be played loud and I highly recommended it for top-down party crusin' but check with your doctor first, he'll want a copy too.
Barry Rudolph"
Perfect sound forever
Patrick R. Runkle | Bushwick, Brooklyn, NYC | 03/06/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The boyz from Alameda have done it again. After a long layoff from their previous original effort, "International World," Ariel is in fine form on the expansive "Sure Thing, You Bet!" Fine original rockers, with wonderfully recorded guitar licks and classic drumming, are in abundance here: "El Dorado Gold" and "Zombies" are early favorites. Ariel even dusts off the rock/soul ballad with "I Can't Bear This Cross No More," which is an absolute highlight. Make sure this, as well as Ariel's previous albums, are part of your collection."
Fun music, with a strong touch of nostalgia
J. Angus Macdonald | Concord, CA United States | 02/02/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I've been following Ariel off and on for several years in the San Francisco Bay Area. They are one of those hidden treasures of the district -- talented musicians playing small venues because they all have serious day gigs. JJ Jenkins, George Petersen, Walter Bush, Chris LaRocca and Kristian Habenicht are Ariel and they form a group determined to bring honest rock music to their friends and fans. Thankfully with this album there is every chance for them to reach a wider audience!
What does Ariel sound like? In some ways they are a throwback band, in that they sound very 70s, but not in the disco sense, more like classic rock, yet all their material is new and fresh; you will find no cover songs here, though you may find serious nods of the head to many acts. JJ Jenkins and George Petersen have been writing tunes for years and this album shows them witty, thoughtful, melancholic, and determined, with a good swing towards old school stadium rock anthemic into the mix.
Are You Ready to Rock? -- this is a great crowd-pleaser, a tune that gets you into a blues-rock mood, with some call and response work; straight up firey instrumental solos add to the fun!
Wrequiem -- With shades of prog rog here, a nod to Queen, a touch Moody Blues, this is a full-on instrumental piece. Jenkin's keyboard work opens and closes the piece, but LaRocca's guitar dominates the middle. Very exciting!
I Can't Bear This Cross No More -- I first heard this as just piano and voice and loved it then. Now the song is fully realized with further keyboards, percussion, guest back-up vocals by Michelle Jacques and all the rest, yet somehow it is the simple lyrics about troubles of keeping up with life when all seems trying to get you down that get to you. Come for the music, stay for the powerful lyrics.
Until the Last/Bordertown -- Starting off with a Spanish-style classical guitar piece, there is a straight segue into this blues-rock song of a man on the run. Between the driving percussion and the Santana-like riffs of the guitar, you are pulled along by this tune.
Climbing -- "Do your remember the Summer of Love?" starts this song, yet the meat of it revolves around losing one's identity in a world of corporate culture. The lyrics and the almost psychadelic-rock runs blend together to speak of a whole generation lost on its own path; very hummable, very danceable, yet also words make you stop and think.
A Word From Our Sponsor -- This is a hoot! Drawn from a disc promoting Victor recording machines back in the 1930s, listen to a commercial of eld!
Crank Up the Victrola -- This is a BIG song! The title/chorus hook will pull you in immediately and remind you why you want to listen to music, for that chance to put the cares of the world behind you, that chance to enter your own private space. This sounds like classic stadium rock; it could be an anthem anywhere!
El Dorado Gold -- Colonial history, corporate greed, and short-sightedness blend together in the words of this rock-blues powerhouse song. Get swept up, get angry, get out and do something!
Half Way to Harris -- Straight up blues here with a lot of fun behind it!
How Now? -- Shades of the Beatles! This feels and sounds in many ways like a Lennon-McCartney song updated to the present day, right down to the little trumpet riff a la Penny Lane. And the lyrics are oh so biting.
The Message Song -- "I don't mind you speaking your mind, but mind you I've a mind of my own"; boppy, fun, happy, this flute-backed track is all about being yourself in the face of others' expectations. A gleeful tale of individuality!
The Fine Art of Proselytization -- "Religious right, religious wrong"; if that doesn't tell you where this song is coming from, nothing does. If you've been hit up a few too many times on the topic of religion, this song will resonate with you. "Hammer, hammer, hammer into the night."
Franklin, Jackson and Grant -- straight up blues about those favourite Dead Presidents. "They're all good friends of mine." Check your wallet.
Zombies -- If this song wasn't pulled of Steely Dan's Aja album ... well, it wasn't, but it sounds like it fits there! You can practically hear Fagen singing this song. Again, deep lyrics about not selling out, of remaining true to your own vision instead of crumpling and merely becoming part of the mass culture.
Church of the Cosmic Cookie -- Melded tales of religious oddities in the modern world, based on real events, this is a bouncy little tune about brainwashing. An infectiously happy song on a scary topic.
They Won't Play Us in L.A. -- How does it feel to be a middle aged rocker in the Bay Area? Well, some places are hard to book gigs. Still, this is not an angry tale, but rather gives a powerful shrug of the shoulder, a feeling that keeping to one's ways rather than trying to follow the trends is the best way to go in the topsy-turvy world of rock 'n' roll. And the long trail out just is...
So what is this album about? Learning to live, the wonder of pure rock music, getting away from the work grind, and thinking for yourself; not bad little themes! If you feel nostalgic for some old style rock 'n' roll, or simply want to hear some great musicians cutting loose, this is a fantastic album for you. Listen and enjoy!"
Track Listings (18) - Disc #1