Search - Ike Reilly :: Sparkle in the Finish

Only The Good Go Unheard

Thomas B. Gill | Napa, CA | 12/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A couple of years ago I spotted a CD called "Salesmen and Racists" in Amoeba Record Store in Berkeley. The title was good enough to make me pick it up and look at the back. A song titled "Commie Drives A Nova" sounded clever enough to make me pay the $2 necessary to take it home. Such a deal. I was hooked with the first listening to "Hip Hop Thighs" about the singer's girlfriend getting hit on by Joe Strummer. Although it was slightly uneven, overall the CD made a big dent on my listening ear and I continued to listen to it more frequently than almost anything else. But I never heard anything about Ike Reilly out here on the West Coast and could only follow him loosely on the internet at an apparently defunct website. This summer I noticed a new website with news of an appearance at a total dive bar in San Francisco. I arrived early and saw the band debark from a van apparently borrowed from a Chicago-area old folks home. I was able to meet Mr. Reilly and talked for a while about topics such as Dusty Baker. He was a genuinely nice person and we learned that we both had daughters of approximately the same age. I requested a couple of songs from Salesmen and Racists, one for me and one for my daughter, and he played both of them in his set. I went to buy the new CD when it was due to come out and could not find it anywhere in the Bay Area. I ordered it from the band's website and want to state that it is not just the album of the year but of many years. Every cut is tight, incisive, powerful and honest. Each song seems to find its way into my brain at some point during the day and I hope that they stay there. Please listen to this and help good music overtake bad."

Ike Reilly Should Be A Star.

Mitchell Kozuchowski | New York, New York USA | 02/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It will be one of the great tragedies of modern music if the sun does not one day shine on Ike Reilly, and dolts like Ashlee Simpson are recording millionaires. The record (and all of Ike's records) are chock full of intelligent and quirky rock songs. I saw Ike a few months ago performing at Arlene's Grocery in NYC to an audience of about 20 people. And that's just wrong!!!"

Another outstanding album from a true original

Donald Foss Smith III | Madison, WI USA | 01/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ike Reilly delivers another outstanding set of well crafted tunes and continues to impress. An excellent follow up to Salesmen, which is Sparkle's biggest challenge - it's impossible to replicate the feeling you get from the first dozen spins of Salesmen and the discovery (or re-discovery) of Ike's talents. That said the album rocks from start to finish and puts a smile on my face every time.



Ike is one of those artists that I find myself unable to explain to people with words. I invariably give up and just play the music for them, letting Ike do the telling himself.



I've had the privelege to see him twice, once in college (as Ike Reilly & Community 9) and again following the release of Salesmen & Racists. Both were outstanding shows, if you ever get the chance to see him live - do so.



Note on Ike Reilly; Community 9 - a cd that still made it to my player until it made it to my IPod - a great view into the early formation of Ike's unique songwriting stylings - standouts include "Way Down", "President of the World", "Real Tears", "Falling Into Happiness". The album is likely for diehards only as it lacks the polish/tightness of his two recent efforts, but it's still Ike rocking out."