Search - Kim Mitchell :: Akimbo Alogo

Why isn't this available?!!!!

Sampson Simpson | 06/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard him opening for Jethro Tull on the "A" tour, and then heard him, as most fans did, through the Max Webster collaboration with Rush on "Battlescar". A couple of years later I heard "Go for Soda" on the radio. Bought the thing on tape and immediately loved it. The songs run from the out and out rockers ("Go for Soda", "Lager and Ale" (he seems to have a thing for beverages), and "Rumour Has It") to the sweet power ballads (All We Are), and everywhere in between. Now I'm looking for it on CD and can't find the damned thing.
His band smokes on this, the drummer in particular. Kim's guit playing is as good, if not better than most, but not overbearing, like some. The lyrics are wry, funny, and somewhat articulate.
This is a fun disc for anyone who likes (Diamond Dave)Van Halen, Primus, Rush, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, or anyone who just wants to play it LOUD and have some fun.
PLEASE RELEASE THIS ON A DOMESTIC CD!!!!"

Still a great party album

Sampson Simpson | Canada | 06/10/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A lot of old-school Max Webster fans were dissapointed in this, Kim Mitchell's first full-length solo album. It's easy to see why, because Akimbo Alogo is pretty straight-forward rock. There's not a trace of that prog or experimentation that made Max Webster such a unique creature. However, those fans were too quick to judge.



Akimbo Alogo (great title) still stands up on its own as Kim's finest solo album. Back in that hazy summer of 1984 it spawned four hit videos: "Lager & Ale", "That's A Man", the fantastic ballad "All We Are" and of course, the immortal "Go For Soda".



The only holdover from the Max days is lyricist Pye Dubois, spinning words as only he could, with humour and poetry. "All We Are" was written during the tail end of Max, but Kim knew nobody in that band could sing the high notes in the chorus. Along comes Peter Fredette, a talented musician and singer in his own right. Peter joined Kim's band and stayed throughout all the 80's. His vocal made this song something truly special.



Of course, Kim's guitar playing is among some of the best he's ever laid down on vinyl, and that includes the Max stuff. His soloing here is vibrant and warm. Nobody can copy Kim's guitar stylings, and he's at his best here.



There's also a minimum of synth programming going on here, which Kim got a little too carried away with on his next album, Shakin' Like A Human Being. I'm not sure why Kim thought it was a good idea to start doing stuff like that anyway, but at this point he hadn't gotten too carried away with it...yet.



A couple qualms with this CD reissue:



I wish the LP cover art with Kim in stripey spandex was used. It's funny, it's dated, but it was 1984! Surely it doesn't matter that he looked rediculous. I'm glad I have the LP.



I also wish this CD had been digitally remastered. My vinyl sounds better than the CD.



Having said that, no fan of classic Canadian rock and roll should be without this album. Even the diehard Max fans who haven't listened to Kim since the demise of that band will find a lot to love here. You're missing out if you don't get to hear this album. You really are."

Pretty neat!

R. Recchia | blodgett mills, ny | 04/15/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I've always liked KIM MITCHELL as a guitarist and a vocalist,
but as a songwriter he's been consistently inconsistent and that's still the case for this album. I've always liked his hard
rock and roll side and that's displayed on about half of the al-
bum, the half that I really like! GO FOR A SODA is terrific, of
course and displays that wild side of him. Then again, anyone
who chooses to write with PYE DUBOIS has to be at least slightly
nuts! LAGER AND ALE is another favorite song of mine. The first
time I heard this song was when I heard some local band, whose
name eludes me, play it at CORTLAND STATE COLLEGE. This band's
version of this song blew me away, so I bought this album for it.
LAGER is a very powerful and loud hard rocker, with some very
funny lyrics( about some drunk guy trying to pick up a girl in
a bar.) I particularly like the part when he wants to play a song
on the jukebox, but he has no change, so he starts humming IN A
GADDA DA VIDA! The other hard rockers on this are also quite en-
joyable, like THAT'S A MAN, DIARY FOR ROCK-N-ROLL MEN and RUMOUR
HAS IT. All of these feature more terrif guitar playing from
MITCHELL. Of the slower, more mellow songs, I like ALL WE ARE, but the rest of this doesn't grab me. I guess I never liked KIM
MITCHELL'S more mellow side( except for SUMMER TURNING BLUE, from
MAX WEBSTER's first album.)
Overall, this was a pretty neat debut solo album for K.M."