Search - Kim Mitchell :: Kim Mitchell

Worth The 21-Year Wait

317 East 32nd | Toledo, OH USA | 11/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've never been to Guildenhall, New Jersey, but I feel as if I have friends there in the persons of the wonderful folks at Wounded Bird Records. They're on a mission to reissue important lost recordings from the '70s and '80s. I was hoping they'd get around to this one.



The Kim Mitchell "Mini LP" was released in 1982, almost immediately after the breakup of Max Webster. I made a special trip to Canada to purchase it (kids, this was pre-Amazon -- ask your grandparents). Curiously, the title was deleted soon thereafter, and never made it to the "new" CD format. Until now.



Coming off the somewhat clinical-sounding (but great) Universal Juveniles LP, Mitchell here presents a thicker, bouncier, meatier (yet somehow poppier) set of cuts - not a bummer in the bunch. The Mini LP format would have been a good idea for a lot of acts who failed to fill their full length releases with decent songs. Up to this point, Mitchell had generally avoided that problem, but here, the brevity and accuracy are just what's called for.



All the instruments are well-recorded. The guitar solos are all inspiring; I'll single out "Kids In Action" and "Big Best Summer" for special praise. In these two songs, as well as "Tennessee Water," the arrangement of the backing tracks really push the solos. There's interesting rhythmic interplay -- "Tennessee Water" finds the bass alternating between doubling a repeated "Running With The Devil-style" lead statement and following the kick drum -- and although the multiple rhythm overdubs tend to bury the lead during the "Kids In Action" solo, all three solos are among my all-time faves. (Check out the guitar/guitar/bass unison line that leaps out of the speakers halfway through the "Kids In Action" solo! Hoo-boy!)



"Miss Demeanor" (overused and hence not-very-clever title) is more laid back, but once again, tones and arrangement suit the tune to a tee. I should point out that sometimes-loony lyricist Pye DuBois is pleasantly restrained on all these songs.



"Chain Of Events" closes the disc in startling, angular fashion, with its simple and effective verse melody asserting itself over pedal-point bass, and "good news," folks: it's the "cassette version" with the extended, dazzlingly polyrhythmic outro, as opposed to the shorter "vinyl" version.



In part due to its format-induced focus, this release is perhaps the most straightforward and "mature" of all Kim Mitchell's work. Furthermore, it sounds great on CD, and fans of off-the-beaten-path rock guitar solos will be pleased with their purchase."

Finally available on CD!

Fuzz | Puget Sound, WA | 09/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Red-hot EP of killer rock'n'roll! Kim hit the nail on the head with this one. This is the next best thing to his Max Webster material."