REVIEW: 10 Speed, 10 Speed (A&M Records)
- Bill Holmes
Supreme hype in place, A&M seems poised to toss this band into the great void left by Kiss and Queen. The opening track is bombastic, pompous...and stunning. High energy rock, it will remind the listener of Bowie singing "John I'm Only Dancing" at breakneck speed. The follow up track "It Makes Me Crazy" is also a potential single, with an Alanis Morissette beat (think "Hand In My Pocket") and goat quiver vocals. But the chorus sounds VERRRY 70s, much more Philly soul than glam.
"Space Queen" - perhaps the single - can best be described as asteroid rap; Will Smith singing "Space Oddity". It's interesting for a bit, and is actually more akin to Lollipop Factory than Queen or Jellyfish. But the over-the-top goofiness of the lyrics are soon met head-on by the songs that follow - "I Hate You", "Suicidal Psychopathic Freak", "When Your Lips Are Blue" and "Head Splits Open". Uhh....what the hell is going on here? "When your lips are blue, you're gone". Jeez, I HOPE so....
The BIG drums and the BIG sound (and probably the BIG hair) are there throughout, and despite some stone clunkers (the hidden track is like P-Funk on ludes) the players are obviously talented. But somehow you know that behind the glam, the hair band licks, the first-name basis (Hutch, Dimitry and Newman?) and all the fanfare, there are probably some very calculated snickers in the dressing room. And I'm not talking candy bars.
This is probably great camp as a live show (I have not had the pleasure) and I imagine if you take 10 Speed as seriously as they take themselves, everything will be just fine. Crank it up, open the windows, pop that beer and don't listen to the lyrics. Party on, Garth.
