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St. Cloud State University
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New local CD proves ‘St. Cloud Rocks’
By Joe Palmersheim
Published:
Monday, October 14, 2002
St. Cloud Rocks is a new compilation disc featuring local bands both old and new. The CD was put together and released by the St. Cloud Times in conjunction with Audio King, and according to the liner notes, it is “just a sampling of our homegrown talent.”
The CD is sonically diverse, with everything from rock, country and hip-hop, to musical fusions that don’t fit comfortably into any category.
The CD starts with an ear-pleasing song called “Rest of My Life” by a band called Roger. Another rock band on the compilation is Slip Twister, with a track called “Mall of America.” This song ends with the lead singer imploring someone to “meet [him] at the Mall of America.”
In addition to the rock genre, the CD also includes a few samples of hip-hop and R&B. The CD features a song by Hydrophonics called “Quick Fix,” a standard rap bragging song in which the band name-checks itself as many times as possible and throws in a few drug references for good measure. The other track that stands out in this genre is Adage’s “No Apologies.” This song sounds like a lot of R&B on the radio these days. A minimalist background that sets the rhythm and pace for the sound allows optimum vocal performances––which are really the heart and soul of R&B in the first place. The vocals in this song are performed by Derrick A. Gilbert, who does everything in Adage, from writing to producing and performing and this track proves that he can do all with no small amount of talent.
The most unique song on the album is Hoolie’s “Dream.” By playing a country bass line, a banjo, a harmonica, and what sounds like a bottle-neck guitar, the Hoolies can take us down country dirt roads to small town America. “Dream” is a song that has a sound reminiscent of the immensely popular “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?” soundtrack, which brought blue-grass music such as this back to the popular consciousness.
The Vees also provide a noteworthy track, with a rockabilly sound that can be likened to the Stray Cats and Gene Vincent. The song is called “Keep it Rockin’” and could be used as brawl music from a bar in downtown hell. The song is a rollicking good time, with a sound you don’t hear very often these days and an energy many of the other songs on this compilation lack.
Several of the songs on the CD, while being original compositions, just can’t help but bring to mind other songs. For example, Jake Hammond’s song is a lot like Semisonic’s “Closing Time.” Both songs have the mood and feel of leaving somewhere for places unknown and not knowing when you are going to be back. The vocals are performed in a similar way as well, with a distinct vulnerability in the inflection.
The other song that sounds like something else is Buddwa Mambo’s “Stearns County Dirt.” It has the same feel as several of the songs on the Rolling Stones album “Sticky Fingers,” which features a fuzzed guitar mixing with a harmonica for rock/country fusion.
Several other of the songs on the CD fail to make an impression in one’s mind because they sound like something else we’ve already heard a thousand times. Simplicia sounds like Tool. Aurora Court Project sounds like several bands blended together, but even that can’t save them from mediocrity. Hook Echo’s over-blown angst sound is like Creed or Live.
This doesn’t make these bands bad. They are all talented performers, but each lack an original sound, which may be a problem for them if they want to be anything more than a bar band.
Compilations like this are necessary for bands that probably wouldn’t be heard any other way. With a CD like this, you don’t have to play the same bar every night to be heard, with indifferent drunks and people who didn’t come to see you comprising your audience. To be included in a CD such as St. Cloud Rocks is as big as some of these bands will get; in other words, this may very well be their “15 minutes of fame.”
