I have reread many of my past reviews and even though some of them might be worthy of a Pulitzer prize, I have decided that I must stop trying to be a real rock critic and give these reviews my own personal stamp. I need to forget that Iím sitting at a computer and get back to being the guy behind the counter who people trusted and came to for advice on music. Okay, so maybe not that many people trusted me or valued my opinions. Especially when I took the Spin Doctors CD they wanted to buy and hurled it across the room like a cheap Frisbee. And then there was the time I laughed at a customer because he wanted to buy two copies of the new Heart CD on the day of release. Now this is the heavy makeup wearing late 80ís version of Heart, mind you, so I was justified. And if I only had a dollar for every time I said something like, "You mean to tell me you donít own anything by Nick Lowe, but youíre buying this piece of crap?!" Okay, a dollar for every time I said exactly that. Anyway, here are my latest reviews. I hope none of them offend you.

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Buffalo Springfield
Box Set (Rhino, Elektra, Atco & Young)
Is it just me or do these guys kinda sound like The Monkees? You know, when The Monkees were trying to be psychedelic folk rock hippies. And maybe Iíve got it backwards. Couldíve been that The Monkees sounded like Buffalo Springfield. I know that Stephen Stills was almost a member of the prefab four but instead he turned his pal Peter Tork onto the Screen Gems casting call and the rest is pop music history. Think about it. And when youíre done mulling that one over, hereís another spooky coincidence to consider: After both bands broke up, two members from each group went on to form all-star super groups. In the case of the Springfield, of course, it was Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and The Monkees demise led to Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart.

Anyway, this box set sounds pretty damn good. Especially since Iíve never owned any of the remastered versions of the bandís CDs. On the first three discs you get all the essential tracks plus 36 previously unreleased demos, songs, alternate versions and mixes. The demos are the coolest part. Itís a real kick listening to Neil and Stephen play some of these songs in a truly unplugged fashion. Kind of like having them right there in your living room but not having to worry about one of them crashing on your couch for the night. Thereís a fourth CD, which the sticker on the box refers to as a "bonus disc" but thatís kind of misleading. I mean, youíre paying for it, so that wipes out the bonus aspect, but itís not the big stinky rip-off some reviewers are calling it. Whatís on the disc is the Buffalo Springfieldís first two albums and even though all the songs already appear elsewhere on the first three discs, itís still worth having remastered versions of those albums in the proper running order. Címon, sometimes you just gotta hear Buffalo Springfield Again as it was meant to be heard, right? But there has been some flak registered over the repetitive redundancy of this disc. (And a price break would have been a nice compromise.) One reviewer even suggested the box set was for Buffalo Springfield zealots only. Duh!? The masses can buy Retrospective. This oneís for the real fans. I do have one complaint though. Too much Richie Furray and not enough Neil Young. But then, thatís the way I always felt about this band. In summation: I like it but I wouldnít hold it over my head and run laps around the CD bins. (Not worth the risk of tripping over Cubbie.)

Rating: and a half shoes

**For a different perspective on the Buffalo Springfield box
click over to "View From the Couch"**

The Ramones
The Ramones/Leave Home/Rocket To Russia/Road To Ruin
(Warner Archives/Rhino)
Yeah, itís about time these albums got done up right on compact disc. I never was very happy with the All This Stuff (and More) jobbies. Hated the covers, for one thing. And it wasnít very well defined where the actual albums began and ended so you never really got the true experience of listening to The Ramones as nature intended. Plus the sound wasnít something to shout "Gabba Gabba Hey" about. The new reissues arenít two-fers and the non-budget line list price may have some fans screaming for sedation, but I prefer having them separate and each adorned with the original album cover artwork. And what great album covers they are! Simple but dynamic photo and cartoon renderings of Americaís premier punkers at their peak. In addition to vastly improved sound quality, the pricey cost of the discs are offset somewhat by the inclusion of five or more bonus tracks on each CD. Highlights of these extras are The Ramonesí contributions to the Rock ëní Roll High School film soundtrack (on Road To Ruin) and a sixteen song set recorded live at the Roxy in 1976 (on Leave Home). Critics may nit-pick over which of these four albums is the most important (usually the first) or which is the best (probably Rocket To Russia, they say) but the bottom line is all of them are essential to any music collection and thus deserve the highest rating possible. Oh, and theyíre really funny, too.

Rating:

 

The Royal Guardsmen
Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron & Snoopy and His Friends
The Return of the Red Baron & Snoopy For President (Collectables)
Okay, so I picked up this pair of two-fers because of the Snoopy songs, but I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying most of what else they had to offer, including some nifty originals and a wide variety of credibly done cover tunes. This was a band with an identity crises, however, which is maybe why they never were able to overcome the large shadow cast by one famous flying beagle. They do bubble gum, garage rock and novelty tunes all with the same competent flair but thereís nothing to suggest these guys were cheated out of greater things by being typecast as the Snoopy group. Snoopy and His Friends is bogged down a bit by the story segments prior to the three Snoopy/Red Baron songs, but other than that, these discs are a fun listen from start to end.

Rating:

Absolutely The Best of The Archies (Fuel 2000)
Up until now the best Archies compilation you could get your hands on was the ten track disc on the Sony Music Special Products label. Thatís the one that has the heads of the band members on the cover and depicts Archie with black hair! This one is a big step up thanks to the inclusion of "Everythingís Archie," the theme from the TV show, and a generous selection of 16 songs, but its still not the ultimate. Why are there 3 songs on the Sony disc that donít show up here? Most of all, whereís "Waldo P. Emerson Jones"? Leaving that off an Archies "best of" is like leaving "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" off a compilation of early Kinks hits. Oh well, I guess Iíll just have to hold on to both the Sony CD and this one until the box set comes out.

Rating:

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Ratings System

What Came Before

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