Spectrum Meets Captain Memphis - ' Indian Giver ' (Birdman
Records)
Catalog number: BMR105
From Aural Innovations May 2009 update
An apparent one-time collaboration between Spectrum (aka Pete Kember) and Captain
Memphis (aka Jim Dickinson). Captain Memphis has been known as producer for
artists such as the Texas Tornados, Ry Cooder and Big Star. The music on ' Indian
Giver' is best described as ' low-key indie rock '. Tracks 1 and 9 are more
or less parts one and two of "Mary" - a Spectrum song that I saw the
duo perform live over a year ago, see my live review of that gig in Aural Innovations
- No. 38. "Lonesome Death Of Johnny Ace" is a solid blues rocker,
"Take Your Time" is much like a Spacemen 3 composition - glad to see
Kember can still pen out such a gem, "Til Your Mainline Comes" is
an almost southern boogie number performed {obviously} by Captain Memphis and
I did sort of like their Mudhoney cover of "When Tomorrow Hits". Was
somewhat impressed with "The Old Cow Died" featuring some cool sound
effects and gutsy guitar playing, "Hey Man" showcases a decent duet
between the two musicians and "Confederate Dead" is a familiar-sounding
instrumental. Personnel: Pete Kember - keyboards & vocals, Captain Memphis
- guitar & vocals, fellow Spectrum member Randall Nieman - keyboards &
guitar, Luke Faust - fiddle, Terry Manning - moog synthesizer, Kevin Houston
- sax and Jim Crosthwait - drums. A rather nice little independent CD title
to own. Maybe not for everyone, but look for sound clips online where provided
and then go from there.
Check out the Birdman Records web site at: http://www.birdmanrecords.com
Reviewed by Mike Reed