The Dipsomaniacs, The Life You're Faking, Face Down Records.
This Jersey power pop band returns with yet another great album for 2001. 'The Life Your Faking' is even more tuneful than their last, featuring memorable pop hooks in upbeat rockers like 'Tina's Good At Everything,' 'Perfect Wave' and 'Crash and Burn.' The band has expanded their sound a bit by adding keyboards and horns to some tracks. These additions work especially well on the chugging pop number 'Valerie Valerie' and the Beatles-inspired 'Rubber Soul.' The Dipsomaniacs continue to improve with age, and the album has been co-distrubuted by Jam Records out of Chicago, so hopefully their fan base will also continue to expand. http://www.dipsomanics.net

Jason Falkner, Necessity- The 4 Track Years, Spin Art. / Everyone Knows It's On, Air Mail, Japan.
Jason Falkner's songwriting and production skills come to a fore on these two 2001 releases. Necessity, released in the US by Spin Art, collects 12 of Jason's best demos recorded on his multi-track cassette machine at home. In some respects, the demos of tracks like 'She Goes To Bed' and 'I Live' surpass the studio versions on the first album. There is a sense of urgency and intimacy on these home recordings that allows the listener to connect with the artist on a whole new level. With slick studio production stripped away, we're left only with the amazing nuggets of Falkner's genius.

The real highlight of the album is the inclusion of several unreleased tracks which are as good or better than anything on his official releases. "The Hard Way" and "His Train" are absolutely mesmerizing and "Take Good Care of Me" stands right along side Falkner's best rockers. Few artists have such a collection of truly great songs that didn't make the cut for their studio albums. The Japanese set, Everyone Knows It's On, expands this concept even further, adding several demos not included on the American release, and a second disc of Falkner's cover versions. A must for any Falkner fan.

The Knack, "Normal as the Next Guy," Smile.

While it's not as immediately catchy as their 1998 return to form "Zoom," "Normal as the Next Guy" still makes this latest Knack reunion worthwhile. Everything about this album is a little more subdued than the last, which was initially a disappointment. The production isn't quite as exciting (especially without Terry Bozio on drums) and the songs aren't quite as peppy. However, there's still a lot of good music for hardcore Knack fans to enjoy. "Disillusion Town," "It's Not Me" and "Seven Days of Heaven" are all quality songs that sound like they might have been left off the last CD. "Les Girls" and "Normal as the Next Guy" are both a little too goofy for their own good, but still pleasant listening. What gives this record a bit of substance for me are the tracks that find the band stretching a bit. "Dance of Romance" sounds like a weird Steely Dan cover, "Spiritual Pursuit" is a nifty country send up and "The Man on the Beach" is a fascinating and well-executed exercise in recreated late 60s Beach Boys tracks. It's not one of the band's best, but it's a solid follow-up to "Zoom." Hopefully they can keep it up for a few more records.

Paul McCartney, "Driving Rain," Capitol.
Driving Rain is a strange album. While you have to admire Paul for taking his music in a new direction and trying new things, his experimentation doesn't always translate into compelling music. As I've stated time and time again, Paul's sense of melody is his strongest attribute. When it shines through on Driving Rain, the songs are quite satisfying. 'Lonely Road' recalls the glory of his 70s rockers, 'Your Way' takes us back to the acoustic beauty of songs from his first solo albums and 'Tiny Bubble' contains a classic McCartney hook that just sticks in your head.

Paul runs into trouble when he leaves melody behind and simply tries to do something new or different. Many critics are marveling over 'Rinse the Raindrops,' a ten minute jam with an ad-libbed, screaming vocal from Paul. I have read reviews that applaud the strangeness of "She's Given Up Talking," and the optimism of "Back in the Sunshine Again." 'Spinning on an Axis' is another example of an experiment that Paul should really keep to himself. But all of these songs, without any memorable melodies to speak of, fall flat with this reviewer.

However, there are more good songs here than bad and that ultimately makes "Driving Rain" a satisfying McCartney album. While Paul stills loses touch now and again, the young producers and session men .he's been working with seem to keep him on track. The new band breathes life into some otherwise pedestrian tracks like "Driving Rain" and "About You." And some of Paul's diversions are rather interesting like "Riding in Jaipur" and the largely instrumental piano tune "Heather." "Driving Rain" doesn't rock as hard as "Run Devil Run," and it's not as solid as "Flaming Pie," but it shows that Paul still has some good ideas and worthwhile music to add to his catalog.

The Pearlfishers, Across The Milky Way, Marina.
'Across the Milky Way' is a somewhat disappointing follow-up to the wonderful 'Young Picknickers.  The production is still wonderfully executed, and the playing is meticulous. Fans of their previous albums will enjoy this CD, but I wouldn't recommend it to newbies. The best tracks are the title song and "We'll Be The Summer."

The Pernice Brothers, The World Won't End, Sub Pop.
Joe Pernice crafts achingly beautiful acoustic pop like no one else on the music scene today. 'The World Won't End' takes the melodic beauty of the Pernice Brother's debut album to a new level. The songs are more appealing and immediately likeable. This time around, Joe seems a bit less depressed, but there is still a melancholy hanging over his lyrics. Combined with the pleasing arrangements and pretty tunes, this CD is simply irresistible. The best songs are "Working Girls," "She Heightened Everything" and "Bryte Side."

Sloan, Pretty Together, Murderecords.
What seemed like a disappointing follow-up to one the best rock albums of the 90s (Between The Bridges,) has really grown on me with repeated listening. "Pretty Together''s" atmospheric production is not as immediately catchy as the straight-forward rock of recent Sloan albums, and requires more attention from the listener. However, patient Sloan fans will find amazing melodies and arrangments hidden inside these tracks.

Andrew continues to amaze with the album's most brilliant and catchy songs, "In the Movies" and "The Great Wall." The band claims to have collaborated on several tracks this time around, which is most evident when Chris and Jay trade vocal lines on the beautiful "Who You Talkin' To." Many of the slower songs are rather accessible like "It's In Your Eyes" and "I Love A Long Goodbye." Granted there are many mid-tempo songs on this record that take time to stick, like "The Life Of  AWorking Girl," "Your Dreams Will Come True" and "Dreaming Of You." For traditional fans, there are a couple of more familiar rockers like the opener "If It Feels Good Do It" and the Paul Stanley send up "Pick It Up And Dial It."

Overall, this is an album that many fans may dismiss. However, it's worth spending more time with "Pretty Together" because over time you'll find this CD to be very rewarding.

Superdrag, Greetings From Tennessee EP, Arena Rock.
This EP was a bonus for Superdrag fans in 2001, featuring a couple of cover versions, a couple of old tracks revisited and some new songs. Surprisingly the newer tracks, some recorded in Japan and others in Tennessee, are not throwaways. "Baby Goes To Eleven," "I Guess It's American" and "The Emotional Kind" are top-notch John Davis songs that make this EP essential for Superdrag fans. Sam Power's track "Stu," which the band played regularly on tour in 2000 and 2001 is here as well. "Greetings From Tennessee" was a great hold-over between Dying Stars and the band's next album due out in the Spring of 2002.

Tenacious D, "Tenacious D," Epic.
This album should appeal to fans of Jack Black's wacky comedy and musicians alike. Jack and his side-kick Kyle Gass poke fun at overblown rock music by promising to "rock your fucking socks off" with acoustic guitars and goofy songs. The album expands their mainly acoustic live show with electric guitars and drums (played mainly by Dave Grohl.) At times the sexual humor is a little overbearing and the spoken word comedy bits are amusing only once. Songs like "Fuck Her Gently" surely get tired with repeating listening. What keeps most of the jokes from getting old are a few truly appealing songs, like "Kielbasa Sausage," "Tribute" and "Wonderboy." The Dungeons and Dragons imagery in the latter song never fails to amuse me. Their tribute to the "genius" of Ronnie James Dio is quite funny and representative of much of their musical humor. However stupid  the lyrics get, the melodies are memorable and keep you coming back.

Velvet Crush, "A Single Odyssey," Action Musik.
This is a nice addition to the Velvet Crush collection that compiles all of the band's b-sides and CD bonus tracks. Considering that this is a compilation spanning almost 10 years, "A Single Odyssey" is pretty consistent from start to finish. It features some great studio versions of songs often included in their live sets like "Elevator Operator," "Remember the Lightning" and "It's Been Too Long and It's Too Late Now." This one is well worth the price for Velvet Crush fans.

Disappointment of the year:

Ben Folds, "Rockin' The Suburbs." This record starts off the promising Annie Waits, but quickly descends into the drivel that made its first appearance on the last album Ben recorded with the "five." The title track is an obvious grab at radio airplay, featuring all of the standard Ben Folds humor that's just not as funny as it used to be. He just tries too hard here. The rest of the album examines Ben's fascination with extremely dull piano numbers and effectively puts the listener to sleep. Perhaps Ben is in search of another "meaningful" hit like "Brick," which incidentallyI felt was the band's weakest single and least representative of the their talents.

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