Fowley Dreams Are Adventures For Young Souls
03/23/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"As a Kim Fowley fan, I am more than a little thrilled to see this new album enter the streaming light of the digital domain in the here and now. Kim's been thriving in the rock 'n' roll circus tent for nigh on 47 years, and has given away more ideas than most of today's brightest bulbs could conjure in their most rapid sequence of dream clusters. Kim Fowley, a Hollywood Child veteran from the days when, as a mere Elephant Boy (soon to become The Dog Prince), he was king only in his mind. These early experiences soaked into the remarkably vibrant brain hovering above the polio afflicted body that Kim refused to let tame desire for change and revolution in his future. His success was to take to heart his youthful frustrations and seize his destiny as both a highly prolific artist, songwriter, producer and A&R powerhouse, reaching both creative and entrepreneurial heights through the milling of these disparate components to a fine, fine powder, like gun powder, propelling him forward past the early stages of mere sonic vengeance, as he could and would extract myriad new realities from the spirits that haunted his soul. Rock and Roll was the key to harnessing these demons, and a steady paycheck from this conjuring, then capturing of the spirits of Rock and Roll was, ultimately, most fully realized by the permanent imprint (like a Hollywood Star, dig?) of these realities in melted and pressed polyvinyl chloride. Vinyl begat and spat and spun and the fun was more than merely a hum drum tap and strum, the Movieland Memories were secondary only to the Dog Next Door gnawing thru the leash that tethered his very spirit...Kim Fowley's Adventures In Dreamland CD is surely one of the best new albums of 2004...this is Kim the Futurist laying waste to moldy oldies as the now dead, once-devouring silver fish of decayed pulp fiction fade into dust....Buy this CD today and learn about the future before it happens!!!"
Good Songs Neutralized by Poor Production
WalterDigsTunes | 03/18/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I'd read about Fowley and his pervasiveness in music in Uncut magazine more than two years ago, but it wasn't until 2007 that I found this album of his. I decided to see what this insider was capable of delivering. The fact that the album had twenty-some tracks made it very appealing. Without any hesitation and with a good bit of expectation, I bought this album.
Unfortunately, the album was not exactly what I expected. A guy who worked with Zappa, the Runaways and Gram Parsons doesn't need 21st century rap beats in his work. And yet, that irksome component is prevalent in many songs. And with so many songs, there's bound to be plenty of weird and daft filler. Something that resembles an 8 year old's fixation with dogs can come off rather negatively on the listener. And a techno song? Hmm. No thanks.These factors really put me off, as you can tell.
But the songs themselves are rather good. Picture a Lou Reed kind of thing, where the singer delivers a good story with plenty of quips and whatnot. Enjoyable vignettes, you might say. Straightforward guitar chords are the primary basis for the tracks, and they hold up well (save for the "beatz"...).
Overall, the production values really forced me to deduct major points here. The filler also ticked me off. But most of the songs themselves are good and warrant repeated listening. I wasn't put off entirely by this album, and it encourages to seek out his earlier work. If you dig the man's solo work, buy this. If you're a neophyte, start elsewhere.
"
Track Listings (21) - Disc #1