Sound Off CD Reviews

Leslie

The Rebel Souls EP

(Dirty Mag)

If you missed last Saturday night's CD release party for Leslie's new EP, "The Rebel Souls," then you missed quite a show. The power rock trio played its usual powerhouse sets, which included the tunes found on this new EP.

Meant to tide over fans waiting for Leslie's forthcoming full-length release later this year, "The Rebel Souls EP" kicks off with "No More Tears," which has a melody that sounds as if The Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar" collided head-on with The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again."

The remaining three songs on the disc are no less passionate or powerful. It is sometimes necessary to remind oneself while listening to Leslie that there are only three guys in the band. The energy coming across the speakers makes it easy to believe that there are at least a couple more musicians playing in there somewhere.

"Devil Ain't Ready" has a bluesy swagger that would make Mark Bolan of T Rex proud, while "Freak Flag" and "End of the Road" have Leslie's distinctive sound stamp, a style that harks back to the rock 'n' roll of the pre-punk '70's. Bring on the full-length. Soon.

Download These: Spring for all four songs.

The Opposite of a Train

The Opposite of a Train

(Independent)

Bill Carson has always been one of Charleston's more eccentric musicmakers, and I say that in the most admiring way. I mean, the guy can play the saw, and play it well.

Carson's latest musical endeavor finds him collaborating with a couple of other like-minded Lowcountry musicians, Nathan Koci and Ron Wiltrout, and the result is The Opposite of a Train.

The 15 tracks on the eponymous debut by the new band are all instrumentals, but please don't dismiss this audio gem for that simple reason. The trio has created something truly special here.

Various tracks sound as if they could have lyrics added by artists such as Tom Waits ("Eurydice's Waltz") or Gogol Bordello ("Typewriter"), but the creations belong solely to The Opposite of a Train.

My favorite tracks include "A Room Made of String" and "Bicycle," as well as the melody that runs through several of the songs in various forms. The whole thing sounds like the score to either some offbeat European animated feature or to an avant-garde video game that requires one to use their brain more so than their thumbs.

Download These: "A Room Made of String," "Bicycle," "Eurydice's Waltz"

Foreigner

Foreigner: Live

(E1)

Foreigner always confused me while I was growing up. On the one hand, you had a band that rocked out fairly hard with hits such as "Hot Blooded" and "Urgent."

On the other hand, though, it seemed that the same band could switch gears quickly and swerve into a more adult contemporary neighborhood with ballads such as "I Want To Know What Love Is" and "Waiting For A Girl Like You."

I always enjoyed that classic rock band, but I guess I just gravitated more toward the rock tracks.

The Soundstage concert performed by the group of musicians that currently call themselves Foreigner is equally confusing. For starters, there is only one original member of the band, founder Mick Jones, still present. Don't get me wrong; the rest of the musicians playing the 16 Foreigner tunes are all quite talented, but really, how many members can you lose and still call a band by its original name?

Current vocalist Kelly Hansen does a credible job reproducing Lou Gramm's powerful pipes. If you're a fan of Foreigner, then this is worth a look. Just be prepared for some unfamiliar faces.