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 David
Cassidy and the Partridge Family, The Definitive Collection
(Arista 2000) - From the label
that brought you the Tony
Orlando collection, here comes the latest entry
in 70s happy pop - The Partridge Family Definitive Collection,
with 20 tracks, including the group's nine billboard chart singles,
and all four of David Cassidy's top four solo hits from 1971-1972
(including "Cherish" and "Rock Me Baby").
 The
album commemorates the 30th anniversary of the premier of the "Partridge
Family" television series and was remastered by Al Quaglieri.
The fictional Partridges were loosely based on the real-life Cowsills,
an actual family rock band. The series was an immediate success, ignited
by its debut number one hit, "I Think I Love You."
 Intended
to be non-threatening, the "Partridge Family" ran for four
season and 96 episodes on ABC television. The series featured teenage
heartthrobs Keith (David Cassiday)
and his sister, Laurie, (Susan
Dey), along with their siblings, Danny (Danny Bonaducci),
Christopher and Tracey, and single mom, Shirley (Cassiday's real-life
stepmother, Shirley Jones)
riding on a psychedelic bus gig to gig.
To jog your memory, the Partridge
Family aired on Fridays at 8:30 Eastern Time after "The Brady
Bunch," and was followed by "Room 222," "The Odd
Couple," and "Love, American Style."
 The
music producer for the show, Wes
Farrell, constantly sought solid top 40 radio material for the
show, and obtained new songs from such skilled writers as Tony
Romeo, Jerry Goffin, and Barry
Mann and Cynthia Weil.
The Definitive Collection includes such high-charting
songs as "I'll Meet You Half Way" and "Doesn't Somebody
Want to be Wanted," together with seven rare LP tracks.
 Says
David Burd in the liner notes, "Perhaps the
Partridge Family reminds
us of a time when we were all a little younger, when music, television
and all of us were just a little more innocent . . . Our adolescent
years all wrapped up in 2:54 of a song says exactly how we felt about
that first big crush, whether it was Susan or David or someone we
actually knew in person: 'I Think I Love You'."
With fan-oriented liner notes (which, unfortunately, do not include
any information about the recording of the songs or the backing musicians),
The Definitive
Collection will bring back memories of this long-ago
vibe.
 Frankie
Machine, One (Mammoth Records 2000) - One
is a debut release from the rock quartet known as Frankie Machine.
Named after the character played by Frank Sinatra
in the movie, "The Man With the Golden Arm," this quartet
mixes elements of Weezer and
Cheap Trick
to deliver straight-up rock with pop hooks and backing hints of punk.
The band consists of Ryan
Martin on vocals and guitar, Gary Benson
on drums, Creston Funk on lead guitar, and Riley
Baxter on bass. Baxter, a well-known Hollywood tatoo artist,
met the Machine while inking Benson and Martin, and joined the band
as a replacement for prior bass player John Chapman,
who left after One was recorded.
 On
tracks like "Sell Me" and "50/50," Frankie
Machine displays a hard, but not metalic sound. Says singer guitarist
Ryan Martin, "We wanted to make a pop hooks, but with heavy guitars
promient. Not like Deftones-heavy,
you know, but hard, combined with tons of backing vocals and melody."
 One
of the highlights of One is a driving cover of "I
Got You," originally recorded by Split
Enz. Explains Texas-bred guitarist Creston funk, "We chose
the Split Enz' tune as kind of a cover. It is not that well known
of a song, so it helps us own it a little more. We play it as if it
were a song we wrote."
Get ready for L.A.-based rock on One.
 The
Giraffes, The Days are Filled With Years (Orange
Recordings 2000) - The Giraffes are a one-man outfit built around
Chris Ballew, formerly of the Presidents
of the United States of America. Ballew's leanings on The
Days Are Filled With Years head into experimental college
rock territory, headlined by the instrumental "Cypress Ghost."
 The
Giraffes
are decidedly more low key than the Presidents
of the United States of America. During Ballew's four-year stint,
the band sold more than seven million records. Chris has also played
and recorded with Beck and
Kurt Liebert of Bicycle.
Orange Recordings is also the home to Oakland-based folk
rockers, the Mother Hips.
 The
Days are Filled With Years is Ballew's second
solo release, and finds him providing all instrumentation, including
guitars, bass, piano and keyboards, banjo, and drums and drum loops.
The Days are Filled With Years was mastered by Mark
Guenther at Seattle Disk Mastering. The whole album was recorded
on a cassette 8-track machine with a couple of mikes and simple home
setup.
 On
songs like "Easy Phantom" and "Kill the Cake,"
Ballew
shows a light-hearted side, leaning toward pop, but with uncluttered
arrangements.
Chris says that he has always made "Giraffe music," but
it typically got shelved when he was working with a band. Explains
Chris, "The high energy music I write is easier to pull off
and execute live, but quiet and more subtle and drumless songs are
just as fun for me to create. I just feel more at ease doing these
kinds of songs alone in my basement."
So The Giraffes
are here to wipe away your tears and soothe you through a rainy afternoon.
- Randy Krbechek © 2000
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