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SPECTRUM MEETS CAPTAIN MEMPHIS
Indian Giver
(Birdman)

(NODEPRESSION.NET) -- Spectrum Meets Captain Memphis sounds like an encounter of comic book superheroes. In reality, it's an unlikely but satisfying collaboration between Peter Kember (a.k.a. Spectrum) and legendary producer Jim Dickinson. "The Lonesome Death Of Johnny Ace", a reflection on the R&B singer who died in a game of Russian Roulette, is the standout track. The eight-minute song has a swirling, otherworldly vibe that sounds like a radio broadcast from beyond the grave as Dickinson recounts Ace's sad fate. "Til Your Mainline Comes" and "The Old Cow Died" mix surrealism with dry humor and recall Dickinson's spoken-word CD Fishing With Charlie. Kember takes center stage for the pop-influenced "Take Your Time" and a foreboding, distorted version of Mudhoney's "When Tomorrow Hits". The album is bookended by the instrumental "Mary", a little padding on an album that doesn't need it.

-- TOM WILK
Copyright c. 2008 No Depression Inc. and/or Tom Wilk.