OLD PIKE REVIEW BY HJW

 TEN THOUSAND NIGHTS, OLD PIKE

(SONY/550 MUSIC):

Old pike is just another way to say “fish that’s been sitting around for a while.”

And like aging fish, this disc stinks.

On the opening track, I Should  Never Have Left, lead singer/songwriter Tim Jones cuts loose with a wail guaranteed to raise the hairs on the back of the neck.

For the balance of the album, Jones flies his oh-so-serious passion like a flag and struggles to raise his vocals to the level of a poor man’s Bruce Springsteen.

Perhaps most annoying is his inclination to stretch out words, especially short ones, at the end of lyric lines. Words such as “else,” “life” and “rain” become multisyllabic and unrecognizable.

But no harm done.

It’s not as if this bloodless, barely melodic and nearly hook-free collection is any worse for Jones’ bellowing.

Should a friend be unfortunate enough to buy this junk, indulge your morbid curiosity and listen to What You’re Crying For.

The irritating hand claps will produce an inexplicable yearning to hear John Cougar Mellencamp’s Jack & Diane, a masterpiece by comparison.

 Funny what truly bad music can do.

                                                                                                

--Heidi Johnson-Wright