Because We Care
A Benefit For the Children’s Hospital of Orange County
Glue Factory
When you get these benefit disks, produced to raise money for a Good Cause, you want so hard to like them, or at least one or two songs. But after several listens, I still can’t get a single tune to stick in my mind, and while there are some vaguely meritorious songs on this fundraiser, none of them are really good enough to recommend it. The strongest cuts are two covers – Thrice putting up a punky version of The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” and Gameface popping off the old Jackson Browne standard “Doctor My Eyes.” Both are clever reworks, and strong contenders in the “punk covers of ’60s/’70s hit parade” genre, but not worthy enough to pop the money for the disc. Some songs sound OK when they’re playing, like D.O.W.’s “Roads,” or Mind Driver’s “Stuck On Me,” but quickly fade from conscious like a late night college radio tune with no back announce. There’s a lot of stuff with the ’90s sound, but not enough of a hook to recall, like Astoria’s “It’s Alright” or Limbeck’s “I Think It’s Lame to Hold Your Breath.” Most embarrassing is Reel Big Fish singing a song called “Doo-Doo,” which sounds like, well, you do the math. Anything that say’s Children’s Hospital is a good bet for your charitable donations, but in this case, just send a check and buy a different disc.
Glue Factory Records: http://www.gluefactory.com • Children’s Hospital of Orange County: http://www.choc.com
