Published on May 4, 1999
I swear I haven’t done drugs in years.
Years. Putting this disc into my CD player brought back such
severe seventies flashbacks that I could have sworn I was tripping
the light fantastic one more time. I could smell the cheap beer and
stale cigarette smoke inside the Red Lion Pub again, college bar
that was home to illustrious local heroes such as M & R Rush,
REO Speedwagon, Styx, and a few years earlier, Cheap Trick.
Everybody seemed to be wearing tight designer jeans with hair picks
sticking out of the back pocket. Men and women had the requisite
long, feathered hair. Wait, no, it’s really 1999 and I definitely
have graduated from college a long time ago. It’s just that the
music brings back such, such…such horrible bar band
memories.
To their credit, on this their ninth release, Enuff Z’Nuff was
smart enough to recruit two huge stars from the power pop era of
the late seventies and throw in a nineties guy to look hip. Rick
Nielsen from Cheap Trick, James Young from Styx and Billy Corgan
from the Smashing Pumpkins all drop by for a few jams.
Unfortunately, the strongest tracks on this album all appear
courtesy of one of their guest stars. You gotta wonder how strong a
album this is when the cover sticker highlights the guests’
appearances more than any of the band’s own material.
The most obvious problem with this record is that it’s so
derivative. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, and in
that case, Enuff Z’Nuff should thank Cheap Trick heartily,
following up with late seventies arena rock dinosaurs from Boston,
Journey, Styx and even to the lesser known eighties darlings, those
Aussies, Split Enz. Even in the press release, Chip Z’Nuff clearly
states a song like “Invisible” is part Lenny Kravitz, part Led
Zeppelin and admits that “Top of the Hill” marries the New York
Dolls to Stone Temple Pilots. Listening to this album did have that
weird flashback sense of I’d heard this all somewhere before, but
it’s been done much better.
The album’s opener ,”Freak”, showcases some of Nielsen’s fancy
fingerwork, but little else. “Top Of The Hill”, which features
Young on guitar, is a complete throwaway, leaning too heavily on
overworked guitar solos, Young’s trademark back when he posed as
Styx’ guitarist. He does put some finesse and funk into the R&B
cut “Invisible”, one of the few tunes that feels authentic and
mildly more interesting.
The one standout is “Habit”, a mid-tempo rocker that has some
beautiful acoustic guitar work and lilting vocal harmonies by
Z’Nuff. Lyrically reflective and soul-searching, it also blends
tempos and musical intensity better than any other cut. The cover
of the Cheap Trick song, “Everything Works If You Let It”, where
Corgan throws in a rather frenzied and spirited guitar performance,
shows some spunk and originality but isn’t exactly what I’d call an
A-Cut Cheap Trick cover.
Most songs, from “Believe In Love” to the maudlin, blatant Elvis
Costello rip-off “Loser Of The World”, are just plain dreadful, run
of the mill slop. It’s like listening to your favorite bar band
circa the late seventies, but I’ve heard bar bands who played
better and had more original material than this collection of
dribble. Mostly,
Paraphernalia is boring and recycled formulas ripped off
from every bad rock cliché from 1970 on. The band didn’t
make matters worse with crappy production and thus sounding more
amateurish. They hired veteran mixer Chris Shephard, who thankfully
has stellar credits in his past to redeem himself with from working
with the Pumpkins to Wilco. I’d say leave this one off the resume,
Chris, if your reputation means anything to you.
This record covers territory too familiar to most listeners and
without the excitement or energy. Unless, of course, you’re one of
those classic rockers who’d rather hear second-rate imitations of
all your favorites. Personally, I prefer living in the present and
leaving those flashbacks where they belong – in the past.