From Day One, these guys held true to their bawdy shtick (“Brown Sugar”). But the album title says it all as well – despite the strong start, there are a lot of low-confidence jitters they had to get out of their system, too. Cut them some slack.
Here was a nice, pleasant, unobtrusive Smashing Pumpkins clone from the Pacific Northwest which never quite broke through on a major level. On this, their second album, they come close. "Dizzy" is all power-pop irony and gooey vibes, strengthened by the vocal dexterity of Tyler Willman and Mari Ann Braeden, and it fit right in with 1995's post-Cobain landscape.
Somehow out of all of the 70's Southern Rock bands it was the Atlanta Rhythm Section who finagled a visit to the White House in the midst of their most successful year of existence. They also released this record, Champagne Jam, a glittering yet fairly nondescript toast to the professional musician studio rat lifestyle of the late 1970's. One can't help but imagine piles of snow beside rows of mixing consoles, stacks of tape reels, and wafting smoke trails as the title track or "Imaginary Lover" wailed their sybaritic tones aloud.
A flashy, borderline outrageous hybrid of Mountain's power-trio groovin', Simon and Garfunkel sensitivity, and flippant hippie attitude. Produced by Shadow Morton.
