SON OF A BEAT - COTTON MOUTH - CD ALBUM SOUNDS OF EARTH

Pendragon (USA)

Audio Mixer: Chuck Ainlay.Recording information: Ben's Studio; Front Stage/Backstage, Sound Stage Studios, Nashville, .Photographer: David McClister.Considering the chart life of "Let It Rain, " the pre-release single from David Nail's sophomore album The Sound of a Million Dreams, it's curious to note that it's not the best song here. Co-produced by Chuck Ainlay and Frank Liddell, the album's sound feels more "live"; it's easy to hear these songs as concert entries. Nail wrote or co-wrote three tracks here, including the single, but it's the other cuts that have more impact -- at least musically. Lyrically almost everything is well inside the strict confines of contemporary country subject matter -- as evidenced by the opener, "Grandpa's Farm." To be fair, despite its truly awful words, the track feels more like a tough, funky, bluesy Southern R&B groover. If Delaney & Bonnie were recording in the 21st century (and trying to make money), they might sound something like this. The backing vocals by Joanna Cotton

Eagle Rock (USA)

Oreade Music

DRG (USA)

Back Porch Music ( August 27, 2002 ), Genre: Rock & Pop

Firestorm is a defining recording for Earth Crisis as well as '90s hardcore. Though not necessarily breaking new ground, it did codify a new-school sound that owed as much to metal as it did to Minor Threat. In terms of themes and ideology, Firestorm confirms Earth Crisis' own identity -- militantly straight edge in the face of an apocalyptic-dystopian world. The musical arrangements often come off as extended mosh parts, the chugging open chords that announce the disc setting a focused, unrelenting tone. Though a line like "A knight unyielding/To the `X' I'm crucified" might sound overwrought to those not of a youthful, straight-edge persuasion, Earth Crisis' abrasive groove is hard to deny. Thus for the straight-edge kids who can sing along as well as "pick up change" amidst the frenzy, this release is seminal. For Earth Crisis themselves, this EP is a crucial touchstone; the territory explored on Firestorm is the basis for everywhere else the group has ventured on subsequent outings, further into militant

Victory Records (USA) ( June 01, 1995 ), Genre: Heavy Metal

Napalm Records (USA)

Velvel Records, LLC ( January 01, 2009 ), Genre: Rock & Pop