For the past decade, Neil Young has brought together a wide variety of
high-profile artists in a series of annual Northern California concerts produced to support and benefit the Bridge School, a Hillsborough, California educational facility for children with severe speech and physical impairments. The Bridge School was co-founded by Young's wife, Pegi.

Fifteen artists appear on this compilation disc, spanning from the benefit's
debut concert in 1986 up to present day. Many of the performances rendered on this fifteen-track CD are bright examples of some of the industry's biggest and best acts performing in  predominantly
stripped-down, acoustic sets. It's remarkable how much texture and
definition a particular composition can take on when performed in its most basic form, with little more interpretation for the audience than guitars and passionate voices. It's my humble opinion that the mark of a true artist is one who can succeed in increasing the scope and vision of a
song without having to rely upon the "frills" of modern electronics and
technology to lend a hand. But I digress.

The Bridge School Concerts - Volume One features, in order of appearance on the album, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Tracy Chapman, Pretenders with The Duke String Quartet, Beck, Bonnie Raitt, Don Henley, Ministry, Simon & Garfunkel, David Bowie, Pearl Jam,
Lovemongers, Nils Lofgren, Elvis Costello, and Patti Smith. As one might
easily guess by glancing at the list of guest artists, the musical fare offered on this disc is as wide and varied as the performers, and is geared to appeal to a large cross-section of the music-loving population, no matter what their preferred genres might be.

The recording itself is very well-produced, and doesn't lack in the least for musical quality. Now, mind you, I'm not a particular aficionado of  acoustic
performances. While I don't dislike them, I don't necessarily seek them out, either. But I was very much entertained by this disc, and found myself going back to some of the better tracks over and over again.

One of my favorite offerings is David Bowie's  rendition of "Heroes."
It's amazing how Bowie's rich voice still possesses the power to send chills up and down my spine. This low-key version of the original begins in a sweet and soothing ballad-like style, accompanied by an acoustic guitar and the melodic rhythm of an electric bass. The strains of a single,
unadorned electric guitar soon float in to deliver a bridge that makes
me desperately long for the days when hook-filled melodies like this weren't as rare as the proverbial snowball-in-hell. From here, it steadily builds in intensity and emotion until a strong and soulful female voice -- unfortunately, unnamed on the advance copy CD I received -- joins in a
lovely and expressive trade-off at the end of the track. This may not be
the best technical version ever recorded, but it is arguably the most
interesting.

Another favorite is Ministry's rendition of the Grateful Dead's "Friend of the Devil." This is a rare and delightful glimpse at the multi-varied talents of a typically heavy, industrial band. This version is up-beat and richly layered in style and tone. Again, I'm not a particular fan of the genre, but I greatly enjoyed the treatment this predominantly blues/folk composition
received at the hands of Ministry. The Lovemongers, consisting of Ann
and Nancy Wilson of Heart, perform a version of Led Zeppelin's "Battle of Evermore;" and while they stay pretty true to the moody quality of the original, it is interesting to hear female vocals successfully working through a song that is so strongly and exclusively associated with
Robert Plant's thin and trebly vocal style.

I could probably go on for another page or two pointing out the fine work contributed by the other artists, but I've barely scratched the surface as it is, and time grows short. Suffice to say that the Bridge School benefit, toward which the proceeds of this album are contributed, is indeed a very worthy cause; but anyone who decides to add this album to his collection is probably the richer for the contribution. There's nary a dud on this one,
readers. Well worth your time and financial investment, and I'm looking
forward to Volume 2.

"Contemplating the Engine Room", Mike Watt's self-proclaimed "punk opera", is as much catharsis as metaphor - the tale of one day in the life of a machinist's mate is also a Minuteman diary in Cliff's Notes format. In the process of purging the pain from the losses of his father and best friend, Watt has crafted a highly personal yet accessible song cycle of journey and loss that ranks among the most unique records of 1997.

Although most people will never experience firsthand the claustrophobic nature of being in an engine room, many musicians can identify with being packed into a van like a so many sardines, moving from town to town like a sailor from port to port. Watt's dad (pictured on the booklet cover) was a man frustrated by the banality of his small town life (the "get me out of here" pining in "Red Bluff") who joined the Navy and traveled the world. Mike made a similar move with The Minutemen, enduring the long  journeys from port to port to reap the rewards (he hoped!) of playing music under his own terms. Several other punk bands like Black Flag and Husker Du were doing the same thing at the same time, crisscrossing the States like...well....ships in the night. The Punk Navy - not just a job, but an adventure!

Watt is stationed in this engine room with Minutemen band mates "Fireman (George) Hurley" and "The Boilerman" D.Boon,  Meeting Boon was the kick in the ass that changed Watts' life and set him on the course he still maintains. "Sang me some Creedence songs/I was your bassman from then on" sings Watt as guitarist Nels Cline sprays notes and wrenches strings in homage. The jazz-bent tale slides into "Black Gang Coffee", a metaphor for bonding as a band. Cline's Fripp-like runs on the guitar percolate atop a funky Band-like rhythm. "Topsiders", which follows, name-checks many of the musicians from the SST scene. Perhaps the most Minuteman-like moment is the scorching "The
Bluejackets Manual", itself preceded by one of the most gut-wrenching
groan/screams you'll ever hear on record.

Drummer Stephen Hodges locks down with Watt's bass throughout the record as if one brain controlled four hands. Guitarist Cline's incredible virtuosity and the myriad of sound effects legitimize the soundscape for the audience -- listen to the way the thunderstorms, calypso sounds, echoed vocals and swirling guitars add to the flavor of "Liberty Calls". "We're mission men and here to learn/here to take on fuel and burn" barks Watt as his van/ship docks in a new town somewhere on the blue roads/seas of their journey.

"Crossing The Equator" is oddly reminiscent of "Revolution #9" with it's bass and drums pattern floating in and out of sonic vignettes, leaving the listener a bit unsettled. Nautically it's a rite of passage, boy to man, but Watt's tribute to Boon is the late guitarist crossing to "the other side". The song is exactly four minutes and twenty seconds long; Boon died at 4:20 AM. The bass line from that song "crosses over" to "Breaking The Choke Hold", where Watt's Tom Waits-like vocal emotes the bittersweet moments of finally letting go.

The album glides to an end with "Shore Duty", a gentle song that feels like waves rolling, not crashing, upon a soft sandy beach. Another day over, ready to start again. Or perhaps for Watt, time to put yesterday's demons aside and continue sailing that vessel to wherever it might lead him.

Although not for everyone, those with the patience to sit and savor this
journey will be in for a rare treat. "Contemplating the Engine Room"also
contains multimedia files for those with appropriate computer systems (mine isn't) but that's just icing on the cake. Watt's opera needs no visuals to get its message across.

"I don't care if the singer can't sing" wails vocalist Brynn Arens. Well, I
do.

With manufactured look and goofy names, Flipp tries to corral the Weezer crowd and ride the post-alterna-grunge movement to (ahem) nirvana. Let's see - a spiky red headed vocalist who sneers and snarls his best Johnny Rotten-isms, a bald guy with a fashion Band-Aid on his dome, a cross-dressing bassist named Cherry Forever and a drummer named Kilo Bale (gee, think the guy smokes?). Yikes - a look made for radio.

It's not that they can't play well - they can ("Schizo Boy" absolutely wails
in spots!). But they spend so much time trying to be hip that what is fun in
other band's hands (Weezer?), here comes off forced and calculated. They want to be Cheap Trick and KISS at the same time but their lyrics just aren't clever enough to support the image they're trying to project. Left to focus on the music you realize that for the most part you've heard it all before, and usually better.

Ironically, the mid-disc punch of "I Don't Care" and "Slag" offer a glimpse of what the band can do when they're on, and they follow it with an acoustic ballad "Change" that dwarfs everything else on the record. But then you're right back in the quagmire - "Half A Brain" is third rate Sex Pistols and the closer "Times Of My Life" is just plain awful.

Reportedly, Flipp is a fun band to watch. They outlasted thousands of other bands to get to open for White Zombie on MTV (White Zombie?? That's a reward??), toured with idols Cheap Trick and were the subjects of an intense bidding war before signing. Maybe I just don't get it. Or maybe without the stage energy they're just another hit and miss loud band. I suspect the latter.