Lemonheads
Creator (Deluxe Reissue)
Album Review by Rob Watts
@BostonAuthor
*Author Note- This review had been written some time back, but somehow got lost in the shuffle. Better late than never. Enjoy!
Probably the best Lemonheads album in their catalogue, especially during their tenure at Taang Records. Recorded during their punk rock era, while the band featured two prominent singer/songwriters, Evan Dando AND Ben Deily. The album opens up with “Burying Ground” and “Sunday”, both performed by Deily, who truly gave the band its punk edge back in those days. “Clang Bang Clang” and “Out” (a standout track for sure) continue featuring Dando on Lead vocals, which offer a glimpse into the not-far-off-in-the-future recordings of the Dando-lead Lemonheads of the 90s.. “Your Home is Where You’re Happy”, a cover of Charles Manson’s recorded version in the 60s, is another familiar sounding Dando performance, “Falling”, sung by Deily, is classic Lemonheads all the way, sounding like the bastard stepchild of “Second Chance” from HATE YOUR FRIENDS the year before. Jesse Peretz’s bass playing really shines on this track. “Plaster Caster”, a cover of KISS’s 1977 classic is performed, and although it strays very little from the original version, it works well within the confines of the album. “Postcard”, an acoustic ballad (a first for the band at that point) is performed beautifully by Deily and it proves that the band could stretch its wings a bit and not rely solely on snot rock anthems.
The Deluxe re-release is a winner! Packaged as a digi-pack, with liner notes written by former drummer John Strohm and a few photos from the band during the CREATOR period. The real reason to purchase this is the 11 bonus tracks, featuring the band performing early tunes at WERS in Boston in 1988. Juliana Hatfield joins them on a live recording of “From Here to Burma.”
*Please Note- If you are expecting to hear the live Holland interview along with on-air performances of Mallow Cup and Luka (From the earlier versions of CREATOR) you won’t find them on this new release. They are featured on the Deluxe version of LICK.
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