MILKY BABIES

Tell All the People
It's not often you find the sound of a band hitting the bottom right at the top, but here you go. Robby writes one with a "message" that is like a punishment for Jim to sing, and a passel of horns do their best to drown all the nonsense out. Staggeringly bad, quite possibly their worst.

Touch Me
Robby's back, and he brought the horns again. This seems truer to his muse, if you will, and is the better for it. The Comet cleanser ending can't wash away the stain of that opener, though.

Shaman's Blues
Three songs in and here comes Jim. It's a decent blues number, and the odd line seems interesting (I'm thinking of "Out in the train yard/Nursin' penitentiary" and "Cold grinding grizzly bear jaws"), but that might be a product of drastically lowered expectations...

Do It
Bored and uninspired is one thing, but this is something more pernicious. "Please, please listen to me children"? Listen to what? "You are the ones who will rule the world." Oh, okay. And? "You gotta please me." Ah, now I see. Well, fuck off, you lazy, cynical bastards. Fuck right off.

Easy Ride
More by-the-numbers guff, until Jim wakes up a bit at the coda with that "Coda queen-- be my bride" bit...

Wild Child
You remember when we were in Africa? Hee.

Runnin' Blue
OK Robby, this is more like it. Nicely executed, straightforward tribute to Otis. Can't complain about that.

Wishful Sinful
Damn, this is like Robby Krieger and the Doors. I give him credit for keeping the band in songs while the visionary lead singer was wetting himself in the corner of the studio. A nice, nonoffensive ballad.

The Soft Parade
Kind of by default, the most intriguing thing on the album. What is it "about"? Dunno. Starts off with that wacky jeremiad, then seems to slip into a draft evasion primer (the "four ways to get unraveled"). Eventually, a monk buys lunch and some horses get their eyes whipped (ouch!). It's probably best to call the stuff in between an imagistic carnivale, and be done with it...

Plans tomorrow night, so I'l be back on Monday to roll through the last two studio albums. Turn out the lights...