h o m e
Dream Magazine (CA)
#5, 2004
Joe Turner "Dollar Star"
Just a bit over half an hour, and seven songs; but ex-Abunai! dude Joe
Turner's debut solo album makes a vivid impression from it's first note
to it's last. Kicking off with "Coordinate Zero" which sounds like an
outtake from one of the first couple dBs albums; which is to say a
bright angular melodic power pop with lush harmonies. "Turn Me Upside
Down" starts out a bit like an early Echo and the Bunnymen thing, but
soon it's closer to early Green Pajamas with a flock of flutes flying
through the room. "Not There Anymore" is a wistfully soaring ballad
about people lost in time, but still intact in memory. The title track
is the first to overtly recall his Abunai! days; a thunderous sort of
high folk rock that is held aloft on wide psychedelic wings. "Stella
Luna" is a catchy, and comparatively simple, if somewhat abstract love
song. "When the Day Crowd Leaves" is a lovely, lonely and cryptic slice
of elegant melancholia. The last track "Perfect the First Time" takes us
out on a high note, again recalling the early dBs, especially the Chris
Stamey numbers; a dreamy slow motion reverie that uncoils with fiery
guest guitar by Abunai! bandmate Brendan Quinn. This is easily one of
the best albums I've heard this year, and likely essential to anyone
reading this.
(George Parsons)
LISTEN TO THE SONGS!