Here’s a cool place to start your appreciation of the Brothers Kinman. Sounds Like Music is a collection of tunes CHIP & TONY KINMAN created over the course of 40-odd years fronting bands like The Dils, Rank and File and Blackbird. I was a big fan of the first two back in the day and saw the third perform live once upon a time. Indeed, The Dils were a seminal if somewhat unsung L.A. punk band, and Rank and File was among the first Americana bands of the early ’80s. Their final incarnation as Cowboy Nation is also represented, and so throughout the 22 cuts here you get a good idea of what made each band tick.
There are big stylistic differences between the four acts on this disc of previously unreleased music, but the glue that really holds it all together is the blend of the Kinmans’ voices. Chip’s was the higher, sweeter voice while Tony contributed the deep, soulful one. The combination recalls the great male sibling voices of the past (the Louvin, Delmore and Everly Brothers, for instance), though the Kinmans weren’t as precise. No matter, though, because what Chip & Tony lacked in accuracy they more than made up for with their clever and catchy tunes. Whether it was the cowpunk of Rank and File’s “Amanda Ruth” and “Lucky Day” (presented here in alternate versions from the ones that made the band’s albums), the punk rock of “Folks Say Go” and “Rank and File” (in a way-more-punk version than the country-ish one we‘re all familiar with) or the industrial-flavored Blackbird material, the “real style” of Chip & Tony always shone through.
To be fair, many of the songs on Sounds Like Music are early enough in their development that the term “demo” is quite fitting. On the other hand, the prototype versions of their better known songs are quite enjoyable. This disc won’t replace any of your Dils, R&F and Blackbird records and CDs, but it’ll certainly sit quite nicely among your collection. As there is no known or official compilation of the bros’ output (yet; perhaps that’s in the pipeline – please!), this is a good place to, errrr, join the rank(s) of Kinman fans. I’m sure Tony, who passed away last year, and Chip would be glad to welcome you to the club.
3/5 (Omnivore OVCD-334, 2019)
It’s easy for us old school R.E.M. fans to dismiss the post-IRS Records era of the band. Those fabled times were unique in our music experience: Band comes out of nowhere – that is, Athens Georgia – and takes over the college radio airwaves, steadily builds a fanbase with their amazing records and compelling yet elusive videos (you had to look pretty hard to find them at first), and eventually signs to a major label. It’s also easy to say, “they were better before they sold out,” but of course, most of us also realize that R.E.M. didn’t actually do that, since their label switch was on their own terms. Still, I definitely prefer the albums up through Document over the Green-and-on elpees. I certainly didn’t stop buying their albums, though, but aside from Automatic for the People, I’d rate the post-1988 albums lower than those before that.
But one thing is sure: R.E.M. weren’t even close to finished having something to say when the ink on the Warner Bros. Records contract had dried.
[This review was first published 6/8/2010 on Skratchdisc]
Here’s a memo to the bigwigs at EMI: Next year’s Record Store Day is on April 15, 2011 (so I’m told). Start preparing now.
NuDisc 