The Electric Church by Jeff Somers

You know you're reading a good book when you think to yourself "Damn! This would make a great book!" I had that feeling a couple of times while reading The Electric Church by Jeff Somers.

Somers tells the tale of a post-apocalyptic caper that takes his characters from the depths of the gutter to the upper echelons of power. It's a wild ride with lots of action and I'm sure it would make a fantastic summer blockbuster action flick. I imagined Edward Norton as the main character, Avery Cates, and maybe that kid fromThe New Kid as his sidekick Kev Gatz.

This book really has it all: cybernetic monks, sadistic police, and a crumbling social order controlled by bureaucratic fatcats.

Highly recommended for fans of Richard Morgan and anybody else who likes a good post-apocalytpic tale of the underdog.

Stay tuned for a review of the sequel: The Digital Plague

Coming Soon

In heavy rotation right now, working up to a review:

The Dead Weather - Horehound

The Church - Untitled #23

Chris Cornell's Scream

Let me start off by saying I am definitely a Soundgarden fan. I've been a fan since I first saw the movie Pump Up The Volume. Badmotorfinger was one of the brightest spots in the mediocre decade that was the 1990s. And Soundgarden will always be one of my two favorite Seattle bands (the other being - don't laugh - Queensryche). Chris Cornell's time with Audioslave was enjoyable as well.

Cornell's solo efforts are a very mixed bag. Euphoria Morning was a drastic departure from the Soundgarden sound and demonstrated his versatility and his ability as a songwriter. Carry On was Cornell reconnecting to his roots as a rock volcalist and gave us a poignant and powerful version of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean.

Scream is... well... a dance album. It sounds like a dance pop remake of a second rate 70s R&B album. This is the worst album I have listened to of my own free will in a long time. The album is called Scream and Cornell is known for his voice, however, there is not a single heart-wrenching scream on this album. Nor are there any of the vocal pyrotechnics that Chris Cornell is known for.

I am not familiar with Timbaland, who produced this album, but I know now that I will never be a fan of his. The production quality is awful. Cornell's brilliant, crisp voice is strangled and mutilated electronically. The music itself is second rate funk/dance pop. Allmusic described this album as 'more of a car crash than a collaboration.' I would have to disgree with that description, because even in a car crash there are screams of either humans or rending metal. This album is screamless, cheerless, and, sadly, not worth the price of purchase.

Better luck next time Chris.

Recommendations:
Buy a different album.