Tommy Stinson - Village Gorilla Head

Genre Rock Publisher Sanctuary Records External Links Official Site Sanctuary Records

Tommy Stinson has made an album that is adult and contemporary but would never be considered adult contemporary by current standards of the format. He's older, but he still wants to rock, only not as fiercely as he did in the past.

He's thinking about that 20-year-old kid who packed into a crowded theater to see The Replacements. That kid is 40 now, hopefully mature and content and still with the good taste to recognize crap when he or she hears it but hardly filled with the same rock and roll blood lust years later.

Stinson is in the reincarnated Guns 'n' Roses, but that didn't really take off the way Axl Rose wished that it had, and if Stinson's bitter at all about it, he's keeping it to himself. There's even a song entitled OK on the record. How appropriate.

He's buried in uncomfortable, frustrating relationships with women, but he's more defeated than mad. Apparently, rock doesn't inspire rebellion in Stinson now that he is older, but rather resignation.

Actually, it sounds like he's been listening to many of the more Recent introspective albums of his former band mate Paul Westerberg rather than the mid-'80s 'Mats records they made together such as Let It Be and Tim. It is also obvious that Keith Richards is held near and dear to Stinson. Both Westerberg and Richards are far more authoritative on their respective solo outings than Stinson ever comes close to.

According to the liner notes, many of the songs were actually recorded in Stinson's bedroom, and they do create something approximating intimacy. But there are also some production elements that make this intimacy come across as forced. Stinson appears to be struggling to remain relevant.

Instantly forgettable, Village Gorilla Head would appear most likely to seeing a short shelf life. The production is much more sterile than it should have been, the energy lacking overall, and the ballads are a snoozefest.

It's about time for that Bash & Pop or Replacement reunion tour.