stonefish9's Full Review: Honeysuckle Strange by Howlin' Maggie
As always, I'm usually sifting through the bargain bins at record shops, finding albums or CD's that have some interesting music that I could rave to every Tom, Dick, and Harry about. Well, I found that with another band that was known as Howlin' Maggie.
Howlin' Maggie was a band formed by Harold "Happy" Chichester after being the bassist/harmony singer for the Royal Crescent Mob. After the RCM busted up in 1994, he then went on to work with the Afghan Whigs playing keyboards with them for a short time before he decided to form his own band.
He then recruited lead guitarist Andy Harrison, bassist Jim Ricco, and drummer Jerome Dillon, all of whom had played in bands in and around Columbus, Ohio (where Harold is from by the way). The group gigged tirelessly until they were signed to Columbia Records in late 1995.
The band then went to work on their debut LP shortly afterwards known as Honeysuckle Strange.
Originally released in 1996, Honeysuckle Strange is album of funk/rock with elements of punk, grunge, psychedelia, and blues that kicks it up a notch. Harold writes and sings all the songs on here (except for one, more on that later), and he plays rhythm guitar and keyboards. He also produces this with Matt Wallace (Faith No More). Now for the songs:
1.Miss Universe-This song is not about a beauty pageant queen, but about Mother Nature. As Harold sings, "People Fear Her/SheDon’t Wonder Why/Beautiful Filigree/Daughter of the Fire Spirit with a Face like a Movie/Here She Comes, Miss Universe", you'd think he was talking about a Greek goddess or something. Music-wise, this is a hard-rocking funk track with horns, with some biting guitar work from Andy. There some horns on here too, so the music sounds like Led Zeppelin meets Sly and The Family Stone.
2.Alcohol-This is my favorite track on the CD. This is a song about an alcoholic going on and off the wagon, and he sees alcohol as both a blessing and a curse. I like how the song starts off with acoustic guitars and percussion (very similar to the Who's "Magic Bus" for example), and then it turns into blistering hard rock before it goes back into being acoustic.
3.Rubbing the Industry Raw-This is a typical song about a rocker who liked hitting a big, but didn't want to sacrifice his artistic integrity. Although this subject has been discussed in songs many times, it still is a good song. Musically, this is another pile-driving funk-rocker with a searing guitar solo from Andy, and the grooves and melody could best be described as James Brown-meets-Jane's Addiction.
4. Promise to Be Happy-This song about making someone happy only when you make them happy when they're sad. The song seems a bit melancholic to me, because I'm wondering how you can make a depressed person happy. Anyway, this song is a tough-rocker with punk ferocity, and it's got horns too. It kind of reminds me of later-era Fishbone.
5.I’m A Slut- This song is a tongue-in-cheek about being used and liking it. showing a little dry humor. I like how in the chorus there are high harmonies, and musically this is a power-pop song sounding like a cross between Badfinger and The Posies.
6.You Are-This is a song about loving someone beautiful who is in coma who then wakes up. To me, this is a bit bizarre. This is also a melodic ballad with oboes, acoustic guitars, and a string quartet. Despite its weird subject matter, it's a beautiful Beatleish ballad.
7.Jawbreaker-This song isn’t about the candy of the same name, but it's a song about a tough, strong girl who avoided the giddiness of the neighborhood girls and was an outcast for it. Pretty interesting subject matter, isn’t it? Musically, this is another hard-rocker with blistering power-chords reminiscent of the Kinks.
8. How The West Was Won-Written by the whole band, this song isn't about the Old West, but it's about a man who wants to ditch his woman in order to go out West to do what he wants. Another corny subject, in my opinion. Musically, this is a dark, slow, track with bone-crushing power chords (Black Sabbath style), and Andy provides a searing guitar solo, Carlos Santana style. The song then ends with screaming vocals and feedback.
9.Motel Room-This is a song about somebody just wasting time in a motel room. Musically, this is another funk track, with Latin-style back beats, but with hard-rock guitar in the choruses. Andy also does a nice, clean guitar solo that sounds like a cross between Eric Clapton and The Edge of U2.
10.$3.99-This is song about someone trying to sells songs for that same price. Talk about being a cheap bargain for a music publisher. Musically, this is another straight-ahead rocker similar to Thin Lizzy and The Rolling Stones but no guitar solos.
11.Long Live Doug (Standing)-This is a song about a guy who feels he last on the list, and his lament for a friend named Doug who was a bit of a rebel. How both of those subjects are fitted together in this song seems to be a bit awkward to me, because I don't know how that would fit in a song. Musically, this is another funk-rocker with some jangly guitars that give it a more twangy edge. It's also a nice way to close out this CD.
Despite the quality of the C.D., this album sold poorly and it didn't get the push it deserved. After a tour in support of this LP (I sadly didn't get to see them), Columbia dropped them, and the group disbanded soon afterwards. Andy and Joe went on to play with other bands in the Columbus area, while Jerome joined Nine Inch Nails.
Harold did reform the band with entirely new personnel for one other album (which came and went without notice on an indie label [nope-have not heard it]), before disbanding Howlin' Maggie for good soon after. He has since recorded and performed as a solo artist playing in folk clubs.
In conclusion, Honeysuckle Strange is an excellent CD. The songs on here are well written, performed, and executed. It should have gotten more than it deserved.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.