Michael Lee Firkins, Little John Chrisley, Jimmy O'Shea - Howling Iguanas

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 1994
Time: 61:42
Size: 142,1 MB
Label: Shrapnel Records/Blues Bureau International
Styles: Blues Rock
Art: Full

Tracks Listing:
 1. Saturday Morning - 5:36
 2. Self Control - 7:26
 3. Psycho Train - 4:10
 4. Where'd Ya Go ? - 4:48
 5. When Life Has It's Way - 5:45
 6. Everybody Wants Something - 5:44
 7. Soul - 7:26
 8. Free - 3:54
 9. Throw It All Away - 4:40
10. All Behind Me - 4:52
11. When All You See Is Blue - 7:17

Musicians:
Michael Lee Firkins - Guitar;
Jimmy O'Shea- Bass;
Little John Chrisley- Vocals, Harmonica, Keyboards

Released on Shrapnel Records specialty imprint Blues Bureau, Howling Iguanas is a classic rock collaboration of Shrapnel veterans. Led by guitar instrumentalist Michael Lee Firkins and vocalist/harmonica player Little John Chrisley, Howling Iguanas amounts to an exercise in relentless soloing over 11 original classic rock selections. Kicking things off with three busy jams, the band gets off to a frantic, blurry beginning. Fans of Black Crowes and Blues Traveler will be impressed with Chrisley's down-home wailing and rapid-fire harp lashings, just as listeners familiar with Firkins will enjoy the continued exploration into his tremolo bar as slide guitar technique. The players would have been wise to limit themselves to one or two solos per song instead of the seemingly endless trade-offs that take away from riff-heavy cuts like "Saturday Morning" and "Psycho Train." After the initial flurries, Howling Iguanas shifts into a mellow four-track, song-centric groove reducing the solo quotient to improved musical results. Unfortunately, just as the music gets interesting, the record's woeful production starts wearing perilously thin. Any musical or songwriting prowess demonstrated by these musicians is drenched in a flood of unnecessary reverb, delay and instrument double-tracking. Stunningly uneven mixes also diminish the impressive performances. Perhaps the disc's best song, "Everybody Wants Something" is the only track in which Firkins's superb rhythm guitar playing briefly stands out. The guitarist's chordings are often buried and even his solos prove difficult to pick out from within the mushy soundscapes. Only bluesier cuts like "When All You See is Blue" -- with their slower tempo and minimal drums creating space for the multi-tracked guitars and over-used studio effects -- overcome the record's technical limitations. Howling Iguanas talented members manage to impress with their considerable musicianship, however, the record is bogged down too often by it's unworthy production.

Howling Iguanas