THE BOGMEN

CLOSED CAPTIONED RADIO

  1/  Failing Systems                            (Bogmen,Campion)              4.17
  2/  Speedfreak Lullaby                         (Bogmen,Campion)              3.03
  3/  Mexico                                     (Bogmen,Campion)              3.29
  4/  Highway of Shame                           (Bogmen,Campion)              4.19
  5/  Mad Larry                                  (Bogmen,Campion)              3.29
  6/  Extended Family                            (Bogmen,Campion)              4.33
  7/  Every Man Is An Orphan                     (Bogmen,Campion)              4.58
  8/  Dark Waltz                                 (Bogmen,Campion)              3.33
  9/  Sloth                                      (Bogmen,Campion)              3.32
  10/ The Cows Ain't Coming Home Tonight         (Bogmen,Campion)              4.01
  11/ Seadog                                     (Bogmen,Campion)              2.34
  12/ Closed Captioned Radio                     (Bogmen,Campion)              3.59
  13/ You Are My Destiny                         (Paul Anka)                   3.01
  14/ Untitled Track                             (Bogmen,Campion)              3.11

          Recorded at Orange Studios, West Orange, New Jersey and NG Studios
          Recorded at Orange Music by Oz Fritz, Jason Corsaro and Jean Pierre Sluys
          Recorded at NG Studios by Phil Palazzolo, Godfrey Diamond and Kevin Adams
          Recorded at the Magic Shop by Robbie Adams
          Track 13 recorded at The Magic Shop
          Assistant engineers Juan Garcia (mix) and Chaz LaBreque (tracking)
          Mixed by Robbie Adams at the Magic Shop
          Produced by Bill Laswell, Godfrey Diamond and The Bogmen
          Mastered at Masterdisc, NYC by Greg Calbi

Vic Thrills : vocals, guitar, trash can (13), scrap metal (13), soft aluminum (13); William Ryan : guitar, b.vox, mandolin; P.J. O'Connor : percussion, b.vox, trash can (13), scrap metal (13), soft aluminum (13); Clive Tucker : drums, b.vox; Mrs. Wike : bass, laxatives, b.vox; Brendan Ryan : keyboards, samples, b.vox, mellotron (13); Mark Pender (3) : trumpet; Sar Casio Pig 5000 (7) : beguine beat; Megan Friend (7) : French vocal; Jacek (7) : hand claps; Sarah Wendt (13) : backing vox; Chris Campion (5) : backing vocals.

          1998  -  Arista Records (USA),  07822-18990-2  (CD)

Note : Bill Laswell does not play on this album.

REVIEWS :

‘Closed Captioned Radio’ invokes the spirit of '70s prog rock but twists it where, rather than snuggling in his hobbit hole, Bilbo Baggins thrashes madly about the glade with his hair on fire! The Bogmen's Laswell-co-produced, sophomore release takes all the anarchistic folksiness of their debut Life Begins at 40 Million and focuses it to a scorching pinpoint of biting, disillusioned wit. Don't let the attractive, polished surface lull you, underneath the veneer is acid! The first single from CCR is "Failing Systems", an unusually grungy little ditty at first that develops into a Pink Floyd-esque repeating chorus finale. My favorite track is the epic-in-tenor-if-not-in-length "Everyman Is An Orphan". If you find the weight of the first twelve tracks too oppressive, flip to track 13 and hear how obsessive Anka's "You Are My Destiny" can sound when performed by the right (wrong?) people!

Rating : 73/100

Noah Wane (courtesy of the Splendid Ezine website)

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The Bogmen do not buy into the credo that less is more, or any variation thereof. On its second album, the New York City-based sextet has fashioned a full-on sonic assault, layered with guitars, percussion, keyboards, and vocals. Their textures and flavors come from all corners of the rock realm, and every imaginable space is filled by some kind of sound. Yet, surprisingly, it works. ‘Closed Captioned Radio’ manages to be both arty and modern, with an aggressive bite to counter the willfully dramatic sweep of the arrangements. Theirs is a Bowie-Eno kind of approach, right down to the William Burroughs-styled cut-and-paste approach to some of frontman Bill Campion's lyrics.

The band's real knack is blending elements common to most classic-rock songs—killer guitar hooks, snappy grooves, and catchy choruses—but to connect them in such a way that they still sound subversive. "Speedfreak Lullaby" deftly switches from polyrhythmic to martial beats under a winding guitar figure, while "Mexico" snakes a jazzy piano line through a reggae rhythm. "Mad Larry" alternates between cranking verses (reminiscent of the group's exuberant debut album), and a sing-songy chorus. Campion practically outlines this skewed, but captivating, approach in the anti-conformity rant "Highway of Shame" when he sings: "Right angles held captive by a square/ Takes four to tango/ And a steady hand."

The singer-guitarist's more straightforward lyrics, meanwhile, run towards the dark side, with frequent mentions of death; grim urban landscapes in the ominous "Failing Systems" and "Extended Family"; and a series of disturbing, semi-associated lines that dance through the aptly titled "Dark Waltz." But in "Sloth," Campion concedes that, "I don't claim to hold . . . the key to life"; in other words, he likes to look but doesn't attempt to resolve anything. A couple of songs towards the end of ‘Closed Captioned Radio’try too hard to mimic their predecessors' refreshing dynamic blend, but nothing in this full slab o' sound is anything less than engaging.

Gary Graff (courtesy of the Wall of Sound website)