Down” is mainly a spoken word
piece with Captain Kirk com-
menting on fears. Next, Krieger
adds a middle-eastern flavor to
the “Little Drummer Boy” then
it’s back to The Beatles with a
vibrant version of “All You Need
Is Love.” The CD concludes with
a raucous and raw “Backdoor
Man (live)” with Robbie nodding
to his past on his most current
project available now on Purple
Pyramid Records.
The Flaming Lips take a foul-
mouthed turn on their most
recent OCZYMLODY that finds
the pride of Oklahoma City still
fracking away at the low-key
electronic territory they’ve been
exploring in recent years. The
title track is the instrumental
opener that launches the spaced
out odyssey to a halting and hov-
ering altitude. “How” is melodi-
cally pleasing even if it leaves
you lying in the corner in the fe-
tal position while the next track
NJ STAGE 2017 - Vol. 4 No. 4
has the trio chasing unicorns
with beatboxer Reggie Watts.
Wayne Coyne’s vulnerable vocals
re-emerge on “Sunrise (Eyes of
the Young)” that offers a glimpse
of what the Lips do best as it
shines with rays of reflective and
emotive pop. Still, the three-time
Grammy-Award winners never
really lift off into the stratosphere
on their fourteenth studio album
and not even a cameo appear-
ance by honorary Lip Miley Cyrus
on “We A Family” can save this
dysfunctional effort. We shout it
with our megaphones and we’re
not even on the bubble about
this one - the latest album from
The Flaming Lips is difficult to
pronounce and even more diffi-
cult to listen to.
Steve Hackett is an immensely
talented and innovative artist.
He was the lead guitarist with
Genesis as part of their clas-
sic line up with Gabriel, Collins,
Banks and Rutherford. For a long
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