Don Campau & Chris Phinney - The Black Ace

Debut collaboration, on this one Don sent Chris some basic tracks & Chris added to them & sent them to Don & he added some more things to them. 9 songs of Pop Rock & Experimental post rock material.
Don Campau: cover art, vocals, lyrics, guitars, bass, drum machine, harmonica, moog, percussion.
Chris Phinney: synthesizers, sounds, effects, samples, bowed bells, clarinet.
Wallace Stevens: lyrics from "Palm At The End of The Mind" copyright 1972 Vintage Books.

Track Listing/order :
1 - The Black Ace
2 - Whats Goin' On?
3 - So And So Reclining On Her Couch
4 - The Palm
5 - Depression Before Spring
6 - Cry Hail
7 - Shocked By Lightning
8 - The House Was Quiet
9 - Silent Rites

The Black Ace - 3:15

So And So Reclining On Her Couch - 3:50

Shocked By Lightning - 3:54

The House was Quiet - 4:07

Don Campau & Chris Phinney - Scientific Standards

Second collaboration, on this one Chris sent Don some basic tracks & Don added to them. 6 songs of Post Experimental type rock.
Don Campau: cover art, guitars, bass
Chris Phinney: synthesizers, drum programming

Track Listing/order :
1 - Stella By Nitrates
2 - All The Globulins You Are
3 - Body And Diffusion
4 - Baubles, Bangles And Brownian Motion
5 - Come rain Or Come Surface Tension
6 - Darn That Dynamo

All The Globulins You Are - 4:59

Baubles, Bangles And Brownian Motion - 6:09

Darn That Dynamo - 5:22

Reviews:

Don Campau/Chris Phinney - The Black Ace (2006) Lonely Whistle Music/Harsh Reality Music

Ah, the casino. One place losers are welcome! This is an accomplished short album by Don Campau and Chris Phinney, and they also produced it. The 28 minutes and 36 seconds, and 9 tracks, fly by.

I've always loved Don's vocal style, and the always humorous side to his music He doesn't take himself too seriously. This album shows Don & Chris to be musicians with an eclectic taste, and there is no particular genre of music which dominates. So, though I'll be pigeonholing(!) things in that typically lazy journo way, there's nuances of all sorts of music in the various tracks.

Title track 'The Black Ace' is a catchy opener, with dry lyrics on the perils of gambling, and some atmospheric synth. The moody psychedelia of 'What's Going On?' follows, then the third track, 'So And So Reclining On Her Couch', has intriguing lyrics from Wallace Stevens and a dreamy industrial sound. I love the watery effects especially. 'The Palm' is a short, experimental, guitar driven instrumental, which would have been fun if it had been more expansive. Soft rock and surreal lyrics surface in 'Depression Before Spring', while 'Cry Hail' is a swirling soundscape. 'Shocked By Lightning' is New Wave, with powerful synth and a fine guitar solo. The penultimate track, 'The House Was Quiet', is experimental with a hypnotic rhythm. 'Silent Rites' is laid back rock with an electronica backdrop. Great witty line here: "I'm not going to sit here and argue with god/because she always wins and then I feel dejected".

'The Black Ace' is a good album, with excellent playing from Don and Chris, strong songs, and Don's lyrics are inspired. Sadly, good lyrics seem increasingly elbowed aside in favour of puerile pap these days. Some music lovers do have intelligence, and like a song to be the whole package. You can do worse than check out the underground scene, where you'll find a lot of innovative music, made by people who don't have their heads up their own backsides. Anyway, with this album comes a playing card. If I've been dealt a good hand I win a prize. Ah, the casino. I'll be welcome then!

- Paul Rance/booksmusicfilmstv.com.

CHRIS PHINNEY and DON CAMPAU - Scientific Standards (Lonely Whistle/Harsh Reality Music)

What we have here, my friends, is an astonishing collaboration between two underground hometaping legends, Chris Phinney and Don Campau. Their previous release, THE BLACK ACE, was a more song-oriented project. On their new cd, SCIENTIFIC STANDARDS, they've forgone vocals in favor of intricate instrumental textures, with dashes of prog rock, electronica, experimental, and world music. Phinney provides the synthesizer and drum programming, and Campau piles on the guitars and bass parts. And it's a killer.

Stella By Nitrates starts off with a minute of warm washes of Chris' keyboards, then kicks into high gear with drums, and Don Campau's incredible melodic guitar playing. Campau is, to my ears, one of the most distinct guitar players in the underground. The second track, All The Globulins You Are, is probably my favorite. I love the jungle percussion Phinney plays on this tune. Darn That Dynamo, the album's closer, and a real jam fest between Chris and Don, and it's a lot of fun to listen to, as is the whole album.

And did I mention you can dance to this stuff? I would if I could (dance, that is. Yes, I know. I'm a drummer and yet I have no rhythm on the dance floor. Ironic, innit it?). Some of these would sound right at home in more progressive dance clubs.

The more I listen to this cd, the more I discover things I didn't hear before. Very nice.

Contact: www.harshrealitymusic.com and www.doncampau.com.

by Ray Carmen/CutandPaste Records

All Music Copyright Harsh Reality Music/Lonely Whistle Music