Koala Motel (CD)

• Category:  Music  »  Rock & Pop  »  General Rock & Pop
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: September 19, 2006
• Label: Messenger Records
• UPC: 632662102428
• WAPI (Tower ID): 106176161
• Average Customer Review: There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #35550 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #12142 in Rock & Pop (See Top 100 Rock & Pop Bestsellers)
• #7658 in General Rock & Pop (See Top 100 General Rock & Pop Bestsellers)

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Uncut (p.117) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "McCue's electric guitar isn't exactly muted, but it's certainly used more deftly, sharing the spotlight with the stylish piano/Hammond playing of Carl Byron."
Dirty Linen (p.92) - "Her cover of Tony Joe White's 'As the Crow Flies' is one track that gives her a chance to flaunt her red-hot skills on guitar."

Personnel: Anne McCue (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lap steel guitar); Dusty Wakeman (vocals, double bass, electric bass); David Raven (vocals, drums, percussion); Will Courtney, Jim Lauderdale, Lucinda Williams (vocals); Carl Byron (accordion, piano, organ, pump organ, vibraphone).

Audio Mixer: Dusty Wakeman.

Recording information: Mad Dog Studios, Burbank, CA.

Photographer: Johnny Buzzerio.

Australian roots rocker Anne McCue swings for the fences on Koala Motel, her third solo effort. Enlisting the help of X's John Doe, Heart's Nancy Wilson, and No Depression stalwarts Lucinda Williams and Jim Lauderdale, she offers a batch of radio-friendly midtempo rockers that are clearly targeted for a mainstream breakthrough. The result is mostly successful, and a far more coherent effort than her previous album, Roll, which saw McCue trying on everything from gentle folk ballads to a fuzzed-out psychedelic freakout cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Machine Gun." The only problem is the songs. They're not bad; they're simply a little nondescript. On the positive side, McCue is an expressive singer, capable of channeling an aching sweetness on "Coming to You" and fire and bravado on "Hellfire Raiser." And she's a very fine guitarist, particularly on the blues-inspired tracks like "Driving Down Alvarado" and "As the Crow Flies," which give her a chance to stretch out and display her formidable chops. But it is telling that the album's best song is its only cover, Tony Joe White's gritty swamp blues "As the Crow Flies." Time and again McCue aims for the tough roots rock that her friend and mentor Lucinda Williams has mastered. And time and again she comes up just a little short, settling for vagueness and easy rhymes where Williams would have opted for a finely realized detail or an idiosyncratic character study. Still, Koala Motel offers ample evidence of McCue's talents. The songwriting may come with more time. If she doesn't knock the ball out of the park, she still connects solidly, delivering a satisfying set of hard-nosed rockers. ~ Andy Whitman

Australian roots rocker Anne McCue swings for the fences on Koala Motel, her third solo effort. Enlisting the help of X's John Doe, Heart's Nancy Wilson, and No Depression stalwarts Lucinda Williams and Jim Lauderdale, she offers a batch of radio-friendly, midtempo rockers that are clearly targeted for a mainstream breakthrough. The result is mostly successful, and a far more coherent effort than her previous album, Roll, which saw McCue trying everything from gentle folk ballads to fuzzed-out psychedelic freakout covers of Jimi Hendrix's "Machine Gun." The only problem is the songs. They're not bad; they're simply a little nondescript. On the positive side, McCue is an expressive singer, capable of channeling an aching sweetness on "Coming to You" and fire and bravado on "Hellfire Raiser." And she's a very fine guitarist, particularly on the blues-inspired tracks like "Driving Down Alvarado" and "As the Crow Flies" that give her a chance to stretch out and display her formidable chops. But it is telling that the album's best song is its only cover, Tony Joe White's gritty swamp blues "As the Crow Flies." Time and again McCue aims for the tough roots rock that her friend and mentor Lucinda Williams has mastered. And time and again she comes up just a little short, settling for vagueness and easy rhymes where Williams would have opted for a finely realized detail or an idiosyncratic character study. Still, Koala Motel offers ample evidence of McCue's talents. The songwriting may come with more time. If she doesn't knock the ball out of the park, she still connects solidly, delivering a satisfying set of hard-nosed rockers. ~ Andy Whitman

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