Josh
Freese proves that he's much more than an amazing drummer on his
solo debut, The Notorious One Man Orgy. To understand why this
man would put out a solo album, some background information is
totally necessary. For the past ten years or so, Freese has been
the drummer for the Vandals, but many don't realize that he's
done so much more than that. In addition to being a great punk
drummer, Freese is also one of the industry's most sought after
studio musicians. Here's just a small list of who the guy has
played with: - Guns N' Roses - Devo - Chris Cornell - Paul Westerberg
- Wayne Kramer - Juliana Hatfield - Suicidal Tendencies - Mike
Ness There are many, many, many more credits under Freese's belt,
but that'd take up way too much space. His most recent job is
a full-time gig as the drummer for A Perfect Circle. So now do
you understand why he put out a solo album?
The
Notorious One Man Orgy is pure power-pop with a definite punk
edge to it. Think Big Drill Car meets the Beach Boys. For the
most part, Freese plays everything on the album. Of course, he
does have a few guest musicians stopping by on a few of the tracks.
Most notably is Vandals' guitarist Warren Fitzgerald who plays
on "Playboy Mansion" and "Blood Mobile." Pearl
Jam's Stone Gossard also lends his guitar talent on the infectious
"Men and Women."
There's
not a single dud on this thing. From the second the album starts,
it's sing-a-long pop bliss. Freese even slows things down and
goes acoustic on the song "Caffeine & Vaseline"
which could easily take over radio airwaves if the people running
them were smart enough. I'm not going to sit here and pick apart
every track on the album, because there's just no need to. It's
all good and it all rocks.
Josh
Freese has proven over and over again what a brilliant musician
he is, and this solo debut will only add more fuel to an already
raging fire. This is a must have for punk rock and power-pop aficionados
alike. Josh Freese's The Notorious One Man Orgy is now available
from Kung Fu Records.
