Music Review
Band: Lil Beck
Title: From Shit To Champagne

Rock / Indie

Lil Beck is the former frontman of Carman 8. 'From Shit To Champagne' is his recent solo effort on NeedleDrop Records.

I didn’t know what to think when I first looked at the cover of this cd. There’s a picture of a guy (assuming Lil Beck) who gives off the appearance of being a strung-out and unbathed mountain man. Hey, you know how first impressions are. They aren't fair, but they are what they are. The album title ‘From Shit To Champagne’ in conjunction with this picture made me laugh out loud.

Update 7.5.06: "Yep thats me on the covah alright."

I popped the cd in and 25 seconds into the first song, ‘Fight Song’, I was floored. It wasn’t at all what I expected. When you mix the vocals & stylings of the Violent Femmes (in the early days when they had a great sense of humor) and James McMurtry (remember 'Paint By Numbers'?), and a teensy bit of Lou Reed and Frank Black, you get Lil Beck. How can that be bad? It can’t.

Highlights:

‘Fight Song’ – What a great frickin’ bluesy guitar song. It'll be a favorite of yours. “Well, I wrote a fight song, but it turned out all wrong. I hooked up with a cheerleader, plugged that parkin' meter. She didn't let me beat her, that’s no crime, it’s a misdemeanor."

‘European Rock Star Funk’ – You can’t feel anything except love for this song. Great catchy beat and extremely amusing lyrics. Another sure-to-be favorite.

‘Shit To Champagne’ – “Well I’ve tasted shit and I tasted champagne. These days to my taste buds it all tastes the same. Went from ashy to classy and back again. Now at St. mark’s place they don’t remember my name but just like the south I’m gonna rise again. Yeah ..."

‘Celebrity-Worship Is My Religion’ – “Yeah, I belong to the church of Tyson & Robin Givens. That TiVo is going here 24-7. So I will get up into celebrity-worshipin' heaven."

‘So Fuckin Fabulous’ – describes this song. It rocks hard, so turn it up real loud!

‘Focus Groups & Demographics’ – “Comment cards they were passed around, I wrote many hateful things about that mess, yeah, focus groups and demographics, oh, come on ..."

Something to watch for: "I got a "side project" called Carman 9. We got an EP comin out on Needledrop in a month or so." -Lil Beck 7.5.06
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