The Small Stars
The Small Stars
© 2005 The Small Stars Revue (678572951022)
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Mott the Hoople meets Frank Sinatra in the women's restroom at Denny's.
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Lots of fun!
author: wisefishI'm no music critic, but I know that this CD is lots of fun to listen to. It really gives you the feel of being at a Reno lounge show (although I've never been to one, so what do I know?). The songs are quite good and I find that they get stuck in my head, and that's a good thing.
Definitely Recommended!!!!
author: myreen_ryanThe Small Stars CD is filled with well performed, humorous, thought-provoking songs. As you listen, you're likely to be reminded of John Lennon and the Rat Pack...all in the same CD! I'm glad I purchased this CD!
- author: Austin Chronicle by Christopher Gray
Anyone who saw Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star knows showbiz is a soul-draining succubus that'll seduce you one day and knock your dick in the dirt the next. But never discount the value of adoration and occasional sexual favors from people who otherwise wouldn't piss on you to put out a fire. Six Austin ringers masquerading as washed-up Reno lounge act the Small Stars have enough ironic self-loathing on debut 8 Stereo 8 to allow that they've all felt that sting, and enough skill to betray they'll forever be slaves to the bright lights. "We Love You" is an object lesson by itself, singer Guy Fantasy channeling Neil Diamond and Tony Clifton while detailing the low standards the Stars set for fanhood ("We love you because you're here") as the band works in abject tones of velvet squalor. The peppy "Everything's Keen-O in Reno," music-hall manager's tale "I Turn Music Into Money," and the rest may be self-parodic, but never at the expense of plausibility. You can probably walk into a Reno Holiday Inn and see a band exactly like this. Showbiz may be a vicious, fickle, whorish mistress, but she sure is sexy.
- author: Levi Mazelstein
I must warn those unfamiliar with the Small Stars that their back story hokum is so much smoke and mirrors. The whole "band on the run from Reno" thing is an amusing deceit, but it belies the fact that the Stars are not some "ha ha, we're so clever" psuedo-lounge band, or a tribute band to all things Rat Pack. They are first and foremost a rock 'n' roll band that has brazenly melded lounge shtick and rock opera to (as lead singer Guy Fantasy puts it on "We Love You") "boldly go where no band has gone before." on 8 Stereo 8, the Stars have ripped open the scab of a huge gaping wound on their personal psyches and the collective consciousness of show business. The band revels in every minute of watching the blood flow all over themselves, the audience, and an industry they simultaneously love and hate, and would most likely die for. In the world of Guy Fantasy, Buddy Llamas, et. al., the frustration of middle age is rearing its ugly head, and all the demons collected along the road to stardom are starting to weigh down the bandwagon with the destination nowhere in sight. Fantasy laments "Let me tell you a story; Let me sing you a song about my rotten luck; I've been paying my dues and I've been singing my songs, and no one gives a (saxophone honk)." Though the tone of the CD teeters on the brink of tragicomedy throughout, before it falls into a Beyond the Valley of the Dolls chasm, it manages a reassuring landing on the cynical side of an MGM Musical. Fantasy realizes that though he may never be a big star, there's nothing he loves more than singing his songs, and he's gonna keep on doing what he's doing. For all those artists out there who toil in obscurity, and may always do so, the Small Stars are singing your song. -Levi Mazelstein
like a movie in audio
author: NeseIf you are looking for something different than the c*ap on today's market, buy this! The Small Stars is great fun and very good music. Each song has a different feel and there is not a bad song on the disc. Be careful though, these songs will stick in your brain. For whatever reason they left, Reno's loss is our gain!!!
like a movie in audio
author: NeseIf you are looking for something different than the c*ap on today's market, buy this! The Small Stars is great fun and very good music. Each song has a different feel and there is not a bad song on the disc. Be careful though, these songs will stick in your brain. For whatever reason they left, Reno's loss is our gain!!!
Sgt. Pepper meets The Wall meets Frankenstein
author: ToddThe songs range from "great" (True Hollywood Story) to "I guess you had to be there" (We Love You). Still, you can hear the fun pouring out of your speakers from the first listen. This is what happens when talented musicians do what they want to do.