Helen Wheels *Archetype* CD

[John A Swartz]

Got my copy of Helen's CD from my buddies at Cellsum Records - very nice.
With all the work piled up from my week of vacation, I don't have time
for a track-by-track review, but I highly recommend this CD.  Some tasty
tracks indeed, several of which are credited to Albert.  Of course, there
is Helen's version of "Tattoo Vampire" to open the CD - backed by Albert,
Joe, and various members of tBS and the X Brothers -- I won't go so far
as to say it's better than the original, because, well, I like the original
(BOC) version a lot.  Instrumentally it's very true to the original,
and vocally Helen post a different spin on it - I like it a lot, although
trying to compare her and Eric Bloom is apples and oranges.  The Brain
Surgeons-backed song, "Niagara Falls" is pretty cool, but my favorite
tracks, other than "Tattoo Vampire", would be "Break the Chains", "Get
Out of Town", "Carry My Own Weight", and "Room to Rage" - the disc spans
over 20 years of great music from a person I previously only knew from
her BOC lyrics.  Now, I know that there's much more ...

Also, check out Helen's website for more info, history, lyrics, and lots
of photos - http://www.helenwheels.com

John