Dieselboy

M.O.M., Vol. 1: Music for Our Mother Ocean

So the story behind me getting this album is simple. Young dieselboy is on vacation with the family, driving across country. At a random stop I saw this disc on the shelf and reached out for it, drawn by the cover art. I turned it over and, being the musically uneducated young man that I was, became excited by the list of names, which was almost a who's who of popular 90's artists. There were a few acts on there I failed to recognize...but with names like Beastie Boys, Silverchair, Sublime, Pennywise, etc. on the list, I figured this had to be a safe purchase that I would enjoy. I wanted it to be something to keep from getting bored as we drove. It did that, but little did I know, it would also be a favorite comp of mine for many years to come too.

Starting with a small clip of tribal sounding drums, it then goes right into a band that I was unfamiliar with at the time, Sprung Monkey. Fast and snotty sounding with a catchy chorus about good times, I fell in love with this song right away and was very psyched to continue on. The song that follows is called Gremmie Out of Control and is Pearl Jam sounding like I bet you'd never expect. Surf sounding guitars and yells of "Cowabunga!" really make this song quite fun.

There's really too many highlights to try to list here, but the rest of the disc is just choke-full of upbeat sounding original recordings, as well as covers like: Surfin' U.S.A., Surfin' Bird, and Wipe out. All by artists at the height of their popularity in the late-90's. Even those artists that were unknown to me really added some amazing songs, which I would listen to in entirety. In fact, the Pato Banton and Common Sense songs on here are probably my 2 favorites with the reggae sounding songs they bring. After it's all over, the closing song is simply a soft instrument playing over the sound of crashing waves.

I know all these big names is most likely a turn-off for most MB'rs. I would definitely recommend this to people for at least one listen though...for the covers and also the Common Sense song if nothing else. Everyone I've previously played this for while driving or just hanging out, has loved it. The best part with this comp is that, even the popular artists on here aren't just showcasing singles (with the exception of Soundgarden...whose My Wave just fits too well). The songs all mesh and fit together to make this an amazing sunny-day listening experience. Bottom line: If you want a nice variety of sounds for the beach, and don't mind (or actually would enjoy) feeling a little nostalgic at the same time, then you really can't get much better than this compilation.

Pearl Jam - Gremmie Outta Control

This is the best single youtube had available to sum up the sound here. Fun.

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