Cure for the Common Crush
Artist: Id Guinness
Url www.idguinness.com   www.myspace.com/idguinness 
Label: Rapid Transformation (Indie)
Time: 13 tracks/58:43
 
Descending from the Great White North like a surprise cold-front, comes Vancouver’s Id Guinness’ impressive Cure for the Common Crush – a project on an indie label that has all of the sonic trappings of a major label release. This densely-produced collection of thirteen songs starts off with the driving, pulsating, almost throbbingly rhythmic introduction of “Rising River,” a song laced with swirling guitar and eastern-sounding synth lines, topped off with Guinness’ Bono-meets-Bowie vocals: an impressive opening, indeed. The over-all sound of Cure for the Common Crush plays against what we usually expect to hear from indie releases: Guinness gives us an album with a big, full, thoughtfully produced sound and an obvious stylistic awareness of the classic rock era, with several tips of the musical hat to the likes of David Bowie (whose “Always Crashing in the Same Car,” the only non-original track, is covered), The Moody Blues, U2, Pink Floyd, ELO, and – of course – The Beatles. Despite the obvious classic rock-era musical references, the music on Cure for the Common Crush is fresh and interesting. The album’s second track, “The One That Got Away,”  sounds like a rock ‘mirror universe’ parallel to Gnarles Barkley’s “Crazy,” with lines like “I’m crazy – I’m crazy to let you get to me …oh, I have heard that you may be crazy, too,” sung in an almost-falsetto by Guinness, and backed up by George Martin-like percussive strings and very Ringo-influenced drumming: this track also features the amazingly fluid, emotionally powerful guitar playing of Curtis Debray, who is the featured guitarist on many of these songs. The Beatle influence perhaps is at its strongest on the closing track, the dreamy, “Wailing Wall,” which ultimately gets into one of those great coda-riffs, repeating and getting heavier with every go-round, in a “She’s So Heavy” moment, with more of that Starr-influenced drumming and Id sounding very much in a Lennon mode. We even get a genuine “yeah, yeah, yeah,” in “Always Crashing in the Same Car,” for good measure! 
 
Produced by Guinness, this is a project full of excellent art-rock and pop sounds, at the same time familiar and jarringly original. To me, the most accessible song – and one with quite a reasonable hook – is “Down to This,” which might be the most radio-ready track on the CD, although “The One That Got Away,” is quirky enough and interesting enough to catch the ear on the very first hearing, as well. Id Guinness has produced a project that sounds like the work of an artist that’s well into his career and well past the ‘indie’ stage – certainly, Cure for the Common Crush is a contender that can hold its own against some of the more established names. Guinness’ voice is versatile and easy to listen to, and the musicians – especially the very impressive Curtis Debray on guitar and Pat Steward on drums – do an excellent job producing a big classic rock sound without getting pretentious about it. Helping out Id, who writes the bulk of the songs, sings, plays keyboards, synth bass, and synth guitar, we have Ledenhed on guitars, Leslie Harris on vocals, Delina on guitars and vocals, Donn Tarris on bass, Heywood McMartin on drums, and the afore-mentioned Debray and Steward. If there is any mis-step at all on this project it might be the occasional warbling female vocals that appear on a couple of tracks, but it’s a minor complaint and, perhaps a matter of personal taste. 
 
Cure for the Common Crush is a refreshing, well-produced album that delivers artfully crafted rock songs performed by musicians that play with skill and genuine emotion. Lead singer and front-man, Id Guinness, has the voice and presence to hold the project together and give it personality – it just might be the cure for what ails ya’….
 
By Bert Saraco  
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