Doc Heide and the Pills – Peaceful Kingdom / 2005 Self / 11 Tracks / http://www.docheide.com / Reviewed 16 December 2005
I really do not know what to say about how this disc starts out. Without actually hearing anyone from the genre, I would have to equate Doc Heide and the Pills with the seventies “Jesus Freaks”. There is a mild comparison that could be made with Warren Zevon, but in only the broadest sense of the fact that both put out pop-infused rock. Doc Heide and the Pills’ style is much more nice, an innocuous style. Tracks that have a certain pep to them (such as “Sweet Peace” still are held back by some feature. There is just not something clicking during the track; in this track it may be the undistinguished style of the guitars that lead up to the chorus. If there was a little more noodling virtuosity in the execution of these, the track would not feel so odd.
With a track like “When Dogs Could Talk”, there seems to be a concerted effort by Doc Heide and the Pills to come forth with a harder, more rocking sound. The end result is that there are hints to Blue Oyster Cult, a fact that keeps the influences of the band firmly in the seventies. Essentially, all the tracks on “Peaceful Kingdom” are cut from the same light rock, with a distinct set of vocals and a strong set of production values to make everything sound big-time. For those fans of either the Dr. Demento radio show or of Kansas, the one track that must be checked out is “Horseman Pass By”. For some unexplained reason, the vocals present on the track sound remarkably like the Doctor while the guitar work has the same propensity for shrill solos as Kansas.
“Life Review” is so different as to be a sea change for Doc Heide and the Pills, in that everything beside the vocals on the track screams a newer brand of rock (and hell, the bass line is so active as to seemingly be more influenced by punk rock). “Emerson Blues” goes into the type of honka-talk style that individuals like Rick Derringer used to make popular, and while the song does not fit into the typical ending to a disc, it still is a solid song. The music is tolerable, but does not contribute much to the way of innovation to the rock style. The band might be fun to watch live, but there is nothing that will be so impressive on this disc to really catapult Doc Heide and the Pills to the next level.
Top Tracks: Life Review, Emerson Blues
Rating: 4.8/10
[JMcQ]