Blueman's Sixty Six Steps Review

Indulge me in a little commentary...it's interesting to me that Mike seems to have so much ease putting together a collection of music like this with Leo. It sounds so "organic," like it was music that existed already and all they had to do was tap into it (the best kind...in my opinion). Contrast this with what Trey has been trying to do (so far) and it's odd. Trey's efforts seem like...well, effort. Anyway...

Sixty Six Steps is a cute album. It's over almost before you know it at 50 minutes or so. All the songs are brief...2-3 minutes, which makes the disc jump along. A calculated mix...4 Leo songs, 5 Mike songs and 5 interesting covers. As I listened, I liked picturing the fact that the album was recorded in the same room as Back In Black was 25 years ago. Definitely some good energy down at Compass Point.

The disc opener, Pete Seger's "Living in the Country," sets the tropical, bright tone that follows on almost all the rest of the material. This song is at times Phish-like, in a grown up "Contact" kind of way.

The Reggae infused "The Grid" immediately highlights Mike's uncanny skill at taking a modern-culture buzz word (a la "Access Me") and making a song out of it. The "Yeah" chorus is classic Cactus. When he sings "I walked 12 thousand miles" you find yourself wondering if he means it...

The blues-era Fleetwood Mac cover, "Oh Well" feels a little forced, but I like Leo's vocal and his acoustic guitar rhythm line...very smooth. Mike's lead guitar playing is a little stilted and the tone is deliberately raunchy, which sounds out of place on the otherwise warm-sounding tones of the overall record. There's a million other covers that would have been more interesting than this, but I'm sure they have their rationale for choosing it.

"Ring" is another tropical piece...one of the most Caribbean sounding on the disc. This Leo-led tune highlights the unique bass/guitar compatibility they've developed. Musically, it's slippery, and at times brilliant.

"Cherry Country" is a classy Leo instrumental...almost like a relaxed version of "Rings." One of the licks hints directly at the melody from "Rings." Nice and short--it's one of those pieces that rounds out a disc, but on its own is a bit of a song orphan.

I was telling Monks last night that the "Sweet Emotion" cover (and Peter Green's "Oh Well") are most interesting for their novelty on the disc. Nice to break things up, but I'd have preferred another clever Mike original and another Leo acoustic nugget. Mike's vocal is scientifically delivered..."face like a gent." "pants on fire." The first time through the B-section lick, they let the bass carry the line and Leo sits out, which is probably one of those control-room decisions that makes for good producing. You gotta wonder if Mike told Leo about many Tweezer>Sweet Emotion jams of days gone by..."yeah, we use to..."

"The Stolen Quiet" is lyrically classic Mike weirdness. A lofty song about annoying neighbors that will probably never know they've been immortalized in song.

"Balloon" is my favorite piece on the disc, although I wish Leo had given the lead vocal to Mike. I love it because it's a Leo song that sounds like a Mike song! 'Cept it sounds like Lou Reed singing a Mike tune because of Leo's vocal. The music swirls behind the chorus, which is just the word "balloon" sung thrice. (There's a quirky photo of Mike in the jacket with a yellow balloon....probably taken during the Mike's vocal-tracking on this one.) You got to give Leo credit....he sings the word "thud" like no one else could. Again, another prime example of their (now) very unique bass-acoustic guitar interplay. Makes me think how smart Mike was for initiating this partnership.

"Over the Dam" is a throwaway countryesque piece with tinges of bluegrass. Lyrically vanilla, but with a peppy outro, which--along with "Sweet Emotion" and several others--is sure to be a jammed out piece on the tour. This whole disc is full of stuff that is built to jam--the tour is going to be sweet."Can't Hang"...another concise Mike piece, which sounds like it was left off of Undermind. The lyrics are again classic Mike. You can see how he's taken the energy that used to go into stuff like "Mike's Corner" and focused it on writing good lyrics.

"Can't Hang" is a song about excuses why you have to leave. Mike sings "I can't Hang" over and over again while Leo reads the excuses in the background..."I gotta go meet you know who." "My clothes are almost dry." etc. etc. I picture the goofy improv'd lines they probably left out. I love it.

Leo's "Correctionville," a prison reference (a common theme of his), is the only (only) dark moment on the disc musically. An open-tuning slide guitar piece. It anchors the latter half of the disc before the lilting...

"Ya Mar," which is interesting. It feels to me like Mike wanted a unique pass at his signature tune the first time he studio-recorded it. I guess because one is inclined to compare it to Phish versions ("It" and Albany Fall '97 come to mine), it's disappointing here. It sounds "produced." Mike's vocal is processed and there's too much percussion. Mike's tone on the lead guitar in the outro sounds a little high-schoolesque. Leo's guitar solo in the middle briefly rescues the song for me, but otherwise I'd have liked it better if Mike had left this Gem for the stage only and not made this particular statement of it. That's okay Cactus....maybe you were too focused on phone call bombardment contests.

The last two songs (one each by Mike and Leo) are beautiful. It was likely an easy choice to pick which two songs would close the disc. I wonder if it was maybe not-so-easy to choose which would be second-to-last...

Leo's nice "Twice" is a bittersweet Johnny Cash-esque piece. I love the lyrics..."sometimes darkness is the only light we'll see." It's a very songwritery song, but it works. If Mike's song "Invisible" wasn't so good, I'm sure this would have been the last song on the disc.

And the closer, Mike's "Invisible" is the companion piece to "Twice." Brilliantly lovely. (Trey also has a new song called "Invisible"...has anyone heard it? I bet Mike's is better.) Very clever lyrics. At one point Mike sings "Your opacity had value that lasted past its time." (Who writes a lyric like that?) The pretty melody hints at other things I think we can expect from Mike down the road. This would have made a great Phish tune...picture Page singing it when you listen and replace Leo's stock guitar solo with '94-era Trey sparks in your mind when you listen.................

Remember all them times.

-blueman