Drake Bell
"Ready, Steady, Go!" (Surfdog)

by
DC Larson

Should one need reminding that ours is a world without justice, reflect that this little style/zero substance CD will doubtless sell better than many superior efforts - the type produced through blood and sweat by hardworking, true believing musicians who've watched many a-midnight dissolve into grey dawn as they've kept alive American musics, in the rough process touching legacies greater than any one man.

And then, there's Drake Bell. He hits all the notes, but he's far too callow, bland, and superficial to seem any more than a tourist. Of course, it's possible that he's so under the sway of career choreographers and image manipulators that this calculated disc masks a real rocker straining to stand free. (Recall that John Mellencamp began recording as airbrushed ruffian Johnny Cougar.)

Drake's next CD may prove his vindication. Surprise us all, man.

Recommended "Bitchcraft"

http://www.drakebell.com
http://www.surfdog.com

VIDEO "Bitchcraft"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQYBVPVeQn0