Chrome - Catherine Wheel (1993)

Catherine Wheel were not really innovators; they were of their time (theatrical, not dramatic, if you like). In an era and a genre when you had to be big and loud to get noticed, they were very big and loud. But the harmonies, the songcraft, and the imaginative lyrics set them off from their peers, though unfortunately not enough to get as much attention as they deserved.

Produced by polished-radio-rock producer extraordinaire Gil Norton, there’s a lot of detail in the layers of distortion filling up the space here. But while it’s loud, none of it is so far up in the mix that you miss the dynamics, the harmonies, or the lyrics, which is really a pretty remarkable accomplishment.

If you–like me–think Smashing Pumpkins had their moments but were kind of whiny and overrated, then might I suggest a spin through this little gem.

Tracks I Liked

Kill Rhythm - the meanest riff on the record

Crank - part of the more pop-minded half of the record. Very well executed

Fripp - Named, I assume, for guitar genius Robert Fripp, and featuring just a touch of his howling, harmonically-distorted “elephant talk” sound, though not as much as you might expect for a song named after him.