Albums by this artist

'As Good As It Gets' (1999)

Drawn To The Deep End (Recommended) (1997)

Gene

'As Good As It Gets'

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» TROY CARPENTER | CO-DIRECTOR

Gene 'As Good As It Gets' Polydor/A&M, 1999 RiYL: Blur, Morrissey, Pulp

Record labels have a nasty habit of not playing the global game. Even for well-known acts, albums are often held for release overseas until they've festered in their home countries for months. It's because of this that Americans find themselves behind the times with some fine English releases, and we're forced to buy $10.99 singles to content ourseleves with the newest material from a favorite band.

Case in point: the new Gene album, Revelations, was released March 1 in England, but I find myself on April 12, relistening to "As Good As It Gets" and its two b-sides in an effort to assess what the band has been up to in the two years since the release of the magnificent and underappreciated Drawn To The Deep End.

The three tunes point to a band still excelling in its usual way, with invigorating, if not incredibly original, rock and roll. "As Good As It Gets" and "Toasting The Union" are fast, catchy numbers in the vein of "Fighting Fit" from Drawn, while "Man on Earth" is a somewhat limp ballad. Keeping in mind these latter two are "b-sides," the outlook is promising. When "Fighting Fit" was released to preview the band's second record, it was well-received but didn't divulge the full breadth of the album.

However, if Polydor gets around to releasing Revelations in America, there isn't going to be much of a point to buying this single, except for a spending spree by a Gene aficionado dying to hear "Toasting The Union."

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.