The band is Smith Island, and they’ve gone and created a rock opera. Yes, a ROCK OPERA. Once a curious relic of the “Yes, there’s such a thing as too creative” 1970’s, the concept of rock opera was once again thrust into the public consciousness by the success and acclaim of Green Day’s American Idiot. So much so, in fact, that you probably never want to hear another rock opera ever again. Normally, I’d be with you on that – hell, I never wanted to hear one before -- but we will all have to make an exception for Smith Island. The story of this rock opera is the now-classic tale of a young woman whose dreams of Hollywood are shattered by the reality of drug use and casting-couch abuse, which quite literally drives her insane. “Smith Island” is the fantasy asylum in which the heroine, Zelda Zardoz, takes shelter. By the end of it all, Zelda’s adventures make Jenny from Forrest Gump look like Marie Osmond. A couple of things, really quick: I live in Hollywood, and while it is now inhabited almost entirely by elderly Ukranians, in the 70’s you couldn’t swing a cat without hitting a Zelda Zardoz-type (don’t try to start doing the math; this was the late 70’s, and I was very young). So the material is thematically true to the period. In fact, Smith Island gets major points for the direct reference to Zardoz, one of those completely messed-up 70’s movies that my dad insisted on taking me to. A Boy and His Dog, The Magic Christian, Putney Swope -- for some reason, he loved that weird shit. It was like a freaking miracle whenever my dad actually took me to a normal, major-studio release in the 70’s. Maybe it wasn’t him…maybe the movies just sucked overall. Er…back to Smith Island. Sorry about that. As I said, the material is thematically true to the period. But more importantly, it’s pretty damn true to the period aurally as well. Smith Island sounds like a cross between Blondie and Iron Maiden, or any of the countless rock bands that Spinal Tap was sending-up. But Smith Island isn’t necessarily a spoof project – or if it is, then it’s a very loving one, as This Is Spinal Tap was. There may be only five tracks, but the quality is too high – from Gabrielle Stubbert’s vocals to the spot-on arrangements – for this to be a throwaway project.

This is an EP made up of great rock songs. My personal favorites are In my room and Coma. The lead singer Gabrielle is an awesome vocalist with good strong vocals. She's the real deal. And the rest of the band are great musicians as well. Worth checking out! M.