THE IKE REILLY ASSASSINATION
Junkie Faithful
Rock Ridge Music 2005
www.ikereilly.com

Sample it here

What’s the 4-1-1?
The third full-length studio album from the Chicago based band follows up on the 2004 release Sparkle In The Finish.

Genre
Rock / roots rock / punk / power-pop

The Good
Singer-Songwriter Ike Reilly proves himself quite the witty lyricist on Junkie Faithful. The man is in the top-notch department when it comes to turning a phrase. I’ll leave it to you to discover the lyrics, but suffice to say, it’s a pretty wild ride. The music on the album is relatively straightforward. It’s simple and direct, but don’t mistake that for simplistic. The band is tight musically speaking and it shows on the material. The best tracks on the CD are “Kara Dean,” “Heroin”, “What A Day”, and “I Will Let You Down.” That last track is actually quite amusing lyrically. The songs feature a great set of pop choruses. You can envision a crowd singing along, if you will.

The Bad
The problem I found with this record is that it’s sort of divided into thirds. The CD has 12 tracks, four of them are really good, four are adequate, and four just don’t do it, for me anyway.

The Verdict
This is a pretty good CD in general. Junkie Faithful has room for improvement to be sure, but I do think you’ll really enjoy it for the most part. You’ve got some decent song structure, great lyrics, and a mixture of musical styles to keep your ear occupied.

Did You Know?
Singer Ike Reilly used to work as a hotel doorman and as a cemetery worker. The songs for Junkie Faithful were written during the tour for Sparkle In The Finish, and recorded in Libertyville, Illinois at Diamond City Studios.

Rating: out of 5

-- Jay Roberts