Damn Near Perfect In Pasadena

by Steve Alcorn, Pasadena Weekly

I began to dig this band about a year and a half (and a handful of editor ulcers) ago. Back when there were actually several clubs promoting original music in town, I managed to find myself in one of them watching a band knock down some of the most invigorating, solid pop I'd heard in a long time and completely enjoying it. The lead singer was laughing and smiling and wise-cracking her way through the set and the rest of the band was having that kind of a night, too. It was just pure fun. It was Annyland. So it was something from a rush to get a call from Anny to tell me that her first CD was in the bag and ready to go. From the title track ("She Walks In"), the CD rolls through one catchy-as-all-get-out number after another. From the straight-ahead pop of a simple bass line and harmony driving "27," to a rousing exclamation of that being the magic at which everything must happen by, to "This House Won't Rock," an R&B-styled romp fueled by the horns of Lee Thornburg and Greg Smith (Tower of Power) and some brilliant backing vocals by the Tearjerkers, the disc keeps getting as fun to listen to as the band is to see live. A couple more of my favorite tracks on the disc come up back to back and are as diverse, no more diverse, than I'd expected. "Hole In The Sky" is a beautiful piece with piano and a mostly male chorus that swirls gently, urging: "If you can dream/If you can drive/If you can walk, I'll walk/If you can run, I'll run/If you can fly, I see a hole in the sky..." It was at this point I decided Annyland had locked up a damn near perfect disc. Then "Kiss A Crocodile" rocked on. What a stomp! Driven like a kid in a rental car on a dirt track, Chris Woodcock's sax tears it up, along with the rest of the band, in another R&B-styled thrill ride. Amazingly, the energy of Annyland's live shows have been translated to their disc. That's a tribute to both their commitment to this and to finding someone willing to help them get there. As an old fan, I got me a lifetime pass to the Land. If you've never ventured there, give it a try; they'll give you a hell of a ride!