Search - Four Bitchin Babes :: Babes Beyond Bitchin

A Lovely Mistake

Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 08/23/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Four Bitchin Babes are great! Starting with their first CD on Rounder (listed under their four names with Christine Lavin first) to the 3 Shanachie releases, and despite revolving personnel, they seem to have a group identity that stays from CD to CD. My favorite is Gabby Road, the live CD, whose title was a play on the Beatles' Abbey Road. The cover art on Beyond Bitchin is also a play on the cover art from Meet the Beatles. With four strong personalities comprising the group, there is a comparison to be made. A mandolin gives the first track a distinctive arrangement with a great Debi Smith pop song, "Little Stars." Sally Fingerett's "Lovely Mistake" has a nice guitar part and a strong lyric, "We sit in judgment; that's why we don't get along." Megon McDonough's "Body in a Car" has the great idea that our body is the car that drives our soul around. A bouncy percussion section punctuates the lyrical advice "to take it easy so it doesn't get run down." "Toe to Toe with the HMO" a hilarious track about the plight of a woman with a sore toe. It's up there with "Bald Headed Men" as one of their best comedy songs. Debi Smith teams with Tom Paxton to write a bouncy tune called "My Kinda Man" about a guy who loves to cook. "This Town's All Right" is an uptempo Sally Fingerett tune. "Beautiful Fool" seemed more like an excellent treatise than a song. Martin Luther King, Walter Cronkite, Mahatma Ghandi and Jesus Christ are all mentioned with the lyric, "Dreams weren't meant to come true; that's why we call them dreams." The line, "We are resistant to love," kind of sums up the thesis. "Viagra in the Waters" is another humorous song. It has Johnny Horton (Battle of New Orleans) rhythm section with lots of phallic innuendo such as, "She knew something was up." I tend to skip over Debi Smith's "Italy & France." It seems more strings than melody to me. Having never traveled to either country, I didn't understand the significance of having mistakenly traveled to Italy when you were trying to get to France. "I Don't Want to Know" is a Clinton-era Monica-gate bouncy tune with the lyric, "There's a blue dress on the witness stand...I don't wanna know." Nice harmonies are on "If I Were Brave." It's kind of a cousin to the "Wind Beneath My Wings." "Hold On to My Love" is a nice pop tune with great Babe harmonies. I liked this CD very much. If you're just tuning into the Babes, I'd recommend Fax It or Gabby Road as the starting point. Like no other band, they combine great musician ship with wry humor, wit and uplifting positive songs. Check them out!"

Beyond Bitchin Is Beyond Terrific

Randy Freedman | Chicago,Il | 06/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Four Bitchin Babes newest release"The Babes Beyond Bitchin",is an overall artistic success and showcase for the multitalented four ladies.Those familar with their previous work will find the arrangements quite a bit more lush and full than on previous "live" albums.If you like clever(sometimes belly laugh funny)lyrics,get up and move rythmns,and beautiful vocals,buy this disc.Megon McDonough's "If I Were Brave"sounds like it could have been an Oscar winning best song from a Disney feature and is well worth the price of the disc all by itself."

The Babes Beyond Bitchin

Randy Freedman | 06/15/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As I listened to the samples of this CD, I heard music from the Four Bitchin Babes like I have never heard before. Little Stars had a haunting yet peaceful melody and the words brought to mind ideas of hope. I am used to the Babes more playful side with their satires on life, as we know it. Fax It Charge It was my first purchase of the Babes and I thouroughly enjoyed their wit. Fax It Charge It had a few melodies that were heart felt and gave a preview into the Babes warmer side. Babes beyond Bitchin has more of the flavor from that warmer side yet it is still very compelling. Last year in Winnipeg I saw the Babes and listened to their song Viagra, which is included in this CD It was a halarious song with the words creating images of a town in total bedlam. Many sought this CD for that particular song but there were none avaliable. I personally have been waiting for this opportunity to come along. Thanks"