The debut offering from Rick Altizer, a Christian rocker with a decidedly mainstream bent and a love for chunky guitar riffs and meaty rock & roll, is a promising, if unrealized, effort. Altizer clearly knows his rock history, so he chooses to infuse his fairly standard power pop songs with a lot of instrumental window-dressing, mainly in the form of glowing new wavey synthesizers and Adrian Belew's elaborate guitar work. The choice of Belew, the longtime guitar virtuoso from King Crimson, is no coincidence: it's obvious ...
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The debut offering from Rick Altizer, a Christian rocker with a decidedly mainstream bent and a love for chunky guitar riffs and meaty rock & roll, is a promising, if unrealized, effort. Altizer clearly knows his rock history, so he chooses to infuse his fairly standard power pop songs with a lot of instrumental window-dressing, mainly in the form of glowing new wavey synthesizers and Adrian Belew's elaborate guitar work. The choice of Belew, the longtime guitar virtuoso from King Crimson, is no coincidence: it's obvious that Altizer has listened to a few Matthew Sweet records and realizes that a wily guitar attack is a great way to dress up a fairly standard verse-chorus-verse pop/rock song. That said, Blue Plate Special's flaws are equally obvious. Altizer relies too heavily on a stale-sounding drum machine, and his lyrics often slip into banality (like, "You know, it's got a funny smell/Never noticed it before/I'm not hungry anymore -- no, no" on the title track). But he laid out a formula here that would stick for several releases, and when he nails a good hook -- as he does on the God-questioning rocker "Never Shake His Hand" or "Tape Gun Baby" -- it's instantly memorable. [There are two versions of Blue Plate Special. There is the original CCM version and a European version, which cuts some of the more religiously oriented tunes in favor of more secular material. A few of the cuts were later recycled on Altizer's 2001 (All Tie Zer), a quasi best-of set on secular power pop label Not Lame Records.] ~ Jason Damas, Rovi
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Add this copy of Blue Plate Special to cart. $4.39, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Diamond rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by KMG.
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Seller's Description:
Very good. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Cases may show some wear. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of Blue Plate Special to cart. $5.26, like new condition, Sold by newtownvideo rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from huntingdon valley, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by KMG.
Add this copy of Blue Plate Special to cart. $6.99, new condition, Sold by Branchranch Music rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Cocoa, FL, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by KMG: KMGD0600.
Add this copy of Blue Plate Special to cart. $6.99, like new condition, Sold by Branchranch Music rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Cocoa, FL, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by KMG: KMGD0600.
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Fine. 1998 BRAND NEW! Never played! Opened only to replace broken case. Selling online since 2002. Thousands of satisfied customers. We get your order out FAST! Excellent customer service.
Add this copy of Blue Plate Special to cart. $7.95, new condition, Sold by Branchranch Music rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Cocoa, FL, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by KMG: KMGD0600.
Add this copy of Blue Plate Special to cart. $13.49, new condition, Sold by I Love Books Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Kingsport, TN, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by KMG Records (Germany)(Metal/Christ).
Add this copy of Blue Plate Special By Rick Altizer (2004-12-28) to cart. $14.75, very good condition, Sold by Mojo Electronics rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Shawano, WI, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by KMG.
Add this copy of Gory to Glory to cart. $16.19, new condition, Sold by I Love Books Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Kingsport, TN, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Grapetree.
Add this copy of Blue Plate Special to cart. $17.52, new condition, Sold by I Love Books Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Kingsport, TN, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by KMG Records (Germany)(Metal/Christ).
Add this copy of Blue Plate Special-European Version to cart. $25.63, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Audio & Video Labs, Inc.