#aaron comess

Spin Doctors You’ve Got to Believe in Something 1996 Epic ——————————————————————— Tracks: 01. You’ve Got to Believe in Something 02. House 03. Dogs on a Doe 04. I Can’t Believe You’re Still with Her 05. She Used to Be Mine 06. She’s Not You 07. To Make Me Blue 08. ‘bout a Train 09. Where Angels Fear to Tread 10. If Wishes Were Horses 11. Sister Sisyphus 12. That’s the Way (I Like It) ———————————————————————

Chris Barron

Aaron Comess

Anthony Krizan

Mark White

Spin Doctors Nice Talking to Me 2005 RuffNation ——————————————————————— Tracks: 01. Nice Talking to Me 02. Sugar 03. Margarita 04. Happily Ever After 05. I’d Like to Love You (but I Think You Might Be Crazy) 06. Can’t Kick the Habit 07. My Problem Now 08. Genuine 09. Tonight You Could Steal Me Away 10. Safety Pin ———————————————————————

Chris Barron

Aaron Comess 

Eric Schenkman

Mark White

Spin Doctors Face Full of Cake 2025 UMG ——————————————————————— Tracks: 01. Boombox 02. Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven 03. Still a Gorilla 04. The Heart of the Highway 05. Double Parked 06. I Liked You Better When Your Butt Was Big 07. The Buddha on the Lawn 08. She Don’t Love Me Anymore (Anymore) 09. I’m the Man (You Got) 10. While You’re Holding the Moon (over Me) 11. She Stands Alone 12. When You Got Turmoil in Your Mind ———————————————————————

Chris Barron

Aaron Comess

Jack Daley

Eric Schenkman

Song Review(s): Spin Doctors - “Rock ‘N’ Roll Heaven” and “The Heart of the Highway”

If Spin Doctors are correct, “Rock ‘N’ Roll Heaven” can’t wait.

In their telling - set to a shuffle with plenty of space between beats - all Zeppelins are made of Led, Chuck Berry and Eddie Cochran eat “American Pie” and every van seat is a recliner.

Buddy Holly’s waiting with a highball and a grin/to show you which room of the motel you’re in/there’s vinyl records on every shelf/and the guitar strings all change themselves/there’s a place in the sky where the beer stays cold/the mics are new and the guitars are old/the amps go up to 11/in rock ‘n’ roll heaven, Chris Barron sings.

The wishful, blissful track follows “Still a Gorilla” and appears alongside “The Heart of the Highway” from the forthcoming (April 11) Face Full of Cake.

While the latter is lacking in the lyric department - rhyming stare with where is just lazy - “Highway” does give guitarist Eric Schenkman and, especially, bassist Jack Daley and drummer Aaron Comess the opportunity to shine, as each plays fills more often saved for lead rather than rhythm players.

Grade card: Spin Doctors - “Rock ‘N’ Roll Heaven” and “The Heart of the Highway” - B+/B-

Song Review: Spin Doctors - “Still a Gorilla”

Play “Still a Gorilla” for a Spin Doctors fan and said fan might not identify said band.

Previewing the April 11 release of Face Full of Cake, their first LP since 2013, the Doctors take on a quasi-metal sound awash in power chords and thrashy rhythm section. Singer Chris Barron reveals a modern voice that sounds nothing like the voice that contributed mightily to the band’s unique sound as he sings:

I know tragedy from thriller/I know emptiness from filler/I know bullshit when I smell a rat/I know it’s not vanilla/marauding like Attila/munching leaves like a caterpillar/you wanted King Kong, but you got Godzilla/I might be a monkey, but you might be a killer/I might be a human, but you’re still a gorilla

Gone is the funk mixed with rubbery jamming and the once-identifiable Eric Schenkman plays like hundreds of other axemen might. So while the Spin Doctors earn a point for evolution, they lose three for abandoning much of what made them stand out from the crowd.

Grade card: Spin Doctors - “Still a Gorilla” - C-

Spin Doctors Turn It Upside Down 1994 Epic ——————————————————————— Tracks: 01. Big Fat Funky Booty 02. You Let Your Heart Go Too Fast 03. Cleopatra’s Cat 04. Hungry Hamed’s 05. Biscuit Head 06. Indifference 07. Bags of Dirt 08. Mary Jane 09. More than Meets the Ear 10. Laraby’s Gang 11. At This Hour 12. Someday All This Will Be Road 13. Beasts in the Woods ———————————————————————

Chris Barron

Aaron Comess

Eric Schenkman

Mark White