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Before you even pop this CD in your player,
take a look on the back and inside of the CD cover.
You'll see a flurry of bodies in motion, most likely
taken in the recording studio given the CD's title.
A picture tells a thousand words, or in the case
of 25% Toby, a thousand notes, pops, pulled calf
muscles and blurred vision as this swanky foursome
goes balls out to the rock wall. This sparkling
bounty of music seems to be the Mr. Hyde to the
Dr. Jekyl flowery niceness of Polyphonic Spree,
where founder and head sway king Toby Halbrooks
spends his time at his day job.
Tinges of The Pretenders raw wired prowess, Stray
Cats Billy-rock ala the Texas highway, Kinks sugar
smack-your-ass pop, and a reincarnation of '70s
punk meets the Turtles after a mushroom trip is
at best, the long-winded attempt at a description.
At that's only two tracks in. There are many
more Sybil personalities to discover as you make
your way through Live At The BPL's, including
a girly girl who skips through the daisies in
a flowery dress on her way to therapy.
Short and sweet seems to be the mantra, with
some songs only lasting only 40 to 55 seconds.
Less is more in this chaotic scenario, and they're
able to sing and say a lot by getting to the point,
as with " Kill Yourself." This peanuts
on the floor, sing-along piano ditty asks, "So
it turns out that life you led/Really wasn't worth
a shit/And all those people that you thought you
knew/They don't give a fuck about you/You've got
to kill yourself."
One of my favorites requires a bit of patience.
The "hidden" 15th track is a song letter
to the rock legends, "Dear Metallica/Why
do you have to be so mean?/What are you doing
to me?/My brother used to be cool/Used to do good
in school/Then he bought your album Appetite for
Destruction/Now he spits on the carpet/And calls
me an asshole."
25% Toby let's us all know that in today's serious
and stressful society, you need to have an outlet—to
say whatever the hell you want, be politically
incorrect, and let loose of your girdle to pay
homage to what rock 'n' roll was meant to be—fun,
loud and crazy.
-Kim Owens, August 6, 2004
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