Artist: Dirk Hamilton
Album:  Alias I
Release: 2005
Genre: Pop Rock
Country: US
Quality: FLAC | lossless

Alias I, Dirk Hamilton's sophomore set, opens with a quite appalling scene -- "I saw a dog in a trash can chewin' on a cat" -- but worse is to come, as "In the Eyes of the Night"'s dystopian vision unfolds. It's a stunningly modern view of the world, seemingly ripped from the rhyme book of rappers or hardcore headbangers, but Alias I was originally released back in 1977, and musically it is a chasm away from the fury-firing punks across the sea. The album was Hamilton's follow-up to the previous year's You Can Sing on the Left or Bark on the Right, a deliriously derivative set that hit virtually every musical touchstone of '70s soft rock. Hamilton plundered freely from his idols musically, but his lyrics were breathtakingly unique, dizzying vignettes of poetic splendor.

Alias I picks up where its predecessor left off, but this time the songs are not such obvious rips. Sure "The Ballad of Dicky Pferd" pays tribute to Elton John's "Rocket Man," "The Classic Sweat Poze" tips a hat to Traffic, and "Joanna Ree" nods to the Rolling Stones, but there are unexpected stylings as well. "Los Gatos," for example, is Latin-tinged, while "The Light of Love" has a distinctly Spanish flavor. Elsewhere, bluesier elements come to the fore. The aforementioned "Night" defiantly crosses soul with rock, and tosses in some distinctly Stax-esque brass. "Joanna Ree," Stonesy as it is, is the Stones in their bluesiest mode, with wisps of gospel flicking through the gorgeous guitar work.

Tracklist:
1. In The Eyes Of The Night - 5:46
2. The Ballad Of Dicky Pferd - 5:52
3. For Diana - 4:38
4. Alias I - 4:27
5. Los Gatos - 3:00
6. Joanna Ree - 5:54
7. The Classic Sweat Poze - 4:18
8. The Light Of Love - 3:36
Bonus Tracks:
9. The Big Boo Hoo - 5:21
10.As A Matter Of Fact - 3:31