Thumbs Rock Strip

The Opposable Thumbs are celebrating the release of their latest album, Chicks Ahoy, with a CD release party tonight at 10 p.m. at the Longbranch Saloon on Cumberland Avenue.

Chicks Ahoy proves beyond a doubt that the Opposable Thumbs are a band with a mission statement. In a paragraph that would make any business professor proud, the Thumbs promise to create rock 'n' roll to the best of their ability and budget, to refuse corporate sponsorship unless they offer money, to use their own duct tape at gigs and not to steal the opening band's duct tape and to assure that if you cut your wrists while listening to this record, it will only be due to a freak dancing accident and not the result of pretentious, depressing lyrical content or backward masking.

That said, put away all the sharp objects in the room and pop in one of the best local rock CDs to come out this year. The first thing heard is songwriter, and sometimes improvisational lyricist, Todd Steed's guitar ripping through with an inventive straight-ahead guitar lick. As the vocals begin, one is reminded of the category that musicians like Steed, who can play, write and sing, belong: the "it's not fair" category.

It's a good thing that this unfair world can produce bands like the Opposable Thumbs that ask the question "Does humor belong in music?" The only answer would be laughter. Songs like "I Miss LP Covers" and the hidden song "Don't Be Afraid" leave the listener laughing out loud. Steed has always had a razor-sharp wit that makes the Thumbs' live show a must-see, and that vibe saturates the record, which sounds like it was recorded in between laugh attacks in the studio.

The first song that really kicks is "Free Advice from Me." This is upbeat bar rock at its best with Steed twisting the classic Beatles line during the chorus to "In the end, the love that you make was captured on video tape and

it looked fake."

This record also shows the continued growth by Steed as a writer and artist. He has continued to blend the spontaneous goof-punk of Smokin' Dave, Steed's band in the '80s, with the roots rock that permeates this region's sound. Country, rockabilly, hard rock and even a ballad show that this record covers a lot of ground within the rock 'n' roll mission statement mentioned earlier.

Steed's vocals continue to get better. While he has always been a guy with a distinctive voice, Steed has recently been trying different styles, even singing with the cool guy snarl in the songs "Wouldja?" and the Mancini-esque "Hitlist." The latter song was entirely improvised after a brief conversation with bass player Paul Superapple in which he speaks of a young lady who is next on his list.

In an age of Woodstock rapes and riots and record stores full of discs by angry, spoiled Korn clones, this record is a much-needed injection of fun into the fat, pimpled ass of rock 'n' roll, and you don't even have to go to the doctor to get it.