CD - Steve Caballero Bandology Vol.1

This CD is a good mix of songs from several bands, all of which Steve Caballero played guitar or bass for. The bands are good, and the mix is interesting, but the CD is more something that you'll want if you like non-mainstream, eclectic music or are a fan of Caballero. Otherwise, you'll probably be happier if you buy the whole CD for the band that you like.

Steve Caballero is a very talented man. Pro skating aside, he's been a musician for a long while, and this CD demonstrates the breadth of his skill. Each band has four songs on the disk, plus two bonus songs adds up to eighteen tracks total. The CD has no special features, but the booklet that comes with the CD has a part written for each band, from Steve or one of the band members.

The first band, The Faction (1982-1985), is punk - you might recognize songs like "Skate and Destroy". Odd Man Out (1987-1989) is the second band represented on the CD - a lot more alternative rock than punk. With Shovehead (1991-1994) Caballero picked up some speed and power, and the band plays more straight up rock. Soda (1995-1996) actually played on the Warped tour, has a female lead singer, and sounds more like pop-punk or punk rock. They always sound to me like a bizarre union of Sixpence and fast rock. The CD ends with two bonus songs by Caballero that are actually pretty great.

If you like collecting CDs, are into skate music and skate history, are a fan of Caballero's, or just love each of these bands, then this CD is a great idea. If not, you still might enjoy it, but it seems like a a bit of a strange mix to me - a little bit too much from all over the place. For the sake of collecting I highly recommend it, but not so much for purely listening.