The last two years of global insanity and uncertainty haven’t curtailed the creative output of Chip Z’Nuff. With his namesake outfit, Enuff Z’Nuff, he’s managed to release an original album, a Beatles tribute album, and continues to play shows practically anywhere that’ll allow him to. On top of it all is now the release of his second solo album, Perfectly Imperfect. I can’t help but feel this title is a jab at those who were taken aback by his eclectic solo debut, Strange Time. Enuff Z’Nuff has always been a wacky amalgamation of hard rock, power pop, and psychedelia. In his solo project, Z’Nuff cranks up the psych dial to overdrive.
Perfectly Imperfect isn’t so much a singular cohesive piece of art, as much as it’s a lighthearted, carefree celebration of all things sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. You know, all the things that the “hip” music press deemed unfashionable and unbecoming years ago. Lucky for us, Z’Nuff doesn’t make music for these stiffs, but for himself. And with Z’Nuff at the steering wheel, you never know where he’s gonna turn next. Before you know it, left becomes right, right becomes left, and right side up becomes upside down. Or maybe that’s just the acid kicking in.
After a brief intro entitled “The Church”, the album officially kicks off with “Welcome to the Party”, a simple pop rocker that wouldn’t sound out of place on the soundtrack of a raunchy early 2000s comedy. If you have a playlist along the lines of “American Pie rock”, this would fit right in. On “Doctor (I’m Going Down Can You Save Me?)” and “Ordinary Man”, the gears shift towards psychedelic power pop and largely stay there for the rest of the release. Think the melodies and chord changes of The Beatles circa Rubber Soul (1965) and Revolver (1966), while monitored by the all seeing eye of Timothy Leary.
The retro romanticism continues on “Heaven in a Bottle”, perhaps the most Enuff Z’Nuff sounding track on the album, as well as the innocent “Roll On”. Z’Nuff’s lyricism ranges from the whimsical to the amusingly absurd, especially on cuts like “I Still Hail You” and “3 Way”, the latter of which is a sleaze infused hard rocker reminiscent of prime Aerosmith. Rounding it all out is the brazenly titled “Heroin” and a cover of Mott the Hoople’s classic “Honaloochie Boogie”. If this album is an offering to the glitter gods, they ought to be pleased.
If nothing else, Perfectly Imperfect will go down as the most appropriately titled album of 2022. It’s not deep, introspective, or cerebrally stimulating. It’s happy go lucky with a side of pot smoke, and that’s exactly how Z’Nuff intended it to be. Its blatant imperfections is what makes it perfect in its own niche way. I’d attempt to explain more profoundly, but I don’t think I could any better than the man in the glitzed out hat and oversized glasses can. Check out this album for yourself and enjoy the trip dude!
6 out of 10
Label: Frontiers Records
Genre: Hard Rock
For fans of: Enuff Z’Nuff, Cheap Trick, The Beatles