***** = Classic
****= Amazing
***= Good
**= OK
*1/2= Poor
*= Horrid
Away From The World
Dave Matthews Band
Admittedly,
I’ve never understood the big appeal of the Dave Matthew Band; while I’m a huge
fan of diverse influences and jamming, both things the group are well known
for, I’ve never really been able to establish a connection to their music.
Nonetheless,
one can tell their new album will fit in very well with the rest of the
catalogue. An album dominated by loose, but
slightly rambunctious, alt-rock, fans will probably be enthralled from the
intro to “Broken Things” and all the way through.
Clearly,
the band is impassioned (check Dave’s vocal performance on “Mercy;” it almost
makes me forgive him for his voice.) The
entire group feels comfortable, in place, throughout, adding textures and soaring
instrumentation to nearly every song here.
Particularly
organic, potent songs include “If Only,” and “The Riff,” both of which will
make potential live favorites.
Yet the
album no doubt reaches its crescendo with the last song, the nearly ten-minute “Drunken
Soldier,” a lyrically and musically strong track that’s not only a great
listen, but will make for some great jams.
While not
an essential by any means, this is something any Dave fan (not me, heh) is
going to want in their collection.
***1/2 Stars
Tempest
Bob Dylan
Fifty years and 35 albums on,
Bob Dylan is still considered one of the greatest songwriters in modern
music. In terms of lyrical quality, he
certainly doesn’t let up on “Tempest,” a dark firestorm of a record.
Dylan’s
taken considerable flak from many (self-included) for his voice, which turns
now much raspier than it ever was, sounding more like Louis Armstrong than the
Dylan of old; still though, it is one of the weaker elements on this
album.
Nonetheless,
opener “Duquesne Whistle” I’m inclined to like more than many other Dylan
songs. It’s an electric folk song, with
a darker mood than many of his other works, like walking through an abandoned saloon
in an old Western movie.
This isn’t
the only throwback to the past: “Early Roman Kings” is a practical rewrite of
Muddy Waters’ famed “Mannish Boy.”
“Scarlet Town” is a very
atmospheric, careful track, while other notable highlights include “Narrow Way,”
and “Pay in Blood.”
The album’s centerpiece, however,
is no doubt the stirring 14-minute title track.
Like any good song exceeding ten minutes, it’s a story, and an excellent
one at that, telling the tale of the Titanic in Dylan’s usual concise and
depth-filled style.
Mostly though, it’s typical, though
darker-than-normal, folk music, which actually makes this an interesting
release. Folk-Rock seems to have been on
the rise as of late, and it shall be interesting to see how Dylan’s newest
album holds up in that growing atmosphere.
Sure, it’s drastically different from what’s getting popular, and isn’t
exactly screaming greatness (one or two seven minute-plus songs are fine, but this
gets a little ridiculous), but it’s also as good as any for new folk fans to
see where it all came from.
***
Stars
La Futura
ZZ Top
“I Gotsta
Get Paid” is gutsy blues-rock, moving with riff, swagger and some bizarre cross
between 70’s and 80’s ZZ Top, and a perfect introduction to their new album,
one that makes a clear statement they’ve got their foot planted firmly where
they want it, and they’re not moving it.
By that
virtue, La Futura should satisfy
plenty of fans, without exceeding expectations.
“Chartreuse” is a welcome callback to “Sharp Dressed Man” while bits
like “Consumption” or “Heartache in Blue” are raw, soaking in the blues and forcefully
satisfying.
However, it
is filled out with a few spots of boring material, (“Over Now,” “It’s Too Easy,
Manana”) making it not all that different from other recent releases from the
band. However, the dirty, grinding riffs
throughout make for some of their best material since “Eliminator.”
*** Stars
Fight or Flight
Hoobastank
If post-grunge is today’s hair
metal, Hoobastank is Black and Blue or Firehouse to Nickelback’s Poison. That is, there’s very little original about
the group, something reaffirmed on this release. More or less, it’s generic hard rock music,
without much punch or surprise to it.
Of course, some people like a genre
of music, whether or not it has surprises in it, and the riffs are decent
enough, the lyrics spotted with introspection, and the choruses faintly
melodic, enough so that the album will garner some fans. Yet even most fans of the genre will no doubt
be bored by this release and with good reason.
*1/2
Stars
***FLASHBACK***
Dookie
Green Day
Anyone who
still hasn’t seen the Green Day story behind “Good Riddance” and the “American
Idiot” album should probably go out right now and buy/download the group’s 1994
masterpiece Dookie.
Adorned
with an explosive, cartoony, album cover and opening with something as raw and
defiant as “Burnout,” it’s pretty clear this is a record taking punk to previously
unseen levels. Sure, it’s all raw, pure
intensity, often compacted into two minutes or less, as it is that most punk
goes.
This is no
ordinary punk though—some of it is maybe (“In the End,” “Sassafras Roots,”
etc,) –but at their core, Green Day are much more.
The unmistakable
punk pop of “Welcome to Paradise” or “When I Come Around” is the most obvious
examples. The former is driven by a three-chord riff and a slight
rebellious attitude, with its chorus establishing it as more melodic than most
punk and it’s bass bridge showing it to be not as repetitive as is most music
of the genre. The latter has an even
greater pop substance to it, without ever forgetting its roots, Billy Joe
Armstrong’s chorus being delivered with a certain nasal only he could ever pull
off.
Meanwhile, songs like “She” shows the punk
side of Green Day at their absolute best.
It’s the
stuff that breeds anger and defiance with poppier sensibilities, though, that
makes for the five star material.
“Longview” is pretty much the
embodiment of what Green Day stand for. Drummer Tre Cool starts going on a simple drum
beat as the warping bass of Mike Dirnt joins in to provide a solid backing for
Armstrong’s snarling verse: “Sit around and watch the tube, but nothing's on / I
change the channels for an hour or two / Twiddle my thumbs just for a bit / I'm
sick of all the same old shit / In a house with unlocked doors / And I'm f***ing
lazy.” It’s pure Green Day, and perhaps
one of their finest songs.
“Basket Case” has a similar manic
feel to it, driven by a guitar riff this time, and opening with Armstrong
asking listeners “Do You Have the Time / To listen to me whine / about nothing
and everything at once.” Yes we do.
Members of groups like the Sex Pistols
have often criticized Green Day, saying they’re not a true punk band, that they
don’t have the right attitude, but maybe that’s what makes Green Day so
successful: they care about the music more than a band like the Sex Pistols
ever could.
****1/2
Stars
SINGLES ROUND-UP:
Magpies of
Fire/Victorian Machinery
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The second release in the “I’m With
You” B-Sides series is a definite improvement over the first duo of
tracks. While both songs were
worthwhile for a Peppers nut, none of them were for the casual listener. Sure, it’s just B-Sides, but the Peppers have
a tendency of turning out bonus tracks that would make for A-grade album
material.
This time, they’re certainly back
in the groove, at least with the excellent “Victorian Machinery,” a chaotic and
sporadic track based on the spurting rhythm guitar of Josh Klinghoffer, and the
rambunctious rhythm held in by the ultimate bassist-drummer combo of Flea and
Chad Smith.
“Magpies of Fire” isn’t quite the
same experience, following much closer along the lines of last months “Strange
Man,” but with a certain beauty and eloquence to it only Anthony Kiedis could
weave.
“Victorian
Machinery” - ***1/2 Stars
“Magpies
of Fire” - **1/2 Stars
“Let Yourself Go” by Green Day: This is the third single from the first part
of Green Day’s upcoming three-part Uno/Dos/Tre album. More than likely, these are the only three
songs that would’ve made the cut on the distilled version, but nonetheless,
this one’s not a bad song, even if the band’s obviously starting to fade. Sure, it’s got real defiance to it, Billy Joe
Armstrong spewing “f-bombs” as usual, but there’s something distant about this
that already makes me wish the album was more.
Here’s hoping I’m wrong. --*** Stars
“Sex” by Motley Crue: Finally! Crue has amended the greatest disparity in
their catalog by naming a song simply “Sex.”
Not as good a song title as “Muther****er of the Year,” but continues
their recent habit of releasing great singles.
This is pretty straightforward Crue, filled with all the riffery and
raunch you’d demand of Crue in any day and age.
This one delivers on a stadium level.
--**** Stars
“Hell or Hallelujah” by KISS: Continuing KISS’ habit as of late to make
predictable, cookie cutter hard rock, the single from their upcoming Monster
album isn’t exactly promising. The
previous Sonic Boom was average but had a strong single in “Modern Day Delilah.” Nonetheless, the song isn’t awful, just kind
of boring. --** Stars
“Stand Up” by All That Remains: A more or less predictable
melodic metal song on every level that will most likely be enjoyed by fans of
the band, and held in disdain by those who aren’t. --** Stars
“Sacrimony – Angel of Afterlife” by Kamelot: One of the
higher quality power metal bands give fans more of what they love on their new
single, a sweeping track that foreshadows a conceptual album.
--*** Stars
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