Music Reviews

[CM1847]

Re: Music Reviews

Then I misunderstood. I think Karen has plenty of fire and intensity in her vocals, she doesn't need to scream to show it. She's still pissed about something, she just doesn't feel the need to scream about it, still an intense album lyrically, just missing the screaming.

PS. Sometimes I just like arguing for the sake of arguing.

[Beantown]

Re: Music Reviews



Sucka Brown - Extra Medium

Sucka Brown is one of my friend's brother's band, and has an incredibly infectious sound. I heard one song awhile ago on their demo, and got the CD, Extra Medium, a month or two ago, but just started to really get into it recently. You can find them on myspace, on purevolume, on iTunes, or you can buy the cd through their website(you can also listen to samples at their website).

The CD itself is eight songs long, and each song is catchy and worth listening too. They fall under the "pop" genre, but that's only because I don't know if anyone could really come up with a category. they're like, an upbeat rock group, with a unique mix of funk and catchy lyrics, creative mixtures and everything. It's really just hard to describe them.

Probably not the best review, but it's certainly worth checking out.

Score: 9 out of 10, just because I really enjoy their unique sound and creative lyrics.

Songs to focus on: they're all good, but my favorites are: Fall Classic, Chainsaw Tweezer Farm, Public Transportation and Wait.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Music Reviews






Every once and a while, an album comes along that completely blows your socks off. There's no hype surrounding the album, hell, almost nobody has even heard of the band, much less able to name any of their albums. How a person gets their hands on such an album is either by a stroke of pure luck or perhaps great placement at the music store. Whatever it was, I knew I had a piece of gold in my hands as soon as the first 30 second sample was done at the listening station in Barnes & Noble. I didn't even think about putting it back in its slot underneath the headphones, all I wanted to do was rip into the plastic and listen to the album in full.

Songlines isn't a traditional blues-rock album in the sense of what a person is use to hearing with Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, or Stevie Ray Vaughan. Instead, Songlines is more of a blues-rock album that tours the world, making stops in the Australian backwoods, the beaches of the Carribean, and the fields of the United States. From the start of the album, with tamborines and bongos on Volunteered Slavery, the listener is treated to a revelation that this will be unlike anything they've heard before. Then Derek Trucks hits the first string of his very first riff on the album and the tour around the world begins.

Throughout the entirety of the album, the listener is treated to a constant mixture of reggae, soul, blues, and a bit of funk. Mike Mattison's vocals are soulful to the bone and his range is wide enough to cover the gamut of genres that the album covers. From the husky vocals of Chevrolet to the gospel drenched I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel To Be Free), the listener is enjoys a showcase of vocals which matches the atmosphere each song creates and matches them perfectly. The driving force for the albums wide range of style are the bass, drums and piano. The three intertwine and work together to create the reggae sound of Sailing On, but still retain enough of the blues to keep the album as a whole, rather than seperate pieces. While the rhythm section and Mike Mattison's vocals do more than their fair share of creating one of the best albums I've heard in recent years, the big star, and rightly so, is guitarist Derek Trucks.

Before I tore through the plastic which covered the album, I read a sticker which I didn't give much thought to (or believe) before I listened to the album. The sticker read something along the lines of "Derek Trucks is the holiest guitarist in the West." I'm not sure if holiest was the best word to use. A God on the guitar? Quite possibly as I've yet to hear his live material or his work with the Allman Brothers Band, but judging from his work on Songlines I've only scratched the surface. Derek Trucks is, without hesitation, one of the best guitarists of this generation, and this thought is reinforced not by the comparisons between Trucks and the late Duane Allman, but by what Trucks displays on this album. The ability to go from electric guitar to slide guitar and then go from blues, to rock, to funk on each is a treat to listen to. While there aren't more than a handful of extended jams on the album, which are all filled with great guitar work, there are two very well developed instrumentals, which do their job and keep my attention for the full length of the song. Sahib Teri Bandi / Maki Madni, lasting almost a full ten minutes, feels like its less than four as Derek takes you into the Austrialian country and lets the nature surround you.

The Derek Trucks Band takes the listener on a journey filled entirely with examples of wonderful guitar work, but more importantly, examples of a what a truly talented band sounds like when playing on the same level. Those die-hard classic rockers claiming today's music doesn't have the same fire, feel, or soul need to look no further than The Derek Trucks Band's Songlines.

Tracks to keep on repeat: Crow Jane, Sahib Teri Bandi / Maki Madni, and I'd Rather Be Blind, Crippled and Crazy.
9.5 out of 10

Bottom line: Anybody who is a fan of A) blues-rock B) Great guitar work C) Awesome music or D) All of the above, should pick up this gem ASAP.

[X*Cell]

Re: Music Reviews

Have you ever thought of being a MUSIC REVIEWER Fresh T? For a magazine or website, etc...?

You are good.

[Flyboy]

Re: Music Reviews

What about John Legends album..I never heard any of it, but Oridinary People

It truly is a great, GREAT album to have. Easily a 10/10... it's hard to skip a track on it.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Music Reviews

Have you ever thought of being a MUSIC REVIEWER Fresh T? For a magazine or website, etc...?

You are good.

Thanks. I've given it some thought as I enjoy writing in almost every form, but I haven't thought about it enough honestly. This is my first year in college and both of my english teachers have told me I should do something that has me writing.

[CM1847]

Re: Music Reviews

Bringing this one back from the dead again.....

Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam

After their standard 2-3 year hiatus since their last album, "Riot Act", Pearl Jam is back. Expecting another shift towards mid-aged rock? Not so fast my friends.....the boys had a fire lit under them due to the current political situations around them. From the opening track it is pretty apparant this is something a little different than any of their albums since "Yeild." "Life Wasted" starts off with the catchy-est rocker they've done in a while, it was the obvious choice as the second single and will hit radio stations later this month. Next is the first single the blistering "World Wide Suicide" followed by "Comatose" which is among the most rocking songs the band has ever released, even if it is pretty much a re-working of "Spin the Black Circle" it is still a great song. From there the disc goes into the kind of rock songs you would expect from 40 year olds, a stretch of mid-tempo rockers carries the middle of the album. "Marker in the Sand" is the standout of that bunch. Finally on the third act of the album they go into slow, brooding rock mode with some heavy nods towards classic rock artists. "Come Back" is the best here and the album closer, "Inside Job", is the first studio album track to break 6 minutes long without having a gap of dead space at the end. "Gone" will be the third single, I don't like the choice, I think "Come Back" would fit the role better for the similar style of song. "Wasted Reprise" is the only real throwaway here, it is a minute long retelling of some lines from the album-opener in a much more calm setting. it isn't bad but most of the time when you have a song aroudn a minute long, there isn't much of a point to it(except for "Lukin" of course!).

In the end "Pearl Jam" is the most accesible album the band has put out in a while. A fan of the band might say the political climate forced them to rock harder this time out, while a critic might say they were pissed at how poorly "Riot Act" did on the charts. Either way you take it, the are back and rocking as much as you could expect people at their age to. It isn't' Vs. or Ten, heck it isn't any of their albums, it is something new and different from a band who made a habit of not putting out two similar albums in a row. It won't convert non-fans, but it will probably bring some ex-fans back into the fold with an album full of strong songs and void of the throwaways that ALWAYS litter their albums.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Listen to: "Life Wasted", "Comatose" and "Come Back"

[Fresh Tendrils]

My Morning Jacket - Okonokos

Having seen My Morning Jacket open up for Pearl Jam this past May and then later discovering the alt. country, space rock, prog rockers would be releasing a double live album, I was more than thrilled and anticipated this release more than most from this year. The atmosphere that night in May was electric. Jim James’ vocals were reverberating off the roof to the floor and off the roof again. His vocals were haunting and graceful. The guitars were intense and loud, hell everything was loud. Not to mention The Bear up on stage with the Kentucky rockers. Even if it was just an opening set, it was one of the best performances I have seen from a band.

With the release of Okonokos, I was curious to see not only how their typical alt. country songs from their pre-Z albums would sound next to the pop, spacey, alt. country songs from Z. Not to mention wondering how My Morning Jacket would capture the energy and atmosphere of actually being at their show. Okonokos not only captures the magic of My Morning Jacket’s wonderful atmosphere and sound on their studio albums, but manages to capture the atmosphere of attending a My Morning Jacket concert.

To begin with, Okonokos is heavy with material from their most recent album Z, featuring eight of the ten songs from the album. While one would think the flow of Okonokos might be disrupted due to the noticeable differences between It Still Moves and Z, the flow is actually terrific. The songs from Z blend in perfectly with all the other material in My Morning Jacket’s catalogue, which makes for seamless transitions from one song to another. The songs from Z do suffer a bit because when this show was recorded, the songs were relatively new and it sounds like the band was still trying to find each song’s groove for a live performance. Some songs, such as the fantastic opening track on disc two Dondante, have already found their groove as the extended saxophone solo makes this already amazing song even better. While others, such as Gideon, sound a little too similar to their studio counterparts; however, even those songs are taken up another notch compared to their studio versions as Jim James’ vocals are more intensified and inspired in a live setting than in studio.

This quality is apparent throughout the album as well. James’ vocals are no longer restrained from the low-ceilings of a studio and James’ takes full advantage of that fact. He belts out Gideon and shivers literally go up your spine. The climatic yell in Run Thru is perfect for the song as it adds even more urgency and fear as opposed to the relatively restrained studio version. James’ knows when to come back down to Earth too and sings with a soft compassion on songs such as Lay Low, which makes a 10,000 attendance show sound like you're one of 100. James’ range is not only widened by less restraint, his voice sounds better on this live album than it does in studio. His reverb appeal is still there, but overall it sounds more genuine, more country, and more realistic than his voice sounds in the studio. Anybody who is a fan of James’ vocal styling will find Okonokos a very satisfying release. James’ ability to be intimate and sing with southern compassion then unleash some powerful rebel yells helps make every song superior to their studio counterpart.

Lets not forget the rest of the band here because even if James’ vocals were the same vocal track from It Still Moves or Z, the songs would still be superior to their studio versions. The drums hit harder, the guitars are louder, and the keys sound terrific, especially the added keys to old favorites such as Run Thru and One Big Holiday. One Big Holiday, specifically, displays a wonderful intro backed by a, literally, banging organ-esque keyboard and it sounds wonderful, creating the definitive version of the song. The same can be said for Run Thru as well, however, the added intensity and energy during the fantastic climax of the song really overshadows the wonderful underlying keys; by the end of the climax and the beginning of the last verse, you feel worn out and tired and James’ vocals reflects this feeling perfectly. Then of course the, to put it simply, amazing drum solo at the end of Steam Engine exceeds the studio version by far. While the songs do remain similar to their studio counterparts, the added intensity and energy from the instruments really push these already amazing songs to another level.

Okonokos is a release that will satisfy all fans of My Morning Jacket. The casual fan will enjoy the ability to listen to songs from all of the band’s releases without having to go through them all. The die-hard fan will enjoy the new touches added to each song on the album and will reconnect with memories of seeing My Morning Jacket in person. New fans will be able to use the album as a base and decide which album they should look into first. Throughout the album, My Morning Jacket displays an ability to recreate the atmosphere of their studio albums in a live setting, something very few bands can successfully do. The songs still contain an insane ability to give me the chills and make me smile at the same moments as I did before. The live songs do sound similar to their studio cuts, but there are enough added touches throughout the album to essentially make the older studio cuts seem like they’re missing something when you back and listen. The songs contained on Okonokos are the definitive versions of each as My Morning Jacket take songs that are already small-masterpieces and somehow takes them up another level and my curiosity as to exactly how they did will keep me listening for awhile.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: My Morning Jacket - Okonokos

Major bumpage.

Here comes another My Morning Jacket review.

Moving backwards from "Z" to "It Still Moves" I was a bit hesitant on when I would pick up another one of their albums - at least another one of their early releases. I liked the sound the band was going for on "It Still Moves" with the very apparently alt-country rock and haunting, echoes of Jim James' vocals. The thing that held me back for so long was that while "It Still Moves" is a good album, there was far too much instrumental meandering. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy jamming and instrumentation, but on "It Still Moves" the band just didn't go anywhere with it - there wasn't any (overall) progression towards the end of the song.

Then finally I convinced myself to pick up "At Dawn" and I have been literally owned by it since I popped it into my CD player. The album is most definitely the fore-runner to "It Still Moves" since the alt-country rock sound is intact and Jim James' vocals echo twice as much, but the structure of the songs actually progress towards something as the instrumentation is tight and isn't loose and meandering like their next album would be. Beneath the country exterior, there's a glimmer of The Beach Boys in the music and the structure of the vocals, which provides a wonderful contrast. The songs themselves are tremendous - there is an apparently country swagger to the songs, especially on "Honest Man." The thing that really grabbed me, however, was after I listened to the album for the first time I felt like I finally understood why it sounded like Jim James was singing out from the bottom of a bottle and songs such as "Phone Went West," "I Needed It Most" and "Hopefully" are the reasons why because there's a broken-hearted, melancholy tinge to James' vocals that really hits you hard.

After listening to the album from beginning to end I get a feeling of satisfaction that "It Still Moves" never delivers as "At Dawn" feels like its continually moving toward and progressing towards a depressingly broken-hearted end instead of aimlessly wandering around the backwoods.