2009 Album Review #5: Doves - Kingdom of Rust

What a great band the Doves are. The way I always explain their music is it sounds like music from long ago, but from a different planet. So, what can I say about the Doves 4th studio album? It's good. It's true, the first two Doves albums are their best, but the only thing that is lacking in the later two albums is that they just don't have a "whole" album feel to them. The songs are just as good as previous efforts, but there is a flow to the first two albums that just makes them bigger than their individual parts. "Kingdom of Rust" is a slight improvement from the third release, but not by leaps and bounds. There are some great highlights here, including the title track which is reminiscent of "There Goes the Fear" (possibly the band's most popular song); There's the driving, funky "Compulsion", which is a fantastic song and may be the best on the album; there is the ever-building grand finale song "Lifelines", which is great if you're feeling kind of down, or need that extra motivational boost or whatever; There's "Spellbound" which has a nice 3/4 thing going on. That is just to name a few. The songs are there, but much like U2's latest effort, I'm not so sure the "vision" is; luckily, for the Doves, this doesn't hurt them too much and still keeps in the spirit of their experimental space-rock style. A solid effort that is just out of reach of being amongst their best.

2009 Album Review #4: Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King

Dave Matthews Band, what can I say? This is a group I've fallen in and out of love with on several occasions. The new album "Big Whiskey..." was one that totally surprised me. I did not have high expectations, but there was just enough interest there to still give it a chance and go out and buy it. I am sure glad that I did. First of all, the band's previous effort "Stand Up" was just okay at best. Secondly, with the death of their saxophone player, LeRoi Moore, I couldn't see this being more than a futile attempt at recapturing some magic that had long faded away. I learned that most of this album was completed with Moore's saxophone parts, and I heard a few samples of songs. So, I went out and made the purchase. The album is definitely a "grower"; it took a few listens to get used to the sound. This is a new, fresh sound for DMB. It's like they took the best of what they did in the past, then added some heavier electric guitar and a lot more brass. It works very well. A lot of these songs are pretty rockin'. I can't say enough about the song "Seven", which to say is amazing would be an understatement. The opening track, "Shake me like a Monkey" is pure energy. Other highlights include "Squirm", "Alligator Pie", and "Time Bomb". I also have to point out how fantastic a drummer Carter Beauford is; I have no clue how he drives these songs the way he does and still fits in some really great fills. The only drawback I can point out with this album is that as far as the radio singles go, they really selected the wrong ones. "Funny the Way it is", "Why I am", and "You & Me" have all been getting a little radio play, but in my opinion, are not a good example of what the album really has to offer. Also, I feel like Boyd Tinsley, the violinist, did not get a chance to shine at all on this record. All in all, a real surprise. This is a new, modernized sound for DMB and it strikes all the right chords. The question now will be, where do they go from here? How does a band carry on without one of their most talented musicians? I suppose we'll find out in time.

2009 Album Review #3: Bob Dylan - Together Through Life

Bob Dylan is an artist who I feel like has aged well...until now. You should understand that type of Dylan fan I am. There is very little about the "classic" Bob Dylan catalog that I actually enjoy. Aside from "Lay, Lady, Lay" and "The Man in Me" (which I attribute liking it to The Big Lebowski), there really aren't too many Bob Dylan songs from prior to 1997 that I really enjoy or even like to an extent. Granted, I've never really dug deep into his material. It is when I hear the amazing work he has done in his later years, that I find it somewhat hard to believe this is the same Dylan. Starting with 97's "Time out of Mind", Dylan has released three really fantastic albums. They are all a perfect mix of that American blues/rock sound, Bob's gruff and well-aged voice (which yes, sounds ten times better than his voice in his younger days), and his cleverly written lyrics. Unfortunately, on "Together Through Life", the energy and spirit just aren't there. Aside from the first track "Beyond Here Lies Nothing" (which is almost an appropriate description of the album itself) there isn't much here to really go crazy about. Dylan's voice no longer just sounds gruff around the edges, but almost somewhat damaged. The songs aren't as lively and fun throughout. There is simply something lacking about the entire record that the previous three had. I would say that I hope it's not the start of a trend, but to be honest, the fact that we got three strong releases from Dylan at all is already more than I could expect.

2009 Album Review #2: Steven Wilson - Insurgentes

Steven Wilson (frontman of Porcupine Tree) created a solo album every bit as beautiful, haunting, and rockin' as a Porcupine Tree album. It is in that where the only flaw of this album lies; it sounds like a Porcupine Tree album (which is to be expected, as PT started out as just Wilson seeing what he could come up with way back in the late 80's /Early 90's). It's very rewarding to see Tony Levin (of King Crimson fame) in the credits. Some highlights are the extremely spacey "Veneno Para las Hadas", which sounds like a more spaced-out version of PT's The Sky Moves Sideways. Also very interesting are the seemingly Adrian Belew/King Crimson inspired "No Twilight Within the Courts of the Sun", which has an extremely progressive flavor; the addictive "Only Child", and the menacing sound of "Salvaging". It feels as if this is the material that Wilson may have wrote intending it for the band (PT), but ended up using it as his own because it didn't fit in with any of the "concepts" that the band's recent albums have had. A definite win for Steven Wilson; shame that most likely the only ones that know about this album are the Porcupine Tree fans.

2009 Album Review #1: U2 - No Line on the Horizon

As I stated in my previous entry, I'm going to do a series of "Mini-reviews" of albums that were released in 2009 that I own, ending with a decision on what my personal favorite Album of the Year is. So, without further hesitation, here is the first in the series:

U2 - No Line on the Horizon

- I have too high of expectations for my favorite band, I guess. This so-called venture into experimentation turned into an album that really doesn't know what it wants to be. There are songs that hint a little at experimentation, but they are laced with typical U2 guitar sounds care of the Edge, Larry's straightforward drumming, and Bono's lyrics about the triumph of the human spirit (*yawn*). Other songs are just blatent attempts at having another huge hit, which the band is usually great at, but it's all treading over the same old ground. Too much focus on what their next hit is going to be and I don't think they'll ever be able to pull off anything truly innovative again, because the idea of being a "hits" band has been their focus for almost ten years now. There are many highlights on this album, however, and some true moments of genius. One man has pulled through and continues to improve and shine on every record: Adam Clayton. This album has produced a few of the bands best songs ("Magnificent" and "Unknown Caller" are fantastic), but for the most part this is amongst their least-effective work.

Are we approaching that time again?!

2009 is just about coming to a close. My next post will most likely be the Year-in-review like I have done the past 2 years in a row. This time, a new added feature will take place where I post a bunch of mini-reviews of albums I have bought that were released throughout the course of 2009 and pick one stand-out winner of "Craig's Album of the Year 2009". This may turn into a multi-part series that I may begin fairly soon. I don't believe there are too many more 2009 albums that I am going to wish to acquire; and if there are, I will save those reviews until last. This will be in addition to the month-by-month review of events in my life and the section to follow on lessons learned and resolutions for 2010. I enjoy doing this as sort of a way to gauge where I've been vs. where I am vs. where I'm going.

So, brief preview of what's to come in my Year-in-Review. For starters, it's once again been a huge year in my life...professionally and personally. I'm sure I'll have a section regarding the most important and the best job I've had yet (one that probably saved me from a mental breakdown). I'll also speak pretty straightforwardly, but not at length, about the infamous "breakup"; mainly discussing briefly what happened and the strength it took to make it through and finally put it behind me. I say that I won't talk at length about it, because A.) It's no longer deserving of giving much thought to anymore; B.) Some scars and wounds are a little too personal to discuss on a weblog, but if you want to know my deep (and yes, somewhat dark) feelings about the topic, you can ask me privately; and lastly C.) I'm only concerned with getting far away from it and moving on at this point. The reason I will even briefly discuss it is because (to borrow from one of my favorite bands) in this point in my life, my breakup has been my "incident", that is to say that one moment or event that happens in your life where you know that nothing will ever be the same from that point forward. Aside from all that, I have some stories about vacations, finding myself when I didn't think I would need to, getting a new car, going to concerts, etc.

There is still a month and a half to go! Who knows, the best may be yet to come. See you soon!