Reviewed by: Kris

Artist: Matthew Good

Album: White Light Rock and Roll Review

Official Webpage

1. Put Out Your Lights
2. Poor Man’s Grey
3. We’re So Heavy
4. Empty Road
5. Alert Status Red
6. Little Terror
7. In Love With A Bad Idea
8. North American For Life
9. Blue Skies Over Badlands
10. It’s Been A While Since I Was Your Man
11. Buffalo Seven
12. Ex-Pats Over Blue Mountain Symphony Orchestra

Matthew Good is back with his second solo endeavor and his eighth full album. I am a huge Matthew Good fan and I own all eight of his albums. I was really excited when I heard that he was coming out with a new album and I ordered it as soon as I could. I knew that Good’s new album would be amazing, and I couldn’t be any more right. White Light Rock & Roll Review was recorded in a span of only eleven days, so it has that raw energy to it, which makes the album just so great.

Most of Good’s albums have had a different sound than the previous one. This is no exception. Good’s last album, Avalanche, had an orchestral aura about it. This album is pure rock, and I think that is what Matthew Good wanted this album to do. He wanted to make an album completely different from anything else he had ever done, and he definitely accomplishes that feat.

Good also delivers some messages in his music. He never has lyrics that are mindless; everything Matthew Good sings has a meaning to it. A few of the songs on WLR&RR are songs that almost seem like protest songs and have a very pertinent message to what is happening in the world today. I won’t tell you the messages; you’ll have to listen to the songs in order to find out what they are.

I love the entire album, so it’s tough for me to figure out what my favorite tracks are on it, but I think I’ve figured them out. I love Put Out Your Lights, Poor Man’s Grey, and Alert Status Red. Each of these songs carries one of those messages I told you about a little earlier. These songs also have heavier guitar riffs and rock a bit harder than the rest of the songs on the album. All the songs are different, but they seem to mesh together so well with each other.

I definitely recommend this CD to anyone that wants to listen to a real rock album that is different than most modern rock today. This isn’t rock like Nickleback or Puddle of Mudd. This album seems to go back to the days when rock was actually good. Matthew Good is one of my favorite artists; therefore I may be a bit biased. But really, give it a shot. It’s one of my favorite albums to be released in 2004.