DG's Album Reviews
RATING SYSTEM:
WWWWW- Nothing compares to it
WWWW- Destined to be a classic
WWW- Enjoyable
WW- Passable
W- Chuck It!
DG's MUSICAL PREFERENCES:
I'm an eclectic, so every type of music is reviewed here, except country and oldies (the only two musical types I do not like). The sources are pretty simple: they're albums I've purchased with my own money (not yet the big-time guy that gets them for free) and, to get reviewed here, they have to be relatively new. Most of the albums I do acquire are relatively new ones (e.g. still spawning singles), so most of my collection will be reviewed. I will, however, make references to albums of previous years that I've collected but, since I only started my World Issues Page in February, are not reviewed. I've been listening to music intensively for about five years now, and, having heard millions of songs over the years, I think I have a pretty good handle on what is good and what is not.WHAT DG LOOKS FOR:
First and foremost, the tracks have to be a pretty good listen. There's nothing worse than listening to an album that lulls you to sleep. Second, I look for creativity and originality, something to set the work apart from others in its class, and also to see if the artist, within the album itself, can also be creative and original. Third, it has to work. A discombobulated album won't score a lot of points with me, as it almost proves the artist didn't try too hard or "tried too hard". Fourth, I look for artistic merit- one should never forget that artists, in the end, create "art", so artists that can succeed in creating deep, sensual and overall stunning music get rewarded here. No "cookie-cutters" allowed.Anyway, here are the reviews.
This Edition:
The Red Hot Chili Peppers- By The Way
The Rascalz- Reloaded
My Picks
Jimmy Eat World- Bleed American
Rating: WWW
Song of the Album: "My Sundown"
My Alternate Title: "Reeks of Potential"
Genre: Hard Rock
Believe it or not, the Mesa, Arizona outfit Jimmy Eat World has been around for quite a while, even though "Bleed American" is their first mainstream disc. Formerly an emo band, Jimmy Eat World have battled through the years with an on-again, off-again recording contract, finally getting signed- on their own terms- about last year to Dreamworks Records. Since then, the band- frontman and lead guitarist Jimmy Adkins, bassist Rick Burch and drummer Zach Lind- have blown up the pop charts with "The Middle", which, at the time of writing, held firmly to the No. 7 spot on Billboard and has been charting since it's release in January. "Sweetness", the band's second single, has so far failed to chart, sparking one-hit wonder talk, but the truth is that can't be decided until this album plays out and the band follows up "Bleed American", so the jury is still out on the troupe.
As to whether or not the current release can keep Jimmy Eat World around for much longer: well, it's up to how the band plays the singles. The last two tracks, "The Authority Song" and "My Sundown", have a lot of promise as radio singles, as they're very well written, displaying that the band can write with the best of modern rock, like Nickelback and Our Lady Peace. Musically, the band sounds great, putting to good use their experience in belting exceptional rock tracks, though rock purists will say they've heard it done better (and trust me, they have). Delivery is great, as as Adkins' great voice greatly compliments the band's sound, giving the band a crisp and polished sound, something they've been long noted for.
Lyrically, though, "Bleed American" could use a bit of work. Too many times songs that had the potential to be five-star classics but a huge flaw- a lack of originality, overwritten, simplicity- drags them down. For example, the first three tracks are very similar in nature, of them "The Middle", so if you've heard the first single you've heard the first three songs- though not the album, as the next track, "Your House", offers a slight change of pace. However, the track isn't without fault, as the band needlessly tacked an extra minute and a half to the track, a shame because the song started off as a well-written tune. To be honest, it reminded me of another Arizona musician, Michelle Branch, since the style was very reminiscent of her power-pop sound. However, after hearing the track go over when it should have, I only thought "Branch would have known when to end it". As for "Sweetness", conveniently the second single and the next track, it too sounds great musically, and despite some intelligent penmanship, the song comes out simple as every second word it seems is "Whoa". Other tracks follow a similar pattern of starting fine but falling flat at the end until the last two tracks, dragging down the overall work.
In the end, Jimmy Eat World is not exactly one of rock's new leaders but, with "Bleed American", they present that they at least have the potential, especially with "The Middle" and the last two tracks. If the band can prove in a later work they can extend that songwriting brilliance to an entire album as opposed to only a few tracks they could be counted among rock's better acts of late, like Nickelback. For now, "Bleed American" is a disc that presents a lot of potential but can't help itself from falling flat for the most part. Still, don't let that ruin your enjoyment of this disc, and, hopefully, the Arizona boys will get it right the next time around.
Back
The Red Hot Chili Peppers- By The Way
Rating: W
Song of the Album: "The Zephyr Song"
My Alternate Title: "A Perfect Lullaby"
Genre: Hard Rock
If there is anything The Red Hot Chili Peppers specialize in, it is "surfer music", mellow rock that features a mixture of wonderful array of biting lyrics and attacking guitar work laced with thoughtful, relaxing and almost soulful songs in between. "By The Way", the Peppers' follow-up to the excellent "Californication", continues more in the latter trend, featuring more relaxing and mellow songs than any of the Peppers' previous works, as the Peppers are taking another step toward truly artistic music.
Alas, of all the positives one could attain from "By The Way", none of them will deal with the album's content, arguably the worst the Peppers have ever done. Yes, it is mellow and relaxing, fulfilling the Peppers' promise, but the problem is that it is way too mellow, actually putting the listener to sleep as opposed to soothing and re-energizing. Case in point: while listening to "By The Way", halfway through I had to stop the disc and grab a soft drink to hopefully keep me awake, because the album was putting me to sleep. It succeeded, but only barely, as the rest of the album continued the dragging feeling the first part did. The album officially contains 16 songs and runs for 68:50, but the truth is that it feels like it goes for a lot longer, more like fifty days and 300 songs, making the listener pine for the album to end.
This isn't to say that the Peppers' album contains no bright spots, but, believe me, the few bright spots stand out clearer than a scarecrow in an open field. Of them include the title track and first single, a much smarter but less cohesive version of "Californication"'s "All Around The World", "The Zephyr Song", which evokes "Otherside" in its lyrical and musical quality, and "Midnight", a wonderfully done new version of the song "Californication". However, like I said, the bright spots are few and far between, and do almost nothing to boost the album's appeal, which is practically none.
Overall, "By The Way" is probably not the worst album ever to come out and is probably not the worst ever this year (though I haven't heard it, I'm guessing Ludacris' "Word Of Mouf" is, since most of his radio tracks are just downright horrible), but is still terrible. Other than the three tracks I outlined in the previous paragraph, there is almost nothing of value one could get out of "By The Way", as the collection is very sedative and hardly ever compelling. If one wanted an example of how to do a relaxing song, Moby's "Porcelain" provides an excellent example, as the song has enough zip to keep the listener awake but relaxes at the same time, a precariously hard formula to attain and something the Peppers definitely did not achieve. I guess if anyone wanted a redeeming quality for the Peppers' new album there is one: it makes an excellent Frisbee. I'll just leave it at that.
Rating: WWWWW
Song of the Album: "Filthy"
My Alternate Title: "A Stepping Stone For Hip-Hop"
Genre: Hip-Hop
Vancouver hip-hop outfit The Rascalz return with their third major-label album "Reloaded", almost three years after the critically acclaimed "Global Warning" came out. As troupe MC Red 1 noted on MuchMusic, "the title is meant to say that we're 're-loaded' and ready to take on the world again", and, after a disc like this one, I'd say The Rascalz are more than ready.
However, The Rascalz, on this disc, are more calculating and more reflective on the album than what we've become accustomed to before, providing a disc that is every bit as thoughtful as it is entertaining. Perhaps this is a response to the poor reception the crew gets outside of Canada, where they enjoy a cult following at best, or maybe just because they're getting older and wiser in the process. There's almost no denying that the first single, "Crazy World" (featuring Notch and the late Sazon Diamonte), is just as much a response to The Rascalz's reception as it is a warning to up-and-coming acts, featuring a nice balance. Sazon raps about how he's "really crowded with stress/So I go and drink away the pain" and Notch sings "Before you cross the border/Better have your **** in order/'Cause 'round these parts we don't play/so we saying." The Rascalz's MC's Red-1 and Fit (as opposed to Misfit, since he feels he now "fits in") counter that, throwing down warning after warning about how you can't mess with them, although Red-1 slips in a comment about how record companies "fraud cats". There are other great tracks similar to it, as well as tracks that tackle other issues, like the stresses of the music industry and Vancouver in general (the album's standout "Filthy") and thoughtful songs on love (like the second single "Movie Star"). There are also songs that speak out about politics, like "Politricks" and a song by the late Diamonte, "Posupuesto", which is wonderful and thoughtful and leaves one wondering how Diamonte's career would have gone if the late rapper was still alive. Oh well: at least he'll leave his mark musically, so we'll never forget what a talent he was.
On the downside, "Reloaded" tends to get a little stupid at times and does tend to drag, but even in that state, the album is still very enjoyable and always corrects itself in the end. Of greater concern, though, is the fact Red-1 seems to rap more than Fit, lending one to wonder about the current state of The Rascalz. As much as I enjoy Red-1, I've always felt that a rap/hip-hop group should allow both MC's an equal chance to rap, no matter how much better one is than the other.
Overall, "Reloaded" is an amazing disc and worthy as one of the best hip-hop albums to come out this year. After having to sit through a normally lame and really dumb standard hip-hop fare (Ludacris anyone?), it is refreshing to hear The Rascalz, who I've long held to be leaders in this style because they lay a different sound, come out with a hip-hop sound that is actually thoughtful. It's very comparable to Fat Joe's album "Jealous Ones Still Envy", which also features a plethora of thoughtful songs, but "Reloaded" offers a slightly better vibe. I view "Reloaded" as a stepping stone for hip-hop, daring it to be more thoughtful and deeper instead of making simple party tracks, forcing arguably one of music's least impressive styles (other than death metal and whatever the junk that The Vines and The Hives do) to get better. Will it be enough to break The Rascalz to the rest of the world? Only time will tell.
Okay, this month the picks are easier than last one's (it's a disturbing trend if you ask me, but musically the summer's been pretty forgettable), as the choices are an amazing album (The Rascalz), one okay album (Jimmy Eat World) and one horrible album (The Red Hot Chili Peppers). Hmmm. Seriously, The Rascalz take this month's edition by a mile with an amazing, different and thoughtful sound, almost a rarity in today's hip-hop. That doesn't mean that Jimmy Eat World's album, technically their mainstream debut is all that bad: it is a very enjoyable disc with lots of potential but not enough finish. Maybe the Mesa boys will get it right the next time, if they don't one-hit first. As for the Peppers, I'd much rather forget their latest "effort", a collection of dull, boring tracks that put the listener to sleep. Like I said before, it makes a good Frisbee, so it has some redemption. Anyway, that's August's Edition of Album Reviews: hopefully next month I'll be able to give you more entertaining albums as (I hope). With fall coming, I'm hoping music will become better overall, as the deeper and more artistic tracks traditionally come out during the fall and the winter when everyone stays inside (to avoid the cold), instead of happy summer tunes meant only for background (which is why most are bad). Hey, at least there will be something to look forward to when the snow hits the ground (ugh). Oh well. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed it and are helped in your musical quest.
-DG
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