Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair

No surprise that I'm exhausted from yet another long weekend - that included getting my socks rocked off again live (review coming at some point). But we get back in the groove this morning with a little Tears For Fears. Now, I've known about these guys forever. Not sure why I never reviewed them before - but it just so happened I was watching something on VH1 and 'Mad World' came up, and I recalled how much I adore that song, and these guys were the originals. I decided not to do that album today, because this one was so incredibly popular. It came out in 1985 and is a sick 5x platinum in the states. They got the title from some show called 'Sybil' back in the 80's - which I have zero recollection of. But apparently it was about a lady who had multiple personalities and only felt safe when she was in her therapist's "big chair". So there you have it. This is one of the more highly regarded albums of the entire decade - and was mixed into the 1001 Albums To Listen To Before You Die analysis. It's certainly got that signature 80's pop feel, especially with tracks like 'Rule The World'. Very synthy, very 80's style beats. The beats almost lead this into being a dance album on some tracks, but then super ballady on others. That genre bending I think is what made this album, and the band so well respected. They were doing that at a time it was not at all commonplace. This album is beyond needing to check out. I can't stand 80's music, but I really respect this record. The hits are really hits and the rest is all pretty good too.



TRACK LISTING:

1. Shout

2. Working Hour, The

3. Everybody Wants to Rule the World

4. Mothers Talk

5. I Believe

6. Broken

7. Head over Heals/Broken

8. Listen

9. Big Chair, The

10. Empire Building

11. Marauders, The

12. Broken Revisted

13. Conflict, The

14. Mothers Talk(US Remix)

15. Shout (US Remix)



Listen To Samples



Top 3 Tracks:

1. Shout

2. Head Over Heels/Broken

3. Rule The World



FINAL RATING:

4 out of 5 stars

Eels Day - And Please, Give Me Some Suggestions!

As you all know - today is Eels day. I'm incredibly excited for the show tonight. If you live in the Milwaukee area, the show is at Turner Hall (near the Bradley Center) tonight at 7pm. My co-writer Heidi will be joining me, and I'm sure we'll both post our thoughts about the show next week. If it's anywhere near as awesome as their show was at the Pabst last year, everyone will walk home beyond pleased.

I wanted to add a little sidenote too - the Suggestion Box is getting pretty close to empty! Big shoutout to my biggest helpers - janis!, JenInTosa, Ashley, peterman and Shaqwanda. Please keep the suggestions coming! And if you're new to the blog or haven't ever dropped a Suggestion in before - just click the link in the upper right hand corner and there is a quick form to fill out. Suggestions make blogging a TON easier when I don't have to run through music to select on my own everyday. So thank you all in advance for dropping some artists in the box for me.

Everyone have a great, safe weekend otherwise. And do your best to jam out to your favorite tunes!

B Side

Eels - Electro-Shock Blues

Yeah yeah yeah - I know what you're thinking. Another Eels review B Side? Come on! They're playing in Milwaukee tomorrow, and I'm going! And Heidi is even coming along - driving hundreds of miles to go with me! I'm sure we'll both write up our thoughts and post them early next week. It's gonna be epic! I've talked about this before, but when this album was being written, lead singer Mark Oliver Everett (aka E) was in an extremely dark place. His mother was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, and his sister had committed suicide within months of each other. This album is largely his reactions to the news and the events, and becoming the only living member of his family remaining. His father passed when he was a 19 of a heart attack, and E was the first to discover his body. I'm going to cut right to the chase with this one - the album is phenomenal. Every time I listen to it, I pick up more and more of what E must have been feeling and going through when he was writing this. Now, it helps I read his book 'Things The Grandchildren Should Know' before I listened to this the first time, and it was easier to put everything into perspective. But even if you haven't read it, you can listen to his words and his tone - and just know these were times of extreme struggle - but at the same point, hope that the future still held something better for him. Powerful, powerful stuff. 'Dead Of Winter' is essentially the tale of him being in the hospital seeing his mother slowly pass of cancer. 'Climbing To The Moon' plays in his experiences watching his sister be in and out of mental health facilities trying to battle her depression. The two 'Funeral' tracks and the opening track also relate to his sister's struggles. As sad as the album is on the surface, it's so much more than that. And each listen, makes me love it more and more. As close to a perfect album as you can have without having traditional "hits". If I could crusade one thing, it'd be having people read his book and listen to his album. It makes being able to put your own life problems and issues in perspective. Love it.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Elizabeth on the Bathroom Floor
2. Going to Your Funeral, Pt. 1
3. Cancer for the Cure
4. My Descent Into Madness
5. 3 Speed
6. Hospital Food
7. Electro-Shock Blues
8. Efils' God
9. Going to Your Funeral, Pt. 2
10. Last Stop: This Town
11. Baby Genius
12. Climbing to the Moon
13. Ant Farm
14. Dead of Winter
15. Medication Is Wearing Off, The
16. P.S. You Rock My World

Listen To Samples

1. The Medication Is Wearing Off
2. Electro Shock Blues
3. Climbing To The Moon

4. My Descent Into Madness
5. 3 Speed
6. Ant Farm
7. Dead Of Winter
8. Last Stop: This Town
9. Elizabeth On The Bathroom Floor
10. PS You Rock My World

(Yeah, it's really that good)

FINAL RATING:
4.75 out of 5 stars

Craig Morgan - My Kind Of Livin'

Thursday is here, and it's time for a country music review! Going back to my JenInTosa suggestion box entry - I only have two acts left from her list. My country recommendations are dwindling next to essentially nothing! If you have some specific albums I haven't gotten to yet, or an artist I haven't heard of, toss it my way! For today though, it's Craig Morgan. Craig was born in 1965 and lived in - you guessed it, Tennessee. He became an EMT at the age of 18 and was a soldier in the United State military. He was stationed in Korea, and while abroad, worked on his singing and guitar playing for the other fellas in his unit. He got his first music break finally in the the year 2000. This particular record was his third studio release, and is the only album to chart - being certified gold status. I think being a veteran and serving makes for a solid foundation of country music. And this album is about as old fashioned country music as you can imagine. I think in general, critics favor this record, but give it very average ratings after the wordy praise is over. And I as well have nothing bad to say about this album. It's got the old knee slappin' brand of country fun - but it's also lacking something to make it that 4 star plus record. I'm rooting for him though, and I see he's still putting out more music. I think based on this record, he has potential, but now it's 6 years later and hopefully he realized some of it.

TRACK LISTING:
1. That's What I Love About Sunday
2. I Got You
3. That's When I'll Believe That You're Gone
4. I'm Country
5. Lotta Man (In That Little Boy)
6. If You Like That
7. Ain't the Way I Wanna Go Out
8. Redneck Yacht Club
9. Rain For the Roses
10. Blame Me
11. Cowboy and Clown
12. In My Neighborhood

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. That's What I Love About Sunday
2. I Got You
3. Redneck Yacht Club

FINAL RATING:
2.75 out of 5 stars

Meat Puppets - II

Sometimes dabbling in relative obscurity is a ton of fun. I mean, how many people would know about the Meat Puppets if it wasn't for Nirvana and their 'Unplugged' album? You can pick off a handful of tracks that were Puppets originals and they covered. Why? I told this story so I'll be brief. Cobain loved the Puppets. They toured with Nirvana for years and he always felt they didn't get the respect and following they deserved. Curt Kirkwood was the master behind all the lyrics and the lead vocals of the Meat Puppets. And he really did write some incredible stuff. I mean, out there type stuff, but really interesting lyrics too. My personal favorite after covered by Nirvana 'Oh, Me' is a prime example. And although the vocals on this album leave a little something to be desired - it's signature in the way Dylan's rough vocal is also recognizable. But yeah, same with the following track 'Lake Of Fire'. Everyone knows that song now. But imagine what Cobain thought when reading through the lyrics for the first time. Such an odd mash up of random thoughts and philosophical ideas. Which honestly, can make for the best music. This originally dropped in 1983, but was re-released in 1999 with a bunch of bonus tracks. On first glance, the album was widely praised, with critics loving 'The Whistling Song'. I really enjoy this whole album. It's so obscure and rock n' roll and all those things that make records good. Sure, I enjoy the covers more than the originals, but as with DJ Sammy from last review, gotta put the chicken before the egg. (yeah, I mixed it up). It's odd, but check it out sometime. Well worth a listen.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Split Myself in Two
2. Magic Toy Missing
3. Lost
4. Plateau
5. Aurora Borealis
6. We're Here
7. Climbing
8. New Gods
9. Oh, Me
10. Lake of Fire
11. I'm a Mindless Idiot
12. The Whistling Song
13. Teenager(s)
14. I'm Not Here
15. New Gods (Demo Version)
16. Lost (Demo Version)
17. What to Do
18. 100% of Nothing
19. Aurora Borealis (Demo Version)

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Oh, Me
2. Lake Of Fire
3. Plateau

FINAL RATING:
3.25 out of 5 stars

Bryan Adams - Reckless

Well hello there Hump Day. Welcome to my humble abode. Calling things classic is really an inexact science. Take for example Mr. Bryan Adams here. I'm sure many people out there in blog reader land wouldn't consider him to be a classic rock artist. Well, if we're using the vehicle identification qualifier, this record is 27 years old, meaning - it's a classic. Hard to believe, I know. I'm a little too young to recall when this came out in 1984 - but it came out to much acclaim. It's sitting at 5x platinum in the states, and it's easy to see and hear why. I can't call myself a big Bryan Adams fan or anything - but it seems every single song I know by him is on this album. I'm sure that's not the case, but I recognize just about every track here. I think a lot of people from my generation will remember him for 'Everything I Do, I Do It For You' - which is a contender for not only longest short worded title ever, but also cheesiest song ever. But that was 90's Adams, and we're talking about 80's Adams. The reviews of this are very up and down. I've seen it rated as high as 5 stars and as low as 3. I've even seen it listen on the top album of all time, scoring really high in best Canadian albums of all time. I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. While it's 80's pop rock at its finest, it's got a little substance to it. And we all remember DJ Sammy's awesome dance remix of 'Heaven' which is off this album. Can't put the cart before the horse so to speak. I'll mark it down just a notch for the cover art (not as bad as H2O) but give it a notch up for the staying power of some of the rock anthem tracks. All in all, worth a listen anytime.

TRACK LISTING:
1. One Night Love Affair
2. She's Only Happy When She's Dancin'
3. Run to You
4. Heaven
5. Somebody
6. Summer of '69
7. Kids Wanna Rock
8. It's Only Love
9. Long Gone
10. Ain't Gonna Cry

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Run To You
2. Heaven
3. Summer of 69

FINAL RATING:
3.5 out of 5 stars

Mat Kearney - Young Love

My surprise of the day came when I realized that I've never introduced you guys to Mat Kearney. Not to say I'm a huge fan or anything, but back in 2006 he released a single called 'Nothing Left To Lose' - and I fell head over heels for the track. I must have played it non stop for a week straight. I honestly thought that I reviewed that record a while back - but clearly I hadn't. So what better to profile his new album that dropped today for New Music Tuesday? Mat was born in Eugene, Oregon in 1978. He listened to music a ton as a kid, but didn't even attempt to pick up a guitar until his junior year as Cal State - Chico. He got too hard into the party scene in college, and found himself struggling to make it though life. He says he found God - and turned it all around. He moved to Nashville to get harder into the music career and is now married and happy there. Now, the Mat Kearney I know is a very laid back, ballady type musician. And while there are those comfort songs on this album - this also has a very different feel to it. For my last album missing the boat on beats - this album actually has that, and yet the feel is still relaxing. I'm only listening to this over a poor quality site - but I imagine if you listened to this at a high rate and over a nice set of speakers, the bassline would hit pretty hard. Unexpected, but cool. No doubting his voice and his talent. The album is only 10 tracks, which is about perfect given what he's doing. It starts to run together a bit toward the end, and you feel the end is a perfect spot for it. There are a couple little mix-ups at the end that keep it interesting, but not enough to make you feel he's reinvented the wheel. But I like it. And it is somehow still feeling 'moody' to me while also having an upbeat feel. A rare feat to my listening ears.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Hey Mama
2. Ships In the Night
3. Count On Me
4. Sooner or Later
5. Chasing the Light
6. Learning To Love Again
7. Down
8. She Got the Honey
9. Young Dumb and In Love
10. Rochester

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Down
2. Rochester
3. Sooner Or Later

FINAL RATING:
3 out of 5 stars