Collective Soul - Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid

This is the sound of a band trying to find their sound. This album has everything on it: (sampled?) hand claps, organ, symphonic instrumental interlude, faux-punk, acoustic track, and a few radio-friendly generic rock songs just for good measure. Oddly enough, despite all this effort, I don't think it sounds a thing like their follow-up album (although, that'll be another review, for another day).

But, before I go running off to the next album, let's have a bit of a look at this, the debut release from Collective Soul. There were, as I remember it, two "big" singles from this album: Shine and Breathe. Nearly twenty years later, the first song doesn't hold up as well as the other one, although I still take notice of the 'extended' solo included on the album that was always cut-out for radio play. Generally speaking, because of the constant mix of sounds and styles on the album, it feels very choppy as you listen through it.

According to Wikipedia, this album was actually a set of demos that the record label rushed into production to capitalize on the band's sound at the time, which would seem to make some sense given the varied nature of the songs. Whatever the case, listening to the album now, it sounds like very generic mainstream rock with a few, often too short, guitar solos thrown in for good measure.

As of today, the band is still touring and has released eleven albums in total (nine studio albums, one live album and a greatest hits package); their most recent release is their second(?) self-titled album.

Recommended track(s):	Love Lifted Me; Breathe
Worth another listen?	No.
Overall rating:	Two Stars

treble charger - NC17

I can't believe that treble charger released this album more than fifteen years ago. Wow. Hearing the song Red, clearly the centre piece of the album, still takes me back to that time. There is something about that song that still really impresses me, resonates with me... it was (and still is) a great song that was released at the right time. Even all these years later, I can still remember the music video for it... and I probably haven't seen that clip in over ten years.

Generally speaking, the album is a lo-fi, garage rock effort by a band starting out. The production is fuzzy and the lyrics are often unintelligible, all with the exception of one track: Red. When this song starts -- track seven; another fact which I, for whatever reason, still remembered all these years later -- you can tell that they spent 80% of the album's budget getting this one song right. And, they did. From the opening notes, all the way through five minutes and ten seconds of heartbreak, they nailed it.

I've spent almost this entire review talking about one song, and that's because it's certainly the focus of this whole disc; there are other good songs, and some that might be considered filler, but this song makes the album. It was redone for the band's third studio album, with (I believe) a new intro and a slightly different guitar solo, but this will always be the definitive version of the song for me. The album as a whole is probably a two-and-a-half; the inclusion of this song single-handedly bumps it up to three stars.

Recommended track(s):	10th Grade Love; Trinity Bellwoods; Red
Worth another listen?	Yes!
Overall rating:	Three Stars

Sheryl Crow - Tuesday Night Music Club

To use a word that we were throwing around at the dinner table last night, re-listening to Sheryl Crow's debut CD left me feeling underwhelmed. I remembered this album as being upbeat and really strong from front to back, but that's not how it sounded on this spin.

The album opens with a really, really slow track that is nearly five minutes long.  The song (Run, Baby, Run) is a good song, but such an odd choice for a starting track. Over all, I found the track order to be a bit of a jumble and the album as a whole seems much slower and less guitar-y than I remembered it.  Crow's vocals are strong throughout the album, as is the instrumentation.

Tuesday Night Music Club still ranks as one of my favourite album titles of all time, but listening to the album now, after not having heard it for so long, makes me realize just how much of a 'songs some friends recorded over a bunch of Tuesday nights' -kinda album this is. The Na-Na Song sticks out like a sore thumb and most of the songs are over four (or even five) minutes long; over all, the album as a whole just feels like it could perhaps have used some editing... I'm never a fan of filler material on albums.

But, the good songs are very good. Strong Enough and All I Wanna Do were both well received radio singles for a reason; the closer, I Shall Believe, is as strong and emotional a track as I remember it being. Crow has gone on to release six more (studio) albums since this one, has worked with a number of other artists and even dabbled in acting; she's certainly a artist worth taking notice of, but unfortunately her debut album doesn't seem to have stood up for me.

Recommended track(s):	Strong Enough; All I Wanna Do; I Shall Believe
Worth another listen?	~Maybe
Overall rating:	Three Stars

Elbow - Asleep in the Back

"I'll be the corpse in your bathroom... useless." I can't count how many times I've listened to the song Newborn on Elbow's debut album, but that first line always catches me. It seems like such a bizarre phrase, but Guy Garvey always makes it work. Somehow.

At the time the album was released, this band was slammed with a number of comparisons: Radiohead, Coldplay, Starsailor, etc., etc. Now, these bands don't all sound the same, but Asleep... doesn't exactly play by the rules either, so ignore any of these comparisons that you might have previously heard/read. The (deserving) Mercury Prize nomination tells me that not all of the critics were so short sighted.

The tracks can be heavily backed by layers of instruments and vocals (Any Day Now), or sparsely arranged (Scattered Black and Whites); the song can almost drift along through the air (Powder Blue), or it can slam right into you (Bitten by the Tailfly). Lyrically, the band has put together some really great lines from start to finish. The band has also released a number of actual singles from this album, complete with b-sides which ranged from okay to incredible; these were obviously very successful sessions for this new group.

Speaking of alternate versions and such, if you have heard (or find) a copy of Newborn, make sure it's the full length (album) version of the track. The band release a short version of it for radio play, but the ~7.5 minute version is far superior.

Recommended track(s):	Powder Blue; Newborn; Scattered Black and Whites
Worth another listen?	Yes!
Overall rating:	Four Stars

The Tragically Hip - Up To Here

There are some people who still insist that classic (read: pre-Day for Night) The Tragically Hip albums are one of those "love 'em or hate 'em" kinda things. Personally, I don't have a clue how you can't love this stuff. This album is pure awesome.

I'm pretty sure that I didn't get into The Hip until about their 4th album, Fully Completely; however, this album has some of their best work on it. I mean, when an album starts off with the 1-2-3 punch that this one does you know you're in for something great. Gord's lyrics tell wonderful little stories; the guitar solos/bridges throughout are so well done; the overall flow of the album is spot-on. Although these songs sound so much better on the remastered 'best of' collection, Yer Favourites, the album is now twenty-one years old so what do you expect?

Towards the end, the final three tracks don't quite have the same impact and lasting memory of the first eight, but that's not to say they're filler or throw-away either. Standing on the shoulders of the recommended tracks (listed below) is no easy feat. It's sing-along, it's memorable, there are great riffs and one-liners in here; it's an excellent summertime BBQ/camping album, like so much of the band's (classic- and neo-classical -era (read: pre-In Violet Light)) music is.

Recommended track(s):	Blow at High Dough; New Orleans is Sinking; 38 Years Old; Boots or Hearts
Worth another listen?	Yes!
Overall rating:	Four-and-a-Half Stars

Our Lady Peace - Happiness...

Ever since I first heard the song Naveed on Much Music, I loved these guys. Our Lady Peace were an important band while I was growing up. I loved that they were Canadian and I loved that whole scene (OLP, IME, the Tea Party, etc.) that was going on at the time. This album, Happiness... Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch, the band's third studio release, probably came out as that era in Canadian rock was fading out, but it was still a solid effort.

This album finds lead singer, Raine Madia, as cryptic as ever. There are very few OLP songs that I probably understand (fully), although I'm sure I know almost all the words to them. Yet, this was a signature of their sound at the time so you kinda have to let it pass. A few too many of the songs start out slowly and then become heavy by the first chorus, but as an album, this ebb and flow seems to work out not too badly. Perhaps it was the opportunity to work with jazz drummer Elvin Jones (who guests on the album's last, and somewhat over-done, track), but I found Jeremy Taggert's drumming to be quite good on this disc.

Overall, the singles released from the album are great; the stuff in between is also quite good. The album might be two tracks too long -- it gets kinda spacey and forced at that point -- but it still rocks like it should. Oh, and they get points for (prominently) featuring their signature 'cover model', Saul Fox on the artwork a'la Naveed.

Recommended track(s):	One Man Army; Potato Girl; Thief
Worth another listen?	Yes!
Overall rating:	Three-and-a-Half Stars

Sam Roberts - We Were Born in a Flame

While I think I'll always prefer the Inhuman Condition (EP) versions of my recommended tracks (below), they do stand up well here in the full-album context. Sam Roberts hasn't really held my attention, and in the seven years since this disc came out, I can't say I've heard anything from him that's made me take notice, but in this debut LP, he does manage to put out a decent straight-ahead (Juno Award winning) rock record.

I can't think of too much to say specifically about this album right now; it was a good Monday morning drive-in disc to listen to, and I didn't feel like skipping any tracks, but apart from the two big singles, nothing stood out for me. There are some nice little guitar solo's on the album which I was in the mood for, so that was a plus.

A good backyard BBQ, summer day, out on the deck kinda album. Upbeat, guitar-driven, solid vocals.

Recommended track(s):	Where Have All the Good People Gone; Don't Walk Away Eileen
Worth another listen?	~Maybe
Overall rating:	Three Stars