Black Crowes: Before The Frost

Mid 70’s southern blues rock isn’t as fashionable now as it was in say, the mid ‘70’s, so kudos indeed to the Black Crowes for refusing to kowtow to current vogues.

There is not a single sound bite on “Before The Frost” that would identify it as a contemporary album. Recording the album in Levon Helm's Woodstock barn before a special selected close audience may well sound like a simple marketing gimmick, but it adds a cosy feel, hearing a small enthusiastic crowd in between tracks. Unless that was just a way of masking the in between track brawling noises of brothers Chris and Rich Robinson going at each other like, well two brothers in a rock band.

“Good Morning Captain” gives us a boogie-woogie piano intro into a blues rock standard that sets the scene for the entire album.

My favourite track of the album, “Been A Long Time (Waiting On Love)" is a lengthy piece that gives the band the room to stray into something that sounds like a live jam with guitar, Hammond organ and harmonica taking it in turn to play the lead.

“Appaloosa” has the slow sliding guitars of an Eagles classic that slows things down again.

It may sound a little dull to the modern rock fan used to more speed and gusto, but to my ears this is perhaps their best album.

Monsters of Folk: Monsters of Folk

Meh.

Muse: The Resistance

It’s often easy to convey the feel of an album by throwing in a few musical comparisons. This can be very easily and accurately accomplished in the case of Muse’s 5^th studio offering which quite literally sounds like they’ve taken a selection of Queen and Radiohead CD’s and cleverly remixed them down into a single album.

The album kicks off with the vivacious “Uprising” and its rolling back beat, not dissimilar to the Timelords’ “Doctor and the Tardis”, punctuated with a simple guitar riff.

“United States of Eurasia” has an epic Freddie Mercury style vocal and a Brian May styled screeching guitar solo before fading into a classical piano outro.

“Guiding Light” shamelessly recycles Ultravox’s “Vienna” and adds a Thom Yorke vocal and tinkling guitars that to be honest left me pining for the sparseness or the original classic.

“Unnatural Selection” cranks it up a few gears with a clean and sharp Rush styled guitars.

The closing 16 minute classical symphony in 3 parts, “Exogenesis” proves without any shadow of doubt that Muse are so far up their own arses that an embarrassing trip to casualty will be required to bring them back to reality. The classical element of the first part is a simple repetitive Philip Glass affair with extravagant vocals and a guitar crescendo that leads into a truly moving and impressive classical piano piece. I know that sounds a little unkind, but it’s not a criticism I love a nice bit of pompous rock.

A truly grandiose rock album as pretentious as anything Yes ever accomplished in the 70’s.

Tori Amos: Abnormally Attracted to Sin

I’ve had this album on my iPod / iPhone / iWhateverAppletellmetobuynext, for a couple months now so that I can listen to it and finally get around to writing this bloody review.

Every time I put it on and listen to the album's opening with its beautiful production and intriguing style I think to myself, this is bloody brilliant, why don’t I listen to this album more often.

Then all of a sudden I’m on track 6 or 7 and I realise that my attention has been lost and my brain has drifted off somewhere else thinking about some tedious acceptance test scripts or something else equally mundane.

I refocus, on the music, and yes it still sounds great, oh listen, there’s a really nice subtle guitar solo and that bit sound like Kate Bush, then, hang on I’m thinking about rewriting a Monty Python sketch in order to poke fun at some alternative medical treatment and stopped listening again. Bugger

I have no idea why this record can’t hold my attention. Perhaps if you can concentrate better than me you’ll be able to appreciate it. I'm sure its really good if I didn't have the attention span of Homer Simpson at the Opera.

The Dead Weather: Horehound

Doesn’t Jack White just make you sick with his endless talent, energy and originality. For his latest project, Jack has decided to leave the primary guitar duties to Dean Feritita (Queens of the Stone Age) and take his place behind the drum kit. Meanwhile “little” Jack Lawrence (The Greenhornes, The Raconteurs) straps on the bass and Alsion Mosshart (The Kills) assumes the position behind the microphone.

While White’s various groups all have a stiff back bone of raw blues/rock, there is a distinct flavour to each of his 3 main projects (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs & The Dead Weather). The Dead Weather seem even more deep rooted in the classic blues genre with perhaps a few punk undertones. The album has a crisp sharp feel and subtle and minimal production flowering that I suspect will make it hard to date.

“60 Feet tall” has simple blues refrains, crashing drums and blistering guitar solo’s all punctuated by atmospheric gaps. “I Cut like a Buffalo” has a keyboard chord keeping slow time behind a more freeform blues jam session and “Treat me Like Your Mother” has a corking zeppelinesque riff.

My high expectations have been met and even exceeded.