One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
August 6th, 2008 - Written by stevek
Blue October: The Answers
Originally released ten years ago, Blue October’s first foray into music was the little-known album, ‘The Answers’. Because of some bizarre contractual hangup with Universal Records, this album was only available through mail order from RoDan Entertainment. However, the album is being officially [re]-released now, through iTunes, Amazon, and your local retail record megastore.
Blue October’s first album is distinctly different from their most recent, previous release, 2006’s Platinum-selling ‘Foiled’. ‘The Answers’ sounds more like post New Wave alternative Brit-Pop, with its long musical lead-ins and interludes, and Justin Furstenfeld’s distinctive, mournful crooning. ‘The Answers’ isn’t as heavily filtered as ‘Foiled’ and, in the absence of such heavy studio production, has a purer, more honest sound to it.
The album opens masterfully with the title track, “The Answers”, a brilliant combination of clever, poetic lyrics and simple melodies built into an up-tempo dirge that sets an appropriately melancholy tone for the rest of the album.
What I liked best about ‘The Answers’ is how bare, how stripped down it all was. Blue October used subdued electric and acoustic guitars in the background, giving space for Furstenfeld’s voice, a fiddle and occasional piano in the foreground.
It was a brilliant debut; and it would be a fantastic return to form if Blue October returned to their roots on future productions, like the upcoming “Approaching Normal” release.
Blue October: The Answers
Adrenaline Records
Steve’s Rating: 10/10
Zebrahead: Phoenix
Zebrahead are a classic Cali-Punk rock band from the O.C. Unfortunately, ‘Phoenix’, their latest offering, seems stuck in the same groove as their previous releases: angry, manic, amped-up music and lyrics and verse-hook-chorus-verse-hook-chorus formula. The whole thing is very formulaic, very much ready to be put into the latest set of extreme-sports themed videogames and youth-culture marketed sex-and-drug comedies.
Once upon a time, the skate-rock revival of Punk was cutting edge, original, underground. Bands like Zebrahead have succeeded in proving that success spoils. This album is generic, formulaic and, despite its energy levels, very tired. The songs are all so interchangeable that it’s impossible to distinguish one track from the next. Worse, the songs on ‘Phoenix’ are completely interchangeable with everything else in this genre of music.
I suspect that Zebrahead’s fans will be the only ones to really enjoy this CD; assuming of course that they aren’t looking for something new from the veteran of the skateboards-and-Ritalin music scene.
Everyone else should just pass this one by.
Zebrahead: Phoenix
Icon Records
Steve’s Rating: 5/10
Sarah Mclachlan: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy The Legacy Edition
One of Mclachlan’s earliest and best forays into music was, unquestionably, 1994’s ‘Fumbling Towards Ecstasy’. It may have been eclipsed by Tori Amos, a similar-sounding superstar whose ‘Under The Pink’ was pretty much in direct competition with Mclachlan at the time. In fact, I recall that in those early years, Mclachlan was often derisively referred to as “Canada’s Own Tori Amos”.
The sad thing is all that factionalizing kept a lot of people from discovering some really great music. Well, everyone will get the chance to rediscover that music this week, with the release of the Legacy Edition of ‘Fumbling Towards Ecstasy’.
The three-disc set includes the original album, along with two discs of alternate versions of the albums songs, B-Sides and bonus tracks, as well as music videos and an “inside look” mini documentary on ‘Fumbling Towards Ecstasy’.
The Legacy Edition is generally available for less than $30, which makes it an even more attractive deal.
Obviously, there’s nothing new to say about the haunting, beautiful original version of the CD. So let’s talk about the bonus discs, the real “meat” of the Legacy Edition. The alternate versions of the songs are a must for any loyal fan, and they make for a musical curiosity for the rest of us. Properly reordered, they produce a completely alternative version of the album, giving new dimension and perspective to songs we’ve all heard before. There really is nothing not to like here; I actually enjoyed the alternate versions of “Possession”, “Mary” and “Ice”, among others, more than the originals.
This is both a brilliant addition to a fan’s collection, and an excellent starting point for a new listener. I’d even go so far as to say that this is essential listening.
Sarah Mclachlan: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy Legacy Edition
Sony Legacy
Steve’s Rating: 10/10
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