O.K. the voice of Craig has been long absent from Eating the Pavement, but I am back and back with a mission. The mission is this: Go through my entire CD collection starting with the A's and review each one. In this way I will not only be throwing out some good tunes but I will give out some band history, and a little personal history that fits each album. This way not only will you get something out of it by getting a heads up on some music you may not have heard about before but I can review my relationship with the CD. So, we all get to learn something.
First of all "yes" it is a CD review not an MP3 review, I like Cd's I am going to be on my porch with a broom yelling at those durn kids to keep it down with their MP3's and shaking my tiny fists yelling about the old days. The fact of the matter is that I like Cd's I like the idea of an album, a cohesive whole that I can listen to. I like cover art, I like looking in the CD and reading about crap the band thinks I will find interesting, like thanking their Cat, or the guy who sold them blow. I can not do with with MP3's so there
O.K. the first CD in the shoot is.........THE AFGHAN WHIGS "What Jail is Like"
Here is the cover of the album. It was a promotional use only thing so I must have picked it up in a bargain bin somewhere.
The Afghan Whigs started up in the late 80's but really came into their own in the early 90's. Critical acclaim for the band was never a problem and they could use positive reviews as toilet paper and still never run out of them, the problem The Afghan Whigs had was popular success. I am always a little on the fence about what that means. Is that the difference between hundreds of thousands of dollars and millions? who knows? and if you do please tell me. The point is that they could not break onto anything but college radio.
The sound of the band is a lot like the Replacements getting squished into Mudhoney. Basically take a bunch of angst and sandwich it between bleeding guitars. What does that sound like? Well, pick up What jail is Like and find out.
Like I said I found this album in some used bin somewhere in Iowa City when I was going to college. I must have vaguely heard from a friend about them and the thing was probably like three bucks so "why not"
What Jail is Like is and EP, with three studio songs and several live songs. They take a stab at some cover songs too.
First up is of course "What Jail Is Like" the studio version which is great. singing in the car music has never been so fun, and that gos for most of the album. the song is about some girl and something and him complaining about his past behaviour but not really apologizing. It does not really matter because the feeling of the song comes through well enough to feel "emo" but in more of ballsy way because of the guitars.
#2 Mr. Superlove: GREAT, nowhere else in the world can a man scream out "I am Mr. Superlove" and STILL sound all emotional and tender. This makes it a great crossover song. Guys and girls all get something out of it. Girl-emotion. Guys-get to yell "I am Mr. Superlove" AWSUM.
#3 Go figure a dark version of "Dark End of the Street" I realize there are endless covers of this song and there should be as it is a great song but this version is the perfect mix. It is like the two were walking down the street and bumped into each other "HEY, you got your dark, brooding music into my well written, emotional song", "NO, YOU got your well written emotional song into my dark brooding music" and so on.
WOW three better than average songs, this review guy must LOVE those Afghan Whigs and have no perspective. "Not true" I say
#4 Little Girl Blue---what the hell, If the album sucked this is what it would sound like. Too much with the whine and the guitar
#5 What Jail is Like (live)- the live version- ehh it is O.K.
#6 Now You Know-life is short-push the skip button
O.K. we are in a tie here three good/three not so good and only one more song to go
#7 POW out of the park "My World is Empty Without You/ I Hear a Symphony (live) This last track is what kept me coming back. For the first year or so I would only listen to this song. it is a cover of the Supremes hit "My World Is Empty Without You" and in the middle of the song just for about 20 seconds they go into "I Hear a Symphony" also by the Supremes. The song makes me just want to end the review with "JUST GET IT, NOW", but I will review on.... The song is dark but retains it's poppy roots, brooding but not boring, The song is over six minutes long and at the end you want more. A live version with energy to spare. How they even picked this over forty year old pop song from Motown is a mystery but it works so well I am resolved not to question.
The point is "JUST GET IT, NOW"
I am not going to rate albums with stars or happy or unhappy faces or any other rating system. If you don't know what to do at the end of a review, I must not have written it very well but I going to post a photo of something that should be a short hand to understanding the review. This week----Me looking all broody and moody
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