Category Archives for Rock

Alice In Chains – “The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here”

(Photo credit: www.imwan.com

(Photo credit: http://www.imwan.com)

Grade: B-

Key Tracks: “Voices,” “Pretty Done”

A cut-and-paste rock album with a different singer might not be what all the 90′s revivalists are looking for, but Alice In Chains prove they still have some energy and spunk left. It’s been eleven years since the death of the original Alice In Chains singer, Layne Staley. He was a reclusive and tormented man, which brought life to the dark lyrics of Alice In Chains’ early music. The band’s reunion in 2005 with a new singer, William DuVall, was seen as misguided by many. But the band trekked on and released “Black Gives Way to Blue” in 2009 to surprising critical acclaim. Original guitarist and composer Jerry Cantrell picked up lyrical duties as well, becoming the band’s chief songwriter.

Their new album, “The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here” is more of the same for the band. The lyrics are typically gloomy and cover a wide spectrum of dark topics, including songs with titles like “Scalpel,” “Choke” and “Hung on a Hook.” The lyrics, penned by Cantrell, are effective, although the title track’s tackling of the blending of politics and religion just flat out does not work. The music is still loud and shrieking, with the monstrous and sludgy guitar tone from their previous album returning. Even in their advanced years, Alice In Chains are still being praised for bringing originality into heaviness.

“Devil” flows surprisingly well. The transition between the album’s first two tracks, “Hollow” and “Pretty Done,” is nothing more than a moment of silence before a similar rhythm comes in. Likewise, the fourth track, “Voices,” one of the slower songs, ends by building up volume before transitioning into the more haunting sound of the title track.

There is a problem with volume, however. The band focuses on the volume of it’s doom-and-gloom guitars, but it is consistently overpowering the vocals. DuVall and Cantrell share vocal duties, both with strong voices. On many tracks, though, the lyrics are only audible enough to hear, not audible enough to discern.

Alice In Chains’ original run had a number of emotionally powerful albums bolstered by Staley’s lyrics coming from real pain. Cantrell, chief lyricist, successfully follows in Staley’s footsteps in the manner of dark and haunting poetry. Post-Staley Alice In Chains, however, sounds like a band having fun in the studio, a band that probably is not feeling the lyrics they are singing. There is not necessarily anything wrong with this, it just further separates them from the 1989-1996 Alice In Chains that was popular on rock radio. “The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here” is an inventive rock album that plays around with traditional rock music while maintaining the sound. It does not resemble the original Alice In Chains, but it is still an enjoyable listen overall.

-Andrew McNally

John Fogerty – “Wrote a Song For Everyone”

(Photo credit: Consequence of Sound)

(Photo credit: Consequence of Sound)

Grade: A-

Key tracks: “Lodi,” “Who’ll Stop the Rain”

When a respected classic rock musician starts to get up there in years, they’re allowed to start having some fun in the studio. That’s exactly what Fogerty – famous most for Creedence Clearwater Revival, and some for his solo work – does on his ninth solo album. “Wrote” isn’t a duet album, it isn’t an original album, and it isn’t an album of covers, which many older singers resort to. Instead, it’s a healthy mix. A majority of the songs are reworkings of older songs of his, with guest stars. Fans of classic rock will instantly recognize CCR favorites like “Proud Mary,” “Who’ll Stop the Rain?” and “Fortunate Son” getting reworked, along many others. And to mix it up, Fogerty throws in a few original songs, just to prove that he hasn’t lost anything.

The guest stars on the album read like a planned tribute album, only the man being tributed showed up. Bob Seger and Alan Jackson, contemporaries of Fogerty, make two of the best appearances. Country singers like Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert and Brad Paisley contribute, as do current rock bands My Morning Jacket and Foo Fighters. The album’s most entertaining song, “Lodi,” features Shane and Tyler Fogerty, presumably his sons. The title track, though not one of the more memorable ones, features a unique pairing of Lambert’s vocals, and guitar work provided by Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. Jennifer Hudson, known for her powerful voice, dominates “Proud Mary” at the album’s finale. “Proud Mary,” one of classic rock’s most famous songs, has been covered by Tina Turner in the past, and this likely serves as an homage to her equally powerful version.

This album gets a high rating simply because there is nothing wrong with it. Fogerty, now 68 (happy birthday!), recorded this just to have some fun. There is no purpose to this album other than to show that Fogerty still loves his material and loves to perform. Fogerty successfully brings the fun to the audience, making for a completely enjoyable listen that erases that wonder of why the album exists in the first place. I even looked past some guest stars I do not like (namely, Kid Rock and Bob Seger) and recognized the great reworkings of the songs. Fogerty’s voice, too, is still kicking. Tom Petty and David Bowie might be the last holdouts of classic rock still recording successful new material, but Fogerty sounds as good as he ever has, kicking back and having fun.

The National – “Trouble Will Find Me”

(Photo Credit: Rolling Stone Magazine)

(Photo Credit: Rolling Stone Magazine)

Grade: A

Key Tracks: “Sea of Love,” “Demons”

With a title like “Trouble Will Find Me” and two opening tracks called “I Should Live in Salt” and “Demons,” the National give the immediate impression that their sixth album will be more of the same introspective and self-demonizing alt-rock that has brought them this far. And in many ways, the album is a continuation. Singer Matt Berninger is 42 now, so this is no time to drop the cynicism and open up. The National have always relied on sad, relateable lyrics to drive their songs close to home. “Trouble Will Find Me” continues the gloom, but after all these years, Berninger has begun to expand his horizon a bit.

Songs like “Sea of Love,” which might be my favorite song of the year so far, rallies about a situation filled with bad choices, a typical National song. What is not typical of the National, however, is some moments of dark humor and some namedrops across the record (Nirvana’s “Nevermind” album being one, to bring home the sadness). The National’s best albums, the two that preceded “Trouble,” relied on slight changes from the previous album, to make a separate but familiar listen. While the previous changes have been largely musical, “Trouble”s change relies more in lyric. Berninger seems to be making an attempt to bring himself closer to the listener, although the National have always been an engrossing band already. Still, Berninger sings about his own troubles, just ones that he relates to the listeners. The album’s cover, an interesting one on it’s one, serves as a symbol for these troubles as Berninger is swallowed by his inner demons and can only look to himself for help. Somehow, he makes us all understand.

The National have never been stupendous musically, and “Trouble” is no different, as the band focuses on the emotional impact of the lyrics. “Sea of Love”s pounding rhythm is one of their loudest songs, and is kind of a surprise on the album. But a majority of the songs are moderate-volume, guitar- or piano-driven tracks with repetitive music and lyrics, the band’s style. Sufjan Stevens, Richard Reed Parry and St. Vincent are among the album’s guest stars, with St. Vincent providing brief but powerful vocals on “Sea of Love.” The album may run a little long, and it feels a little anticlimactic after “Sea of Love”s boom, but the National have a way to always stay in the listener’s head. “Trouble Will Find Me” does this even more than their previous albums, and it might just be their best one yet.

-Andrew McNally

30 Seconds to Mars – “Love Lust Faith + Dreams”

30 Seconds to Mars

Grade: C

Best Tracks: “Pyres of Varanasi,” “Northern Lights”

30 Seconds to Mars have never been ones to please the critics, with their often corny and awkward pairings of genres, and at most points, their fourth album never strays too far beyond that. Bandleader Jared Leto has always embraced the corniness of his lyrics and the music of his backing band. “Love Lust Faith + Dreams” feels no less cheesy or misguided than their previous efforts.

Lyrically, Leto’s meandering musings on the vague concepts can be summed up in the album’s title. The album is split thematically into four segments, each word in the album’s title. While Leto does stretch deeper and darker than his previous albums, a majority of the metaphors presented here are still largely depthless. The ‘faith’ section in particular is largely void of originality.

Musically, however, I have to applaud 30 Seconds to Mars. For a band that has never been very respected, they do find ways to reinvent themselves. The then-popular pop-emo brand of their second album was quite a different sound than their industrial-based debut. This album is louder, more experimental and electronic based, a sharp change from their vocally loud and musically quiet, unstructured third album “This Is War.” “Love Lust Faith + Dreams” sounds, at points, like a band too heavily inspired by Muse but more inventive. It also, at points, resembles a band that enjoyed the “Inception” soundtrack far more than they should have. But I was actually impressed by the music of this album. The more experimental nature diversified the individual songs more than their previous efforts. The ‘dream’ sequence is musically effective, introduced by “Convergence,” although the whole segment seems to build to a largely unsatisfactory ending.

I would wager to say that this is 30 Seconds to Mars’ best album, but I would not go out of the way to recommend it. Musically strong but lyrically, the band is still flailing in their typically cheesy nature, grasping at large concepts and ideas but rarely hitting the mark with any depth. 30 Seconds to Mars fans will surely love it, and they might even gain some new fans. “Love Lust Faith + Dreams” is not going to down as one of the year’s best, but it is a reasonable listen for general fans of the band.

-Andrew McNally