Clutch: Robot Hive/Exodus

Clutch: Robot Hive/Exodus

2005

DRT Entertainment

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. The Incomparable Mr. Flannery  2. Burning Beard  3. Gullah  4. Mice and Gods 5. Pulaski Skyway  6. Never Be Moved  7. 10001110101  8. Small Upsetters  9. Circus Maximus  10. Tripping the Alarm  11. 10,000 Witnesses  12. Land of Pleasant Living  13. Gravel Road  14. Who's Been Talking?


Previously, there had been a long wait between Clutch albums, but "Robot Hive" was released a mere year after "Blast Tyrant," which was startling at the time...The big innovation here, is that the band adds new member Mick Schauer to play the keys, and his inclusion is a brilliant move...

After listening to this again, I'm putting it right on par with "Blast Tyrant." It's maybe not quite as consistent, but on the other hand,  the best songs on "Robot Hive/Exodus" eclipse anything on "Blast Tyrant."...Two of my favorite Clutch songs appear here...

I think "Never Be Moved" is their most authentic classic-metal moment...Listen to that swirling hammond organ and tell me it wouldn't have fit in just fine on "Machine Head"...

                         

The other stone-cold classic is  the binary rock of "10001110101." Somehow Neil manages to turn that string of code into one of their catchiest choruses. Again, the hammond organ shines here, and I like it when Neil shouts, "SMILE TASTE KITTENS!"

So those are the big guns, in my opinion, but there's a ton of other good stuff..."Burning Beard" whoops plenty of ass and we also get a shout-out to Dokken in "The Incomparable Mr. Flannery." I have a lot of respect for Dokken...At a time when most other bands were turning a blind eye to the plight of children, Dokken were the only band brave enough to speak out against the Freddy Krueger epidemic that had cost the precious lives of so many teenagers during the 80's...

Oh yea, there's a couple of cover songs at the end of the album too...The band tries on a pair of old blues numbers...The big winner here would be "Gravel Road"...I don't know what I like more, the acoustic section at the beginning or when they go into a full-tilt electric boogie about 2 minutes into the track...This shit cooks. The album-closing cover of "Who's Been Talking?" is pretty laid back in comparison, but Neil does a pretty good approximation of Howlin' Wolf's gruff roar...He's actually a little roaring-er than Howlin' Wolf even....

 Alright, let's git right down to it...Here's "10001110101" by Clutch...Remember to rock responsibly...