Beck: Morning Phase

Beck: Morning Phase

2014

Capitol Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Cycle  2. Morning  3. Heart is a Drum  4. Say Goodbye  5. Blue Moon  6. Unforgiven  7. Wave  8. Don't Let it Go  9. Blackbird Chain  10. Phase  11. Turn Away  12. Country Down  13. Waking Light


Oh, man...I forgot I even bought this one...I should have covered this album a week or so ago but glossed right past it...My CD rack is still a little out of order since the flood last year and blah blah blah I'm too lazy to put them back in order...

This was released after a six year wait, during which I figured we might have heard the last of Beck...I figured he had bowed out of the whole album every two years cycle to focus on writing sheet music, doing digital only cover albums, etc...Which I don't begrudge him...You don't always feel like making an album...I get it...

But the announcement last year of a new Beck album last year was surprising news and when I heard it was gentler, acoustic stuff I immediately thought, "Hmmm, like 'Sea Change?"...Then I saw the album cover and exclaimed, "EXACTLY like 'Sea Change!"

  Hey, I really like "Sea Change' so if he wants to revisit that muse, that's alright with me...And it does sound a lot like "Sea Change"... Mellow and reflective with sparse yet lush production...Slow Drumbeats, languidly strummed acoustic guitars and hazy string arrangements...I'd say where it differs is the actual emotional content..."Sea Change" had a very specific emotional hurt whereas "Morning Phase" just has a general malaise surrounding it...."Sea Change" has always sounded great when you're in a gloomy mood, but  the mood of "Morning Phase" is much harder to define, allowing you to somewhat project your own mood onto it...I've heard of the album described as "sad," but to my ears, I interpret it as a "silver lining" type of thing...There's still some darkness on tracks like "Wave" but then "Don't Let it Go" comes on and I instantly feel a little better...In fact, the final moments of album closer "Waking Light,' with its woo-ooo-ooo's and gospel grandeur read as downright uplifting to me...I guess "Morning Phase" could be viewed as a more "adult" album in that sense...There's not the pretense of "Yes, cocoon yourself in my infinite darkness"...It's sounds more conflicted... A jumble of many moods at once, which I tend to equate with the prevailing emotional state of adulthood...

And the whole thing sounds great...Play it on some nice headphones or big speakers and the warm ambiance will suck you right in...Like a big thick comforter for the ears...That said, a lot of the songs don't stick with you like the ones on "Sea Change" did..."The Golden Age"? "Paper Tigers"? "Little One"? "Guess I'm Doing Fine"? I swear to you those were etched into my brain immediately, on the other hand after listening to "Morning Phase" again I was like, "Oh yea...This song! Oh, yea...This song!" Take from that what you will... Is immediacy a prerequisite for great art? No, not at all...I actually kind of admire how elusive and amorphous this is...It will probably never draw the immediate emotional response that a replay of "Sea Change" does for me...But  I bet it's going to continue to sound new and interesting on ...When you really think about it, Beck is really the...Awww, man...Here comes Kanye West...

"Beyonce'! Beyonce'! Beyonce'! Nobody respects a true artist like Beyonce' (and not the army of producers and song writers who record all the music and write all the songs for her album)!"

 (channels his talentlessness into an autotune program that processes him to sound exactly like T-Pain, thereby creating the illusion of talent to folks who have never listened to anything more challenging than Lady Gaga..) Bleeeooo-bloooorp-bleeeeep!!! (translation: "Look like a fat booty Celine Dion! Sex is on fire! I’m the King of Leona Lewis!"  (somehow writes this garbage and still has the nerve to consider himself a genius (Devil's Advocate: "But wait! Isn't it a type of genius to suck and still have the nerve to call yourself a genius?" Naw, it's still just nerve...Misplaced nerve...))).

Ahhh, shit...It was actually kinda classy of him to apologize...Maybe I misjudged him...Maybe I ought to apology to Kanye now:

I Would like to publicly apologize to Kanye, I'm sorry Kanye...

...I'm sorry that you suck!!

I'd like to apologize to The word "suck" for comparing it to Kanye West...I'm sorry suck....

Wait! What am I doing sitting around apologizing for? It's Friday night! Saturday morning is when I normally do my apologizing! Let's crack a beer and listen to some music...

(Note: Some people may see this Gold and White beer as Black and Blue...)

...Here's  "Don't Let it Go" by

The Bomb: Speed is Everything

The Bomb: Speed is Everything

2009

No Idea Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. The Kids  2. Holiday  3. Not Christmas Night  4. The Rescue  5. Haver  6. Space Age Love Song  7. Integrity  8. A Song For The Helenas  9. Spaceman  10. Speed Is Everything  11. Blown Away



Naked Raygun is one of my favorite bands, however I've always felt that they had a couple of problems:

1. Their albums are often very inconsistent...Mind-blowingly awesomely melodic songs sitting next to jokey filler or industrial-noise grinds...Don't get me wrong, I usually enjoy the jokey songs and the industrial noise grinds, but often find myself wishing they would have put out just one killer, filler-free album of  nothing but those glorious "Whoa-hey-ho" songs...Despite the bad reputation it often gets, "Raygun...Naked Raygun" is my go-to Naked Raygun album simply because it has the highest ratio of pop-punk anthems...



2.. When I recommend a Naked Raygun album to someone, I often toss in the caveat, "But whatever you do, do NOT look at the lyric sheet..." It says a lot about the high quality of their instrumentation and vocal melodies that I can forgive their often poor lyrics...Although, I will say, even though their lyrical skill was questionable, their subject matter was always interesting...Often containing a sci-fi, comic book or cyberpunk bent that I love...



 Anyway, Naked Raygun fizzled out somewhere in the early 90's and I've always loved the spin-off band Pegboy, whom I felt corrected the problems I've outlined above, but sometimes at the sake of NR's uniqueness...They were much more consistent, but their highpoints could never quite reach Naked Raygun's peaks because their vocalist wasn't as distinct or unusual as the always-interesting Jeff Pezzati (who routinely stumbled onto true greatness)...

Anyway, I was listening to Naked Raygun one day and wondered whatever happened to Jeff Pezzati...I had heard awhile back that he had formed a band called the Bomb,  but I had never listened to it...I was at the record store and ran across a copy of  "Speed is Everything" and picked it up...

If you disagree with my assessments of Naked Raygun's weaknesses I've listed above, then I'd say skip The Bomb...Just stick with "All Rise" and "Jettison"...They're classics...Agreed...But if you ever wished that Naked Raygun put out albums of nothing but "Home of the Brave"s and "Soldiers Requiem"s then I can't recommend "Speed is Everything" enough...This fucking thing rules...

  Every single song is good...Even the A Flock of Seagulls cover works and fits in well in the overall scheme...I can definitely detect a healthy dose of wounded New Romantic melodicism in a lot of these tracks ("The Rescue " and " A Song For The Helenas" in particular) and remember those industrial grinds I was kinda complaining about earlier? Well, "Haver" fits that definition, but they improve the formula by tossing a big Woah oh oh in the chorus which instantly makes it more palatable to me...See? Imagine if "Peacemaker" had a big "Woah oh oh" for a chorus...Way better, right? But mostly the album just sticks to speedy punk rock with huge, sweeping melodies..It's hard to pick a favorite...I might have to go with the entirety of side two, especially "Spaceman" which puts a bittersweet spin on Jeff's often sci-fi/fantasy-themed lyrics...A long look at that sci-fi/cartoon obsessed guy as viewed from the disapproving eyes of a girlfriend/wife..."Integrity" is another highlight...Just good, slamming punk that would have sounded brilliant on any NR album...Oh, and the lyrics are mostly fine...I mean it's not Bob Dylan or anything, but this didn't pull too many winces from me (I'd still avoid the lyric sheet though)...

 If you look closely at the vinyl, there's an etching on the run-out groove on side two proclaiming, "The House That Woah Hey Ho" Built...Which is  a great way to explain this record...It's just Jeff Pezzati doing what he does best...Singing soaring melodies over tough punk rock with zero bullshit clogging things up...He sounds freaking great by the way...Better than ever...It's hard to remember many other old school punks delivering albums that are arguably better than their classic albums...A huge achievement and if you like melodic punk rock even a little bit then you'll love this..There's no way I'm not going to check out the rest of the band's discography immediately...

Here's "Spaceman" by the Bomb...Enjoy...

Bob and Doug McKenzie: The Great White North

Bob and Doug McKenzie: The Great White North

1981

Mercury Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. This is our album, eh?  2. The Beerhunter  3. School Announcements  4. The Miracle of Music  5. Peter's Donuts  6. Gimme A Smoke  7. Take Off  8. Coffee Sandwich  9. Welcome to Side Two  10. Doug's Mouth  11. Elron McKenzie  12. Black Holes  13. You Are Our Guest  14. Ernie's Mom  15. The Twelve Days of Christmas  16. Ralph The Dog   17. Okay, This is the End, eh?  18. Honest



Good gravy, I loved Bob and Doug McKenzie as a kid...

 I remember watching and re-watching my videotapes of SCTV re-runs recorded from old school Nick at Night (back during the same era they would play Lancelot Link and the old Batman show) and being especially enamored with the Bob and Doug McKenzie sketches...For some unknown reason, I was enthralled by their exotic world, filled with beer, toques, and back bacon...Maybe it was my proximity to Canada growing up...Who knows...But I've always found it oddly comforting...

I also count "Strange Brew" as one of my all-time favorite movies...I swear to you that I've watched it at least one billion times and I still wonder if it's possible to survive underwater using the air in beer bottles...

In the 90's I started hearing "The Twelve Days of Christmas" on Z-93 during the holiday season...It would never fail to crack me up but I never really thought about where the track originated from....I figured it was some standalone Christmas single...It had never crossed my mind that Bob & Doug McKenzie had released an album, or else I would have dedicated my life to locating a copy...But one day I was combing the comedy section at Revolver Records (which always has a great selection of comedy records, BTW) and ran across this beauty...

The album can be broken down into one of three sections:

1. Songs: These will probably be the highlight of the album for most people...They're very succinct in encapsulating the duo's appeal...The aforementioned holiday song is a straight-up classic and the other track on here ("Take Off") is mighty fun too...I believe this is one of the only times I've willingly subjected myself to Geddy Lee (outside of the dozen or so times I've listened to the rap section of "Roll the Bones" which has similarly brought me much joy)...

Actually, now that I think about it, that's not true...I distinctly remember a copy of "Moving Pictures" rolling around my house as a youngster...I believe I tossed it on once or twice...Anyway, I prefer "Take Off" and the rap section of "Roll the Bones" over "Tom Sawyer"...Sue me...

2. Free-form rambling: The majority of the album can be classified as Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas using their characters as a springboard for lengthy, seemingly improved conversations...It's not so much that it's gut-bustingly hilarious (although it often is...Their using the metric system to calculate the amount of beers they drank is one of the funniest things I've ever heard) but it's endlessly entertaining...I could listen to their endless logic loops resolving themselves all day...Sometimes it gets pretty high concept (

Skits:  There's a few tracks where they assume characters and the comedy has a bit more structure: in this category we have  "School Announcements" where they assume the roles of High School Principals and "Elron McKenzie" where Doug plays a preacher who delivers a bizarre sermon on killing bugs or whatever...There's also a closing bedtime story that devolves into a dogfighting yarn... The album appropriately ends with the brothers running out of beer and back bacon...But just because their beer is running out, doesn't mean our is...

 It's Friday, right? Let's crack open another cold one, eh? And check out "Take Off"...Happy Friday, everyone!

7

Big Black: Bulldozer

Big Black: Bulldozer

1983

Touch & Go Records

Format I Own it On: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Cables  2. Pigeon Kill  3. I'm a Mess  4. Texas  5. Seth  6. Jump the Climb


Big Black was one of those bands I used to play day and night but suddenly stopped listening to for some reason..."Songs About Fucking" and "Pigpile" were staples of my teenage years and were there for me when I really needed them...

 

Y'know, when you're a young kid, you're somewhat oblivious to the constant barrage of atrocities that go on in the world...You'd sit on the living room floor and color with crayons, totally oblivious, while the 6 O' Clock news provides a grisly breakdown of the day's murders...But then suddenly as a young teenager,  the cruelty of the world sinks in and its too much to take...In order to cope with the horrors you have to assimilate them...That's where things like Faces of Death videos and Big Black EP's come into play...You get to watch the carnage from a safe distance...Then one day, you've had enough, you know you can cope with the horrors of everyday life (and death) and turn your attention to the more beautiful things...Is that simply a nicer way of saying you've become jaded and can now turn a blind eye to the endless suffering? Maybe, I don't know...But that's why you never see 50 year-old couples chuckling at Faces of Death every night and that's why Big Black were never labelled adult contemporary...



About a year ago, I was at the record store and saw the striking cover of the "Bulldozer" EP....I'm always a sucker for that particular combination of bright blue and red...I associate it with Gang of Four's "Solid Gold"...Or maybe it was the rekindled memory of  the electrifying smell of recently exploded firecrackers...Anyway, a sudden wave of nostalgia came over me and I realized I hadn't listened to Big Black in over a decade, so I snagged the record...

One of the joys of buying a physical copy of a Big Black record is the always entertaining insert...You get in-depth info on the making of the album that includes calling the first set of mixes "useless" and this explanation of the studio: "The gear Sucked., the house engineer was a bozo and the monitors sounded like megaphones." Then there's the usual song by song commentary that provides the seedy back-story and additional insight into the unsavory characters that populate the lyrics:

"This guy trained his dog seth to attack black people. he was an asshole beyond that, but that's the sort of thing he'd do. he has a cornflakes box with his photo on the front. he's big in the democratic machine. he tried to beat up a girl tenant in an apartment building he had equipped with illegally-tapped gas and electricity. he bets on sports. the introductory message is from the america first committee telephone hotline."

 My personal favorite is the liner notes for "Texas" that simply states:

"i hate texas"

If you haven't heard Big Black before, here's what you've been missing...A pounding drum machine (although this is one of the rare Big Black albums that does have some real drums mixed in), stringy, sinewy bass, and a scrape-y, papery, guitar played with a metal pick...The vocals are delivered in a detached, colorless shout that just lists the soul-crushing scenarios in a matter-of-fact sneer/shout...If it were a little less ugly it could almost be classified as "industrial" but whereas industrial usually prides itself on its bloodless, clinical precision, Big Black has a little too much human pulp in the gears...Just some ugly, ugly music that's probably still as offensive and abrasive now as it was when it was released...If not a little more...

I've always considered this the easiest to listen to Big Black release...The slaughterhouse-themed "Cables" is a surprisingly catchy, fist-pumping anthem...And "Seth" (about the aforementioned racist dog and its owner) has the power to get lodged in my head when I'm in the right frame of mind...But really, if you can get into one of these songs you'll enjoy them all...If one of them gives you a headache, they'll all give you a headache...The EP is really the best format for this band, I believe...I imagine it can be a little intense to sit through an hour of Big Black for some folks...

To sum things up, if you're looking for a little depravity and ugliness to get you through the day , then some Big Black might be what you're looking for...Sounds great whenever you're pissed off and thoroughly disgusted with the world...

Here's "Pigeon Kill"..Enjoy...

The Best from Buddah

The Best from Buddah

1969

Buddah Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Ohio Express: Chewy, Chewy  2. 1910 Fruitgum Company: Simon Says  3. The Lemon Pipers: Green Tambourine  4. Shadows of Knight: Shake  5. Ohio Express: Yummy, Yummy, Yummy   6. The Lemon Pipers: Rice Is Nice  7. 1910 Fruitgum Company: 1, 2, 3 Red Light   8. Ohio Express: Down At Lu Lu's   9.  Melanie: Momma Momma  10. 1910 Fruitgum Company: Goody Goody Gumdrops  11. Barry Goldberg: Hide In My Pocket  12. The Kasenetz-Katz Super Circus: Quick Joey Small


Man, spellcheck hates how Buddah records spells their name... Red squiggles everywhere...I think it wants the "H" before the "A"...Hmmm, I wonder if we're supposed to pronounce it differently, too...Maybe it's not pronounced "Boodah" like "Buddha"...

Maybe it's pronounced "Budd-ah"...

As in, "It's like Buddah!"

 Huh, this "Best From Buddah" album must have been some sort of promotional giveaway or something...There's a big "Compliments of Motorola" sticker on my copy...Probably came with a turntable or something...A pretty cool freebie, I'd say...Buddah Records was famous in the 60's for their sugary bubblegum pop, which is a genre I like...There's just something so noble about doing everything in your power to come up with the poppiest song possible...Seemingly designed to give you diabeetus, I know most of these songs from old commercials (song titles like "Chewy, Chewy, Chewy" and "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy" lend themselves well to junk food advertising )..."But waitaminnit!" you exclaim, "If you're always coming down so hard on modern bubblegum pop, how can you defend a fake-band like the Ohio Express while tearing down Katy Perry and Taylor Swift?" Easy. The difference is a shred of talent...Most of these tracks are all well-designed, competently preformed,  solidly structured pop creations that clock in around the 2 minute mark...Not the bloated, repetitive 4-minute cheerleader chants that modern popsters deal in...Plus, no autotune or synthesized instruments in sight! Only synthesized bands! I'm also a huge fan of all the post-Sgt. Pepper psychedelic touches. 

My favorite? "Goody, Goody Gumdrops" by  1910 Fruitgum Company is one of my favorite songs ever...It's amazing...I don't think it's scientifically possible to make it even an iota poppier...I might be slightly biased because I remember buying Redd Kross' "Third Eye" about 15 years ago and falling head over heels in love with the opening track "Faith Healer"...The chorus was the most glorious thing I'd ever heard...I seriously used to play it over and over and over and marveled at how they had sculpted the perfect chorus. Then I recently picked up this record and heard "Goody Goody Gumdrops" and was surprised to find that the chorus was exactly the same....  Give it a listen if you don't believe me...

 Ah, I guess it's fair...The 1910 Fruitgum company seems to have ripped off the verses from the bridge of the Beach Boys' "Wild Honey"...That''s the nature of pop, I guess...Actually, the Fruitgum Company gets in the album's best songs..." 1, 2, 3 Red Light" is another perfect example of how bubblegum should taste...It just sticks in your head and not because it's irritating or overly repetitive...It's just brilliantly engineered to torpedo directly into the pleasure centers of your brain...I am willing to bet that serious music fans back in the sixties probably hated this shit anyway...

 You also get to hear a song by the Lemon Pipers that isn't "Green Tambourine"! Don't worry, "Green Tambourine" is here too (and it still stands as the ultimate example of "fake psychedelia") but there's also another song on here titled, "Rice is Nice." Looking at the album cover, I struggled to imagine what the title could possibly be in reference to. Another food song? Extolling the virtues of Uncle Ben, maybe? 

Nah...The answer is much simpler...It's about throwing rice at a wedding...

(throwing maggots at a wedding) And it's also lightweight faux-Peppers...Lots of strings and old-fashioned sentiment...There's probably a good reason why they're only known for "Green Tambourine", though... Near the end of the album, they seem to drop the whole bubblegum premise...There's the "Momma Momma" track by Melanie which drives me nuts...I have to give her credit, it's a very emotional performance but good god! That vibrato gives me an immediate headache! Then there's "Hole in My Pocket" by popular session-man Barry Goldberg which is more of a soul/blues/wah-wah thing...Not great, not terrible...At this point, they should have tossed some Captain Beefheart on here...Didn't "Safe as Milk" come out on Buddah? They end it on a gummy note with "Quick Joey Small" by the Kasenetz-Katz Super Circus...Man, that's got to be a fake band name...I'm not looking it up...Looking up the convoluted back-story on any of these Buddah bubblegum bands is enough to give you a damn headache...Best not to think too hard about it...Just bop along...It's a great little tune...Here, let's listen to some... Here's " 1, 2, 3 Red Light ' by 1910 Fruitgum Company...Enjoy....

Bauhaus: Mask

Bauhaus: Mask

1981

Beggar's Banquet Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Hair of the Dog  2. Passion of Lovers  3. Of Lilies and Remains  4. Dancing  5. Hollow Hills  6. Kick in the Eye  7. In Fear of Fear  8. Muscle in Plastic  9. The Man with the X-Ray Eyes  10. Mask



It's hard to believe I'd never owned this album before...I knew a lot of the songs from those old"1979-1983" CD compilations that served as my introduction to the band, but I guess I was so smitten with "In the Flat Field," "Stigmata Martyr," and "Double Dare" that I tended to overlook the later material on those comps...

 Despite the fact that some homeless dude in a bottle-tab headdress called me a goth once, I actually discovered Bauhaus as a punk fan...Therefore the more caustic and frenetic first album appeals to me more. But I've got to admit that "Mask" is far more consistent...Every single song is enjoyable,while the first album had shit like "Spy in the Cab" that sorta irritated the shit outta me...So, I can see why this tends to be most people's favorite Bauhaus album...It's a little more atmospheric while being a little bit funkier. I  can imagine that moon-lit booty-shakers like a "Kick in the Eye" and "Muscle in Plastic" really lit up the goth dance clubs back in the day...Although I'm unsure there were enough goths around back then to necessitate a club...I don't even know if there are any goth dance clubs now...

 I dunno, I guess I just always assumed that people who dressed like this were going somewhere...You don't put this stuff just to go rent "The Notebook" at the nearest "Redbox," right? No, I imagine you slap on the greasepaint, tighten your corset and congregate...And since there's such a thing as goth dance music, I imagine these congregated goths would eventually get around to busting a move, so what better album to serve this purpose than Bauhaus' "Mask."  Sisters of Mercy, you say? Get real...

Oh yea, the title track is a masterpiece of pure, evil music...Real Halloween shit...They stop the dancey, bass-noodling and clippy hi-hats and get down to the minimalist, pagan pounding...As you listen to this, you can't help but feel like you're being watched by some malevolent force that's closing in for the kill...File Under Uneasy Listening, I guess...Y'know, I'm still trying to determine if that stringed instrument at the end is a mandolin or just the world's most tightly-strung acoustic guitar...

Forget all the labels, all the posthumous genre classifications forced onto the band and you'll find this is just some good, dark, danceable rock with some creepy ambiance thrown in...The more ominous material sounds great on a stormy night and the more upbeat stuff sounds perfectly at home on a Friday night with a few beers...Hey! That reminds me! Tonight is Friday night! And there's a few cold ones in the fridge! Let's check out some Bauhaus...

Here's "Muscle in Plastic"...Happy Friday!

Bad Brains: God of Love

Bad Brains: God of Love

1995

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Cool Mountaineers  2. Justice Keepers  3. Longtime  4. Rights Of A Child  5. God Of Love  6. Overs The Water  7. Tongue Tee Tie  8. Darling, I Need You  9. To The Heavens  10. Thank Jah  11. Big Fun Come  12. How I Love Thee

Bonus 7-inch: 1.  Let's Make Love (Demo)  2.  It's Agreeable (Demo)


Aye yi yi...This was an album that I totally spaced on at the time of release...I thought "Rise" was alright-ish, but it definitely  put them in a "maybe I'll check out their next album, maybe I won't..." category... Despite the return of HR, and producer Ric Ocasek ("Rock for Light" ruled, right?)  the album received very poor word of mouth...I normally don't pay much attention to such things, since I routinely love albums most people seem to hate, but in this case I listened and never really looked back...

Since this came out in the mid-90's when vinyl was at its dead-est, a vinyl version wasn't easy to come by until it was released on wax for Record Store Day 2011...I ran across a copy at a deep discount and the vinyl presentation was so handsome I went for it...After seeing the poor reviews for "Into the Future" (an album I loved and still rock often to this day), I figured the time had finally come to give "God of Love" a chance...

And...It starts out like it's going to good.."Cool Mountaineers" gets things off to a great start, contrasting zippy hardcore with slow heavy riffs... The big-budget production adds a lot of heft to the band's punch and HR is much more interesting than Israel Joseph-I or whoever did the HR impersonation on "Rise." "Justice Keepers" isn't bad either, basically the same heavy-funky style they mastered on "I Against I" and "Quickness." Very easy for me to get into...Then things go downhill very quickly...

  I've made it very clear that I greatly enjoy the Bad Brains' reggae style and I do find the idea of HR tackling a dancehall/toasting style appealing, but a listen to "Longtime" reveals a very fatal flaw in the album...The reggae songs all have a very cheap 80's sound despite this coming out smack dab in the 90's...I guess if you find 80's Aswad or Ziggy Marley rewarding then you might get something out of this, but I usually find reggae to be a genre that can greatly suffer from artificial sound...Reggae sounds best when it has a deep, real, rootsy sound, which despite the Bad Brains' recording limitations in the past, they've always managed to tap into...It's weird that once they finally had a large, professional budget that it sounded so cheap...And that Ace of Bass whistling synthesizer sound doesn't help much either...And there's an awful lot of reggae here (about half the album), which is too bad this time around since they managed to get such a good sound on the heavy stuff...

But not all the heavy stuff is good either...There's this weird wimpy, watery guitar tone that wrecks a few tracks, most notably "Rights Of A Child" which was probably doomed from the get-go anyway (good intentions don't always result in good songs.)... I have to say, looking at the title, I figured "Tongue Tee Tie" was going to suck, but it's actually one of the better songs...Come to to think of it, a lot of this reminds me of the HR solo stuff from the 90's, only not as good...If you like the "God of Love" album, I'd imagine you'd really enjoy those more...

Maybe the bonus 7-inch is better...Maybe all the prime stuff ended up on the cutting room floor...Who knows? It happens from time to time....

Nope. Not really. "Let's Make Love" is an 8-minute mess of plodding, crispy, come-ons...Beyond boring...On the other hand, I'm strangely drawn to "It's Agreeable." It's so normal that it seems weird coming from the Bad Brains...Reminiscent of 1988 dance pop...Think Janet Jackson or Paula Abdul or something...When the chorus goes into falsetto-disco meltdown it's pretty amazing, actually....Oh yea, my copy has the same sticker on both sides, so if you read the label it would appear that both sides consisted of "Let's Make Love"...I'm very thankful that wasn't the reality of the situation...

Yea, I just don't know what to make of this "God of Love" record...It's not like it's actively terrible on a Nickelback or Taylor Swift level...It's just sort of "blah" and "dated." And I'm usually drawn to "dated" so if I declare it dated, then I can't imagine how it must sound to other folks..I'd probably rank this at the bottom of the list of the band's studio albums...

Let's do that actually...That sounds kind of fun...This is my personal ranking of the Bad Brains studio albums (I haven't included any live albums, EP's, or compilation...I've also never heard the dub reggae instrumental "I and I Survived  album"), you can share your personal ranking too, if you like:

1. Bad Brains (Self Titled/ ROIR  cassette or whatever you call it...The one with the awesome cover with the lightning bolt striking the Capitol building...)

2. I Against I

3. Rock For Light

4. Into the Future

5. Quickness

6.  Build A Nation

7. Rise

8. God of Love

Weee...That was fun...Here's "Cool Mountaineers" by the Bad Brains...Enjoy: