Antonio's album reviews

Antonio · 05-17-2009, 08:37 AM

yeah, feel free to comment or whatever, guys, i'll have another review up in a bit.

Antonio · 05-17-2009, 09:04 AM

Release Date: April 22, 1974
Label: DiscReet Records

this is Frank Zappa's thirteenth album, and quite arguably one of his best. It's a combination of rock, avant garde, jazz, and so much more. Contrary to some artists and bands today, this strange mix isn't for a chaotic effect, but more of "wtf? did you just hear that? That was awesome!". Still, there's a large amount of melodies, riffage and overall catchiness that would make even the most stubborn rock fan stand up and take notice. also noteworthy is the instrumentation, which takes various left turns at many given moments.

Something interesting i found about this cd is that the first half follows an underlying story:

Quote:

Originally Posted by wikipedia

“Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow” tells of a dream the singer had where he saw himself as an eskimo named Nanook. A fur trapper comes up from behind Nanook’s igloo and begins to assault a baby seal. Nanook responds by rubbing yellow snow (that is, snow which had been urinated on by huskies) in his eyes, blinding him. The fur trapper remembers an ancient eskimo legend ("Wherein it is written,") and travels to “the parish of St. Alfonzo”. At this point the album takes an unexpected turn and instead tells of rambunctious antics (“wheedled on the bingo cards in lieu of the latrine”) and follows with a scenario in which a leprechaun “stroked it;” another line talks of "abused the sausage patty" followed by a short musical interlude that includes high-pitched orgasmic screaming. Interestingly, the complete suite is not available, missing the final movement, "Rollo."

In the end, this is a great album, not only for Frank Zappa, but for music itself. 9.6/10

Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow-one of his most famous songs, and one of my first experiences with his music. if you've only hear the single version, listen to the true version on the album. it gets up to the part of "watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat the yellow snow" before going into Nanook Rubs it. overall this is grooving and just gooooood.

Nanook Rubs It-i like the instrumental/musical touch on this song, especially the trumpet and guitar. here they provide some tasty jazz lines that make the overall feel of the song.

St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast-xylophone attack!! you'll hear alot of that in this song. this is moreso a theme style song, with various instruments coming out of nowhere. if you don't like songs like this, then why are you listening to Frank Zappa?

Father O’Blivion-my favorite song on the cd. seriously. basically from St. Alfonzo, it picks the hell up in a real dancable way.

Cosmik Debris-a damn good song, though not the most conventional. Zappa sings this song in a deep, slow manner, and then comes in his backup singers, who do a really good job on this song, i may add. some lines in this song harks back to older songs, such as "the dust of The Grand Wazoo". this is really a song where listening to the lyrics'd help alot, haha.

Excentrifugal Forz-shortest track on here, and when i first listened to the album, not something that really grabbed me. possibly a low point on this track.

Apostrophe'-An instrumental jam featuring former Cream bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Jim Gordon. while he was credited for the bass parts on here, Bruce said in an interview that Zappa only gave him the cello parts, haha, while Frank said in another interview said Bruce played bass, but was "too busy" for his tastes.

Uncle Remus-this song is about the black civil rights movement, and not the first time Mr. Zappa has talked about race relations; the first instance would be the song "Trouble Every Day" on the Mothers of Invention debut, Freak Out!. It sounds like something that'd be sung at a Gospel Church, and a bit of a sad feeling listening to this song. one of the best songs on here.

Stink-Foot-a straight(well almost) rock song with a smooth solo in the middle and end. this song is about a place where they keep the "imaginary diseases", including one named bromadrosis, a.k.a., SSSTIIIINKFOOOOT. the reference to disease and germs can refer back to Frank's childhood, where exposure to mustard gas(living near a chemical warfare facility) was the cause of a number of his diseases. at the end the singing seems to take a chanting direction, although not so much that it's bad in any way.

here's some of the music, for your listening pleasure

YouTube - Frank Zappa Don't Eat The Yellow Snow, Nanook Rubs It, St. Alphonzos Pancake Breakfeast, Father O'Blivion -the first 4 songs
YouTube - Frank Zappa - "Cosmik Debris" (subtÃ*tulos en espaÃ±ol)
YouTube - Frank Zappa - Apostrophe
YouTube - Frank Zappa - Uncle Remus (apostrophe)
YouTube - Frank Zappa - Stink-Foot

Antonio · 05-26-2009, 11:18 AM

hey everybody, it's been some time since i was on here, my internet was acting funny, but now it's ok

so anyway, i made 2 new reviews to suffice the abcense and i'll put them up shortly

Antonio · 05-26-2009, 11:22 AM

Label: Interscope
Release Date: July 2, 1996

Reverend Horton Heat is both the name of the 3 piece band and the pseudonymn of singer/guitarist Jim Heath. This group combines elements of rockabilly, punk, country, as well as other types of music. It's Martini Time is a damn good representation of their sound, which is both fun and tounge in cheek as it is hard rocking. Heath delivers, not only with his distinctive singing style and offbeat lyrics, but with a bombastic guitar style that makes you want to mosh one minute and start a rockabilly band the next. The rhythm section of upright bassist Jimbo Wallace and drummer Scott Churilla are tight as hell and add to the insanity, adding just the right touch to the songs.

In all, I would give this album a 9.3/10, with it's combined ferocity and good time vibes, you can bet your money that you'll have an entertaining ride with this cd. God bless the good reverend

Big Red Rocket of Love-This song is a fast one, with a charging riff and feirce, no nonsense singing. It hits you like a freight train on speed. Then it ends just as quickly as it began.

Slow-This song speaks the truth, somewhat. It goes from slow foot tapping start, switching to a high end riff every few seconds. Jim sings this in a real low, creepy guy kind of tone, like the person your mother told you to stay away from. It ends just as slowly, if you're wondering.

It's Martini Time-The opening guitar lick is soooo good, then it leads into a riding bassline and the song which is really catchy and fun. The solo here starts off really spastic and in the middle is a little more composed. Overall a good effort from the band.

Generation Why-This is a really punkish, galloping song. There's a bit of rockabilly fingerpicking, which makes the song all the more chaotic and angry, if you can believe it.

Slingshot-This is an instrumental, one of two on the album, and one of the best songs on here. It makes me feel like I'm the Roaring 20's, during the Prohibition days, running from the cops who've just raided a speakeasie. good stuff.

Time to Pray-This is a total rock song. There's a real slick singing style on here, and the instrumentation is pretty straightforward.

Crooked Cigarette-A country style song that feels like you just woke up with a hangover, only to open the fridge and grab another beer. This song is alot more reserved and calm than the previous ones.

Rock the Joint-This is pure muhf*ckin' rockabilly, and i'm almost certain it's a cover song.

Cowboy Love-

Quote:

Interracial Cowboy
homo kind of love

uh yeah......kind of a weird thing for these guys to sing about, especially in a country style ballad, slide guitar and all. Even so I like this song.

Now, Right Now-I really enjoy this song, from the singing to the guitar, to the chorus, which is pretty simple:

Quote:

I want it now, right now right now right now right now right now right now

Spell on Me-This takes a tip from some previous songs, although not executed in the best way. It seems like they've slowed down and are dragging their feet a bit. A low point on the album

Or Is It Just Me-This is a slow song with a definate feeling of dread and despair. nuff said.

Forbidden Jungle-The second instrumental, and sort of an unofficial ending for the album (i'll explain later). Really charges in at full force and definately feels like you're in the jungle, Indiana Jones Style.

That's Showbiz-The real ending of the album, but less of a song and more of a spoken word thing. It talks about the pitfalls of the showbiz industry.

Antonio · 05-26-2009, 11:44 AM

Release Date: September 2007
Label: Victory Records

Now i know there's already a review on Colors, and while I do think jackhammer did a fine job reviewing it, I'd thought I'd share my own views on what I consider one of my favorite albums and one that I think everyone should hear.

One of the most interesting things about Colors is the fact that it's one large continous piece of music; where one song ends is where the next begins, and so on. With 8 songs, and a total of 64 minutes, this isn't something that you can just listen to a bit; you have to experience the entire thing. Half of the songs boast 8 minute plus epics that go everywhere musically. The entire band has their spotlight on here, with the guitars, vocals, keys, bass and drums getting their just due. Paul Waggoner and Dustie Waring are are a great guitar duo, where Dustie provides a great foundation and atmospheric feelings to the songs, Paul spins a web of guitar acrobatics that one can only describe as astonishing. Dan Briggs' bass is all over the place and in yo' face(yeah), with sleeper style attacks that lead up to his true moment in the sun. Blake Richardson is a bombastic drummer, with just sweet fills and parts that incorporate different styles in his repitoire. Then there's Tommy Giles Rogers Jr, the little guy with the massive voice. His singing can go from brutal to angelic, and while not the best keyboardist, he adds subtle touches in the mix. Also noteworthy is his lyrical work on the songs. If you think that the lyrics are just mindless dribble, you're sadly mistaken, because each song has a specific meaning and a "designated color", both of which you can check out here:
Between The Buried And Me Album Trailer : Colors : In Stores September 18

I feel that these guys did something special, not only for their genre, but music as a whole. Sure, there may be some parts that seem rehashed and cliche, i'll admit, but in a genre like theirs, this is a breath of fresh air. This is something that you may have to listen to a few times to really digest cause of all the stuff that's going on, but once you do, you'll discover things you missed the first time around. In all, even if you don't find anything that special about Colors or don't get all the hype around it, it's still one hell of a ride.

10/10

Foam Born Pt.A: The Backtrack-A soft, lonely piano starts off the album in a song reminiscent of something by Queen. Then the rest of the band comes in and starts to tear sh*t up. This is a pure introduction, kicking off the album. Both this song and Pt.B are designated the color Orange. Both part A and B have the same theme:

Quote:

Foam Born: the idea of being born again in many different forms (gas, liquids, and solids). This song is about growing old and realizing the most important things in your life. Even though the world gives you many ups and downs, you have to keep waiting to find what truly makes you happy. I use some imagery such as waves pushing me to an isolated island where it's just me and my thoughts (the environment I tried to mentally be in when writing this record).

This song also speaks of the horrible writers block I get every time we write a new record...the older I get, the happier and more peaceful I seem to be (the idea I spoke about before)... and the more peaceful I become the harder it is for me to write about negative aspects of life (something I've always written about in the past). The end of this song is basically saying thanks to all of those who enjoy the music and lyrics we create with each record. A lot of bands take their lives for granted and forget that they are here because of their fans. Thank you.

Foam Born Pt.B: The Decade of Statues-This songs sounds a bit more like a standard Between the Buried and Me song, a bit tried, but true. In the middle is a pretty unusual interude that makes it all just better. One part I enjoy here is the chorus of "It's a must these days, Colors are fading", possibly an inspiration for some ideas of the album.

Informal Gluttony-This is the Green song. It starts of with a middle eastern vibe that's basically my favorite part of the song.

Quote:

This song is about rebuilding our lives as individuals and as an entire society.

Some themes in the song:
“Construction paper traffic”: the idea of building cities with paper… trying to find a child like mood in all the bull**** we create as adults.
“Clock tower”: living our lives by a 9 to 5 mindset… constant routines.
“Wrinkle free clients of doom”: being the perfect model of a beautiful human being.
“All you can eat trumpet”: food consumption taking over our lives.
“Corner office tubes”: living as mice.
“Feed me fear”: we are a scared nation..

Sun of Nothing-The drums blast in and so does this song. There are various parts here that'll have you making a double take with your ears, like "wtf was that??". It's color is Yellow, and imo is one of their most meaningful songs.

Quote:

This song is about a man that gets tired of his life. He decides the only natural way to rid himself of this world is to fly to the sun and burn his body. He builds a rocket ship (he has already been named the “spaceman” in his town) and starts his journey. The song is the thought process during his voyage towards death. He evaluates all the different aspects of his life and towards the end realizes he had it better than most. He has regret but there’s no turning back cause he is already floating towards the sun.

i see this song as being about regret and appreciating what you have in life

Ants of the Sky-This is my favorite song on the cd and a highly charged 13 minute epic. It's no wonder why it's color is Red. I see this as their instrumentation and riffology coming into play, with parts that'd make an accomplished musician question his career. The only thing I don't really like that much is the change 1 minute 23 seconds in; seems a bit cheesy to me.

Quote:

I wrote this song in an airport. When I listen to music on my headphones, I like to watch the world work and think about what every single person is doing that day. This song is about each one of us creating our own itinerary and flying through our life on one big vacation. Trying to find happiness, perfection, and love.

It’s a “bloody, bumpy” road for most, and others it’s a wonderful journey. We fly away from our problems and towards our solutions (at least what we think are our solutions). We are the ants of the sky...aka the walking dead.

Prequel to the Sequel-One of the best opening riffs EVER, and I mean EVER!!!!!! But yeah, it's pretty good. It charges in after that, and while it's only 8 minutes, compared to some of the other songs, it sounds like a 10 minute plus oddessey. This song has a guest singer; the vocalist of Fear Before helping out at some parts, and he does a good job, especially near the end. This is the Turquiose song,

Quote:

This song is a story about the beginning of time (prequel) and its life building up till its demise (the sequel… also know as ‘lost perfection” from the “silent circus”). I chose the idea of a lady (mother nature) creating a headless person (the earth) and that person living amongst three lovers (humans). Branches grow from its headless neck and create nutrients for the world to enjoy.

It talks of its life and how everyone soon took all of it qualities for granted. Taking all it nutrients and natural elements and wilting the tree into the ground. Slowly bringing all life to its end.

Viridian-The calm before the storm. This is Briggs' moment to shine that I alluded to earlier, a 2 minute bass solo with the rest of the band providing a good atmospheric backing. The color is Viridian (big surprise, huh?), which the band described as

Quote:

a blue-green pigment… we felt it really fit the mood of the song.

Near the end you feel a buildup of distortion and then.....

White Walls-BOOM! The song drives in and hits you in the nuts. For a song called White Walls, you'd never think it was designated Purple. Go figure.

Quote:

This song is about growing as a band and as individual musicians. I wrote this song after we did Ozzfest (also known as a big metal talent show). The music business really shows how stagnant and boring popular music is. Everyone tries to sound and look the way they are supposed to in order to “get big”. Obviously all bands aren’t like this… but it seems that more and more people are starting bands to become rock stars, not because they love music.

This song is about growing and realizing what you need to do in order to make yourself happy in music… cause when its all said and done, this is what people hear when we die. When I started playing music it was a blank canvas (white walls) and this journey I’ve lived so far are the paintings that will be seen when I die.

I feel that they wanted to create a magnum opus with this piece. Not only is it the longest song on here(a whopping 14 minutes), but it also harks back to the previous songs not only on this album, but also from other songs they've made. At first listen you may miss some important parts; I know I did, so it may take a few listens to really get entirely what's happening. The solo at the end is (I can't use this word enough) flippin EPIIIIC. Then, after all is said and done, it ends the way it began, with a soft, lonely piano.

Antonio · 05-28-2009, 11:20 AM

damn, no comments?

i feell so unwanted right now :C

jackhammer · 05-28-2009, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antonio

damn, no comments?

i feell so unwanted right now :C

The album reviews section can have few replies sometimes, but the posts are always read in the MB reader by many of us on here. I can't possibly comment on BTBAM as you know my views on it!

Bulldog · 05-28-2009, 01:09 PM

Yeah, as long as your thread's getting read then it's a job well done.

I might just have to check out that Reverand Horton Heat album - all I've got is Smoke 'em If You Got 'em (which has as much psychobilly awesomeness as you can shake a stick at).

Antonio · 05-28-2009, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackhammer

The album reviews section can have few replies sometimes, but the posts are always read in the MB reader by many of us on here. I can't possibly comment on BTBAM as you know my views on it!

yeah, haha, i can see what you mean, just hope that some of it can help you see it in a different light possibly

oh and Bulldog, it's definately a good listen, they have a good sound, but at the same time a good deal of variety

jacklovezhimself · 05-28-2009, 06:07 PM

I like the Crack The Skye album review but I haven't yet downloaded it.
I read an article that the drummer's sister's name was skye and she killed herself because of their abusive father or something.
Anyway, I'll get it soon it looks great.

05-28-2009, 06:07 PM	#70 (permalink)
jacklovezhimself five years Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chicago Posts: 1,248	I like the Crack The Skye album review but I haven't yet downloaded it. I read an article that the drummer's sister's name was skye and she killed herself because of their abusive father or something. Anyway, I'll get it soon it looks great. __________________

05-28-2009, 01:09 PM	#68 (permalink)
Bulldog why bother? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: UK Posts: 4,840	Yeah, as long as your thread's getting read then it's a job well done. I might just have to check out that Reverand Horton Heat album - all I've got is Smoke 'em If You Got 'em (which has as much psychobilly awesomeness as you can shake a stick at).