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[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL
"First Impressions of The Wallflowers" |
04.06.11 |
BY MIKEY MIGO
It’s that time again. I’m going to open my ears up to new music. As with anyone, you’re surely going to miss out on SOMETHING. There are like a million bands out there and you’re not going to hear them all. That can be said even for some of the more popular bands. For some reason or another, I’ve missed the boat on certain bands from random time periods. I may have heard a single or two, but my opinion of the band isn’t fully or fairly formed.
So what I do is listen to their ENTIRE discography. I try to stick with bands that have a 4 to 6 studio album discography. Sometimes I’m enlightened and gain a new band to add to my ever growing playlist. Sometimes I’m punished with multiple hours of torturous music. Regardless, I give live and ongoing opinions of what I hear as I hear it. I seriously always hope what I’m listening to is good stuff. I don’t want to spend a huge chunk of my day hating on some band I don’t want to hear. Like it or not, it’s an honest first impression.
Why The Wallflowers?
I’ve always read the name The Wallflowers in magazines and online. Of course being a fan of music I know who Jakob Dylan is. His dad is Bob Dylan. I’m not going to lie. I’m not a fan of Bob Dylan. I just never got into his stuff and always felt he was held a little too high by critics. I respect his contributions, but it’s just not for me. The Wallflowers have been around for awhile, but I don’t know much about them. I know there was one hit single that had a line in it about “me and Cinderella”. I remember their cover of Bowie’s “Heroes” being okay and aired a lot. But that’s about it. I’m all about some good 90’s alt rock. Here’s hoping The Wallflowers will fit that category.
The Wallflowers
(1992 – 69 minutes) - This 1992 album kicks off with "Shy of the Moon". It has the same melody as “Johnny B. Good” at the start and then goes into a country blues rock sounding song. I really hope this isn’t what I’m in for. "Sugarfoot" feels a bit better. It’s still a bit hokey. It has a really dated sound. It sounds like Blues Traveler or other random “bluesy folk” rock bands from the early 90’s. "Sidewalk Annie" is a down tempo track and just about feels decent. I don’t know what it is, but I find myself really disconnected with this music as we start. "Hollywood" is a piano diddy. It’s a down tempo ashy-beer kind of soul-filled tune. It builds up to a big “epic” break and then drops back down to the down tempo groany stuff. It’s over seven minutes long. That’s a long time. "Be Your Own Girl" almost instantly reminds me of Springsteen. I don’t think that’s a compliment though. This song tells a girl she doesn’t “always have to be HIS girl” and that “you don’t always have to be MY girl”. I’m sure there is some big deep meaning here, but narrating the obvious and trying to make it come off as deep and insightful gets under my skin. At this point, I feel about The Wallflowers what I do about Nickelback… except not Canadian. I appreciate the casual sway that starts us off on "Another One in the Dark", but at about a minute forty five it builds up to a lame sounding song that I’ve heard a million times before by a million different lame bands. I like the music and the vocal delivery of "Ashes to Ashes". At this point, it’s probably my favorite song on the album. I found myself spacing out during "After the Blackbird Sings". It’s pretty much just there. It sounds pretty much like everything else. "Somebody Else's Money" starts off really cool. The piano playing is pretty top notch… then it goes into a brooding down tempo track. It’s over eight minutes! That’s nine minutes too long. This song is as pretentious as they come. Rich kids moaning about money is stupid. This song tried really hard and it was pretty bad. "Asleep at the Wheel" is another pluck and tap “roots rock” tune. What the hell? The next song is "Honeybee" and it’s OVER NINE MINUTES LONG. It’s awesome when good bands go the distance and make long tracks, but it sucks when the songs are shitty like this. It goes nowhere, but at like the last minute or so it goes into big grande’ soul rock. The long as hell album ends with "For the Life of Me". Is it mean to say THIS is my favorite song merely because it’s the last of it? I’m going to anyway. I’m starting to understand why I potentially never crossed paths with The Wallflowers. The technique of making good music is there, but with one listen this is void of substance. It comes off as someone trying WAY too hard to not try at all. It’s full of cliché’ bullshit and there is no real change-up or catchy melody to anything here. It all sounds like generic “soul rock”. It reminds me of what a generic crime show would play in the background during “dramatic” scenes. Is it possible this band sold out before they even made this album? Maybe. But still, let’s be fair. I need to remember this album did shit sales before they blew up. There were no singles from this album. The band was taking baby steps here. I’m going to remain optimistic and try to get in a better mood…
Bringing Down The Horse
(1996 – 51 minutes) - Well, holy shit. We start this album off with "One Headlight". This IS the song about Cinderella and stuff. No, seriously. This IS a pretty awesome song. This won them some Grammys and got them out there in a big way. I can only hope this is more the direction of what they’ll be sounding like as the albums progress. Already a HUGE step forward. While it sounds good, "6th Avenue Heartache" borders a little too close to country for my liking. I like the vibe on "Bleeders". That’s about as much as I can say about it. It’s a decent foot tapper, but that’s about it. Apparently "Three Marlenas" is another single from this album, but I don’t remember ever hearing it. It’s a cute track with a fine melody. Another single I’ve not heard before is "The Difference". It does sound vaguely familiar, but it could be one of the million sounds that sound like this already. I do find myself enjoying "Invisible City" until the country sounding guitars strum in. It’s a solid tune for sure. Outside of “One Headlight”, it just may be my favorite of theirs thus far. Being really early to the text-type game, the next song is titled "Laughing Out Loud". It was an okay rock song until the chorus hits and the words “laughing out loud” are sung a few too many times. It makes it a pretty cheesy song. In "Josephine" they rhyme “Josephine” with “tangerine”. It’s a long crooning ballad. It’s solid enough. "God Don't Make Lonely Girls" is a country-rock song if I’ve ever heard one. For what it is, it’s okay I suppose but I’m not into it. I don’t know what to say about "Angel on My Bike". It’s almost like “One Headlight”, but it’s not half as good. It’s bouncy, but it’s nothing to get excited about. We close out this album with "I Wish I Felt Nothing". It’s a slow one and croons. This album clearly sounds better and has much better production. There is a little more substance in the songs and there is a fair balance. I could personally do without ANY country-sounding nonsense, but “One Headlight” is a 90’s staple. That might get them a pass down the line. We’ll see.
(Breach)
(2000 – 43 minutes) - It’s four years later. What direction did they mature? I kind of really dig the opening melody and music of the album’s first track, "Letters from the Wasteland". Dylan’s voice has much more life to it in this one. "Hand Me Down" sounds more like the other stuff I’ve heard so far. It looks doubtful he’d be trying to expand into any other genre so at this point this sounds exactly how a more mature band of the same style would sound. I think I vaguely remember the single "Sleepwalker". It’s a good and poppy rock song. The problem is that I doubt many other songs on the album will be as this lively. Instead I can only imagine some down tempo-country style ramble is going to be next. Sorry, I just don’t want to get my hopes up. I like the cool opening loop in "I've Been Delivered". This one ends up not being that bad. The slow paced "Witness" isn’t a bad tune either. It’s one of the stronger tracks not only on the album, but all three I’ve gotten through so far. "Some Flowers Bloom Dead" has a “montage song” feel to it. Like you could sternly shake your fist along with it and get away with it. It sounds like a more folky version of Bon Jovi, which is a pretty fair analogy of what I’ve heard so far. This rings pretty true on "Mourning Train" as well. It starts with a whole camp fire vibe with clapping a long to an acoustic guitar. It stays in that realm and is pleasant enough, but doesn’t really grab me. "Up From Under" is a lot like everything else, but this time it almost works. It has a really beautiful melody and Jakob’s vocals compliment it very well. "Murder 101" is a rock track. It’s high tempo and has Elvis Costello doing backup vocals. Needless to say, it’s not bad. Especially for being only two and a half minutes long. The album pretends to close out with "Birdcage", a snail slow ballad tune that barely gets past mildly awake in tempo or tone. It’s flat as hell. The album really finishes up with a “hidden track” titled "Babybird". It’s a lullaby of sorts. This album wasn’t completely torture. There were some high spots, but way more low spots. Certain music styles just don’t sound good to me. Everyone says that, but I’m actually forcing myself to have a full impression. It’s that country twang in the music that almost completely eliminated any possible interest I can have in this. At this point I can only hope the last two albums have a more rock influence to them and something resembling a non-desolate emotion.
Red Letter Days
(2002 – 49 minutes) -
"When You're on Top" starts the album off really cool. It’s pretty intense on headphones. Then the vocals and everything kicks in. It’s a good song. It has a unique sound to it compared to the standard fare. I can only hope there is more of this to come, but I’ve been fooled before. The cooled out vibe of "How Good It Can Get" isn’t bad at all. It’s a bit on the sappy-ballad side, but it’s pretty lively. I had to check to make sure my tracks weren’t screwed with because "Closer to You" sounds NOTHING like the others. It’s almost an R&B piano ballad. It sounds good for what it is and is pretty damn surprising. "Everybody Out of the Water" is a weird song. It’s a solid rock song, but it’s like the one from the last album where I feel like I could sternly shake my fist to the rhythm in a seriously cheesy manner. I do appreciate the aggression and difference. "Three Ways" sounds like it’s being sung through a cloud, it’s soft and powdery. I dig the opening of "Too Late to Quit" a lot. It’s actually a pretty cool song and one of the most solid rock tunes of their entire catalogue. Of course they’d have to do this. "If You Never Got Sick" is back to that almost country/pop rock stuff. No thanks. "Health and Happiness" is a dark track. It could almost pass as Nine Inch Nails inspired. That said, yeah… big fan of this one. "See You When I Get There" is an up-tempo rock track that’s made for light rock radio. I again like the opening of "Feels Like Summer Again". It almost instantly jumps into a different style completely. It’s not bad; it feels like a slower claw at “One Headlight”. "Everything I Need" is another somewhat cheesy fist-shaker. Its up-tempo and sounds like a generic rock song a generic domestic beer would use in an advertisement. The keys on it are tight, but the composition just sucks. "Here in Pleasantville" is a down tempo tune. It’s a light and bouncy beautiful little song. It’s a ballad, sure, but it feels genuine. The album closes out with "The Empire in My Mind". It’s a slow and brooding track. I didn’t think I’d like it when it started, but it had a certain prose to it that makes it hard not to appreciate. This album is The Wallflower’s best album so far. Well, at least the one I liked the most so far. It’s more aggressive, has less country-fusion, and Dylan’s vocals are more emotive.
Rebel, Sweetheart
(2005 – 50 minutes) - The most recent album opens up with "Days of Wonder". It’s an uptempo country rock track. It sounds familiar, but generic the same. "The Passenger" is a sigh educing foot tapper. It’s a really poppy rock tune. So far, so bland. "The Beautiful Side of Somewhere" doesn’t do much to change that. It’s a slower paced song, it’s well sung, and it builds nicely. But the problem is that it builds to a pretty lackluster chorus. ‘The Boss’ would be proud to hear a song like "Here He Comes (Confessions of a Drunken Marionette)" because it proves that even in 2005 there are bands out there trying to sound like him. The piano is really strong on "We're Already There", but nothing else about it is really anything to write home about. From the second "God Says Nothing Back" hits you can tell this is a “different” song. It’s a bit more experimental within the realm of what I’ve gotten used to. I’m a bit bummed out because I thought "Back to California" was going to be related to “Going Back to Cali”, but it’s not. It’s an up-tempo rock song. It’s decent, but I’ll forget about it forever before the night is up. The music is interesting in "I Am a Building", but it’s also distracting me from really absorbing the song. I appreciate the croons and plucks of "From the Bottom of My Heart". It has a camp-fire feel, but its solid stuff. My only issue is that at over six minutes it’s a bit overkill about four minutes in. "Nearly Beloved" is a country sounding thing. I skipped it about half way in, I won’t lie. The track of "How Far You've Come" is another soft ballad, but again it’s good. I feels more natural and less forced than what the majority of the other tracks sound. And we finish up with "All Things New Again", a nasally pop rock song. It’s nothing special at all. The album ends. It’s not their worse and it’s not their best. It’s just kind of there. Nothing on the album is remarkable or anything I’d want to rehash later in life.
THE VERDICT
(1992 – ) - I don’t know what to say. I wanted this to be a more enjoyable experience. I would never want to spend five hours listening to music I don’t like. Sadly, for the most part that’s exactly what happened here. There wasn’t any song I’d say I’d want to go out of my way to listen to again. I can point out a few songs that were good for what they were and I can tell what’s good. This just wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m not into country music AT ALL. I didn’t expect such a country-fusion here. I know folky stuff can go that way and Bob Dylan was in that ballpark too, but I just kind of expected something more alt rock than timid Springsteen rehashes. Before anyone jumps on me with “But Bruce was rippin’ off Bob anyway”, don’t. I know this, but Bruce evolved it one step forward into the modern day in means of rock and roll. The Wallflowers take off where Bruce’s evolution left off, but sadly they took it in a more generic pop rock area. I can hear some quality in there, but even within this style of music there are way better bands out there. I’m not your typical “light rock” radio listener, but I know what’s out there and what’s been out there. I respect the work and assumed effort, but I don’t get the appeal. I know some could say “it’s the meaning of the lyrics, man!”, but no. Witty abstracts and blank emotions don’t make something “deep” or “insightful”. It just came off as bland, pretentious, and over polished. I will not be listening to The Wallflowers in the near future.
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