Week 7 Review

8 years prior to E. L. James’s unleashing the erotic juggernaut Fifty Shades of Grey that sold 100+ million copies, Staind showed up at #1 on charts with this week’s review: 14 Shades of Grey.

Artist: Staind {Aaron Lewis (vocals, rhythm guitar), Mike Mushok (lead guitar), Johnny April (bass guitar), Jon Wysocki (drums)}
Album: 14 Shades of Grey
Year: 2003
Genre: Post-Grunge
Rating: 1/5

Worth Your Time? You’re better off experimenting with how to get your fist inside of your mouth. (Like this young lady or this young lady.)

Twitter Review: This album really needs to be renamed 14 Small Variations of a Shade of Grey. Who knew you could rewrite the same song 13 times and sell it?

Top 3 Tracks:

Things to Look For:

Pete and Repeat Were in a Boat. The similarity in the structure of all the songs is unbelievable. It’s basically Aaron with unprocessed usually overly vague vocals followed by a wall of sound and Aaron’s usually even more vague vocals layered many times over so he can even beging to compete with the wall behind him. This repeats a couple times then the next song starts.
Pete Fell Out. I cannot believe how they used the same approach over and over again throughout this album. Essentially, Aaron does a verse with his voice unaltered and reasonable instrumentation followed by a heavily processed chorus with many layers of Aaron’s voice and this insane wall of sound. To add insult to injury, most song lyrics are so unclear that you barely care what the song was about.
Who’s Left? My mind cannot even begin to process how Staind could release an album that is packed with such similar sounding songs. It’s just 14 variations of Aaron switching back and forth between singing vague lyrics with his vocals unaltered intermingled with this ear fatigue inducing wall of sound that can only be taken on by processing Aaron’s vocals with layering beyond any reasonable amount.

High Points: There are far too many low points to discuss so I think it might be more interesting to talk about the high points instead. I listened to this album one final time before I started to write the review because I had such a hard time picking out individual songs. As I took notes on the tracks, my original score kept dropping and dropping until it got to one. I honestly considered giving it a zero out of five but there are some redeeming songs on here that let me put aside everything wrong with this album for a moment.

Let’s start of with Zoe Jane. This song is about Aaron’s relationship with his young daughter and probably his strongest song lyrically. (which really isn’t saying much unfortunately) I think it accurately captures that incredibly deep emotional bond that is created between a parent and child. It covers: unconditional love, the connection you get just by looking into your child’s eyes and having them look back at you, the need to want to shelter them from everything cruel in this world that you’ve experienced while trying to open their eyes to everything amazing around them and finally becoming so emotionally overwhelmed to the point of tears because you cannot always be there for them no matter how much you want to be.

The other song we need to discuss is Layne. It is actually a tribute to one of the gods of grunge: Layne Staley, the lead singer of Alice in Chains, who died alone of drug overdose in 2002 after years of dealing with depression and drug addiction. Tragically, his body was not discovered until two weeks after he died. He was only 34 and his death had immediate impact on the music scene which inspired many, including Aaron Lewis, to pay their respects to a man who had so much musical influence on their life. One notable aspect of this song is the beginning which opens up with Aaron vocalizing which reminded me of the Alice in Chain’s grunge classic Man in the Box.

Anything Else: So my wife and I do not have any children. We do not want children. We are never going to have children. So why did I connect so much with Zoe Jane on this album without being a parent myself? It’s actually a pretty simple answer: my friends. I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by couples who are absolutely amazing parents. I’ve seen the most serious and reserved of my friends turn into the biggest goofballs just to get an extra smile or laugh from their child. It’s almost like in that moment the whole world around them disappears. To me, that speaks volumes of how intense the parent/child relationship is. The amount of effort and sacrifice my friends put into being parents is awe inspiring quite honestly. I’m happy I get to witness all of these beautiful little moments between them and their children. If you’re looking for examples of what awesome parents do, I would highly suggest checking out JAKE’s Place which is run by a friend and awesome parent, [J].

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Week 6 Review

This week I’m reviewing a recent album from 3 guys who started a band 13 years before I was born. I am of course talking about the return of Black Sabbath to the recording studio with their album 13.

Artist: Black Sabbath {Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer butler (bass guitar), Brad Wilk instead of Bill Ward (drums)}
Album: 13
Year: 2013
Genre: Heavy Metal
Rating: 3.9/5

Worth Your Time? Especially if you’re behind on your monthly headbangs.

Twitter Review: Having been fed a healthy diet of nu-metal through all of college, listening to the band that inspired all of them was incredibly refreshing.

Top 3 Tracks:

Zeitgeist (if you watch only one video watch this one)
Age of Reason
God Is Dead

Things to Look For:

Geezer’s Lyrics. I don’t know what to say other than it felt like Ozzie was singing Sabbath songs just for me. I’ve been doing a lot of spiritual/intellectual self-examination lately so this album really resonated with me. I loved and appreciated Geezer Butler’s word play on this album so much.
Rocking out with the boys of Black. I had so much fun listening to 13. It’s pretty hard to listen and not catch yourself doing some at least light headbanging as Black Sabbath rocks out. It reminds a lot of the joy I get from cranking AC/DC’s Back In Black or Nirvana’s Nevermind album in my car on the way to work in the morning.
Iommi’s Solos and Riffs. While they may not be his best work as he is one of the greatest of all-time with an incredible back catalog that would make a 16-year-old schoolgirl blush, I still enjoyed them immensely. Iommi kicks more ass in his mid 60’s than you ever did or ever will. That’s just a fact of life.

Low Points: Pretty positive review so far, right? So is there anything negative to say about this album? You betcha. The stuff I’m going to talk about didn’t necessarily limit enjoyment of the album but makes me wonder if this album could have been better. I wish there could have been a little less jamming on the songs and instead they had been tightened up some more. The majority of songs clock in over 7 minutes so it’s incredibly easy to get lost in the rhythms of rock and not be totally sure which song you are currently listening to unfortunately. Actually, if you’re not paying attention, you probably won’t even catch the start of the next song. Part of the reason I think Zeitgeist was my top song was because it was so musically different from the other 7.

Anything Else: I often wondered if you’re old enough to have an AARP card, do you need to turn in your ROCK card? While this may be true for some bands that held on to their cards to the point of being ridiculous, I think Black Sabbath showed me that they can still remain relevant even in 2013.

Finally and most importantly, anybody else think it’s weird that Brad Wilk (the drummer) and Bill Ward (the drummer he replaced) are one letter away from being anagrams of each other and that letter difference is K and L which are right next to each other in the alphabet? Seriously. That’s pretty random. About as random as my Facebook News Feed:

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Week 5 Review

This week I’m reviewing my first album that I consider obscure. It’s not an internet sensation nor has it defined a decade. So let’s take a look at …Waltzing Alone by folk band Guggenheim Grotto.

Artist: The Guggenheim Grotto {Shane Power (drums, piano), Mick Lynch (guitar, vocals), Kevin May (vocals, guitar)}
Album: …Waltzing Alone
Year: 2006
Genre: Folk-Pop
Rating: 3.75/5 Stars (5/5 Stars if you’re feeling introspective or heart broken)

Worth Your Time? If you’re in the right mood.

Twitter Review: …Waltzing Alone is like a finely aged scotch. You sip it slowly appreciating the individual flavors and smells that surround it.

Top 3 Tracks:

Things to Look For:

So many instruments. All three band members are multi-instrumentalists so there’s more going on here than your average album. You can tell they searched for that one instrument to give them the exact sound they were looking for.
Look ma, no drums! There’s quite a few tracks that do not not make heavy use of percussion. Maybe that’s not special for folk music, but as your average listener it stood out to me while listening this week.
Craftsmanship. Obviously, these guys had more interest in creating gorgeous sounds for your mind to process than trying to appeal to the masses. I could see listening to this album with my co-workers $1000 headphones to appreciate all the little touches. (Yes he does actually let me borrow them at work from time to time.)
Is the Cake a lie? My wife says Wonderful Wizard sounds like a Cake song. And I have to agree. They are one trumpet away from it being on Prolonging the Magic.

Low Points: There was actually one point in the chorus of the song I Think I Love You that infuriated me nearly every time I listened to it. He says “Hell I want to scream” but at no point does he ever raise his voice to anything close to a scream. I guess I have the mind frame of show me/not tell me when it comes to writing and that chorus is nothing but tell. But this album’s biggest downfall is that you really need to be in the right mood to appreciate it. Some of my favorite albums bring a mood to me and not the other way around so I think it deserved to lose some stars because of that. If you don’t agree I don’t care because yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.

Anything Else: There’s something worth mentioning here outside of the music that makes this album worth owning like as in a physical copy kind of owning. They really put incredible effort into the album’s packaging. It’s basically a small book with red leather texture and silver embossed text. That right there is pretty special since your average CD comes in a plastic jewel case that you’re never going to make any kind of connection with. If it cracked you would simply replace it with another one that looks exactly like it without ever giving it a second thought. In a word: disposable.

The liner notes begin with 5 pages worth of excerpts from an online discussion on a site dedicated to graphic design about the current state of CD packaging. This is followed by the lyrics for each song with several illustrations related to the lyrics. Then it closes out with commentary by Shane, Mick and Kevin for each of the songs that brings insight into what was going on inside their heads such as that they were all heavily listening to Marvin Gaye when Vertigo was formed into being. You really don’t get this level of detail and discussion with your average album. Do yourself a favor and hunt down the CD rather than downloading the MP3s if you plan on getting this album. I’ve included some pictures to help you visualize the awesomeness.

On a random note, my wife and I were at the concert where the Vertigo video I just linked to was recorded. We high tailed it up to Cleveland to see a They Might Be Giants concert where they performed Flood in it’s entirety. And that is where I first became acquainted with The Guggenheim Grotto and, like with most opening acts, I bought their album.

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Week 4 Review

This week I’m reviewing one of the most important 90’s BritPop albums: (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis. Yet another album with lukewarm reviews initially but is now considered a classic.

Artist: Oasis {Liam Gallagher (vocals), Noel Gallagher (lead guitar), Paul Authurs (rhythm guitar), Paul McGuigan (bass guitar), Alan White (drums)}
Album: (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
Year: 1995
Genre: BritPop
Rating: 3.333/5 Stars

Worth Your Time? Listen to it only while your driving.

Twitter Review: Mediocrity thy name is Morning Glory. It has some qualities of a good album but those get overwhelmed by the time everything is over.

Top 3 Tracks:

Champagne Supernova
Wonderwall
I’m not wasting your time by picking a third song from an 10 way tie.

Things to Look For:

Now where have I heard that before? Oasis is famous for their songs sounding fairly similar to existing songs. I’m sure you could pick out a couple listening to it or at least have one déjà vu moment.
Follow the bouncing ball. I don’t think I know of an album that I can sing along to as much as I can with this one. It is definitely the album’s greatest quality and makes this one of the best albums to listen to in your car. Champagne Supernova is of course the sing-along high point.
Silence. There is a moment in Wonderwall where it’s nearly silent as the guitar fades for a couple beats before the drums start back up. For whatever reason I have always loved that moment.
Feuding brothers. Liam and Noel got into all sorts of fights and were a mainstay for British tabloids. It’s worth reading up on their brotherly love throughout the years.

Low Points: I usually I struggle with this moment. And you would think with this being one of the greatest if not greatest 90’s BritPop album of all time, I would struggle here as well. I really wish that was the case but I think the original reviews had it right. Even though I am compelled to sing with every chorus on the album, I can barely tell the songs apart minus the two US singles. They’re just so unimaginative and similar sounding. Most of the tracks are just kind of there. Maybe from a historical/cultural perspective they are important but that really doesn’t help me enjoy the songs. Again, not counting the two US singles. I cannot stress that enough.

Anything Else: This album has a lot of personal significance. It was the very first compact disc I ever bought and with my own money too. I went home and listened to it in my bedroom over and over being it was the only thing I could play in my CD player. Wonderwall was the first song I ever tried to learn on my saxophone by just listening to it and trying to figure out the notes. After weeks of practicing, I debuted my incredible recreation in the high school art room after some coaxing from a close friend. After I finished, he quietly informed me that it sounded absolutely nothing like the song. I stuck to pop songs I had sheet music for after that. (Yellow Submarine, anyone?)

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Week 3 Review

This week I’m reviewing part one of a three part concept EP series by emo rockers Mae titled (m)orning. I’m a sucker for concept albums. Mae even donated all proceeds from this album to charity.

Artist: Mae {Dave Elkins (vocals, guitar), Zach Gehring (guitar), Jacob Marshall (drums, piano)}
Album: (m)orning
Year: 2009
Genre: Emo/Inidie/Pop
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Worth Your Time? Yes

Twitter Review: (m)orning is an incredibly well-crafted multi-layered genre mashing EP that should feel like a mess but flows together without any struggle.

Top 3 Tracks:

Things to Look For:

Christian metaphors. Like all good art, what people see says more about them then the piece itself. Well I think this album is jam packed with Jesus. What I like even more is you could argue that this EP has no more Lord and Savior than your average grilled cheese sandwich. (Cheesus not withstanding)
An eight minute and forty second magnum opus. I think The Fisherman Song is a lush complex masterpiece well deserving of the title. Just by itself, it elevates the album to the level of worth listening to. It even makes excellent use of dynamics. No wall of sound here.
Channeling the greats… At time it felt like a Beatles album, sometimes Queen and other times U2… and still pulling it off beautifully.

Low Points: I’m really loving this album and routinely bobbed my head while listening to it so it’s hard for me to pick a low point. But I still have to find this album’s valley. I feel like the the ending and beginning tracks would be better suited for waiting to talk to customer support than rounding out the EP. But considering Mae’s previous albums and that this is a concept album, it’s quite possible that this was what they were going for.

Anything Else: I had this album for a long time but never gave it a good listen. And it surprised me in so many ways. So it really represents my goals for Project Lt. Morning which is to discover the gems scattered throughout my digital hoard. I have to listen to Destination Beautiful and The Everglow again but this might be my favorite Mae album overall. I also really need to add the other two EPs of the series: (a)fternoon and (e)vening. Like I said at the start, I’m a sucker for concept albums. (even if the results are sometimes disastrous)

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Week 2 Review

This week I’m reviewing an all-time great jazz album: ‘Round About Midnight by Miles Davis. Much like Daft Punk’s Discovery, RAM was met with ‘meh’ reviews then later critics realized its greatness.

Artist: Miles Davis {Miles Davis (trumpet), John Coltrane (saxophone), Red Garland (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), Philly Joe Jones (drums)}
Album: ‘Round About Midnight
Year: 1957
Genre: Jazz (Hard Bop)

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Worth Your Time? Absolutely

Twitter Review: RAM is a wonderful album that is quite accessible to listeners thanks to the inclusion of the jazz standards Bye Bye Blackbird and All of You.

Top 3 Tracks:

Things to Look For:

John Coltrane’s gorgeous soloing on ‘Round Midnight (and elsewhere) got me hooked on this album.
Philly JJ’s drumming on Ah-Leu-Cha (a Charlie Parker song). The drum breaks are perfection.
Miles Davis’ use of the horn mute throughout the album. Exactly what you need when your looking to just chill and relax.

Low Points: There really isn’t anything negative to say about this album though it’s kind of short by today’s standards at 39 minutes.

Anything Else: I really ~~dislike~~ hate avant-garde jazz. To me, it brutally murdered jazz in the shower ala Psycho from which, like most murders, it never recovered. It’s so nice to listen to Coltrane before he went way out there. Yeah I know people worship Coltrane’s later stuff and literally worship Coltrane (not kidding) but for me his early work is what I love most. I’m nowhere near a jazz expert so feel free to disagree with me or start your own Project Lt. Morning equivalent blog and show me what’s for.

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Week 1 Review

This week I’m reviewing the South African Rap Rave Die Antwoord’s 2009 album $O$ which was originally released for free by the group. They made a big splash on the internet with Enter the Ninja.

Artist: Die Antwoord {Ninja (volcals), Yolandi Visser (volcals), DJ Hi-Tek (beats)}
Album: $O$
Year: 2009
Genre: Rap Rave

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Worth Your Time? Yes

Twitter Review: $O$ sounds unique to US listeners. Ninja and Yolandi are an exciting MC duo that complement each other nicely. Plus their videos are insane.

Top 3 Tracks:

Things to Look For:

Ninja’s laid back lyrical delivery on Wat Kyk Jy and other tracks like $copie.
Three Spoken Languages Intermixed: English, Afrikaans and Xhosa. Wie Maak Die Jol Vol is a great example of this.
The ‘did he just say what I think he said’ moments of Orinoco Ninja Flow (Wedding DJs Mix) as Ninja raps over an Enya.

Low Points: When the songs slow down, Die Antwoord isn’t nearly as compelling most of the time. I definitely enjoy the upbeat tracks on the album more.

Anything Else: Check out their videos on YouTube. They are just as interesting visually as they are lyrically. Not seeing them is really only getting half of the experience.

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What Is Project Lieutenant Morning?

This is an experiment to see how long before I go crazy trying to complete the project. The idea is to listen to all of the albums on my MP3 player in alphabetical order one by one. For each album, I will only listen to that album over and over and over and nothing else for a minimum of a week. At the end of the week, I’ll write a review and post it here. Feedback is welcome. I’m trying to keep them short. I don’t want you to have to spend too much time reading the reviews.

Those that work with me know I have my headphones on nearly the entire time I’m coding so that’s quite a few listens during the week. I’m going to be covering a chaotic collection of albums as I have quite wide range of music that spans over many genres and decades. I don’t expect every album to be of interest to everyone but hopefully you will come across an album or two that sounds like you might want to check it out.

I also don’t expect to finish this project as it would be a 13 year effort in which I would be cutting myself off from listening to anything new that comes out. Just thinking about missing on all of that music makes me want to cry. 😦