Post by pulltabproductions on Apr 9, 2007 17:32:07 GMT
“We ain’t even been to the ocean
We’ve been running barefoot the stream”
-Kings of Leon, “Ragoo”
3 songs to buy: Ragoo, Black Thumbnail, Arizona. Honorable Mention: True Love Way.
That spinning lyric at the end of “Ragoo” on the Kings of Leon’s latest record, Because of the Times, explains everything you will hear before and after. And that’s why this review is more a review of KOL the band than it is BOTT the album.
Let the record show I’ve always loved KOL. The first time I heard them was in the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota when a buddy from San Francisco brought them along. I liked that they sounded unlike anything I had heard before. It’s rare in music when you hear something raw. It reminded me of Pearl Jam Ten the summer of ’92. Different music has an insecurity to it. It’s so different it can be a bit embarrassing. Your first instinct is to make fun of the new. Part of the way into Pearl Jam and grunge was accepting that you had no idea what he was saying. Funny, I know all those lyrics now.
KOL had the same effect, it was manic. The way the lead singer apparently lost his mind at the end of “Trani.” The love it or hate it voice. The sloppiness of it all. How the guitar sounded rolling through those Northern hills.
A lot has happened to KOL since then. They’ve blown up big enough in England to hit the A-List groupies and A-List pharmaceuticals. But yet when I recently strolled into a Twin Cities Cheapo looking for some KOL vinyl they were out of stock and the clerk explained to me, “They’re not big here.”
The question is why?
And I think BOTT tells you a lot, if you listen closely. In fact, I think KOL aren’t all that concerned with mass acceptance. And that is precisely why they sound a hell of a lot like something we don’t have much anymore –authentic rock & roll. Think about it, I’m the father of two and I can honestly say my kids and I like a lot of the same “rock” music whether it’s U2, Green Day, whatever. Fall Out Boy, it’s all cross format these days. The kids have heard it in the video games. It’s popular.
When I played “Black Thumbnail,” arguably the most accessible song on BOTT, for my kids this weekend neither of them liked it. And they couldn’t explain to me why. And you know what, I think that’s a good thing. Rock & Roll isn’t for kids. In some ways I think you could argue Rock & Roll isn’t for women and children. I went to a KOL show at the Fine Line in Minneapolis a few years back, and one of the things I noticed most was how masculine the show was. It was a bunch of dudes who knew the lyrics too well, and probably had a bit too much anger to their fist pumps. Isn’t that how all rock & roll starts? It seems to me rock has to sit in the barrel a bit to get to at least 80 proof.
Here’s what you need to know about BOTT. First, the record doesn’t start until song 4. The opener “Knocked Up” is like KOL playing the opening act for their own record. It’s 7 minutes long so it keeps the critics on their side, and it allows everyone in the band to flex most notably the Followills on guitar. It’s message, “we’re about to stretch.”
“Charmer” is KOL being KOL. This is the bouncer. If you can get past Caleb screaming like nails on a chalkboard, you might enjoy what’s to come after. But this is their fuck you, their “we don’t need you anyway.” Further proof they will go kicking and screaming to stardom, maybe. Will the song sound better live, sure. Will it earn the fast forward button from most, absolutely.
“On Call” is another mystery. The first single. Really? Where exactly is this going to get played? What format station? Like they care. Sniff of Zeppelin in there, yes I said it—but as Pacino said in Scent of a Woman, “I’m just getting warmed up!”
So go ahead and start on song 4 “McFearless.” And yet another clue “I must go with my soul.” The boys are still carving their own path through the brush, but this is the first one that lets us in to the secret. They’ve clearly evolved into guitar hero status, and start to show it here.
Black Thumbnail is the most straight ahead song on the album. Just solid. If KOL were looking for mass acceptance this would be the single. Just a great rock song for weathered men in jean jackets and San Francisco bloggers alike. Big sloppy rock and roll. Sounds like bourbon. Nose and ear hair scratch to it.
“My Party” is more filler but keeps pace with the guts of the album and the best parts of BOTT.
“True Love Way” as a song is what BOTT is as an album,-- BOTTLED PROMISE. An epic rock song that never lets itself pop off. “True Love Way” is begging for the guitar solo to snap one off for real, but it stays firmly on the leash. This one wants to be the one, but it’ never gets to fly the freak flag, ultimately not cracking the top 3 songs on the record. Still sounds damn good because it flirts with it however.
Track 8 “Ragoo” is the highlight of the album. It’s the song where KOL realize out loud that they can do whatever they want. The guitar riff is open and accessible enough for the hacky sack crowd and outdoor amphitheaters. The lyrics are optimistic enough to get the neck hairs up on the treadmill. KOL have a little Chilli Pepper snap to them on this record, and “Ragoo” is proof of this. But “Ragoo” is gone before it starts lasting a microwave 3:01 and finishing with the two-line spiral “”We ain’t even been to the ocean. We’ve been running barefoot the stream” To me the message here is as a band KOL haven’t even scratched the surface. They know they’re still doing the Huck Finn raft thing with their sloppy Southern rock while hinting that the story gets stadium sized at some point.
“Fans” is a three-minute swagger as Caleb explains KOL have already taken England (which they have) and they have no plans to give the girls back.
“The Runner,” “Trunk” and “Camaro” are all nice B songs that get us to the big butane finish.
The finale, Arizona, is beautiful. An expansive ballad that makes me want to lay on my back on the reservation. It sounds like the desert. It sounds like drinking too much.
In sum, KOL are a bright hope for rock & roll. But with BOTT they remind us that they remain firmly, on their own timetable. Content with the grits and the girls:
“We could both share all that I’ve made.
For a young man it’s a heck of a wage.”
-Kings of Leon, “True Love Way”
I, for one, am enjoying the rise.
We’ve been running barefoot the stream”
-Kings of Leon, “Ragoo”
3 songs to buy: Ragoo, Black Thumbnail, Arizona. Honorable Mention: True Love Way.
That spinning lyric at the end of “Ragoo” on the Kings of Leon’s latest record, Because of the Times, explains everything you will hear before and after. And that’s why this review is more a review of KOL the band than it is BOTT the album.
Let the record show I’ve always loved KOL. The first time I heard them was in the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota when a buddy from San Francisco brought them along. I liked that they sounded unlike anything I had heard before. It’s rare in music when you hear something raw. It reminded me of Pearl Jam Ten the summer of ’92. Different music has an insecurity to it. It’s so different it can be a bit embarrassing. Your first instinct is to make fun of the new. Part of the way into Pearl Jam and grunge was accepting that you had no idea what he was saying. Funny, I know all those lyrics now.
KOL had the same effect, it was manic. The way the lead singer apparently lost his mind at the end of “Trani.” The love it or hate it voice. The sloppiness of it all. How the guitar sounded rolling through those Northern hills.
A lot has happened to KOL since then. They’ve blown up big enough in England to hit the A-List groupies and A-List pharmaceuticals. But yet when I recently strolled into a Twin Cities Cheapo looking for some KOL vinyl they were out of stock and the clerk explained to me, “They’re not big here.”
The question is why?
And I think BOTT tells you a lot, if you listen closely. In fact, I think KOL aren’t all that concerned with mass acceptance. And that is precisely why they sound a hell of a lot like something we don’t have much anymore –authentic rock & roll. Think about it, I’m the father of two and I can honestly say my kids and I like a lot of the same “rock” music whether it’s U2, Green Day, whatever. Fall Out Boy, it’s all cross format these days. The kids have heard it in the video games. It’s popular.
When I played “Black Thumbnail,” arguably the most accessible song on BOTT, for my kids this weekend neither of them liked it. And they couldn’t explain to me why. And you know what, I think that’s a good thing. Rock & Roll isn’t for kids. In some ways I think you could argue Rock & Roll isn’t for women and children. I went to a KOL show at the Fine Line in Minneapolis a few years back, and one of the things I noticed most was how masculine the show was. It was a bunch of dudes who knew the lyrics too well, and probably had a bit too much anger to their fist pumps. Isn’t that how all rock & roll starts? It seems to me rock has to sit in the barrel a bit to get to at least 80 proof.
Here’s what you need to know about BOTT. First, the record doesn’t start until song 4. The opener “Knocked Up” is like KOL playing the opening act for their own record. It’s 7 minutes long so it keeps the critics on their side, and it allows everyone in the band to flex most notably the Followills on guitar. It’s message, “we’re about to stretch.”
“Charmer” is KOL being KOL. This is the bouncer. If you can get past Caleb screaming like nails on a chalkboard, you might enjoy what’s to come after. But this is their fuck you, their “we don’t need you anyway.” Further proof they will go kicking and screaming to stardom, maybe. Will the song sound better live, sure. Will it earn the fast forward button from most, absolutely.
“On Call” is another mystery. The first single. Really? Where exactly is this going to get played? What format station? Like they care. Sniff of Zeppelin in there, yes I said it—but as Pacino said in Scent of a Woman, “I’m just getting warmed up!”
So go ahead and start on song 4 “McFearless.” And yet another clue “I must go with my soul.” The boys are still carving their own path through the brush, but this is the first one that lets us in to the secret. They’ve clearly evolved into guitar hero status, and start to show it here.
Black Thumbnail is the most straight ahead song on the album. Just solid. If KOL were looking for mass acceptance this would be the single. Just a great rock song for weathered men in jean jackets and San Francisco bloggers alike. Big sloppy rock and roll. Sounds like bourbon. Nose and ear hair scratch to it.
“My Party” is more filler but keeps pace with the guts of the album and the best parts of BOTT.
“True Love Way” as a song is what BOTT is as an album,-- BOTTLED PROMISE. An epic rock song that never lets itself pop off. “True Love Way” is begging for the guitar solo to snap one off for real, but it stays firmly on the leash. This one wants to be the one, but it’ never gets to fly the freak flag, ultimately not cracking the top 3 songs on the record. Still sounds damn good because it flirts with it however.
Track 8 “Ragoo” is the highlight of the album. It’s the song where KOL realize out loud that they can do whatever they want. The guitar riff is open and accessible enough for the hacky sack crowd and outdoor amphitheaters. The lyrics are optimistic enough to get the neck hairs up on the treadmill. KOL have a little Chilli Pepper snap to them on this record, and “Ragoo” is proof of this. But “Ragoo” is gone before it starts lasting a microwave 3:01 and finishing with the two-line spiral “”We ain’t even been to the ocean. We’ve been running barefoot the stream” To me the message here is as a band KOL haven’t even scratched the surface. They know they’re still doing the Huck Finn raft thing with their sloppy Southern rock while hinting that the story gets stadium sized at some point.
“Fans” is a three-minute swagger as Caleb explains KOL have already taken England (which they have) and they have no plans to give the girls back.
“The Runner,” “Trunk” and “Camaro” are all nice B songs that get us to the big butane finish.
The finale, Arizona, is beautiful. An expansive ballad that makes me want to lay on my back on the reservation. It sounds like the desert. It sounds like drinking too much.
In sum, KOL are a bright hope for rock & roll. But with BOTT they remind us that they remain firmly, on their own timetable. Content with the grits and the girls:
“We could both share all that I’ve made.
For a young man it’s a heck of a wage.”
-Kings of Leon, “True Love Way”
I, for one, am enjoying the rise.
