(#3 on the Alfred Top 25)

The Wallflowers "Rebel, Sweetheart"


The Wallflowers were all over the radio in 1996, the year their quadruple platinum album "Bringing Down The Horse" came out. Everyone knew the hits "One Headlight", "Three Marlenas", "The Difference", and "6th Avenue Heartache". But over the years they fell out of the public eye, not that I can really object. In 2000 you had the incredibly soft album "Breach" and in 2002 you had the overly poppy "Red Letter Days". Unfortunately, by the time The Wallflowers released their masterpiece in 2005, no one gave a shit. The Wallflowers were old news. Has-beens.

And maybe they realized that. Maybe they decided that they weren't in it for the money anymore, that they weren't going to make another Bringing Down The Horse. And as a result, they made Rebel, Sweetheart, a poetic, jangly, solid album. The first album I fell in love with, back when I was about eleven or twelve years old.

I remember putting this album in the CD player for the first time, so excited at hearing more songs from the only rock band I was allowed to listen to. The lazy riff of the incredibly catchy opener Days Of Wonder filled my ears and I laid down on my bed and listened to the whole thing. And then I listened to it a few more times after that. It was awesome.

And it's still awesome to this day. This is not an album that merely holds sentimental value with me, this is an album whose art I can still appreciate. It's a solid listen from start-to-finish, not a bad song on the CD. From the bright, upbeat rock songs to the poetic, gloomy folk rock, to the beautiful acoustic tracks, this is the band's most varied and well-produced album to date. It's always catchy but never seems to be commercial. Organic is the word.

In case you don't know, lead singer Jakob Dylan is the youngest son of Bob Dylan. As with his father, he's a great lyricist, but on Rebel, Sweetheart, his songs are more abstract than his father's. A favorite selection of mine from Nearly Beloved:

Compared to other albums, Jakob sacrificed his band's radio appeal for his best songwriting to date (solo album included).

My copy of Rebel, Sweetheart sits downstairs on top of a dresser with the rest of my CDs. It's definitely one of my most prized CDs because not only is it the first one I ever fell in love with, but it's incredibly rare to find one of these (I had to order online). The only Wallflowers album that sees the store shelves is Bringing Down The Horse, and you're lucky if you find it. I would definitely call Rebel, Sweetheart a lost, overlooked gem. It's a truly magnificent album.

93%
Masterpiece