Antonio's album reviews

mr dave · 05-06-2009, 07:42 PM

just gonna toss my two cents on Axis: Bold as Love. by far my favourite hendrix album.

EXP - it's actually credited as the first track that prompted journalists to use the term 'heavy metal' to describe what they were hearing although in this particular case the track sounded like 'heavy metal falling from the sky'. either way, sabbath might have invented heavy metal as we know it but this is the track that got people using the term to describe music first.

up from the skies - hello wah pedal. as far as i know this was the first track hendrix recorded using that effect.

she's so fine - total filler. from what i understand noel redding was a bit of a whiner and resentful of hendrix. giving him one track per album was their attempt to make him feel like an equal. redding was originally a guitar player who ended up being 'downgraded' to bass player behind hendrix and seemed rather resentful of it. from what i understand he was also very pissed that hendrix re-recorded his bass lines for the 'insanity' part of 'if 6 was 9' and the outro to 'bold as love'.

'one rainy wish' is a criminally overlooked track. the twist around 1:15 when he sings 'i have never! laid eyes on you...' too awesome.

'bold as love' - it's one of those tracks that makes all the hair on my body stand on edge when it transitions to the vamp at the end. the day it doesn't happen is the day i know i've died.

Antonio · 05-06-2009, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr dave

just gonna toss my two cents on Axis: Bold as Love. by far my favourite hendrix album.

EXP - it's actually credited as the first track that prompted journalists to use the term 'heavy metal' to describe what they were hearing although in this particular case the track sounded like 'heavy metal falling from the sky'. either way, sabbath might have invented heavy metal as we know it but this is the track that got people using the term to describe music first.

up from the skies - hello wah pedal. as far as i know this was the first track hendrix recorded using that effect.

she's so fine - total filler. from what i understand noel redding was a bit of a whiner and resentful of hendrix. giving him one track per album was their attempt to make him feel like an equal. redding was originally a guitar player who ended up being 'downgraded' to bass player behind hendrix and seemed rather resentful of it. from what i understand he was also very pissed that hendrix re-recorded his bass lines for the 'insanity' part of 'if 6 was 9' and the outro to 'bold as love'.

'one rainy wish' is a criminally overlooked track. the twist around 1:15 when he sings 'i have never! laid eyes on you...' too awesome.

'bold as love' - it's one of those tracks that makes all the hair on my body stand on edge when it transitions to the vamp at the end. the day it doesn't happen is the day i know i've died.

doing a review in my review thread....how rebellious

Antonio · 05-12-2009, 10:38 PM

Foo Fighter-Foo Fighters

Label: Roswell/Capitol
Release Date: July 4, 1995

This album is the self titled debut of the Foo Fighters and in my opinion, an overlooked gem in their discography. I see this album as a crossroads for Dave Grohl; where he had left off in Nirvana he was going to pick up with the Foo Fighters. This was his time to shine, to be in the forefront, to see if he could hold his own without Kurt or Krist. Was he going to fall back on the old sounds and ways, or was he going to move on with his own ideas and make a name for himself?

Well after listening to this album, i found that there was more of Dave's own design than just some tribute deal. While there were a few moments they seemed to be channeling a bit of Nirvana's energy into the music, this was mostly an effort ala Foo Fighters. The songs have as much rock in them as they do singability, one of their biggest strengths. While much of the music has interesting structure and while they're good at what they do, FF isn't the type of band to start being all about the instrumentation. They're capable of making good music, but by their own rules.

In all, i give this album a 7.5/10, while not the strongest record they've released, it's a good starting point for anyone wanting to check out the band, as well as a statement from the Foo's that they're here to stay.

This Is a Call - a few seconds of silence, then a hook that'll have you singing, even if you don't speak the language (i played this for my dad who only speaks spanish, trust me). The Chorus "This is a call to all my past resignations" is basically Dave saying thanks to all of the bands he had been a part of. The rest of the song seems to be about prescription drugs, hehe. in all just a great song.

I'll Stick Around - This comes out quickly, and has a total Nirvana vibe to it, from the opening riff to the chorus of "I DON'T OWE YOU ANYTHING!" From what i've heard, this song was directed at Courtney Love, whom he and Krist were battling over control of Nirvana's music after Kurts death. I also remember in an interview during the shooting of the vid for this song, Dave saying "This is straight grunge, grunge is here to stay" or something along those lines. I wonder if he ever looks back on that and winces just a bit.

Big Me- One of my favorite FF songs to hear and play. This once again shows the band's ear for catchy hooks and good songs. This is a real "It's such a nice day, let's have a picnic and run around in the fields" song. What's somewhat related and also interesting is the video for this song, which parodies Mentos commercials with "Footos". this shows a bit of their more joking and playful side IMO

Alone + Easy Target- Kind of a banging, stomp your feet kind of song that shows the Foos can rock too. I get quite a feeling of frustration from Dave when he sings this, but not too much that he's gonna throw a chair across the room.

Good Grief- A slightly faster pace on this song that makes me think of a combination of hard rock and a throwback to 80's pop in that while it rocks, you can still snap your fingers and dance from side to side. i don't know, that's just me i guess.

Floaty- an acoustic style intro goes over to a point that makes this song live up to it's name. I really feel like i'm running slow motion on some clouds or something. The added flanger on Dave's voice is a nice and slightly psychadelic touch.

Weenie Beenie- Now this is a real rocker! The vocals are really muffled in this one, even in the chorus. It seems to harken back to some punk roots for these guys.

Oh, George- The chords in this song give a very worried tone, like a train about to crash, and at the same time a kind of sad one. also the first song on here with a solo. It ain't great, but hey it's a solo.

For All the Cows- Bit of a jazzy feel on this one, with the drums sounding like snapping fingers. then it dives into some rock and right back to before. apparently this song is about cows :P

X-Static- *strumming a chord* *strumming a chord*, then drums and bass come in. *still strumming*, then vocals come in. then backup vox come in on th chorus. a bit relaxed for a song called X-Static.

Wattershed - The riff at first made me think i was gonna hear some nu-metal, but then it kicks in to quick, hard rocking song that'll get you headbanging. at a certain point they get all weird time signature on you, but it's really subtle and you might not notice it at first.

Exhausted- a song with this name seems like it belongs at the very end of the album. This was the Foo Fighter's first single, right before "This is a Call". well i can say the name definately fits it, it seems like it's very tired and just wants to go to bed. I think of some poor shmuck who has to go everyday to a job he hates when i hear this song.

mr dave · 05-13-2009, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antonio

doing a review in my review thread....how rebellious

i figured it might have spawned a bit of discussion. especially considering it seems you're writing first impression reviews on albums i've listened to hundreds of times. whatever.

Antonio · 05-13-2009, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr dave

i figured it might have spawned a bit of discussion. especially considering it seems you're writing first impression reviews on albums i've listened to hundreds of times. whatever.

yeah, that's kind of exactly what i'm doing, haha

but yeah, i never knew that about EXP, it just seemed like a straight freak-out track to me. i'll give it another listen

and how did i forget about the wah wah on Up From the Skies? crap i feel stupid now, haha

and kinda sucks how noel got put on the backburner, i always thought he and Jimi were good friends

yeah and i think One Rainy Wish is really overlooked not only in how you said, but as it also showed a somewhat different side of Hendrix to me

oh and bold as love, <3. that's all i gotta say

~~coryallen2~~ · 05-13-2009, 08:38 AM

You have great reviews also man.

Antonio · 05-13-2009, 12:45 PM

thank ye

. and yeah, feel free to reccomend anything or tell me on how i can improve the reviews

oh and i updated some of the songs on the Foo Fighters review

mr dave · 05-13-2009, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antonio

yeah, that's kind of exactly what i'm doing, haha

but yeah, i never knew that about EXP, it just seemed like a straight freak-out track to me. i'll give it another listen

and how did i forget about the wah wah on Up From the Skies? crap i feel stupid now, haha

and kinda sucks how noel got put on the backburner, i always thought he and Jimi were good friends

yeah and i think One Rainy Wish is really overlooked not only in how you said, but as it also showed a somewhat different side of Hendrix to me

oh and bold as love, <3. that's all i gotta say

my bad hehe i misinterpreted you last night.

you're right about EXP though, it is just a freakout track. it's just that journalists back in 67/68 had to figure out some way of describing what they had just heard hehe.

the wah on 'up from the skies' is subtle, it's one of the few tracks where he uses it in that fashion. it's easy to overlook if you've already heard his bigger hits and who's going to be listening to hendrix album tracks without having heard 'all along the watchtower' or 'voodoo chile' first?

and yeah 'the experience' wasn't exactly the shiny happy hippie vehicle a lot of people think. mitch mitchell and hendrix WERE great friends as evidenced by his continued drumming in the post experience days. it was also very clear in an old bbc documentary i caught in the late 90s about the recording of 'electric ladyland'. at one point they're getting comments from redding and mitchell, noel seems almost annoyed at having to talk about how great hendrix was 'again' and then there's mitchell struggling with his emotions as he talks about a lost friend. plus that doesn't even touch on the shady backroom contracts and BS the suits were pulling behind the scenes or so the stories go.

just a little comment about that foo fighters disc

from what i remember grohl had been working on that album for a while before nirvana ended. it was just something he'd do to keep himself busy while on tour. pretty sure everything you hear on the disc is him. it's not something that started after nirvana so much as something that got delayed because of how the band ended.

Antonio · 05-13-2009, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr dave

my bad hehe i misinterpreted you last night.

you're right about EXP though, it is just a freakout track. it's just that journalists back in 67/68 had to figure out some way of describing what they had just heard hehe.

the wah on 'up from the skies' is subtle, it's one of the few tracks where he uses it in that fashion. it's easy to overlook if you've already heard his bigger hits and who's going to be listening to hendrix album tracks without having heard 'all along the watchtower' or 'voodoo chile' first?

and yeah 'the experience' wasn't exactly the shiny happy hippie vehicle a lot of people think. mitch mitchell and hendrix WERE great friends as evidenced by his continued drumming in the post experience days. it was also very clear in an old bbc documentary i caught in the late 90s about the recording of 'electric ladyland'. at one point they're getting comments from redding and mitchell, noel seems almost annoyed at having to talk about how great hendrix was 'again' and then there's mitchell struggling with his emotions as he talks about a lost friend. plus that doesn't even touch on the shady backroom contracts and BS the suits were pulling behind the scenes or so the stories go.

from what i remember grohl had been working on that album for a while before nirvana ended. it was just something he'd do to keep himself busy while on tour. pretty sure everything you hear on the disc is him. it's not something that started after nirvana so much as something that got delayed because of how the band ended.

hmmm seems i was right about EXP

and yeah i have 5 of his cds, mostly cause my guitar teacher was a HUGE fan(he even met Jimi when he was 9), and would teach me Hendrix songs and lend me cds and stuff, and i gotta say that all along the watchtower and voodoo chile are massively overrated, there's so many better songs by him IMO.

and yeah with Noel and Mitch, guess not everything was groovy in the 60's eh?

and yeah i know the 1st foo fighters cd started as dave's side thing in the Nirvana days, i read up a bit on that and how he was so afraid to present any songs he did in fear of throwing off band chemistry. and yeah he did rerecord the entire album himself, cause he thought the version he did with the band wasn't up to par and he also rerecorded much of the band, minus their 1st drummer. after that guy found out is when he decided to leave.

mr dave · 05-13-2009, 07:44 PM

i wouldn't call those hendrix tunes 'massively' overrated but they aren't the be all end all of his work the way some go on.

wasn't aware about there being an initial band for FF. i always thought he had the recordings done then pulled a group together to tour it once nirvana ended. either way i don't think anyone anticipated how successful that 'side project' was going to be.

05-13-2009, 08:38 AM	#26 (permalink)
~~coryallen2~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: lorain,ohio Posts: 909	You have great reviews also man.