I know I’ve mentioned Jeff Buckley before in my Strongest Voices in Rock post, but his voice was just too phenomenal to actually think his music deserved just a passing mention. Sometimes he played alternative, straight-up rock, blues, or even folk. But what remained constant throughout was his amazing voice. It really is a shame he died so young.

For some reason Jeff Buckley never made it into my music collection until this past summer. The first time I heard his name was from my vocal teacher’s recommendation back in high school. I gave a couple quick lessons, but it didn’t really stick. Honestly, I wasn’t open to many styles of music outside of the well-defined borders I made for myself at that age. I guess I just figured that I hadn’t heard of him anywhere else, so how great could he really be? More recently I noticed his name popping up as influences for bands with singers I really enjoy. And just this past year, his name has been given a little more attention since someone sang Hallelujah on American Idol… of course I only just found that out while doing a little bit of research for this post. Anyways, I didn’t actually buy Grace (Legacy Edition) (1994) until this past summer. Aside from the fact that his voice is practically the only voice in modern rock that rivals Maynard James Keenan and Billy White, his music was actually pretty good too… assuming you can tolerate some diversity across an album.

Personally, I do enjoy his rock influenced tracks more so than the blues, folk, or artsy tracks. And despite its apparent surge in media attention, Jeff Buckley’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah is absolutely beautiful. I don’t actually watch cable, read the paper, or listen to the news, so I’m always late on these popular trends or well-known occurrences… you know, like global warming or the downfall Ottoman empire… who knew? My ignorance of current events aside, I had a harder time getting into tracks like Lilac Wine and Corpus Christi Carol, but I can still appreciate what he’s doing. But tracks such as Mojo Pin, Grace, Last Goodbye, and Eternal Life in particular really stick out to me. These are certainly more rock influenced but still retain his singer/song-writer twist. His music is always good for a pick-me-up and a reminder of how great singing should sound like… which in turn reminds me how terrible my singing is. This subsequently requires another pick-me-up… but what are you gonna do?

Jeff Buckley | Wikipedia | MySpace

Related Article: Strongest Voices in Rock

There’s definitely a few surprises lurking in my music collection. Take a look at my Favorite’s page. You’ll get a pretty good idea of a particular style of music that really hits it home for me. But it’s impossible for any quick list to account for all the outliers… and they often don’t account for any at all. I’ve left hints of a few of these outliers here and there, and now seems as good a time as any for another. I actually happen to like Supertramp in general, but Crime of the Century (1974) was their best work and among my favorite classic rock albums.

On the surface, Supertramp could easily sound like just another classic/pop/progressive rock band from the 70’s that only your dad would dare to be caught listening. So, if me mentioning this band has caught you off guard… don’t worry. It should. However, if you’ve been digging my recommendations thus far for the right reasons, I know you’ll, at the very least, appreciate this band. Surface appearances can be deceiving. Despite Supertramp’s apparent pop sound with catchy melodies, I think you’ll agree that there is a lot of musical talent to be appreciated. Crime of the Century is an incredibly cohesive album all the way through and has some of the best uses of dynamics I’ve heard. Along the same line of thought in my Abigail’s Ghost post about the EQ spectrum, Crime of the Century really nails the right way to approach achieving these dynamics. Soft and quiet sections of a song can feel all the more soft and quiet when only a small slice of the EQ spectrum is used. Transitioning into a louder and more aggressive movement feels all the more loud and aggressive when the entire EQ spectrum is filled at the transition. This sounds very scientific and maybe even cut-and-dry… but the artistic execution and the feeling conveyed is not scientific… it’s… well, awesome is what it is.

I know I tend to gravitate to musically inclined metal with dark tones, odd meter, tension, and energy… but who says you need metal for those qualities. There are also layered movements, well-crafted syncopation, etc. I like Supertramp for many of the same reasons I like bands such as Tool and Porcupine Tree. Supertramp just happens to fall in a different sub-genre of rock. If you’re a true music aficinado, then you can’t help but appreciate Crime of the Century… and hopefully you’ll enjoy it as much as I do. Then again… maybe there’s just a part of me stuck in the 60’s and 70’s when all the ‘good’ rock ‘n’ roll was written.

Supertramp | Wikipedia

If you’ve heard of Dwele, its most probably in reference to when he sang the hooks for Kanye West’s song Flashing Lights on Graduation (2007). That was Dwele’s official break, though he had a few singles that made it into the radio waves and DJ booths far before. My introduction to this obnoxious soul artist was in 2003 when I was in college and heard Find A Way playing at a D.C. lounge. That introduced me to a neosoul, laid back, and conscious artist who produced a solid soul album entitled Subject (2003).

This album has the basic qualities of a classic neosoul album. It has very simple jazzy beats, talks about love and relationships, and utilizes a few quality backup singers that create a melodic mood. But that doesn’t make this album quality. It’s the unique qualities that Dwele personally brings to Subject that really put this album on the map for the soul genre. Make sure to check out tracks like Find A Way (featured above), Truth, and A.N.G.E.L. (feat. Slum Village). They are classic tracks that will really get you on the path to experience Dwele’s full skill sets. He also has:

• Smart Lyrics: It’s not just conscious. Its lyrics that just make you say in your head, “yes … that makes so much sense” or “you got that right”. My friend Stacy came up with the term and it defines the new trend among upcoming quality artists. 
• Great Voice Range: He can go from very deep low notes to some pretty high range notes. Not like Amel Larrieux high notes, but great for a guy singer. And he varies it pretty well on all his songs so that he doesn’t get stuck in one range like many R&B or Pop singers.
• Well Played Live Instruments: You can’t beat the sound of seeing an artist like this live. Pre-recorded beats and digital instruments can’t recreate the mood and ambiance you feel. So it’s important to get quality live instruments into the recording to really bring the performance as close as it can to something you would hear live. Make sure to check out Dwele’s on VH1 Soul.

To give you an idea of my initial reaction to this album, during my first listen, 1) I laughed out loud a couple times, 2) I said “wow” a few times (either out loud or in my head), and 3) I had already started writing this review before the album had even ended.

That being said, I feel it’s my responsibility to issue the following warning: This album contains a substantial amount of screaming “just for the pure black death metal nonsense effect” of it [stolen from Dan’s review of Red Album by Baroness, in reference to Opeth], and if your ears just can’t handle that sort of thing yet, you can probably find friendlier albums than this to help you make the transition. You should still at least listen to the audio clip though, so you know what you’re missing out on. Now if the preceding did not describe you, I am nearly certain that you will enjoy this album. So you don’t take this statement lightly, I’ll let it be known that it’s very rare for me to make such a bold and presumptuous statement.

Between the Buried and Me belongs to the genre I’ll call ‘technical/extreme progressive death metal’. They play music which is heavy, technically demanding, highly unpredictable, fairly diverse in terms of tempos and dynamics, and extremely varied in the rhythmic and stylistic spectrums. Additionally, the songs on this album range in length from roughly two minutes to just over fourteen minutes. To properly listen to Colors, you need to play it loudly on a decent system, strap yourself in (literally), and prepare for a 64-minute full throttle musical expedition that takes you from heaven to hell and back again, with brief stops along the way at a tribal ceremony, a rodeo, and a circus. Instrumentally speaking, I consider these guys to be equally talented as Opeth across the board, although their vocalist – while a good singer – can’t touch Mikael Akerfeldt. I won’t take these comparisons any further because simply stated, this band has a different sound and a different vision than Opeth.

Colors is the type of album that you’re almost required to listen to straight through from start to end without skipping a single song, because it just flows seamlessly from one track to the next – not that you would want to skip any of these songs anyway. What’s more, it leaves you with a feeling of coming full circle because the album begins and ends with simple, yet pretty, piano solos. It’s quite clear that they conceived the concept of the album as a whole before composing the individual songs. Initially, my solitary criticism was that the screaming/singing ratio was a little higher than I would’ve liked, but after several listens I’ve reached the conclusion that they indeed got this ratio just right. My parting advice is simply to make sure that you do not pass judgment on this album too quickly; it doesn’t peak until the fifth song (out of eight).

Related Posts: Baroness, Opeth

Between the Buried and Me | Wikipedia | Myspace

Have you ever heard a short clip of a song from a new band a knew immediately you were going to buy the album and love every second of it? Isn’t that a great feeling? See for me, that’s as good as it gets. It’s my crack and iTunes is my dealer. Honestly, shit this good can’t be legal.

The most surprising thing about Abigail’s Ghost is that they hail from New Orleans, or Naworlins as my family local to the area calls it. It’s one thing to come across a jazz or blues artist/group from New Orleans, but a progressive rock band? A really good one? Now that’s just a statistical anomaly. I gather Berklee is involved somehow too since they have a link to the school’s website and the album was mixed in Boston. The next most surprising thing, they recorded Selling Insincerity (2007) in just a week. This is a really solid recording with a nearly immaculate mixing job. Maybe they just didn’t sleep that week, either way, it’s pretty impressive in my opinion.

I actually found these guys when purchasing the rest of Riverside’s discography. They were listed as a suggestion, but all of you prog-rock fans will immediately compare this band to Porcupine Tree. I’ll tell you, it’s not a bad thing. I hear it too. But it’s not Porcupine Tree and you won’t mistake the two bands after giving this album a full listen. Comparing them to Porcupine Tree is like comparing some progressive metal band with a good singer to Tool.

I don’t even know where to begin in describing the music itself. Every instrument sticks out to me. Maybe the drummer is a good place to start, he nearly slipped that 7/4 time signature by me unnoticed in Close. It’s just an awkward time signature and takes skill to pass it off smoothly. He knows when to keep the beat simple, when to toss in small spontaneous fills, when build up the right amount of tension into the upcoming transition… he’s even got the right mix of cymbals and drums. What I mean is that drums provide pitches across a large majority of the EQ spectrum. It’s a balancing act to fill the low, mid, and high end. If you want a recording that really has some punch to it and sounds amazing really loud, the band as a whole has to master this concept, as does the drummer. The drummer should accomplish this most of the time, unless the the mood calls for something else. The other instruments each have their own slice of the spectrum to hit. But no one really has the high end except the drummer and maybe some flashy 80’s metal guitarist shredding the whole time, and no one covers the whole spectrum at once except the drummer. You might not guess it unless you’re really into recording or take music pretty seriously, but drums can really make or break a recording giving a really full sound.

Progressive rock bands almost ubiquitously have keyboard player. They may not have a very strong stage presence (well they can’t really move very much), but they’re extremely important in filling the spectrum between those EQ slices the guitar, bass, and vocals occupy. The keyboardist in Abigail’s Ghost does a phenomenal job of doing just that. He might even be doing more, I don’t know. Sometimes it’s really hard to distinguish a keyboard from a guitar loaded with fancy effects. It took me a long while to figure out some of Dream Theater’s solos where actually the keyboardist. I’m pretty sure the solos in this band are the guitarist. Regardless, the keyboardist is deceptively subtle and does exactly what he should be doing and more.

I could really go on with this whole EQ spectrum theme and analyze the remaining instruments, but I think I’ve gotten the idea across. They all play their part. Beyond that, the bass player does what every bass player should do, but few actually do… bridge the gap between melody and rhythm, lay low when need be, make the guitars sound thick as possible at the right times, and offer some counter melodies when appropriate. I’ve been a bass player for a long time and I’m definitely very critical of bass players. I’m not lying when I say Abigail’s Ghost found a gem. It’s hard to come across a bass player of this caliber. Now the guitars, I’ll keep this part short and sweet. The guitars are good… great rhythm, great sound, great solos.

Remember when I said these guys gave me that feeling of knowing I’d love every second of the album before even making the purchase? Well, I’ve been writing this post all while listening to the album for the first time and I just finished listen number one. My suspicion was right on the money and I’m diving right into number two. If you’ve read this whole post, I can’t imagine you’re even considering not purchasing their debut album. How often do I really take the time to break an album down to this much detail? It happens about as rarely as a I find bands this good. If you like Porcupine Tree, Riverside, Dream Theater… buy this album and see how quickly Abigail’s Ghost floats to the top of your progressive rock recommendation list. These guys are already on my Favorite’s Page.

Abigail’s Ghost | MySpace | facebook

It’s about time we put one of Outkast’s most critically acclaimed albums up here on Obnoxious Listeners. Though Outkast is no stranger to our ears and site (refer to The Dirty Dirtty South), they have not been put up on a pedestal like our other groups and emcees. Well that’s going to change today! They are simply my favorite hip hop group from the south and they are a force to be reckoned with.

Being their debut album, Outkast showed the world what they were about and how they could flow. Though totally produced in their basement studio, this album sounds amazing and reflects the life work of both these emcees. For those of you who don’t see it outright when you read Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik (1994), you pronounce this album as  Southern Playalistic Cadillac Music.

Music Production: This entire album was produced in a basement studio known as The Dungeon. If you see pictures of it (I saw it on a VH1 Soul special), it’s literally a small basement that’s unfurnished and been used to throw parties without ever being cleaned up. Just simple beat machines and hardware. This shines through in the end product as you can tell nothing is oversampled and the song focuses more on the lyrics. Almost lets you just sway and bounce your head because the production is just there to set the mood. And that mood stays consistent because there was only one producer used for the full album. Their names being Organized Noize.

Lyrical Content: It mostly tells the story of pimps and gangsters when you take a first listen to it. Ranging from topics of girls, drive-by’s, player mentality, etc. But being a quality group like they are, they managed to go a little deeper. They looked at the topic from a conscious standpoint. What that means is that it doesn’t glorify the lifestyle or make it cool. It just tells the story of Southern lifestyle as it is from their eyes and from what they see on the streets. Just like my favorite T.V. show, The Wire. The best emcees in the game have been able to do this - tell a story.

If you’re open to listening to this, close your eyes and focus on the lyrics and flow. They are simply the best you can find from a sub genre of hip hop, the down south! Also go check out Andre 3000 on the new John Legend song entitled Green Light. It’s off the wallz!

 

Outkast Music | MySpace | Wikipedia | Facebook

Occasionally I come across a band with a sound I can’t quite put my fingers on. Shipping News has some elements of indie-rock and some sort of mellow grunge. But neither genre does them justice. This band is all about tension and a simple sound to get across a theme.

I bought Flies the Fields (2005) based upon a suggestion from my friend Carson. Apparently one of the songs I wrote and recorded reminded him of these guys. Naturally, I had to check them out. I later found a couple of the members used to write music for This American Life on NPR, which was interesting for me given my recent interaction with some of the guys on the show.  Anyways, I certainly was not disappointed with the purchase. It has a dark yet calm theme throughout and is actually very cohesive. The entire albums flows smoothly from track to track. This is another band that I’ve fell in love with over the past year that focuses their attention on the composition rather than dazzling me with flashy solos. I particularly love the guitar-bass dynamic. I can’t stand bass players that just pay the root note of whatever chord the rhythm guitar is playing. The bass should bridge the gap between guitar and drums… maybe even throw in a counter-melody at the same time. Radical opinion, I know. Luckily their bass player and I share that same attitude.

Though very much different bands, this is the same reason I got into OneSideZero… these guys do a great job of expressing independence between both guitars and bass when they can, making their cohesive moments all the more impressive. Some might find this band a little boring, but that’s just because they don’t get it or have ADD. Just relax and let the music drive for a change.

Shipping News | Wikipedia

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Video suggested by Nirav in his comment below:

Usually, when a conversation drifts to “what music do you like” folks say, “I like all music except…”. That often ends with any number of broad genres that are easily derided like country, metal, or Hip Hop. When a person says Hip Hop as their response, I usually produce two albums for them to check out. The first is what I’m writing about here, Jurassic 5’s Power in Numbers (2002).

Jurassic 5 was an LA ensemble consisting of two DJ’s: Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist, and rappers Chali 2na, Akil, Zaakir, and Mark 7even. And like any ensemble, each track on this album reflects the divergent interests of whichever producer is leading. What makes them a group is their ability to tie it all together into a solid, furious, and consistent lyrical flow.

The lyrics themselves represent standard alternative Hip Hop themes: positivity, improving the community that you come from, letting folks know that you can get there from here, and cautionary tales of urban strife as represented in Remember His Name. The delivery of lyrics in this album is seamless and powerful due to the divergent styles from the lyricists Akil and Zaakir. Adding in is the driving bass of 2na which breathes real life into their words. And last, Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist bring a fresh reflection of old school hip hop themes throughout the entirety of this LP.

It is difficult to pinpoint, truly, what makes this album a must a classic. For those familiar with the “alternative Hip-Hop” genre, Power in Numbers may be bit more pop than albums from artists like Black Star or even The Roots. But the accessibility is what makes this album genius. There is a nice mix of tracks such as:

• All instrumental, React
• The jazzy, Juju (of Beatnuts fame) produced, If You Only Knew
• Simple zero production cuts like Kool Keith’s freestyle, DDT
• Concept cuts like Nu-Mark’s Remember his Name
• Simple showcase of the emcees flow, Break

It’s all tied nicely together with a nice downbeat groove. The truth is in the listening. The ability with which Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist mix and match styles looping hardcore to Jazz Fusion into a cohesive album is astounding. Cut Chemist’s deep cuts and low fi new school grooves, Nu Marks down beat old school, and the emcees’ lyrical flow of the rap permeates throughout this album. All leading and culminating in Cut Chemist and Nu-mark’s co-produced “Acetate Prophets” which is a classic jungle beat that will have you reaching for your glow sticks …Thank god for repeat.

For more on Cut Chemist and his skills, check out the following video brought to you by Vimeo:

Cut Chemist - 1st Big Break from eyestorm on Vimeo.

Yes. We all know who Tool is. Yes. We know Dan loves Tool. Yes. We know Dan is in fact a tool himself. No. Dan didn’t know that Salival (2000) is a limited edition. If you want to find a brand new copy of this box set, you’ll have to fork out at least a couple hundred bucks or settle for a used copy for about $60. Is it worth it? You’re damn right it is. Let me tell you why.

Salival is a box set containing a live/B-side CD and all their music videos released up to that point. It may not be my favorite album (mostly because I’m incapable of making such a decision), but it certainly contains some of my favorite tracks. If you’ve never had the immense pleasure of seeing Tool live, then Salival is a must have. This album contains some of their best live performances and the only covers I’ve heard them play (though I’m sure they have done others live). The first cover is You Lied from Justin Chancellor’s previous band Peach. While I love the performance recorded for this album, the original studio recording by Peach isn’t nearly as good. Let’s just say Tool was a big move up for Justin. The second cover is No Quarter by none other than Led Zeppelin. This is the only Led Zeppelin cover done with a new flavor I’ve heard done right. There’s no question this song is No Quarter and there’s certainly no question it’s Tool performing it.

I’ve seen a lot of concerts, starting from a pretty young age, and Tool has without a doubt put on the three best shows I’ve ever seen. Some of you ‘old guys’ might tell me Pink Floyd puts on a better show, but I just barely missed that window. I’ve also seen their live show on tape, and even though that’s just not the same as being there in person, I still say Tool takes the cake. All of the live tracks on Salival are performed flawlessly, even Third Eye and Pushit which are about 14 minutes a piece. Pushit was played from a completely different angle than the studio version. Both are exquisite, but the live version is simply beautiful. I’m sure Nirav will agree with me when I say this track is pure bliss. This is Maynard’s voice in its finest element and has some flashes of brilliance from Danny Carey dwarfed only by 46 & 2 and Merkaba. Merkaba is very abstract and won’t be appreciated as much by the common listener as compared to a hardcore fan… it is rather abstract.

What would a Tool album be without filler tracks? Message to Harry Manback II and L.A.M.C. are certainly those, but have their place just the same. L.A.M.C. is actually pretty funny to me, but of course I’ve skipped it nearly every time after the first listen. However, there is a little treat hidden at the end of it… a track by the name Maynard’s Dick. This is the epitome of Tool’s humor. Maynard only agreed to start playing with Adam Jones and Danny Carey when Tool formed if the band was meant to be fun and it shouldn’t be taken seriously. You’d never guess that from an outsider’s view without reading some interviews or seeing them live maybe. But his humor definitely comes out in this track… similarly in the hidden track on Opiate (1992).

It’s kind of a shame Salival was a limited edition only. I think they should re-release at least an audio CD version. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great have the music videos that came on the DVD, and the artwork in the book is amazing. But the music on here is some of their best work.  The only thing I wish this album had was a live version of 46 & 2… seeing the drum solo in that song live was mind blowing. I’m sure any seriously devoted fan has this or has attained it one way or another. But any of you out there that doesn’t have it… you need it. I just felt this one could have been easily over-looked since it’s out-of-print and a bit on the expensive side these days.

Related Article: Artist Profile | Tool

Tool | Wikipedia | facebook

If I am not representing Delaware, then I have to be hyping up a D.C. artist. D.C. is my second home for those of you who don’t know and it is my haven when it comes to getting away and being present to life. In the past 6 months, I found an artist who really holds down quality music from my second home. Though others have spawned from this great city or its nearby areas (VA, MD) like Camron or The Diplomats, I never found a liking to them. I did have a few underground favorites like Priest da Nomad and Panacea, but they never hit the obnoxious level that I was looking for. Then I found Wale.

You might have first heard Wale’s name on the new Roots album Rising Down. He was on the track Rising Up with Chrisette Michele which has a music video on MTV. Well he recently dropped a mixtape entitled A Mixtape About Nothing (2008) which takes themes presented on the comedy show Seinfeld and does his own spin on what that topic represents to him. It’s really interesting to see an emcee like him to take such an artistic approach to creating an album. Every track has an intro or excerpt from the show and Wale does a great job of sticking to the theme of each song. 

Though this album does a good job of showing Wale’s lyrical skills, I am still waiting for him to drop a full LP. With all his connections in the hip hip industry and his several years of experience, I think he could put out something sick. Keep a look out for Wale as I think he’ll be a Lupe Fiasco/N.E.R.D. type of status in next two or three years. My bets contingent on him sticking with the game and sharpening his lyrics as time goes by. 

Wale Music | MySpace | Wikipedia | Facebook