American Alternative music reviews

I first heard of VH in '97 when I heard the rocking We Are on the radio. After that, I went out and got Everything You Want and their first two albums, along with this one. Let me first say that those 3 albums are incredible. Go is a pretty good album as well but not as good as the first 3. I personally love Keith's raspy, rattlesnakey voice and for some reason, probably record company politics, they decided to make Matt's voice the main one, whereas in the past the songs were equally divided between Matt's higher range and Keith's rolling low range. So, on Go, Keith basically only sings harmonies.
Anyways, this Live album is incredible. It honestly is one of the best live albums I know. And I have a wide array of incredible live albums by bands such as Rush, U2, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith etc. This album features incredible songs from their first two albums, including a couple new songs never released on studio albums. They are all awesome! One thing you will not know about VH by listening to their studio albums or their hit singles is that they are somewhat of a jam band. Matt can play a sick lead guitar and a gorgeous acoustic, and they reserve much of their jamming to live shows and dont put much jamming into their studio albums. With this live album, you will see just how much they can fully rock.
The song Wash Away is a killer song, and this album has an incomparible 12 minute rock-out version of it, featuring some of the most amazing, enjoyable guitar and bass solos I have ever heard.
The song Falling Down starts out with one of the most gorgeous acoustic guitar riffs I have ever heard.
I can't go on about individual songs because every single one is so incredible. Get this CD whether you are familiar with VH or not cuz no matter what, if you like any music at all, I garauntee you will love this album.

all the songs rock. i think there are a better live band than studio. one of the best live cds i have heard. if you like there music i would say go get it you will love it

This is an amazing album from an amazing band. Their live show is like nothing I have ever seen, and this album captures Vertical Horizon's energy beautifully!... Two thumbs WAY up!!

I LOVE Christmas. I love the festive atmosphere. I love the spirit of giving and I love Christmas music.

This stuff, however, is downright painful to listen to. A few tracks, with the slower tempo, can be tolerated in small doses, but the more "upbeat" number are too awash in synthesizer arrangements and come across as little more than "a disco Christmas" and severely test my love for the music of the season. Destined for shopping mall PA systems everywhere.

Jesus died for this?

Happy Holidays Fox News zombies. If spirituality actually meant anything to you, maybe you'd spend less time in malls.

Definitely a CD for the Holiday and another good classic by chip davis. If you like their music, then this is a "Must get".

even though this is just a tribute to hoon, and of course nico, it is still one of the best "alt" albums of the 90s. I am going to put what i think of their albums in the category of 1 being the worst and 10 being the best:

Blind Melon (1992) 9/10

Soup (1995) 9/10 (because they didn't even put "soup" on the album!)

Nico (1996) 10/10

"nico" the name given to shannon hoon's baby girl i think the front cover is a photo of shannon but not 100 perecent certain so don't qoute me on that any down to the review blind melon will always be remebered for that song "no rain" and the bubble-bee girl..but they were more than one song they were a unit that made beautiful music that settles nicely in your soul..
this album features two covers one of the steppenwolf classic
"the pusher" shannon hoon do the best cover i've ever heard
and the cover of the protest song vwritten by the late great john winston lennon "john sinclair"
this album features the title song not featured on the album "soup"
and too end this album perfectly you get a phone in song by shannon only with a guitar..recorded onto an answer phone beautiful!!!! a classic post-humourous album compiled lovingly by blind melon to honour shanoon hoon and dedicated to the nico blue

I would have to say that this is by all means my best and most used cd ever bought. Shannon was an amazing performer, he and the rest of the band(Rogers,Christopher,Brad,and Glen)were so under-rated that it makes me sick every time i hear them. I have been a die-hard fan for about 5 years now and i just can't get tired of their beautiful and touching music. Its like nothing else, forget "No Rain",listening to Blind Melon makes you close your eyes and it warms you inside. Their talent was unbelievable along with their music. I only wish they Shannon was here now to make some more real music. He is deeply missed by us fans.

Oh yea you have to buy this cd. Trust me you can't help but love it.

Both albums are a must, but I would buy Lochloosa first.

soulful, bluesy and rockin' Sometimes reminds me of James Brown!!! This is genuine music, not made up in a sales oriented mind.

mofro is awesome!! their first cd - blackwater - really turned me on to them. they are florida guys who care about florida, and i really love them!! they're so personable and seem to enjoy singing and performing their music. they have such good sounds!!!!!!!

Both albums are a must, but I would buy Lochloosa first.

soulful, bluesy and rockin' Sometimes reminds me of James Brown!!! This is genuine music, not made up in a sales oriented mind.

mofro is awesome!! their first cd - blackwater - really turned me on to them. they are florida guys who care about florida, and i really love them!! they're so personable and seem to enjoy singing and performing their music. they have such good sounds!!!!!!!

This CD isn't all that bad, but I wouldn't get another of theirs. They have sold out shows and have become quite popular. Their CD was recommended to me by someone who works at concerts and has been to several of their shows and is well-rounded in both Scottish and Irish bands. This is a good band if you like Irish rock, but the band I recommend for Irish music is DEFFINATLY Flogging Molly. They have more Irish based music and have an assortment of songs that any Irish fan is sure to find favor in. For now, it's still Flogging Molly all the way!

"Red" is, in my opinion, the third-best of the Dubs oeuvre. (And even then, "Breathe" only edges it out by a nose.) "Neverending," both versions, are moving and beautiful. The Waterboys's "Fisherman's Blues" is covered here with a jaunty tone; while it's very hard to screw up that song in the first place, the Dubs's more rock-flavored feel enhances it. (Traditionalists might do well by also looking for The Indulgers's excellent cover of the song, on their CD "Celtic Tiger;" in fact, everyone should go pick that up right this second.)

My only criticism is that I felt "Apart" and "One and Only" were oddly-paced, and the lyrics seemed a little to suggestive of a rhyming dictionary. Fortunately, others like the energetic "What Do You Want From Me," the powerful ballad "Don't You Worry," and the Celtic instrumental "Bodhran" more than make up for it.

I cannot tell you how many of my friends I have turned on to The Young Dubliners with this cd. They all love the fact that these guys aren't as mainstream as many of the bands out today. Then, once we go to one of their shows, it's done! They become a favorite of everyone I know. Plus, you know they have to be doing something right if Bernie Taupin was involved! These guys are great and very talented. I would recommend this cd to anyone and everyone.

This is a really great album that I would recommend to anyone. If you are a lover of ska, funk, rock, whatever... these guys have got it. They really blend a wide range of instruments and great vocals into an awesome sound. I can't really classify which of their albums is my favorite because they're all really great, but if I had to it would most likely be this one! It really demonstrates the wide range of their talent, groove and is just plain fun. I've had the album for years and never get tired of it, and it is always a great pick me up. If you like this, I'd definitely reccommend Viva Nueva and Long Division. Great stuff.
It's a shame they broke up because they really had a good thing going, but keep listening and enjoying. The band may have gone but their music is still around. !!

unfortunetly the band has broken up. the lead singer and bass player have gone on to form Paranoid Social Club.

Wow...about the only thing that beats listening to this CD is seeing Rustic Overtones in concert. 02/23/01 at the UMass Amherst Skybox was amazing. But this CD does everything but capture the live experience. With great guitars, killer horns and a crazy organ, Gutter, Spencer, Tony and the rest are always giving the latest pop bands a lesson or two in style and beat. IF YOU DON'T HAVE THIS CD, BUY IT NOW. You won't regret it. In fact, you'll thank yourself. ADD IT TO YOUR SHOPPING CART NOW!

This band sounds like a cross between Nils Lofgren, Neil Young & Bob Dylan. You are probably now thinking, "Sounds good." Problem is there is nothing special at all here. Totally bland.

This is another one of those "unknown bands" that suddenly sneaks, up on you, and you wonder why you've never heard of them. Apparently these guys mainly play small venues, which is really appropriate, because they have a classicly intimate feeling. Very relaxing acoustic music-- almost a little folky, but in a good way. "Stay You"'s lyrics are really good, and the rest of the songs have the same feeling. You are instantly relieved to find someone who talks about real life things in such a great way. Not obtuse, but still meaningful. Play it in the car, it sounds best as you're driving.

I find it really sad that this album is going for $0.01 at the moment on marketplace.

It's a great album. I saw Wood live supporting Paul Weller and bought the album on the strength of the performance. It's one of those gems in my CD collection that I'm glad I've got.

I find it really tragic that a band with such a distinct sound just seemed to stop dead in their tracks and never produced that second album.

Those of you who doubt this, gamble a cent (and shipping) - you'll probably find it's well worth it.

Keep the music alive!

A BUNCH OF SILLY INCONSEQUENTIAL STUFF.
ALL THE BEST SONGS ARE DONE MUCH BETTER ON THE LIVE ALBUMS.

This is Phish's second official, major release studio album (it is thier third, if you count Junta, which was originally only sold at concerts on a cassette tape). It is 60 minutes long, and the sound quality is very good but not excellent.

There are 16 tracks on this disc. But, only 5 of them have any meat to them. The rest is just silly filler in between the real songs.

Phish plays these 5 songs in concert all of the time. They are on many of the Phish live albums. Sometimes, Phish stretches out the songs, and other times they don't. But, all of the live versions I have heard are better than these studio versions.

The album starts out really strong with Llama. Other good tracks are Tweezer and Chalk Dust Torture. Cavern is a good song, but this one is especially so much better done live.

The other tracks are a mixutre of styles. There is a Calypso track, a Latin-rock track and some soft jazz. There is nothing wrong with experimenting with different styles. Many groups have done it successfully all on one album, like Derek Trucks on Make A Joyful Noise, or Frank Zappa on Chunga's Revenge. But, Phish's attempts at all of these styles is rather weak and not very interesting. It reminds me of Pat Boone trying to do rock and roll.

I prefer Phish's later studio albums. I think they just got better as their sound matured. But, I also like the earlier work on Junta and Lawn Boy.

I think that this CD suffers somewhat from the "American Beauty" effect. As with every jam band, Phish's first 2 studio albums, Junta and Lawn Boy were more along the lines of their live shows. Eventually, every Jam band wants to make an American Beauty, the Grateful Dead's first traditional studio album that emphasizes the songs and not the music. I think with most bands it is forced, while for the Dead it was a natural progression. String Cheese Incident just went throught this with the horrible One Step Closer.

I have been a huge Phish fan for years now, and in my time listening to them I have always heard about people loving this ablum. This album includes big hits like tweezer, chalk dust torture, etc- and the fact is that it was an average album for phish. In mine and a lot of other peoples opinions- live phish is the way to go; but if your talking studio.. this album was average. I think the highlight songs were: tweezer, llama, chalkdust, guelah papyrus, and stash. I recommend most phish albums in front of this one.

This is Phish at their best. This is the album that made me a fan. And when I saw them live for the first time, they came out and opened with an instrumental, The Landlady, off Picture O' Nectar, and it was great. They came out and just played, no cutesy-ness, no geeky, absurd, pseudo-momentous lyrics. I always wondered why they couldn't do that more often. When they appeared on the David Letterman show or Saturday Night Live, why not just come out and do a tight instrumental? I think I know why. Because they have to be cool and pick songs that show off that they don't care what the larger public thinks, "we're just playing what we like for ourselves, man." But they should show a little more respect for their fans, some of who, like myself, have attempted to turn other people on to the scene only to be embarrassed by their lame recitals when on the national stage.

Anyway, that first paragraph sounds awfully resentful, I'm off to a bitter start but I'm really trying to say that this is a great album. Of all their studio albums, Picture of Nectar has the highest ratio of cool songs to filler. Songs such as Llama, Cavern, Stash, Landlady, Guelah Papyrus, Chalk Dust Torture, and maybe Tweezer all rank as some of the best studio Phish. As a band, they don't quite live up to the hype and expectations of the hard-core fans. But as musicians, when they had time to write and create together, when they were focused on jamming and musicality over the bombastic flamboyance of their live shows, they were often great. One can make a case for Lawn Boy, which comes in a close second for me, but overall I would say this is the one album to own if you want to appreciate Phish for their songwriting and musicianship.

Warehouse: Songs and Stories was the last Husker Du studio album. It was released in 1987. They are one of my all-time favorite bands and they seemed to get better and better with each album they made. In Warehouse they left their fans with a double-album filled with great tracks and absolutely no fillers. It's unfortunate that they broke up seemingly so soon, but both Grant Hart and Bob Mould continued with excellent solo records (I especially recommend Intolerance by Hart and Workbook and Black Sheets of Rain by Mould) as well as new bands Nova Mob and Sugar. Here is the warehouse-full of awesome tracks offered on this album:

"These Important Years" (Mould) 3:49: An excellent track to begin the album. Great rocker.
"Charity, Chastity, Prudence, and Hope" (Hart) 3:11: Grant Hart kept getting better and better as a songwriter and here he offers up some amazing rockers that even have a slight country rock sound. This track just flies and never lets up. The guitar solo is yeehaw good!
"Standing in the Rain" (Mould) 3:41: One of Mould's more popular tracks but it is not one of my favorites. It's good, of course, but seems a bit mundane.
"Back From Somewhere" (Hart) 2:16: Another country-style, yeehaw rocker by Grant Hart. I like Hart's vocals on this one (yeehaw style again).
"Ice Cold Ice" (Mould) 4:23: One of my favorite Mould tracks here. It begins with menacing guitar and then rocks. I wish Hart's backing vocals were clearer as I think it would have made the song even better. It sounds great on the live album The Living End.
"You're a Soldier" (Hart) 3:03: This song is just OK. I can actually take it or leave it. Anti-war songs are so prevalent and this one isn't very special. I don't like the backing vocals and the line "knocking over everything that's standing in your way. Can you tell me just how many did you kill today" line sounds like another song, but I can't put my finger on which song that is.
"Could You Be the One?" (Mould) 2:32: This is probably the most recognizable song from this album. They made a music video for it. I never thought I liked it that much but I find myself humming this track a lot, so it must be pretty addictive.
"Too Much Spice" (Hart) 2:57: Another yeehaw rocker by Hart. I love this stuff! I like the lyrics and Hart's vocals are crisp and clear and not barely audible like on some of his tracks. Definitely a sing-along-to song. And a rockin' guitar solo, too.
"Friend, You've Got to Fall" (Mould) 3:20: Catchy track. Up there with "Ice Cold Ice" and "Up in the Air" as my favorite Mould track on this album. Great guitar as always.
"Visionary" (Mould) 2:30: This track is OK, but is not a memorable as most of the others here. I don't care for the chorus that much.

"She Floated Away" (Hart) 3:32: A nice change-of-pace. It has a hard, pulsating beat between the verses, but at the verses and chorus it has a transporting almost gospel-like quality (well, not as gospel as "She Can See the Angels" off Hart's solo album Intolerance). Interesting track.
"Bed of Nails" (Mould) 4:44: Rough Mould rocker that bites like a rusty saw. The "Please don't drive your nails into this heart of mine" line always bugged me as it seems very contrived.
"Tell You Why Tomorrow" (Hart) 2:42: A track that builds with intensity and also has a groovy bass line.
"It's Not Peculiar" (Mould) 4:06: Starts out with this pulsating riff which if OK but when Mould actually sings to this riff "It's not peculiar, there's nothing to devise at all-a-a-a-a-a-a-all right." Yuck. The verses leading up to it are actually pretty good, and Hart's higher backing vocals help it a little but it just bugs me.
"Actual Condition" (Hart) 1:50: Another Hart rocker, but my least favorite. This one is a bit too yeehaw for my tastes.
"No Reservations" (Mould) 3:40: Nice, slower-paced track.
"Turn It Around" (Mould) 4:32: This song is the only one on this track that I really do not like. It is almost embarrassing to listen to. I'm surprised Mould wrote it. It is just so contrived, silly, and mundane. I like the line "But the biggest thing to me is making this thing work for life." That really hits it home but most of the other lyrics and the musical aspect of the song I can definitely leave. Oh well, one ringer out of 20 is not bad.
"She's a Woman (And Now He is a Man)" (Hart) 3:19: I LOVE THIS SONG!! It may be my all-time favorite Grant Hart track! Great lyrics, great vocals, rocks, never lets up! I can't praise it enough!
"Up in the Air" (Mould) 3:03: Mould turns it around (so to speak) with this track. Excellent, catchy track. The chorus with the backing vocals is superb.
"You Can Live at Home" (Hart) 5:25: Appropriate ending to an incredible double-album. A long rocker that sounds like everyone is involved in the vocals and fades out. The bass really drives this one.

I listened to this album, loved it, and bought every Husker Du album. Unfortunately, this is the only one I really liked. I still play "Up in the Air" all the time. Every song is a masterpiece. I then bought every Bob Mould album and every Sugar album. This is still the only one I love. I like pop rock with catchy choruses. This is the only must-have album that Bob Mould has been involved with, although he is a talented artist.

Husker Du can be compared in many ways to the Beatles. This release really highlighted such a comparison. Mould, Hart and Norton pack this double album with very catchy, memorable, poppy tunes, while offering the listener their respective vocal and songwriting styles, both equally powerful and pleasant.
Unfortunately, by the time this was recorded both Bob Mould and Grant Hart were at odds with each other and the end of the band was in sight. Its as if there were two Husker Du's, with Hart and Mould each leading a different band. The best track on the CD is Bob Mould's "Ice Cold Ice" (with near-perfect back up vocals by Hart). Other standouts are Mould's "Visionary" and Hart's "She's a Woman."
At this point in the short, but prolific career of Husker Du, the over the top guitar distortion and feedback had been toned down, and gave way to more melodic offerings. That style was more compatible with Hart's vocal style than Mould's. The pefect ending to this double album is "You Can Live at Home" which recalls the sometimes sloppy, but always powerful style that made Husker Du the best of their time.
Husker Du was a great rock band, arguably one of the best of all time. Although a reunion is most likely never going to happen as there has been very little communication between the members, we can always hope for a miracle. In the meantime, there are plenty of releases to enjoy, and Warehouse is at the top of that list.