Note from the editor... first
of all I'd like to thank Kurt for joining me in
this thing called AORLAND.
Yep... it's been kinda slow in updates in the
last months but it's taking off again so I hope
to see you all here. So what is Kurt doing in
AORLAND? Well, he'll be mainly writing about all
the things pop... call it modern rock or power
pop (or pseudo-grungy shit for many people).
Actually he has total freedom to write about
whatever he likes so don't be surprised if you
find the review of a dance cd or a X-rated pic of
the man himself...after
all it's KURT'S
KRAP...
Long
awaited yet somewhat disappointing live
collection of the bands better known rockers (no
ballads). The tracklisting leaves a bit to be
desired as many of these have already been
released as B-sides throughout the world. I must
say though that the sound quality is outstanding
and it’s nice to have tracks from the band’s
latest albums, “Crush” and “These
Days”, in their live settings as well as
some that were only previously available in
vinyl. The album is finished off by the 2001
remix of “One Wild Night” which is no
better or worse than the original, and if
anything makes it louder and jumpier. For those
of us in the US, it’s a decent CD but no
doubt that many around the world will be
disappointed in it. And like many have said,
should have been a proper live 2-cd release.
Let
me start by saying that no only is this the
possibly the finest and most complete album this
band has produced in it’s history, but it is
most likely the finest album you are likely to
hear this year (and I have heard some REALLY good
albums already). Merging so many different sounds
and styles, yet still uniquely Marillion, this
mob have a real shot at both chart success and
more importantly, the critical respect they so
longingly deserve. Kicking off with the HUGE
guitar driven “Between You And Me”,
this has hit single written all over it and
reminds me a lot of Collective Soul. The long and
thumping “Quartz” is next and sounds
like what would happen if Moby made a prog record
(though a little long in the tooth for my
tastes). What is becoming my favorite tune on the
album, “Map Of The World” (co-written
with ex-Cutting Crew front man Nick Van Eade), is
a tasty melodic tune that shares a similar melody
with the La’s “There She Goes”
taken two steps further. “When I Meet God”
is probably closest to the Marillion we all know
and love and comes across as the logical
successor to tunes like “Afraid Of Sunlight”,
with Steve Hogarth turning in a spine tingling
vocal performance. The bluesy, jamming like
atmosphere of “The Fruit Of The Wild Rose”
is where keyboardist Mark Kelly shines with the
band all feeling very loose and free. “Separated
Out” is another rocking highlight, and
sounds like the kind of tune that will rip the
roof off of any venue they play. The lengthy
prog-epic “This Is The 21st
Century” should please fans of old (as well
as fans of bands like Genesis and Pink Floyd) and
is built around a captivating drum loop. The
album ends with another epic, “If My Heart
Were A Ball It Would Roll Uphill”, which
find the band playing with technology and a
heaviness not often found in their music. There
it is…there is something here for everyone.
Now if only the rest of the musical world would
catch up.
After
the relative disaster that was the band’s
debut album, this fifteen song set features ten
acoustic tracks, one cover and four demos. The
acoustic portion shows Ted to be in fine vocals,
and the stripped down presentation helps the
project avoid the production pitfalls from the
first time out. “Summer Nights”, “Lovemetal”
and the still awesome “Best Friend” are
all primetime Ted and fans of his catalog will
lap these up. Ted’s songwriting also seems
to be improving as the years roll on. The cover
is a full band version of the Cult’s “Fire
Woman” is adequate and faithful. As for the
demos, they show a heavier direction for the duo
yet still retaining a lot of melody (obviously),
the best of the bunch being the chiming and
chugging “Never Let You Go” and the
arena rocking “Hardest Part Of Love”.
Miles better than the “Long Way From Home”
abortion, a nice pointer to the next outing.
Long
time readers know how my tastes have changed over
the course of the last few years. As I shied more
away from straight up hard rock and veered into
poppier fields, I must admit that I have lost all
but the thinnest patience for the genre. But
bottom line is always…good music is good
music and the best transcends genres. Smilek come
pretty close at times to achieving this feat.
First track “Christened By Fire” did
very little for me and almost had me relegated to
throwing this one away. But the stomping title
track was up next and perked my ears. From the
arena rock of “Shot Of Your Love” and
attitude injected “Roxy” to the slower
paced “Don’t Say Goodbye” and
“Lay Down Your Guns” (which just drips
of big 80s power ballad), the albums lower
moments (I could have done without such obvious
filler like “Vain” or “Devil’s
Dance”) are easily overshadowed by it’s
highlights. While not quite the album to restore
my faith, there are moments here that come close.
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