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Echoes |
Topic: [Music] "White Light Rock & Roll Review" - Matthew Good
Posted: 2004-08-03 @ 04:02:29
 | Even has pretty cover art |
Entirely unheralded in the US, yet supported by a faithful cult of fans in Canada, Matthew Good has returned to the roots of rock music with his latest offering, the extravagantly titled White Light Rock & Roll Review. If you're a person who loved the symphonic overdubbing of Good's previous two releases (his solo debut Avalanche and the Matthew Good Band's cataclysmic The Audio Of Being), you may be disappointed. Gone are the multilayered guitar tracks and string accompaniments, replaced by a raw, live concert feel. However, if you're a fan of good ol' fashioned power chord induced rock, then this is indeed the place for you. There is no better CD this summer (so far) to throw into your car CD player, press play, and then drive.
The album kicks off hard, with "Put Out Your Lights" and "Poor Man's Grey," which may be the best two song combination on the album. Catchy riffs, an absence of choruses, and concise, crisp solos show that Matt has turned over a new leaf. In stark contrast to the 8 minute epics found on Avalanche, neither of these songs top 2 minutes. Short staccato bursts of energy are what we find here. To keep with the rhythm, "We're So Heavy," starts of at a quick pace, but then quickly languishes into the drawn-out style that Good has near made a patent on. It is the most varied track, exploring many different styles, yet its parts fail to bring the song to a coherent whole. The alt-country fused "Empty Road" fills the standard 'ballad' role (along with "It's Been Awhile Since I was Your Man"), although with a different twist. As with much of the album, Good no longer explores his own self-worth (or lack thereof), but turns his attentions to others, most notably the United States, and the relentless proliferation of fear their government been engaged in. He has long been outspoken against the general inattentiveness that people give to the plight of the impoverished, and it is only displayed more so on this album, and his recent activities with Amnesty International. “Alert Status Red” is the first single from the album, and is catchy tune of protest, well fit for the radio. Unfortunately, the song suffers from some terrible lyricism, example:
In the wilderness
the only place you’ll find freedom
is in the dictionary
under F
“Little Terror” starts with a lot of promise, yet disappoints, and is easily my least favorite song on the album. “Fell In Love With A Bad Idea” and “North American For Life” go hand-in-hand, taking subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) jabs at the North American lifestyle. Good has long distanced himself from the brand-name buying, reality-TV watching community, and as such uses this status as a platform to opine his views, and call for action from the general public. The final few songs deviate from the political bent, taking a more internal aspect, with the touching song “Its Been Awhile Since I Was Your Man,” and “Buffalo Seven,” a recollection of darker times, presented here in a more upbeat manner. The musical influences on Good shine through the most on the final track, as “Ex-Pats of The Blue Mountain Symphony Orchestra” is positively drenched in The Who. The chords are reminiscent of “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” and the acoustic guitar interludes bring back memories of 60’s rock and roll. Finally, the ‘secret track’ “Hopeless” is another alt-country jam in the tune of “Empty Road,” ending the album on an upbeat, existentialist kind of happy note. Throughout the entire CD, the musicianship is solid, and Good's voice maintains his trademark near-falsetto
All told, this is a great CD for the following reasons:
1) You need something to listen to in your car this summer
2) You want to protest the apathetic norm of American lifestyles
3) You wanna be political to a small extent
4) You just want to rock
Many of Good’s older fans are put off by his new departure in style, abandoning his more classical and artsy approach to music for this more straightforward, balls-to-the-wall type rock. I say, nuts to them, because this CD is a keeper, proving that Matthew Good has not gone soft with age.
If I have to give it a score, I'd give it four and a half out of 5 stars(or pies, or modems, or records, or whatever we want to measure this in.) You can read more about the man here, and in his highly informative blog, found here. In case you were wondering, here are the lyrics, in all their splendor. I've got tickets to his shows on Thursday and Friday night at Vancouver's classy Commodore Ballroom, so I plan on posting some kind of review on those, since I haven't been to a concert since April.(2)Comments
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