ZZ Top - Eliminator

For those unfamiliar with this album, well, where the hell have you been? Several of the songs from this abum have achieved such a level of fame that they have been heard by almost everyong in the Western world at some point or another, so that even if the name was completely unfamiliar if the riff were played the person would recognise it. Why is it that this album achieved such massive success? Quite simply, because it's an incredible album.

ZZ Top - Eliminator

By the time of Eliminator's release, ZZ Top had been recording albums together for just over a decade, and certainly had a fairly large discography, yet it was this album that catapulted them into the massive celebrity that they have held ever since. There are several reasons behind this change, although the most obvious is that it quite simply is an extremely well done album.

Aside from that, the first major factor behind this success was the time at which Eliminator was released. MTV was still brand new and still playing music, ZZ Top had a catchy single with an interesting music video replete with old hot rods and beautiful women, and they had a unique look. As anyone familiar with ZZ Top will tell you, guitarist Billy Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill are known for their trademark waist length beards (as an aside, during the mid '80s the Gillette razor company offered the pair a million dollars each to shave their beards off for an ad, which they refused)

The next factor has more to do with the music itself. Prior to Eliminator's release, ZZ Top had been a band that leaned far more heavily towards their blues side, and while blues was still very popular at the time in the Western market, the mass public's tastes had shifted to that of the New Wave bands and the new sounds of the musical scene of the day. With this album, however, ZZ Top made the radical decision to pair new elements of this musical scene with their classic blues rock sound. With the addition of synthesizers, heavier, more rock oriented playing, and a simpler, more driving drum beat, the band managed to encapsulate both the edgy, new sounds of the 1980s with classic blues music.

Enough of that, I'm sure most of you are thinking to yourselves by now "Get on with it and talk about the songs themselves!" Alright! I've already said that I consider this to be one of the quintessential blues rock albums (the other being 1977's compilation The Best of ZZ Top) so clearly I enjoy it. The simplest thing that I could say about this album is that there are no bad tracks. Not one. From the time that opener "Gimme All Your Lovin'" starts to the last notes of "Bad Girl" the music is excellent. This is due I think in large part to the band's history together. By this point, they had been playing music together for nearly 15 years, and they were comfortable, both which eachother and with their style. I also think that the lyrics from this album encapsulate what I love about ZZ Top perfectly, namely their humour. Nearly every track on this album has some sort of a joke in the text, excepting only the heavily blues oriented track "I Need You Tonight."

Beyond that the album is an excellent soundtrack to nearly anything. The obvious sense of fun that the band are having recording this make it an excellent background for a couple of friends hanging out, the steady rhythm make it an excellent album for long drives, for those so inclined the guitar is perfect for air-guitaring, etc, etc.

The bottom line on this album is that it is ZZ Top's masterpiece. Unfortunately, due I'm sure to Eliminator's massive success, ZZ Top have spent the past 25 years trying to record another version of it, and as such their records have not been nearly as good as they had been. But for a perfect glimpse into blues rock, ZZ Top, and the best rock of the 1980s, one need look no further than this album. Simply put, Eliminator is as close to perfect as blues rock has ever gotten.

9.5/10

Danko Jones - Born a Lion

So today I move far, far away from the Finnish music scene to a Great White North slightly more familiar to me, to the band Danko Jones, hailing from my home country Canada. Well, sort of, seeing as they come from "the center of the universe". (For those of you not from Canada, just ignore that last comment!)

I'm not even completely sure where I first heard this band, I believe it was their single Sound of Love on MuchMusic, but I can't say that for sure. All I know is that I first discovered them a little while before this album was released,and that I eventually bought it about 6 months after its release at the same time as another Canadian album, and my all time favourite album (Matthew Good's Avalanche, which I will cover in a later review) So, seeing as this was released in 2002, it's been at least 5 years that I've been listening to it, and I have fairly solidly formed opinions as a result.



Danko Jones - Born a Lion

As I mentioned in my introduction, I have been listening to this album for a long time, and I've been a long time fan of the band as a result. This was their first full-length debut after several years of releasing very well received EPs, and as a result (at least, to those who were familiar with the band, which in those days was admittedly a small group, which didn't include me yet) this album was highly anticipated. Some people were disappointed with the end result, namely because the band altered their sound somewhat to make it a bit more mainstream and catchy, but having listened to their earlier material since I have to say that I prefer this sound.
How best to describe the band? Well, I guess the best short form description would be ZZ Top for the '90s, although that's not really complex enough. The influences of the band are fairly up front (as are most things with Danko Jones) and they are obviously heavily influenced by blues (see opener Sing the Blues where Danko & Co. namedrop some of the most important blues musicians of the modern blues movement) funk, '80s heavy metal in the vein of AC/DC, and so on. That said, they do manage to surprise at times, particularly on closer Love is Unkind, where they include a completely unexpected but very welcome gospel choir in the chorus.
The other, perhaps even more obvious comparison to ZZ Top would be in the lyrics. Danko Jones (the alias of the lead singer as well as the band itself) is not about subtelty on any level, adn the lyrics are at times surprisingly reminiscent of ZZ Top's heyday, full of lyrics about love, sex, and rock & roll, often to fairly humorous effect. One comment I read about the bad stated that one had to "check their political correctness at the door" and I think that's a very apt statement. Not to say that Danko is ever offensive, as is shown in the lovely Caramel City, an ode to the diversity of Toronto. I suppose it's also worth noting that Danko himself is of African descent, and coming from Toronto he would surely have experienced prejudice as a younger person.
The playing itself is perhaps not anything to write home about, but I think that the simplicity of the music is actually a major benefit to the overall sound. Danko Jones are first and foremost about rocking out and having a great time, and it's pretty hard not to feel picked up listening to the music. Had there been major guitar solos and complex playing it would have made this a much less effective record.
At the end of the day, this record really silenced any criticism on its own merits. Despite being initially faulted for straying from Danko Jones' earlier, grittier sound, the album became hugely popular and in the end critically acclaimed. It was really responsible for launching the band to the level of popularity they enjoy now, and while none of their albums since have been quite as good, they released one of the best fun, rocking records of the early 2000s, which despite its relative simplicity has remained one of my most frequently played albums for more than 5 years. That alone is enough to make it worthwhile to checkout.

9/10

Marraskuun lauluja II

So, after a one day break I return for the second installment of Marraskuun lauluja.

Viikate - Marraskuun lauluja II (November Chants II)
When I first really started to get in to Marraskuun lauluja I, I remember thinking to myself that it seemed a little but..incomplete somehow, not long enough. At the time, I discounted this feeling, because I frankly thought that most of Viikate's albums were too short, but about 6 months I discovered that it really was unfinished, because at the end of the year Viikate would release a follow up. Naturally my first thought was joy, as one of my top five favourite bands would be releasing not one but two albums within the same year, but once this initial rush of happiness faded I started to get a bit nervous. While I knew that Viikate were extremely prodigious musicians (not a single year has passed since they released their first EP back in 1998 where they haven't released either a full length album or an EP) they're never released two full lengths this close together. I frankly worried that they might end up having to put in some tracks that were purely filler, but I filed these thoughts away until after I could hear the album.
So, the time passes and this past weekend I remember that the album is set to be released in a few days. As I always do that close to a release date, I checked the torrent sites to see if the album had been leaked yet, and to my surprise it had.
I think I was quite lucky this time around, because I was expecting something at least somewhat similar to their last release, especially since it had been advertised as a direct continuation of the themes. As such, I didn't have any of the problems I encountered with getting into this album, and I could get right down to enjoying it.
First I think I'm going to deal with the negative points about this album, because I'd like to get these out of the way. The single greatest complaint I have about the album is that it can be a little bit repetitive at times, and it does seem to follow the general blueprint of I in the way the songs are laid out. Especially if listened to back-to-back with I, it can get a little bit long at times.
And frankly, that's pretty much it for the negatives. I know I didn't make this clear before, but I love Marraskuun lauluja II. I think it's hands down the best album Viikate have released to date, and it probably now takes the cake for my favourite album of the year. The changes that Viikate started with I have continued here, but they have been coupled with a new and even greater sense of melody. The tendency towards incorporating elements from old pop has been increased, but it's been layered into the music in a way that they haven't used before, often having the much lighter elements featured side by side with heavy rocking guitars. The band has also incorporated a completely new element into their sound which was hinted at on I which I would never have expected: old style American country music. Don't worry, this is only used to augment their previous sound, but it adds a new depth which I think is fantastic. Kaale also seems to have managed to add more depth and feeling into his voice, which lends itself perfectly to the new elements in their music.
I mentioned earlier that the band had added greater melody to their sound, and this is most evident when listened to back to back with I. There was a sense of frenetic energy at times on I which never really materialises on II, and I'm somewhat surprised to say that I think this is a noticeable improvement.
Overall, I'm blown away that Viikate could release two incredible albums in the space of a year, but I'm even more blown away that their second album would be a marked improvement on the first. I have to encourage the band to try this pattern again, because they clearly work well under a deadline.
10/10

So that's it for my two-part review of Marraskuun lauluja, I hope you've enjoyed it. I'm going to try to take a break from Finnish music for a while and move into Canadian music for a few days. I know that all my reviews to date have been extremely positive, and I promise that there will be some negative reviews coming.