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For now I'll devote this section of my site to album reviews. Whenever the mood strikes me I may put a review up here, either a brief overview or an in-depth dissection. Note that Album Names and Song Names are made to stand out for easy reading and skimming.

The Charlie Daniels Band
Nightrider
Date Reviewed: 05/22/2006

My prior exposure to The Charlie Daniels Band was limited primarily to the greatest hits album - which I have liked for years. It holds the distinction of being the album that convinced me that there is country music out there that I would, could (and did) enjoy listening to. Recently I saw a documentary on the CDB which featured a lot of live footage and really hammered home that this is a talented band. Charlie Daniels surrounds himself with quality musicians and is an impressive "fiddle" player himself. So I set out on a search for an older CDB album considered a "classic" by fans, and came across Nightrider.

The album starts with the country boogie of Texas and continues with a typical "narrative" country/bluegrass song in Willie Jones, which reminds me a little of the classic Uneasy Rider from the greatest hits album. Nevermind that the story is about a prisoner befriended by the protagonist while working as a security guard. The album then moves through a decent ballad in Franklin Limestone and a fast bluesy piece called, simply, Evil which features some tasty slide guitar.

The next track is my favorite ballad on the album, Everything Is Kinda All Right; this song is a straightforward country ballad with some really pleasant chord changes, a slight bluesy sensibility, and a moderately uplifting theme. It is an excellent example of simple - but not simplistic - yet elegant songwriting, and I am starting to see this quality in a lot of the CDB's material. Funky Junky is up next with a straight dose of southern blues; the slide guitar is back, and we get some classic hammond organ to round out the solo section. The album is also sprinkled with some Allman Brothers style harmony guitar lines, one of which is demonstrated near the end of this song.

The next track is the most surprising on the album. Birmingham Blues is a straight-up classic rock/fusion jam piece, with organ accompaniment and melodic guitar lines throughout. This is a complex, syncopated song with a darker tone and a loose, jam band feel - this doesn't sound like country music anymore! The band really stretches out on this impressive piece. Damn Good Cowboy is a slow, traditional country song which takes its sweet time and brings that lap steel sound into the mix. Finally, the album finishes on a bit of a weak note with the forgettable Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day.

Overall this is a strong effort. I am far from an expert on country music, but I have found that the Charlie Daniels Band's music does transcend genre. This is a country/blues/bluegrass/rock album with smart songwriting and great musicianship that just drips with southern atmosphere.

Rating: 8/10

Kevin Gilbert
The Shaming Of The True
Date Reviewed: 01/07/2006

This album is utterly unique, and not just for its clever mangling of the title of a classic Shakespeare play. It showcases a brilliant pop songwriter at the top of his game, relating a tale of musical egress, success, excess, and distress better than any musical effort I have heard. In this concept album, Kevin Gilbert's songwriting is pristine, and his lyrics are biting, intelligent, and sarcastic - full of wit and vinegar, so to speak. This is the bitter and vitriolic tale of a music industry gone awry and the pure-hearted musician's attempt to navigate these troubled waters. The lyrics play an especially important part in the delivery of this album - in part because it is a complex concept album, and in part because they are so well-crafted.

The album begins with a beautiful, plaintive acoustic ballad in Parade - it's "Johnny Virgil's" optimistic pledge to musical purity and eventual stardom. A fantastic lyric:

"I've been listening to Dylan, I've been listening to The Dead,
and I've been listening to the music that plays inside my head,
I've been listening to the Beatles, I've been listening to The Who,
and they don't know it yet, but they're gonna listen to me too."

The next song, City Of The Sun, picks up the pace as Johnny experiences the pomp and circumstance of the music industry firsthand. This is a song with great riffs and singable melodies. As is typical with Kevin Gilbert, the lyrical brilliance overshadows much of the song. Here we have an indication of the direction of Johnny's career:

"Oh Johnny you’ve got a song in your heart,
You’ve got important things to say.
We’re here to help you make a new start,
We’re not gonna take your heart away...

Oh, Johnny you’ve got a seed in your head,
It is the seed of your demise.
Ambition’s gonna lure you away,
Into the land of compromise."

Next we move in a radical direction - a brilliantly crafted multi-part (at least four simultaneous vocal parts) a capella piece called Suit Fugue (Dance Of The A&R Men) mocking record company executives. You can't write lyrics with more obvious sarcasm than this: "You sound like Air Supply meets Gwar... in a good way." This is an amazing lyrical and vocal construction; you simply have to hear it!

The album continues to throw all manner of songs at you, including catchy pop tunes like Imagemaker and The Best Laid Plans ("You can tell a big man by the company he fleeces"). The second half of the album is dominated by introspective and sometimes melancholy slow tunes; this is Johnny's brush with self-loathing and the realization that his life has made a turn for the worse. Songs such as Water Under The Bridge ("what's a drop of water in an ocean of compromise"), Staring Into Nothing, and A Long Day's Life exemplify this theme.

One of the ways in which this album is unique is in its mixture of narrative/talk and music - usually in incredibly sarcastic and brutally negative contexts. One example of this technique is in the song Certifiable #1 Smash:

"It’s got more hooks than a tackle box , it’s got really loud guitars,
It’s got a blasting cap in the fertilizer, got the secret anguish of the network stars,
It’s anti-fur, it’s unplugged, it’s got an OK from the Pope,
Got art nails and a Wonderbra, and dread lock blunt rolled Buddha dope,
Got the head nod, the finger pistol, the nose up in your crack,
Montel, and Geraldo, and the women who hate the men that hate them back."

The song proceeds to describe a fictional music video with a plot that features a black Jesus Christ being (unjustly) tried for rape.

Perhaps the most purely caustic song I have ever heard is Fun. This song is a not-so-subtle reference to Gilbert's ex-girlfriend Sheryl Crow's song All I Wanna Do (is have some fun). Apparently they did a lot of songwriting together, and Gilbert may even have written a significant portion of her successful debut album without receiving any credit. I can only quote a segment of the lyrics to try to convey how acrimonious this song is:

"I’m talking to this actress behind the bar,
She thinks Leo DiCapprio’s gonna make her a star,
So she answers his phone, washes his car,
Soils his sheets, yeah, she’ll go far...

Now Sheryl’s in the kitchen with the L.A. Lakers,
Trying to get herself laid but there ain’t no takers,
Cause they heard about the guy that she did with AIDs
And she’s callin’ ‘em fags saying they’re afraid."

Jumping to the end of the album, we find Johnny Virgil as a washed-up former star, reminiscing about his glory days. His career may be over, but his words of wisdom ring true:

"People sometimes ask me,
For the secret of success,
I tell them what I know.

Believe in what you're doing,
Remember who you are,
And who knows where you'll go."

To summarize, this is a completely unique album - a story of a musician's journey from naive optimism, through the ringer of the music industry, and out the other side more or less intact. The songwriting and melodies are inspired, catchy, and completely devoid of hackneyed devices; the lyrics are some of the best I've ever heard. Please do give Kevin Gilbert's masterpiece a chance.

Rating: 9/10

Van Halen
1984
Date Reviewed: 12/18/2005

It's easy to review a classic. I can just spout praise ridden with hyperbole and none of it misses the mark. This is one of the best hard rock albums ever produced, and it is absolutely immune to the ravages of time and trend.

The album features a dueling Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth on the verge of meltdown (DLR's departure from the band followed the album and tour) over musical and personality differences, including Eddie's increased use of synthesizer. It features a few timeless hits that just about everybody on the planet has heard, including Jump, Panama, and Hot For Teacher. However, the amazing thing about this album is that the lesser-known tracks are just as good, if not better, than the hits.

Top Jimmy is a rambunctious and unique song about a local act (Top Jimmy and his Rhythm Pigs) that the band used to see in Southern CA. "They said he sang so good that the roof fell in and he didn't even stop the show... Top Jimmy, he's the king." The rhythm guitar is inventive, syncopated, and grooving. The guitar solo, as with most on this album, is inspired; Eddie Van Halen at his best is simply genius. Drop Dead Legs is perhaps the sexiest Van Halen song out there, with an incredible verse riff, towering drum sound, and DLR's intoxicating charm to fill it out. The outro to this song features the best example of Eddie playing like one of his own heroes: Allan Holdsworth. There is some smooth, legato, jazz/rock playing that is scarcely heard in hard rock contexts.

Truly, great songs abound on this album, but my favorite song is the seldom-played Girl Gone Bad. This song has everything. It is a completely inventive, unorthodox song from the standpoint of the arrangement, the guitar playing, the drum part - just haunting and unique. The guitar work is phenomenal - again we have an example of Eddie Van Halen's incredible rhythm guitar work complementing his more obvious brilliance in solo format. Let's not ignore the solo itself, however. It weaves around some fantastic drum patterns from brother Alex Van Halen and resolves back to the original chordal motif, tapped harmonics and all. Somehow DLR's vocal falsetto blends beautifully with the guitar harmonics and results in one of those rare gems: a song where everything seems to be placed and performed perfectly.

To recap: this is an absolute classic. If you like hard rock music, you should own this album. If you like electric guitar playing, you should own this album. If you want to see why people think Eddie Van Halen is a guitar god, you should own this album and the previous five DLR-era Van Halen albums. This is the stuff that legends are made of. This is the stuff that influenced a generation of musicians. Enjoy.

Rating: 10/10

Andy Timmons
That Was Then, This Is Now
Date Reviewed: 12/17/2005

Wow. Where has Andy Timmons been hiding? That's all I can think of after hearing this incredible instrumental guitar album. Timmons has incredible tone, great feel, an ability to write melodic and groove-oriented rock songs, and impressive technical facility. To me he seems like a combination of some of the best aspects of Steve Morse, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, and perhaps Steve Vai; yet he does not sound derivative of any one of those legendary artists.

This album is something of a compilation album, including tunes from a few of his earlier albums and some new ones as well. It's the only one I have currently, and I think it's a great starting point for exploring an intriguing guitarist.

Songs on the album range from straight-ahead rockers like the Satriani-esque Super '70s and Beautiful, Strange to ballads such as Electric Gypsy and A Night To Remember. There is a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughn in which Timmons nails the fired-up blues energy of SRV - the track is appropriately titled I Remember Stevie. Falling Down is a gorgeous, melancholy blues piece in which Timmons shows a lot of his range. His playing in this song is just dripping with style and charisma as he rolls back on the volume knob for some cleaner notes and then dials it back up for slick runs and explosive passages. In Groove Or Die, Timmons demonstrates some impressive speed-picking prowess while navigating the main frenetic riff in what sounds like a harmonic minor throwback to 80s shred. Finally, the album concludes with the surf-rock stylings of Donna Lee (live) and the only vocal song on the album, Slips Away, demonstrating that Andy has a passable if unremarkable voice. He sings in that Beatles-esque way that is reminiscent of Ty Tabor (King's X) and Jughead.

In the end, I can only say that I'm very impressed and looking forward to exploring more of Andy Timmons' catalog. He is an accomplished guitarist with a great sound, and I've already found myself trying to capture his beautiful tone in my own playing.

Rating: 8/10

Nevermore
This Godless Endeavor
Date Reviewed: 9/22/2005

A single snare drum hit starts the album like a brick to the back of the head, followed by a ruthless barrage of drums and guitar. The mood is set immediately: prepare yourself for an onslaught of thrashy, rhythmic riffery and technical metal mastery.

Simply put, Nevermore has released a thrash-metal classic, on par with Megadeth's Rust In Peace and some of the classic Metallica albums like Master of Puppets. The guitar work, both rhythm and lead, is unbelievable; Jeff Loomis is a force to be reckoned with! The songs are chock full of tasty and inventive riffs, which change before they get stale; some of the guitar solos are simply stunning. The drumming is amazing, with tasteful use (rather than overuse) of double-bass attack. Warrel Dane's singing ranges from gritty gruffness, to melodic clarity, to anguished wail; his voice and vocal melodies are instantly recognizable to anyone acquainted with Nevermore's music.

There are 5 "instant classics" on the album, and they are Born, Final Product, My Acid Words, The Psalm Of Lydia, and This Godless Endeavor. These songs absolutely blew me away upon first listen. There are no duds, however; every song has something interesting to offer. Born features a great chorus that is instantly singable amidst the thrash chaos; and oh, what a guitar solo - the rhythm guitar and drums during the solo from 3:13 to 3:47 kick ass. Track two, The Final Product, brings us one of the most memorable lyrical lines on the album: "Look at the world, look at the hell, look at the hate that we've made; Look at the final product, a world in slow decay." I love the use of very active drumming during the guitar solos; it's an instrumental feast. My Acid Words has one of the best verse riffs I've heard in a while - it is very Dimebag-esque from 0:36 to 1:01. The Psalm of Lydia hits you with some insane guitar arpeggios almost from the very beginning; this is a short but very sweet piece. The double-bass drumming at times is incredible - extremely fast, even, and light. The song features a stop-time acoustic guitar cadenza at 2:17 reminiscent of Marty Friedman's similar passage in Megadeth's classic Holy Wars. Then all hell breaks loose and we get a Hangar 18-like guitar solo tradeoff section. Finally, This Godless Endeavor has an intense, manic section from 5:03 to 7:34 which wonderfully conveys the sense of godless futility expressed in the lyrics - man, the riffs! A string of ridiculously fast lead guitar arpeggios strikes up, and the verse continues right over them. The song (and album) end with Dane's desperate cry "The sky has opened!" and a furious final riff.

In addition to the "instant classics" mentioned above, the songs Bittersweet Feast and A Future Uncertain have steadily grown into additional favorites. The soft passage in the middle of the latter song sounds like it comes right from Iron Maiden's Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son album before it leaps back into intense riffing. Sell My Heart For Stones is this album's Dreaming Neon Black - there is just so much to enjoy about this collection of songs.

Lyrically, Dane sticks with typical pessimistic "world gone awry" themes, as well as the title theme questioning the purpose (and existence) of God, which work well with the music. He writes well and the lyrics are poetic at times. The song Sentient 6 portends a future in which sentient machines strive to eradicate humans for their inherent imperfection. But really, what do lyrics matter with music this good?

The production on the album is top-notch. I absolutely love the guitar tone - the rhythm guitar is chunky as hell and really hits with force and clarity. All of the instruments are mixed and balanced nicely.

In summary, there are very few weak points on this album. If you like thrash metal, and great metal guitar playing and drumwork, you owe it to yourself to buy this album - a thrash metal classic!

Rating: 9/10

Dream Theater
Octavarium
Date Reviewed: 9/22/2005

Dream Theater is back with another album and, as usual, a slight change of direction. The oddly-titled Octavarium takes a step away from the blistering progressive shred-metal of Train of Thought and serves up an eclectic bunch of songs ranging from simplistic pop to progressive epic.

The album starts with The Root Of All Evil, which can be considered part three of the "alcoholism trilogy." Part one was The Glass Prison on DT's sixth album, followed by This Dying Soul on the last album. Thematically, these songs deal with drummer Mike Portnoy's former struggles with alcohol (ab)use. Once again we have a similar aggressive riff-based style and some lyrical and musical references to the prior songs. Jordan Rudess' keyboard work seems more prominent than on the prior album. In fact, the guitar solo in this song is mixed a bit too low and some of the passing tones get slightly buried. It's a solid song but probably the weakest of the three in the "trilogy"; a modest start to the album.

Track two, The Answer Lies Within, is one of the most plain Dream Theater songs on record. Plain is not necessarily bad, but this track gets a little stale by the end. It has a melancholy harmonic sound while the lyrics remain hopeful - an interesting juxtaposition. The band has foregone solos in this song for a brief string instrument interlude. The melody is nice, but overall the song falls a little bit flat. It reminds me a bit of Anna Lee from the Falling Into Infinity album.

Octavarium picks up considerable steam with These Walls, which charges forth with the low rumblings and riffings of a guitar tuned way below standard. The drums set this song apart - the main rhythm part is compelling enough and the cymbal poetry accompanying the verse from 1:03 to 1:48 is vintage Portnoy (in Peart fashion). This song has a great pre-chorus, a very memorable chorus, an interesting repeated keyboard melody (starts the song at 0:32), a propulsive guitar riff, and a stylish and restrained guitar solo. Fantastic!

I Walk Beside You sees DT stepping into U2-ish territory, and not for the first time. This song is extremely catchy and would probably have been a big radio hit in the late 80s or early 90s. Since I've spent some time figuring out the chords, I can say that the interesting harmony which makes the whole chorus work is the A# augmented chord which first appears from 1:23 to 1:26 - very nice progression! Once again we have no guitar solo, and in this song I think it would have fit beautifully. I can't help but feel that we missed a chance for a golden Petrucci moment a la Another Day or The Spirit Carries On. At 2:54 we get a really nice bridge, but unfortunately that is followed by what my friend Dan used to call the "motown key change." One of the most hackneyed moves in pop music is to modulate up a whole step, repeat your chorus a couple times, and end the song. It annoys me that such talented musicians felt the need to use this tired device! This remains a pretty strong song that could have been better (add a tasteful solo and ditch the motown key change).

Track five, Panic Attack, is a frenetic stream of odd-time metal riffage (5/4 time in the primary riff, to be precise). This song is a workout for Portnoy, and maintains its careening pace throughout - here we have eight minutes of classic dream theater: evolving riffs, intricate drumming, nice backing keyboard/piano harmony, and a crazy instrumental breakdown/tradeoff segment where keyboardist Rudess and guitarist Petrucci cut loose over shifting time that switches effortlessly from 6/4 into a triplet meter (12/8) and back. Relentless. And great.

In Never Enough, Portnoy gets his lyrical moment to complain about the incessant demands of some of the rabid, and perhaps inconsiderate, fans of the band. Anyone who has followed DT's career knows that Portnoy is one of the most involved and connected musicians when it comes to fan appreciation. From free CDs to fan club members, active bootleg trading (and recording encouragement), regular interaction on his website forums, to numerous extra projects and studio footage compilations, Portnoy has proven himself to be the band's number one fan. Of course, the rest of us fans only benefit from this devotion. This is a great song which features singer LaBrie using a different vocal technique during the verses - kind of an anguished, plaintive sound. We are also treated to a great guitar/keyboard unison/harmony arpeggio section; this is classic Dream Theater. Another strong offering.

Dream Theater revisits the subject of terrorism and 9/11 with Sacrificed Sons. Interestingly, the titular sons are not references to lost Americans but to the terrorists themselves (rest assured, the song does not take a stance that is sympathetic to terrorism). The samples at the beginning of the song help to establish the theme, but I feel that in the long run they are a detriment to the music (much like the newscaster samples in The Great Debate from their sixth album). They have used samples well in the past; Space Dye Vest from Awake is one such example. Musically, this is a strong song. I would have preferred different subject matter, especially since they covered this topic on the previous album with the grandiose In The Name Of God, a better song by most counts. Nevertheless, this song picks up at 4:13 into its more than ten minute duration with a Myung bass fill followed by three and a half minutes of instrumental chicanery somewhat reminiscent of The Dance Of Eternity. The pace builds as the vocals return and the songs ends with a flourish. This is another gem marred only slightly by imperfect lyrics and a slow start.

Finally, we come to the epic title track, Octavarium. Long songs are nothing new for Dream Theater - even those lasting about twenty-four minutes. The song begins with an obvious homage to Pink Floyd's Shine On You Crazy Diamond, which Portnoy covered with his side project band Transatlantic. Therefore, we have a long intro of sustained free-time keyboard chords with some David Gilmore-esque slide guitar parts layered on top. The song begins with several verses over a sparse acoustic guitar and piano accompaniment. This part sets the stage, and once again (as with the previous song) we have a prominent point in the song where a musical "arrival" occurs as the drums enter for real at 7:58. The second section of the song is subtitled "Awakening" and kicks off with an active, grooving bass line (at 8:46) that conveys new motion and resolve wonderfully. This is one of Myung's absolute best bass parts in the DT oeuvre and reminds me of Dave Meros in the Spock's Beard classic At The End Of The Day. The vocal melody for the lyrics "medicate me, infiltrate me…" sounds inspired. The first instrumental segue occurs with a melodic Rudess keyboard solo over shifting keys and riffs. Dream Theater enters its familiar element musically and then brings in a new lyrical device - a series of overlapping references to famous songs, musicians, albums, and people evoking a stream of consciousness mental state. A sample lyric is "Lucy in the sky with Diamond Dave's not here I come to save the day…" The full-tilt instrumental section that you knew was coming in a DT epic begins at 16:00. Petrucci takes it up a notch or three at 16:47 with a FAST muted line that repeats, gets doubled by keyboard, mutates into a number of harmonies, and finally explodes into a cascade of solo guitar notes at 17:31. Odd times and riffs continue to take us on a wild ride until we land at 18:28 and glide back into a lyrical summation of the entire album. Each song gets a brief passage summarizing its theme, including Octavarium itself, while the tension builds and LaBrie does his best Dave Mustaine impression. Finally we get the only LaBrie scream on a studio album in the repeated lyric "Trapped inside this Octavarium!" The slower denouement follows and wraps up the epic in much the same style as the Grand Finale at the end of Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence. The french horn plays a beautiful minor sixth interval before resolving to the fifth to close the song. This may be Dream Theater's greatest epic.

There is considerable speculation about the album title and its significance - the prefix "octa", the eighth album, eight songs, the eight notes of the octave, etc. I'll simply link to the excellent wikipedia entry on Octavarium rather than repeat any of the ideas here.

This album showcases some of the variety that Dream Theater is capable of, while never abandoning the underlying qualities that make the band so unique. Not every song succeeds brilliantly, but the shining moments are striking. Instrumentally, whenever Dream Theater constructs intricate, melodic solo lines involving guitar and keyboard in unison/harmony they re-create some of the magic of their classic and genre-defining album Images and Words. They have employed this technique a bit more on this album than on some of the recent albums, and it is very welcome. The guitar work is a bit more restrained than that of the previous album, which was non-stop shred and speed. There are still enough impressive and inventive parts to satisfy any shred-head, however. Bass and keyboard seem to be more prominent both in the writing and in the mix, and with little exception this is a positive change. The drumming is ferocious, as expected from Portnoy. He really shines with his excellent rhythmic cymbal usage during the verses of songs like These Walls and Never Enough.

Since Dream Theater is my favorite band, the rating scale in my mind is a bit skewed. I have tremendous expectations for any DT album, and the most disappointing one would still probably merit an 8/10 when compared with "other" music. Given, then, a possible range of 8-10, Octavarium deserves a 9.

Rating: 9/10