His second best album
3
By BrianSwaldi
This effort is, overall, ok. After Grand National, this stands as his second best work. This album features some of his better vocals. He sings much more clearly in his studio albums than he does on his live stuff. His studio work is usually much shorter than his live albums and, consequently, much more tolerable.
The real strong point on this album is several of the instrumental tracks that give off a folky and somewhat celtic vibe. And at his best on this album, the song Zebra, he nearly comes off sounding like Jack Johnson. The song has a similar beat and is delivered in a quazi-rap style much like Johnson's work.
The album gets a lot more boring towards the middle and end, however. There's a lot of filler as is usually the case with JBT albums. Also, on much of his albums, this one included, his lyrics don't seem to generalize to issues in America. You just get the feeling listening to his lyrics that you're hearing an album by an Aussie hippy griping about how the Australian government keeps him oppressed. It just doesn't feel like his griping is for everyone. That's what, I suspect, is the reason he hasn't gained wide-spread crossover appeal. He just comes off as a preachy and Austrailian Rusted Root. That sort of hippy mumbling isn't good when it's by an American band, much less one I can't relate to.
The band's strongest point is their stellar guitar work. They are at their best when they do summery and relatable songs. I would love to see more of this. I would also love to hear more songs with folk and celtic influence.
