Ben's Music Pick
Highway 61 Revisited
An album truly deserving the adjective classic. Most laymen will recognize the opening song "Like a Rolling Stone" as it is a constant play on classic rock stations but the greatness of this album lies on the second side of the disc (if you're listening to it on vinyl, otherwise just start at track number 6 titled "Queen Jane Approximately"). Never, in my humble opinion, has a second half of an album dominated the first so much as this album's does. Starting with "Queen Jane" and finishing with the 11 minute-long "Desolation Row" ( a rare live performance of this song supposedly can exceed forty minutes), the second side of the album holds the listener straight through without testing their patience. But not to be forgotten are the songs preceding. Following "Rolling Stone" is the quick paced "Tombstone Blues" which catches Dylan on his more delirious side. I'm sure most would agree that Dylan belongs on a list of great rock legends and this album would definitely do the job of arguing this claim. So pick up a doob and enjoy this one (I know that my first experience with this album was also the first time I had ever partaken in a cherbal circle...thanks Seth Lewis).
Matt's Music Pick
10,000 Days
The thing about Tool is that no matter how much they piss you off, you still love them. What kind of artist, you ask, can only release an album once every 5 years and still stay in your saving grace as a top 10 band of all time? Tool.
What really upsets me is the fact that Maynard (vocalist) is about as arrogant as a person can get it. But it's justified! The guy is smart, hilarious, and a great singer/songwriter. 10,000 Days is another in a long line of Tool albums that goes beyond your standard verse-chorus-verse of the modern day "rock" band. Unlike most Tool albums this one starts off immediately. You will instantaneously recognize the reverb and hum/buzz of the guitar distortion as that of Adam Jones (guitarist). Vicarious is the first track on the album, and in the end, is one of my favorites. Vicarious, and actually the entire album as a whole, follows a natural progression from 2001's Lateralus. The style is still evolving but definitely still more closely resembles Lateralus than any of their previous works. Less raw, more refined, more complex in it's arrangements. A particular treat at the end of Vicarious is a short section of double bass with some awe-inspiring vocals about facing up to human nature. The next track, Jambi follows a similar line as the first, and continues to explore themes of excess and human nature. Wings for Maire and 10,000 Days are both tracks filled with long sequences of ear candy and trance-inducing vocals. Next comes The Pot. Yes this song is about exactly what you think it is about. Of particular enjoyment on this track is the fluid tango of bass and drums. Danny Carey (drums) and Justin Chancellor (bass) have finally begun to really come together in this album. Justin's riffs are both intriguing yet quite simple. Danny of course manages to melt his parts in seamlessly with the rest of the band. Following this track are some typical instrumental Tool tracks, followed by the song Rosetta Stoned. The incessant jabbering at the beginning of the song truly makes you feel you are as paranoid as the subject. The album ends with a few quieter tracks, in typical Tool fashion once again, and you are left at first astounded and then quite reflective. The vocals in many parts, The Pot in particular, are very unlike any Tool vocals before. But it works and that is what matters.
In conclusion, this album is chonger approved. Chong rating: 8% (For more information on the chong scale please visit the forums)