A Musical Trainwreck
Written: Oct 04 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Maybe one or two songs ("Down to the Sea" in particular)
Cons: Everything else is absolute garbage
The Bottom Line: It's hard to believe that I could hate an album by the lead singer from James this much
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| duke101's Full Review: Bone - Tim Booth |
I should start off by pointing out that I am a big fan of the band James (or should I say the late band James, rest in peace), of which Tim Booth was the singer. To hear Tim Booth's vocals over such a train wreck as this, however, is like watching someone go to the bathroom on James' grave. To be fair, this album does have a few rare pleasant moments, but overall, it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth, and I can't fathom how anyone could truly enjoy it.
1.) Wave Hello
It starts out with some potential, with an engaging, although repetitive guitar riff, adding on a somewhat generic electronic drum beat and bringing in Booth's vocals. And this song is one of the better tracks, but by around midway through, it becomes abundantly obvious that it's not really building up to anything. And right when Booth starts to finally try to do something interesting with his vocals near the end of the song, it just fades out. If that was all that was wrong with this album, it would still be salvageable, but just wait, it's all downhill from here...
2.) Bone
This song relies heavily on a tribal drum beat that could have worked if it didn't sound so much like it was generated by a keyboard. And then comes the so-called chorus, which has to be one of the most labored and sluggish "melodies" I've ever heard (you might need some caffiene just to get through it). And then when the song gets halfway through, something truly astonishing happens, even Booth's voice becomes irritating, taking on a high-pitched tone that doesn't suit him. What's worse, this song goes on for over five minutes.
3.) Monkey God
Hurray, more canned tribal drum beats. In spite of that, the keyboard part and guitar riff almost make this song worthwhile, and you can at least listen to it without your ears bleeding (unlike some of the tracks to come soon), but as with the first track, this song really wants to build to something, and never quite makes it.
4.) Redneck
Now we get into the real garbage. The chorus to this song is so sickeningly Prozac induced and joyous that it almost makes you sick. Even Sesame Street would have rejected this one as too sappy, and what's worse, it gets stuck in your head even more than the slightly less annoying "Speed of Sound" by Coldplay (I realize that was an irrelevant reference, but I always appreciate a nice jab at Coldplay).
5.) Love Hard
With a keyboard part that sounds like it's being played by a six year old that just got his first musical lesson, this song is little better than the last one, and is weighted down by far too much production and electronic drum riffs (either learn to play drums the old fashioned way or hire a drummer, Tim Booth). And that's to say nothing about the obnoxious stabbing guitar parts and Beck ripped-off falsetto singing that comes in a little over halfway through this one.
6.) Discover
I'll give this song one thing, it's at least not filled with electronic drum riffs. Unfortunately, it's also terribly boring and self-indulgent, and never achieves its apparent goal of sounding like the culmination of a great revelation. It's also got about the worst lyrics I've ever heard, such as "I've been the Nazi and I've been the Jew," whatever that's supposed to mean.
7.) Falling In Love With Me
No, Tim Booth, I'm sorry, but I'm falling out of love with you by this point, and this song isn't helping much. Did I say the last song was boring? Just try to avoid hitting the skip button on your CD player here, I dare you, I bet you can't do it. I'm all for a good ballad, but it has to do something.
8.) Falling Down
All right, it's not great, but we have to work with what we've got here, and this track is at least something approximating a real song that I can listen to the whole way through. Just ignore the overproduction and the absurd echoing vocals, and you've got a song that by midway through, starts to work with a catchy melody (it sounds a bit like a song that could have come from Seal, and that's not intended as a criticism).
9.) Down to the Sea
The last of the halfway decent songs. In fact, this was the only song I heard before I purchased the album (that'll teach me to be more careful). This one's got a relatively catchy guitar riff, and some interesting sampling with a female operatic singer. It might just be the best Booth has to offer, and if more songs sounded like this one, Booth could have a promising solo career.
10.) In the Darkness
This song suffers from the same problem as so many others on the album, but is perhaps the best example of the problem: serious overproduction. I've written better songs than this using computer songwriting programs that throw random instruments together however you want, and I have no songwriting ability. There's no soul or heart in it, and it's just no fun.
11.) Eh Mamma
Here's the worst of the worst, and you can tell from the annoying scream in the first second that even Booth is horrified at his own creation. And more wonderful lyrics like "I don't think she likes my body, I don't care much for her mind." This song isn't even worth any further negative comments.
12.) Careful What You Say
It would be nice to say the album goes out well, but I can't do that. This one's completely unmemorable, and any songwriter worth their guitar and microphone would just throw this away. Ah, sorry, Booth, I've had enough of your solo career, go back to James.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
duke101
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Member: Adam
Reviews written: 174
Trusted by: 16 members
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