A Healthy Alternative to the Boss
Written: Jan 21 '06 (Updated Dec 19 '06)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Finn's Lyrics. Nearly all the music behind the lyrics.
Cons: Occasionally Finn's vocals.
The Bottom Line: One of the better albums of 2005.
|
|
|
| knowncutter's Full Review: Separation Sunday by The Hold Steady |
Let me begin by stating I don’t particularly care for Bruce Springsteen and his music. I know many people are enthralled with his back of the throat wheezing voice, his over the top backing band, and his insightful lyrics, but I just can’t quite get into it. Luckily I seem to have found a modern day solution to what a good Bruce should have sounded like in the Hold Steady and their sophomore album, Separation Sunday.
Now to say that Hold Steady vocalist Craig Finn is a carbon copy of Springsteen and his vocal ability would be absolutely ludicrous and insulting to the Boss. Some might have a hard time deciding whether Finn is even attempting to sing or not. None the less Finn does sound strangely similar to Bruce in more of a low key, not quite as pretentious kind of way.
Lyrically Finn shows to be nearly as crafty with words as Springsteen, although Finn’s definitely taken a more modern approach. All of Finn’s lyrics on Separation Sunday seem to weave into one big story about a teenage girl from suburban Minneapolis, who’s torn between a life of Christianity or drug use and partying. I think Finn intends for the album to come across as a rock opera but it’s very hard to follow. As far as I can tell the story centers around one main 17 year old girl, Hallelujah. The society which Finn creates is one composed mostly of skaters, druggies, and hoodrats, whatever that really is, who apparently all go to church.
What I can tell about the concept of the album is that Finn sees a lot of hypocrisy in today’s religion. He seems to be saying that people often use Church on Sunday, assuming it makes them a good person, and then going out and living a hedonistic lifestyle.
Separation Sunday starts with Hallelujah, I’m not sure if that’s even her name so I’ll just refer to her as the girl, trying to lead a virtuous, Christian life while at the same time trying to remain cool. A line in the third track, Your Little Hoodrat Friend, perfectly sums up her internal debates by stating, “Tiny little text, etched into her neck, says Jesus lived and died for all your sins, She’s got blue black ink, and it’s scratched into her lower back, says damn right he’ll rise again.” Finn, all at once, is able to summarize the girl’s confused hypocrisy by showing she got a tattoo with profanity in it to try and emphasize her faith in Jesus.
The middle tracks seem to generally be about the girl’s downward spiral into rampant, uncontrollable drug use and overall sinful living. As far as I can tell she feels somewhat guilty about her collapse into addiction, but collapses none the less. The track Stevie Nix, which showcases Finn at his most Springsteen-esque on the album, says that, “She got screwed up by religion, and got high for the first time by the banks of the Mississippi River.”
By the final two tracks, Crucifixion Cruise and the outstanding How a Resurrection Really Feels, Hallelujah, if that is her real name, finally comes back to Christ and repents her sinful living before an entire congregation. At least that’s how I tend to interpret the story. There’s a good chance Finn intends some grand deeper plotline that I can’t seem to find.
Of course all of this plotting and clever storytelling would be for naught if the band playing behind Finn’s tales sucked. Fortunately, the band is the highlight of the album and makes up for any deficiencies one may find in Finn’s vocals or plotline, and trust me you will find deficiencies.
If I’m to compare Finn to Springsteen then surely I must compare the music of the Hold Steady to the E Street Band. Well the two bands tend to utilize exactly the same instruments except the Hold Steady plays theirs far more to my liking. Not necessarily more skillfully, but with more of a rock and roll flair I like to associate myself with.
The guitar riffs on Separation Sunday are absolutely splendid, most notably on Hornets! Hornets! and Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night, and swerve in and out of several different styles, from modern punk rock to Thin Lizzy style solos. Pianos are often found riding right alongside the electric guitars with the occasional horn filler. The horns are probably the biggest difference between the Hold Steady and the E Street Band. The E Street Band overpowers songs with self-indulgent saxophone solos that detract from anything good a song might have had. The Hold Steady utilizes horns to accompany songs, not to get them from point A to point B. Had Springsteen considered this strategy I might be fonder of him.
Separation Sunday doesn’t really feature any tracks that I would deem unworthy of a listen, but several are mediocre at best. Especially tracks in the middle of the album that seem to be rehashing lyrics Finn’s already used. Most songs don’t really have a tangible chorus but tend to be very catchy none the less. The one song that does feature a memorable chorus is Your Little Hoodrat Friend. The verses on this track feature a palm muted power chord section with Finn’s vocals and then explode into the rambunctious chorus which features a woman backing Finn’s vocals. This makes for one of the best songs on the album and makes me question the woman’s inactivity for the majority of songs.
Overall I’d have to suggest this album to anyone interested in lyrics that really make you ponder deep theological questions or anyone who flat out enjoys rock and roll. I might even suggest it to a Springsteen fan as an alternative to Born to Run
Song Rankings
$= Great song worth your money
Download= Good song
Skip= Average Filler
Garbage= Terrible Track
1. Hornets! Hornets!- $
2. Cattle and the Creeping Things- $
3. Your Little Hoodrat Friend- $
4. Banging Camp- Download
5. Charlemagne in Sweatpants- Download
6. Stevie Nix- Download
7. Multitude of Casualties- Skip
8. Don’t Let Me Explode- Download
9. Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night- $
10. Crucifixion Cruise- Skip
11. How a Resurrection Really Feels- $
Shameless Self-Promotion
My Best Albums of 2005
Boy and Girls in America
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: Listening
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
knowncutter
|
|
Member: Dave X
Location: Scranton
Reviews written: 138
Trusted by: 23 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.