Pros: Smashing debut album- shows off I Mother Earth's raw potential.
Cons: Second half of album loses focus.
The Bottom Line: Exciting, in your face rock sprinkled with jazz makes this an album to truly enjoy. Also, one of the best songs I've ever heard is on this CD. Buy it!
realityrender's Full Review: Dig by I Mother Earth
Having worked backwards through I Mother Earth albums as I became a huge fan, I must say that this album came as a pleasant surprise. If "Scenery and Fish" is the opus and "Blue Green Orange" is the encore, this is the blueprint... a glimpse into the future, showing what I Mother Earth is truly capable of.
This album is a hard-rockin' adventure with a twist of jazz thrown in for flavor. The pulsing beat of the percussion and crunchy guitars are pure ear candy to the fan of talented, higher-tier rock music (ie Smashing Pumpkins). It opens with an instrumental called "The Mothers" that literally introduces the track without any words. The music itself seems a greeting... it is oddly reminiscent of a Native American ceremony. The next two tracks, "Levitate" and "Rain Will Fall" are all-out in your face rock. Their fast beat and musicianship will get your foot tapping and you will certainly want to listen again and again. Next is "So Gently We Go". This is the only break from hard rock on the album... it is extremely mellow and peaceful. I must say that "So Gently We Go" is one of my favorite songs of all time. It brings forth such imagery and the melody is so memorable that it is impossible to ignore. This is followed by "Not Quite Sonic", the best hard-rockin' song on the album, in my opinion. The chorus and verses flow so well into one another that the song seems tightly woven to perfection. The next six songs, "Production", "Lost My America", "No One", "Undone", "Basketball", and "And the Experience" are excellent songs in their own right but seem to lose focus because of the brilliance of the first five. They are filled with great guitar riffs and percussive fills but lack the epic flavor of the first five. As I said, though, they are excellent listens, perfect for listening while hanging out or cruising. The album is capped off with "The Universe In You" which brings back the qualities of the first five tracks and explores the ebb and flow of music to be seen in later albums.
I Mother Earth fans looking to get to know earlier albums, hard rock fans, or fans of complex music: this album is for you. It is worth every penny.
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