lwinner's Full Review: Gentlemen by The Afghan Whigs
Are you looking for the hidden gem of music from a band you have never heard of? If so this album is a must. The Afghan Whigs masterpiece, Gentlemen, is all that and more.
The music is simply captivating. Rock guitars, heavy bass line, an occasional cello or piano, plus a gust of wind at mixed at the right time. Some songs are deep down Rock songs, while others have slow beats that develop effortlessly and perfectly. The album came out (1993) when Grunge was big, but this is not your typical grunge album. This album defies categorization, will become more and more influential with time.
However, notwithstanding the amazing music, the most striking part of Gentlemen are its lyrics. This album is about looking at yourself in the mirror and admitting all of the flaws. Sometimes there’s even a little guilt involved.
This album is not just about a relationship, but the internal turmoil, satisfaction, remorse, depression, and loneliness that comes along with being callous. At one point in the album you can hear the lead singer, Greg Dulli spout about the good times had, and at other points you can almost hear him crying about what he did.
The song “What Jail is Like” exemplifies the conflicting feelings on the album. In the middle of the first verse Greg sings, “You think I’m scared of girls? /Well maybe, but I’m not afraid of you. You want to scare me…then you’ll cling to me no matter what I do.” And then after that the song gets darker.
I cannot stress enough that every song on the album is amazing. There is not one bad song of the album. The album is best when heard in its entirety. Every song has its own message that can only be fully understood when listened to in order.
This album is amazing because you can feel and sometimes relate to the pain and honesty of what went wrong. Sometimes people know what they are doing is wrong and do it anyway. This album is about what happens to a person when he makes the wrong decision, and then has to deal with consequences of his actions. In some ways the album hurts to hear, and in others the whole experience is cathartic. Regardless, this album is must.
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