Reviews Written by Charlie
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April 16, 2001
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April 16, 2001
White Pepper shows great maturity
Ween’s music has never been easy to classify. You can’t just say they are “noise rock” because they incorporate a great sense of melody and musicianship throughout their twisted songs. You also can’t compare their sound to any other band, because they have a totally original style of songwriting that has yet to be successfully mimicked. I think the best way to describe them would be “a plethora of styles ranging around somewhat deranged lyrics.”
On White Pepper, Ween have seemed to abandon some of their more intangible soundscapes for a more simplistic, almost Beatle-esque sound. The album starts out with the excellent track “Exactly Where I’m At” in which Gene Ween sings “I’m really scared that I may fall back on the abstract – it would be exactly where I’m at,” which is a great foreshadowing for what is to come on the album.
There are the usual, weirder tunes, such as the steel-drum layered “Banana’s and Blow” with the chorus “Stuck in my cabana, living on banana’s and blow.” Other interesting ideas saturate the tracks, such as the baby-doll vocal that helps keep time on “Flutes Of Chi” or the country slide guitar that adds a subtle touch on “Stay Forever.”
The talented Dean Ween (lead guitar) seems to come into his own on this album, creating beautiful washes of sound that come off as something much more than a simple solo on songs like “Exactly Where I’m At”, “Flutes of Chi” and “The Grobe.” Dean doesn’t think like the standard guitar player, nor does he try to imitate them.
Rounding out the album are the hard rockers “Even If You Don’t,” the raucous “Stroker Ace,” and “The Grobe” which almost sounds like it should be a Black Sabbath song.
I would have to say that the best song on this album is “Back To Bosom”, which is probably the most straightforward tune on the album. The mellowtron lick during the verses sounds like it was lifted off the intro to “Strawberry Fields Forever” while the guitar solo sounds like it should have been on Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine.” The mixing of influence from two great bands plus an unforgettable vocal melody makes for a superb song.
While hardcore fans may be disturbed by the relative straightforward vibe of White Pepper, it is the natural evolution of a great band for which the best is yet to come. ...
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Incubus Rocks Again
1 of 1 Yahoo! Users found this review helpful Often when an artist achieves success, they get the opportunity to release some material that people otherwise would never get to own. Hot off the heals of their Platinum success, Make Yourself, Incubus has done just that by releasing When Incubus Attacks, volume 1.“Pardon Me,” “Stellar,” and “Make Yourself” debut as the first tracks on the album, which is fitting given the band’s recent success. These songs show the band in its rawest form; singer Brandon Boyd’s voice intertwines beautifully with the acoustic guitar stylings of Mike Einziger. The acoustic tracks demonstrate that even when you strip away all the turntables, bass, and drums, you still have great songwriting. Boyd was apparently so impressed with the acoustic tracks that he was toying with the idea of taking Incubus on a small acoustic tour.
“Crowded Elevator” is the next track up, in which the guitar and bass fuse together to create an incredible groove. It’s surprising the band decided not to include this tune on Make Yourself. This song was originally on the Scream 3 soundtrack, and it was nice of the band to include it on this record so fans don’t have to shell out big bucks to complete their collection.
Finishing out the album are live versions of “Favorite Things” (off S.C.I.E.N.C.E. – go pick it up) and “Pardon Me.” The vocals are a little shaky, but the raw emotion bleeds through the speakers. I think they could’ve thought of a different song than “Pardon Me”. It would have been really cool if they had put a track like “Battlestar Scralatchtica” in as a live version, instead of relentlessly pushing different versions of the same song.
Also included on volume one is a “hidden” song where the band professes their love for marijuana. Some incredibly bad rapping by different members of the band comprises what Boyd says was “just a track to have some fun, and show our fans that we are always serious.”
The future looks bright. Incubus is also planning on releasing a second volume of Incubus Attacks, with a DVD of live performances and more alternate versions of songs. These records should tide hardcore Incubus fans over until the new record comes out (in September). ...