Released: 1995
Tracks: In the Blood; Good; Southern Gurl; The Killer Inside; Rosealia; Cry in the Sun; Teenager; (no name); Summerhouse; Porcelain; Heaven; This Time of Year; Coyote; (hidden track)
Best track: honestly, it’s track 8, the untitled instrumental
Track to skip: none really, but I don’t understand the attraction of Good
This is another of my wife’s CDs I’m reviewing. I’ve heard this plenty of times, but of course this is the first time I’ve actively listened to the entire disc. It’s not bad stuff. I mean, of course it’s yer basic pop rock stuff, but I’ve heard much worse in the same vein. I believe this was the group’s first CD, and if not I know it was the first that got any attention. The main radio singles from it were In the Blood, Rosealia and the big one Good. Blood and Rosealia are both good songs, but I’m still overwhelmed by the popularity of Good. I’ve never understood what the big deal about it is. Maybe because it’s utterly simple, and proud of it, that it became a hit. I don’t know. I think songwriting wise it’s probably the weakest song on here (not counting the joke/hidden track).
There are the usual ‘love song’ lyrics on here, but also some notable excursions like Killer Inside, Rosealia, Cry in the Sun, etc. Teenager is a strange one. On one hand, I almost laugh at the ‘teen angst’ lyrics, but maybe they’re serious in wanting to try to reach out to some always-wearing-black, Cure-listening-to, depressed teenager. It’s not a bad song, but the lyrics are just a tad overly serious for me. It’s no big deal though. As far as musical skill all three (Kevin Griffin – vocals and guitar, Tom Drummond – bass and Cary Bonnecaze – drums) they’re all OK. There are a few guitar solos that are inoffensive and Drummond does some decent fretless stuff on Porcelain, but mostly the musicianship is kept in the background as to not interfere with the songs. I personally don’t approach music like that, but whatever.
I do think that the untitled instrumental, track 8, is the best thing on here. For once, they actually create something with emphasis on music and it’s really cool. But then it ends because it’s only 1:29 long. Also, the song Summerhouse ends way too quickly. That’s one that should have been extended for a bit longer. The inertia of the album does kind of drop off after Heaven, but I’m sure most listeners wouldn’t notice. Overall this is a pretty consistent album and if you liked the singles you’d probably dig the rest of it. Of course I’m probably not ever going to request to hear it, but it doesn’t bother me if it’s in.
Rating: 80
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