After listening to the 3 CDs I picked up from In The Whale, I'm guessing this is the first of the three. My reason for saying this is because the tunes, although still rocking and intense as ever, have a more demo quality to them and sound like the band was developing their sound. There's also a distinct difference in the quality of individual track recording. The most obvious of this is 'Grandpa Pete' and 'On A Roll'. 'Grandpa Pete' sounds great but you don't realize how monotone it actually sounds until 'On A Roll' kicks in and you hear the enormous depth of the track. There's a lot happening on this disc. In The Whale combine elements of punk, alt. country, southern rock and metal to make a unique sound all their own. I can't stress enough how exciting this group is live. They've also been able to lay down the same energy on their recordings. The tracks seem like they were recorded live in the studio. The theme on this record appears to be sin. The first track deals with the legend of blues guitarist, Robert Johnson who supposedly, sold his soul to the devil in exchange for the ability to play the guitar. Both 'Sunbeam' and 'Lake Of Fire' preoccupy themselves with damnation, and 'Grandpa Pete' has its own creepy quality one can only chalk up to severe perversion. "Nate N' Eric" has a super raw element to it and it sounds phenomenal. As of yet, I haven't heard a single disc from these guys I didn't liked. They're a pretty solid band as far as I'm concerned and I highly recommend picking up some of their exciting discs. IN THE WHALE - NATE N' ERIC 01. Robert Johnson 02. Wedding Bells 03. Lake Of Fire 04. Grandpa Pete 05. On A Roll 06. Girlfriend 07. Sunbeam
Hindu Love Gods are a band made up of Warren Zevon and members of REM. The disc is essentially a collection of covers Zevon recorded with the band during sessions for one of his albums. The music is blues influenced rock. And it draws heavily from American blues standards. The biggest hit from the record and the reason I bought the thing in the first place is the cover of 'Raspberry Beret' by Prince And The Revolution. But I'll discuss that in greater detail in a bit. First off, this isn't an album I've paid a lot of attention to after I listened to it the first time. The first two tracks are both covers of songs Robert Johnson made famous back in the 1930's. They're followed by the cover of Prince's 'Raspberry Beret' which is an ok version, but doesn't come anywhere near as exciting and fulfilling as the original. Zevon's vocals are strained and he doesn't seem to have the timing the lyrics require to sound convincing. Still, it's interesting to hear Prince covered by rock and blues musicians. And it's nice to hear this song get attention for being more than just a standard pop song. The next song, 'Crosscut Saw' is an old Delta-blues standard from the 1940's. The next track, 'Junko Pardner' is an American Blues number from the 1950's. 'Mannish Boy' is also a 1950's Blues standard and was made famous by Muddy Waters. 'Wang Dang Doodle' is from 1960. 'Battleship Chains' is another more modern song. Recorded in 1986 by The Georgia Satellites, it was barely cold before the Hindu Love Gods covered it and brought it back to the light of day. 'I'm A One Woman Man' is actually a country hit from the 1960's. 'Vigilante Man' is the product of Folk hero, Woody Guthrie. So basically, you have a collection put together of songs that at one time or another were the standards for the genre of music they represented. Although the arrangements don't really stand out much on this recording, the tracks were probably very exciting live. Especially if you were familiar with the originals. I'm not sure what to make of this disc. I listened to it again probably for the second time since I actually bought it back in the 90's to prepare for this review and frankly, there's nothing here to bring me back to the disc anytime soon. It's a cool cover of 'Raspberry Beret' but it's by no means the best cover of a Prince song and it's not enough to make me want to listen to the album over and over. In the end, this will go back on the shelf and be part of a Prince cover collection I'll never really bother finishing. There's a part of me that thinks it's cool this disc exists. But unless you're a huge Warren Zevon fan or a huge REM fan, there's very little to get excited about here. My final words: SKIP IT, DOWNLOAD THE TRACKS YOU ACTUALLY WANT, BUT SKIP IT. HINDU LOVE GODS - HINDU LOVE GODS 01. Walkin' Blues 02. Travelin' Riverside Blues 03. Raspberry Beret 04. Crosscut Saw 05. Junko Pardner 06. Mannish Boy 07. Wang Dang Doodle 08. Battleship Chains 09. I'm A One Woman Man 10. Vigilante Man
