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Saturday, August 1, 2009

THE STEREO


THE STEREO
REWIND + RECORD (2002)
320 KBPS

Bad CDs are really easy to write reviews for. Good CDs are usually pretty simple to write a review for, also. Great CDs? They take a bit more work. Usually a thesaurus is busted out, and I actually check for grammar errors. Really great CDs? Those are hard to write about.
This is a really great CD.
I really don't know what to tell you. Jamie Woolford wanted to be a rock star, and this album should have, in all fairness, put him there. The songs were the best he's ever written. The lyrics were the most introspective and intelligent he's ever done. Sure, a lot of the tracks were about girls (shit, he was in a pop-rock band - what else would he write about?), but tracks like "Vice Versa Inquisition" and "Have I Paid My Debt To Mpls?" were lightyears beyond anything prior in the Stereo's catalog. The riffs were thicker, too, like in "1994" - definitely air-guitar worthy.
A fellow Minneapolis band's influence shows up in the intro to "Just Let Go" - I could've sworn it was a Husker Du song when it started. Of course, once the song progresses into the sugary sweet verse, you know it could only be the Stereo.
The 2 songs on this album that have previously been available as demos through the Stereo's webpage; "Pay No Attention" and "Turn Off Your T.V."; both have received pretty incredible reworkings and both sound fantastic. The guitar solos in both tracks make for a wonderful listening experience.
"Too Little, Too Late" and "Vice Versa Inquisition / No Name #2" are both performed completely by Jamie. His programming skills have gotten much better. "Too Little, Too Late" benefits from a constantly switching shuffled drum beat, keeping the song well-paced enough for Jamie to croon to his long lost love.
I really could talk forever about this album, but I don't think I could actually say much more. This is the best no frills pop-rock album of 2002. But, sadly, it was to be the band's latest. Good thing it's never too late to enjoy good music.

1. Dear Fans Of The Stereo
2. Pay No Attention
3. Don't Say Uncle
4. You Better Believe It
5. Too Little, Too Late
6. Tell Your Football Dad No
7. 1994
8. Stop Breathing
9. Have I Paid MY Dept To Mpls?
10. Just Let Go
11. Vice Versa Inquisition/No Name #2
12. Turn Off Your T.V.
13. Two Week Notice

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This link leads to a 0 byte file.

I don't know how that happened but please reupload.

Mr Moodswings said...

Download it, open it with the usual password and you'll see it's worth more than it shows.