BOC: CotHM, some analysis and comment

[Warrick Bell]

Well, I got this about a week ago, and on first listen it didn't even catch
as much as HF did.  I have to say it's growing on me though.  To me it
seems that there are very definite attempts to regain some sounds and
harmonies that were in the 'old' BOC, though it seems at times to suffer
from a desire to sound like a generic unimaginative hard-rock band.  I
think in part the more 'riff-like' sound stems from some unimaginative
choruses, but it's also in part driven by Rondinelli's drumming; however I
don't think it's all his fault.
Now, I think Bobby's a competent drummer, but there are times to use double
pedals on the bass and times to not.  To me it seems he hasn't quite
settled into a comfortable spot with the rest of the band yet, in the way
that Miranda has.  There are a few scattered time changes here and there on
the album but I don't think the band has tried to exercise Bobby too much
with these yet--has Rainbow ever been known for the intricacies of its time
signatures?
I like the complexity of some of the harmonies on this album very
much.  One Step Ahead of the Devil even has Bouchard-esque high-pitched
backing vocals!  And yes, Eric's voice is certainly in wonderful form, if
only he had something decent to sing.  I think most people have agreed so
far that many of the lyrics on this album really aren't up to much.  I
don't have a problem with Pocket's "particular second" harmonies, though
the first time through they gave me pause.  I think that's part of the
interest of Pocket and those lyrics:  you stop and listen and try to figure
out what's going on.  I quite like it as a lyric, as a textural sound, and
for adding an interesting lyric rhythm to the song.
Something I don't quite yet understand about this album is the title.  The
only reference to it I've been able to hear is a mention of "tears on my
mirror" in Here Comes That Feeling.  No mention of curses, and nothing
really hidden anywhere.  So why the title?  The cover art fits with the
title and with some of the tracks but doesn't really work if you take the
album as a whole construction; that said, it's their best cover art for
some time.  With great art and a great title like that, and a legacy to
base it on, some really impressive ideas for songs and production ideas
leap up and scream at you but it seems to me that the title isn't really
connected to most of the album tracks.
Which brings us to the production.  Clean and tight.  Bright and
shiny.  Slick and polished.  As someone else said recently, there's very
little grit and fuzz.  Mess it up a little, Buck!  We can take it!  (Dare
we hope for a return of the stun guitar??)  I doubt this album is being
released on vinyl but probably not even that would improve the sound
quality and mix enough to make this sound like a really fine
record.  Still, this one's a little more "put together" than HF, as other
writers have already noted.

Now a few song comments:
-There's not really any acceptable justification for I Just Like to be
Bad.  Is this the worst BOC song of all time?  Not even White Flags and
Make Rock Not War make me cringe this much.
-Good to Feel Hungry, even though its bass riff gets a little tiresome
after a while, has some old-BOC feel; those keyboards are great!!  I think
they're mostly Allen; if they are, he's in great form and the band has
really let him go for it (if it's Allen and he's jamming, why doesn't he
get a writing credit?).
-The Old Gods Return has something of a CE/FoUO feel to it, though the
keyboards should be more prominent to make it truly spooky.  Eric manages
to get in a few fine shouts and it could become a great BOC track given
time and perhaps some reworking in a live setting.
-I found myself humming Pocket to myself earlier today; it's growing on me
more and more, as seems to happen with a lot of Buck's songs.
-I also like Dance on Stilts a lot, and I think it works quite well as an
album opener.  Again, more of Allen's subtle magic here would bring this
one up to being a really great track.
-Eye of the Hurricane is a fine track with some nice wordplay in the lyrics
and a strong chorus section that actually benefits from some repetition.


And lastly:
Do I just not /get/ The Brain Surgeons?  Am I missing something
somewhere?  I have the mp3 files from mp3.com and I have Eponymous, but
they just don't do anything to me.  Can anyone tell me what I'm supposed to
get excited about?  And if you want to pick apart silly, awkward lyrics,
you've got to look at tBS as well as J. Shirley!

Warrick Bell
<wjbell at mail2.gis.net>

"Census Makes Gains in Reducing Number of People Not Counted"
                                --New York Times, 14 February 2001