Second Guess The Critic: Reloaded, Round 4

[Brenden]

Brenden: Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts Of The Great Highway (clips) http://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-Great-Highway-Sun-Moon/dp/B0000DIZSW/sr=1-1/qid=1171825787/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-0118341-4023131?ie=UTF8&s=music
Josh: Sarah Shannon - City Morning Song (clips) http://www.amazon.com/City-Morning-Song-Sarah-Shannon/dp/B000M06K8E/sr=1-1/qid=1171825926/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-0118341-4023131?ie=UTF8&s=music
Murlough23: Dustin Kensrue - Please Come Home (full album) http://www.myspace.com/dustinkensrue
Plvarona: Derek Webb - One Zero Acoustic (clips) http://www.thejesusunderground.com/p-WEB13.html
Bloop: James Iha - Let It Come Down (clips) http://www.amazon.com/Let-Come-Down-James-Iha/dp/B000000WFL/sr=1-1/qid=1171826074/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-0118341-4023131?ie=UTF8&s=music
NinjaRob17: Luna Halo - Shimmer (clips) http://www.amazon.com/Shimmer-Luna-Halo/dp/B00004R96B/sr=1-1/qid=1171826133/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-0118341-4023131?ie=UTF8&s=music

Round will end next Sunday at 10 PM Eastern time.

[murlough23]

Brenden: 3
Josh: 4
Plvarona: 3
Bloop: 3
NinjaRob17: 4

[Josh]

Brenden: 4
Murlough: 3
Phil: 3
Bloop: 3
Rob: 4

[bloop]

4 for all, except murlough, who I think will give it a 3.

[eatahouse]

Brenden: 4
Josh: 4
Murlough23: 3
Plvarona: 3
Bloop: 3
NinjaRob17: 4

[Brenden]

Josh: 4
Murlough23: 2
Plvarona: 3
Bloop: 3
NinjaRob17: 4

[plvarona]

Brenden: 4
Josh: 4
Murlough: 2
Bloop: 3
NinjaRob: 4

[RedcoatJones]

Brenden: 5
Josh: 4
Murlough: 4
Plvarona: 3
Bloop: 4
Ninjarob: 4

[ajyouthguy]

Brenden: 4
Josh: 4
Murlough23: 3
Plvarona: 3
Bloop: 3
NinjaRob17: 4

[NinjaRob17]

Brenden: 4
Josh: 4
Murlough23: 2
Plvarona: 3
Bloop: 4

[Brenden]

This round is over.

I'm a fan of Mark Kozelek most of the time. The problem is that he's an incosistent artist. For instance, a 14+ minute song in the middle of the cd that is a total momentum killer and boring at that. Or Salvador Sachez and Pancho Villa, which are the same song.

Overall, the cd isn't strong enough to warrent the rave reviews many have given it, but when it does hit, it really hits, despite about half the cd being weak. I have to go a C+, 3 stars.

[plvarona]

Most of you had me dead-on this round.

Album Reviewed One Zero (Acoustic) - Derek Webb

Pros: There are a few songs that manage to stand out here.  The bluesy-vibe of "Ballad in Plain Red" works very well, and I think the stripped-down version of "A King and a Kingdom" sounds much better than the studio version.  All of these songs are at least competently played.

Cons: This CD runs into much of the same problems that Jars of Clay's Furthermore did.  The songs aren't badly done, but in many instances, they are considerably inferior to the original versions.  It didn't help that a few songs that I expected Derek to hit out of the park, simply because they sound so good live (e.g. "Mockingbird", "Better Than Wine"), were seriously lacking in energy.  Derek's voice also sounds strained in a few places.  I also found the song selection to be a bit curious.  For one thing, three of the songs on this CD are also on The House Show, which is basically the same thing (just Derek and his guitar) except in a live setting.  Additionally, an acoustic version of "Medication" is available on iTunes, and the version on here doesn't sound much different.  Essentially, this means we only have 6 "new" versions of songs here.

The Bottom Line: I actually liked the idea for this project, because I think Derek's songs sound better when they're stripped down.  However, curious track selection, and quite a few tracks not being as good as they could be left this as a considerable disappointment.

Rating: I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be giving a Derek Webb album a "C", but that day has come.  3 stars.

On Deck For Next Week: The Balancing Act - Cool Hand Luke.  (Here's a link to some clips from the album: http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=cd18324&event=1002PRE%7C550364%7C1002)

[murlough23]

I can't believe that the same guy who acts as the intelligent, formidable, and extremely malleable frontman of Thrice is now trying to pretend he's Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen from back in the days when people could only afford to put 8 songs on a record. In 2007, Dustin, that's called an EP. And you should really know better than to fall on such basic chord progressions (even if the slight bluesiness was a nice touch) and stock "prodigal son" lyrics so often used by CCM stalwarts when you've already proven to us that you can expound upon Christian themes with so much more eolquence and uniqueness. 2 stars.

[bloop]

James Iha only gave us hints of what he would do if the Smashing Pumpkins were his band, but here, he's free to be himself.  It's an unassuming little record that demonstrates that the guy is the hopeless romantic to Corgan's guarded cynic, direct where his band is often elliptical, and musically stripped of artifice as compared to his band's wall-of-sound aesthetic.  It always feels sincere, and Iha's voice, while somewhat weak, matches the stripped-down nature of the music well.  I'll say it warrants a 7.0, or 4 stars.

Next up:  Word of Mouth, John Reuben

[Josh]

Man, I botched this round!

Sarah Shannon's album is perfectly pleasant, frequently catchy, sometimes brilliant pop. 4 stars.

[murlough23]

For the next round, I'll do Nina Gordon's Bleeding Heart Graffiti, which I suppose I could have done for this round if I had ever been a fan of Veruca Salt.

NP: "Imitosis", Andrew Bird

[Josh]

Oh yeah, next round-- Lucinda Williams, West.

[NinjaRob17]

Luna Halo was pretty decent, but not too much to grab my attention. I think I'll go with a low B, or 4 Stars.

Next up....The Shins - Wincing the Night Away.

[murlough23]

Wow, looks like I got 'em all right on the nose for a change... except for bloop. At least I was close. That hardly ever happens so consistently.

NP: "Yawny at the Apocalypse", Andrew Bird