Jump to content

  • Sign up for free and receive a month's subscription

    You are viewing this page as a guest. That means you are either a member who has not logged in, or you have not yet registered with us. Signing up for an account only takes a minute and it means you will no longer see this annoying box! It will also allow you to get involved with our friendly(ish!) community and take part in the discussions on our forums. And because we're feeling generous, if you sign up for a free account we will give you a month's free trial access to our subscriber only content with no obligation to commit. Register an account and then send a private message to @dave u and he'll hook you up with a subscription.

GF music review club

Carvalho Diablo

By Carvalho Diablo,
in GF - General Forum

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 2.3k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

Skidfingers McGonical
Skidfingers McGonical

I have been torn between 3 albums to choose for this go. Songs For A Tailor by Jack Bruce, Scott 4 by Scott Walker and Forever Changes by Love.    My Album Of The Week is Scott 4 by Scott Wa

Carvalho Diablo
Carvalho Diablo

Happy New Year everybody, 2019 here we go.   Review : Raw Power by Iggy Pop and The Stooges   Never been a huge fan of The Stooges tbh, although the one time I did see them live I

ZonkoVille77
ZonkoVille77

I had the Fela Kuti album on yesterday when I was cooking dinner and after some time I noticed my 4 year old daughter and her friend were dancing along happily to it. Not sure about you lot but I thin

Posted Images

Jose Jones Grand Master

Jose Jones

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, Carvalho Diablo said:

I think I'm up next to pick? Is that right? If so then just say the word.

 

If not, I'll get my coat.

On 28/07/2021 at 04:38, Shooter in the Motor said:

@Skidfingers McGonical

@ZonkoVille77

@TheHowieLama 

@Jose Jones 

--->@Carvalho Diablo 

@Shooter in the Motor

 

It is you CD.

Does @Boss want to hop into the Zonko spot?

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Carvalho Diablo Grand Master

Carvalho Diablo

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Ok, new album time and before I talk myself out of choosing this one at the last minute (as I have several times before) here it is...Weight by Rollins Band

 

Unfortunately this isn't available in Spotify (although it is supposedly on Spotify in the US), so here are the 12 album tracks in order on YouTube.

 

 

Screenshot_20220218-151446.png

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Boss Grand Master

Boss

Posted
Posted

Disconnect - I'm instantly familiar with this first track because it's my favourite Henry Rollins song, although I haven't delved too much into his back catalogue. It starts with the line, "Don't like to think too much. It makes me think too much, it keeps my mind on my mind". The message is about disconnecting yourself from the things that overload us. He could be talking about the media here and its fear cycle, but I think it's more simple than that. More a case of living in the present moment.

 

Like with most Rollins songs, there's an ominous threat of him just going nuts. I can imagine him grabbing a McDonald's drive-through worker by the head and ripping out their spine in the middle of a misanthropic rage as he delivers this acerbic societal putdown. There are elements of Cypress Hill influence on this track, especially the guitar part in the verses. 9/10

 

Fool - The guitar starts with an 80's hair-metal inspired riff. In the chorus, he sings, "I am a fool when I need you, I'm a fool to believe, my heart is so wide open I'm so easy to deceive". And I thought to myself, I know that. Where have I heard that before? Anyway, it was "Such a Fool" by the 22-20's "You're a fool to play things cool when you've got everything to lose". The 22-20's took this Rollins segment and basically ripped it off. This is great stuff. He's really in his element here. 9/10

 

Icon - The thing about the album is everyone is so tightly in sync with each other that there's really nothing the drummer, guitarist, and Rollins can do to break that state. Rollins can adlib call and response lines, and they just work in the context of the song. There are some Suicidal Tendency style whammy guitar parts in this track where the guitar sounds like a horse screaming. 8/10

 

Civilised - "You're so civilised, you'll get brutalised". This is a track about people that aspire to be gangsters because of gangster rap songs on TV. There's a bit where he says, "I'd like to see you when you're not hiding behind the gun". The implication is you aren't shit without your gun. There's nothing cool about having no respect for life or the sanctity of your own freedom in Rollin's eyes, and I have to agree with him on that. "You gotta have a gun. You're just another pig to me". 8/10

 

Divine Object of Hate - He's at the peak of his powers here. The whole album is strong up to this point. It starts with him being brutally attacked by a mob. It's a social commentary on the idea of mob justice and a damning indictment on the human condition. I think he may have been inspired to write this by a poem called "The genius of the Crowd" by Charles Bukowski. Rollins seems like the type of fella to appreciate Burkowski. He talks in that poem about there being genius in a crowd's collective hatred. That their hatred can kill any man, he even says, "And then they will hate you, and their hatred will be perfect". Rollins references reaching divinity through the violence committed against him in the track. 9/10

 

Liar - This track is very different to the others. This and Disconnect are the only two tracks I've heard before. He's trying to present himself as the perfect man in this to win over a girl. Only he's not interested in winning her over for love, or even sex, only the power game of controlling and manipulating her. 9/10

 

Step Back - Rollins is in full Falling Down mode here. I get the impression Rollins's would like to batter about 90% of the population of the world to within an inch of their lives. He probably has to sedate himself with heavy medication to live somewhat normally. 8/10

 

Wrong Man - In this track, Rollins bemoans feminism and the idea that all men are the same. "Someone once hurt you, and I'm one of them, so I take all the blame". He's also saying if people hate him and his music, they shouldn't judge all men because of him, so it works both ways. He also contests that just because he projects himself as an angry guy, it doesn't mean he wants to commit violence against women. I think it's well established Rollins desire to commit violence transcends all gender, racial, religious and class boundaries. The ending of this track is fantastic; he really goes off vocally. 8.5/10

 

Volume 4 - This song stands on its own and, in the context of a normal record, would be a good track, but it feels a bit redundant here because of the quality of the album so far. No new themes are explored in this one. Although he does utter a great line: "Save your breath cause it's no use, you're talking to the living dead." It sounds like he's standing on a mountain screaming at the top of his lungs here. Possibly his most intense vocal performance on the record. 7.5/10

 

Tired - This is more in fitting with Liar (only without the explosive chorus). It takes the album down a level at the right time. Although intensity wise it's probably more intense because he's seriously contemplating murdering someone here. This is the weakest song on the record; although narrative-wise, it serves a pretty clear purpose. 6.5/10

 

Alien Blueprint - This picks the pace up again. Although it isn't as strong as the earlier tracks. 6.5/10

 

Shine - This track is about not paying attention to what people say about you and persevering regardless. The people that talk the most shit about you are the ones that do nothing with their own lives. It's a valuable lesson about avoiding self-doubt. He tries to convey that life is short and you must use your time wisely "If you think you've got a hundred years to mess around, you're wrong. This time is real. Your time is now". There are some other great lines in this track, most notably: "I got grace in times of friction, I got truth in times of fiction. I've got no time for the hype. Suicide? I'm not the type". Fantastic. Thanks, Henry, for the little Tedtalk there. 9/10

 

Henry Rollins - Weight - 8.2

Special mention to Shine, Fool and Divine Object of Hate, which will most certainly find their way onto a playlist of mine. One of the best records I've heard in the Review Club so far.

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jose Jones Grand Master

Jose Jones

Posted
Posted

Rollins Band - Weight

 

Pretty sure I’ve never listened to a Rollins Band album before, so was quite interested in this one.

Unfortunately I didn’t really like it. It started off OK, and Fool up at number 2 was definitely my favourite track, but by the end I just wanted it to finish.

 

Even though “Tired” is not very good, at least it provided a bit of a break, cos all the other tracks I found got very samey. The sort of heavy American rock that I’ve never really dug - chugging along with the occasional base line or guitar noodle, with nothing in the way of a melody.

 

Henry himself doesn’t help in the way of tunes with the vocals, because it’s just either intense shouting (90% of the time) or a bit of quiet talking. His voice does sound exactly how he looks though, probably more than anyone else in the whole history of music, so kudos to him for that.

 

So while I approve of Henry Rollins in general, this is not my cup of tea.

 

Maybe 5/10

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...