311 - Transistor
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Free Music Notes for Transistor
Free Music Review: My all time favorite 311
Hit: 5 Stars
Man I wish they made more albums like this one! 311's fourth studio album Tranistor is the "let's get experimental" record that any well rounded band will take a crack at during sometime in their career. The result here is a whopping 21 track offering that covers everything from ambience, to dub, to the rap rock the band is renowned for. Transistor is just one of those albums where almost every single track is good, in fact the goodness is so consistent it's hard to pick out standout tracks!Amazingly the critics dubbed this a career low for 311, and maybe as a follow up to the commercial smash hit blue album, it was. Statistically the singles from Transistor didn't fare as well as Down or All Mixed Up. However the 311 fans know best, and most will name Transistor as well as the previous 3 albums the best of 311.
I feel that 311 is one of the few bands whose albums are good enough require a song by song breakdown, so here we go.
Transistor-Title track and single. Heavy palm muted riffing culminating in a trippy end, classic song. 9/10
Prisoner-2nd single. Great reggae flavored tune, it's hard not to picture an island listening to this tune, very good. 9/10
Galaxy- Typical 311 rap rock and a very good one at that. 9/10
Beautiful Disaster-Lead single and a live staple. Light reggae riffing with some nice guitar harmonies and bass grooves, classic. 10/10
Inner Light Spectrum-Here's where we get experimental. Super trippy ambient tune, SA vocals only. I like this one a lot 9/10
Electricity-Anti-hate tune. Originally called "F*** the KKK", but Nick decided that would be "giving in to the instigators" as the song states. 8/10
What was I thinking?-Live staple mostly due to P-Nut's slap bass intro. Very simplisitic and effective tune 10/10
Jupiter-Rather bland tune, pretty standard riffage. Rarely turns up live if ever. 5/10
Use of Time-Trippy acoustic flavored tune. One of my favorite 311 songs ever, it sounds absolutely heavenly. Complete relaxation and groove, well worth buying the album alone. 10/10
The Continuous Life-SA rap over some very trippy guitar stylings. Riffing gets a little bland, but the lyrics are quite good here, underrated song overall. 8/10
No Control-Heavier kind of tune, lyrics get a little cheesy. Still a solid song nonetheless 8/10
Running-Time signatures get a little crazy on this one as do the guitar effects. Overall relaxing vibe 8/10
Color-Instrumental tune! Very short but the dark vibe is pretty effective. 9/10
Creature Feature-Dark reggae kind of tune, rarely turns up live but it's quite good. 9/10
Creature Feature-Fretless bass is showcased here, this song is not really like any other song they've ever done, worth a listen. 8/10
Tune in-More traditional kind of 311 song, nothing special. 6/10
Rub-a-Dub-Bubbly reggae/dub tune. Stands out quite well, one of the more memorable tracks. 10/10
Starshines-This is where the album starts to lag a bit, nothing too special. 7/10
Strangers-Little tune about strangers sharing a groove, nothing too great/ 7/10
Borders-Song about breaking down borders, it's okay. 7/10
Stealing Happy Hours-Amazing tune! One of the band's best, super chill jazzy flavored tune. Fantastic 10/10
All in all I feel this is 311's most underappreciated album, and I recommend it to fans new and old! Enjoy!
Free Music Review: Exhaustive Work, 311 Through and Through
Hit: 5 Stars
With their 4th studio release the boys from North Hollywood really leave a mark on their legacy by stringing out 21 tracks on a whirlwind tour of an album. The disc is solid throughout and there are your rockers (Beautiful Disaster, Borders, Jupiter) to go along with the mellow grooves of Stealing Happy Hours, Inner Light Spectrum, and Running and the melodic voyages of Prisoner, Use of Time, and the title track. 311 always has a few existential bones to pick and the messages of songs like Prisoner ("I'm floating in the dark alone and/Is there any love out here let me know"), No Control ("A rich rock star you are/And yet you still complain/That's insane"), and The Continuous Life ("It's not ambiguous/It be continuous/It's all about us/It's for real my man") one by one tackle the issues of being an individual in today's multi-tiered, corporate society.
Probably the most diverse and expansive of 311's albums, and a good place to start...you'll find that although their other works me be a little more exclusive-sounding they're still solid all the way throughout and 311 stands above as a group that consistently finds ways to rock while being musically fresh and adventurous.
Free Music Review: You're a transistor, lightning resistor, conducting to the Mother Star
Hit: 5 Stars
THE TRILOGY OF DEBUT ALBUMS, 1993-1996
Music (1993)
Debut Trilogy Part 1: An original, energetic, raw, explosive fusion of rock, hip hop, funk, reggae and rap. About two-thirds of the songs are re-worked versions of the band's best songs from the Omaha years. The other third are butt-kicking new songs made just for this release. This album says, "This is what we can do."
Grassroots (1994)
Debut Trilogy Part 2: An exploration of their roots, a musical journey of growing up from the ground up. This album says, "This is where we came from."
311, "self-titled" or "the blue album" (1995)
Debut Trilogy Part 3: A crisp, tight, bold, definitive, well-oiled machine. This album says, "This is what we are."
THE TRANSITION YEARS, 1997-2001
Transistor (1997)
4th Studio LP: The next phase in 311's evolution begins with this ambitious and psychedelic exploration of their unique style. This is their longest album, and it shows a substantial decrease in the rap/sing ratio. Transistor is my 4th favorite release (or 2nd fave if you count the first three LPs as one).
311 Live (1998)
A complilation of live versions of songs from the 1993-97 releases. BTW, if you only get into 311's first four studio albums and you enjoy listening to music that was recorded live in concert, then you will probably like this CD. However, I recommend the 311 Day DVD (2004) instead.
...
Enlarged to Show Detail #2 (2001)
A "behind the scenes" DVD Epilogue to the Transition Years containing interviews, music videos, concert footage, etc. - with a bonus EP of outtakes from 1999 and 2001. I actually like this well-produced DVD better than the original ETSD (96).
Free Music Review: Enter Space...
Hit: 5 Stars
This is where 311 was here to stay, and to make music for themselves and their loyal fans. Those who jumped on the bandwagon when 311 released 311 were knocked straight off. 311 left the close minded people in the dust. And for those who were introduced to 311 with 311 and know that artists progress, were in bliss.
This album flows like a cloud. It explores. All these songs have an aura of space, the mind, the sky, even the ocean (at least on Rub A Dub). Wherever you want, it takes you. This is one of the reasons why I am a total 311 fanatic. Soundsystem, Grassroots, they had some flavor, but the moods, auras, whatever you call ambiance, conjuring, whatever, it can't be broken down as easily. Case in point. Galaxy seems like somebody stuck in space, and it ain't pretty. Stealing Happy Hours, it seems like somebody is the exact opposite. But it is as earthy as it is spacey. Much of a Hawaii vibe as a summer day in the neighborhood. It's stuff like this that makes Transistor such a joy. Listen and cherish it. Little detail emerge as well. Once put into context and all, you won't want to stop listening.
Simply put, all 311 fans need this album. Oh, and 311 kill the shins (see comment box for one of the reviews of their new album).
10/10
Free Music Review: Renegade Soundsystem 311
Hit: 4 Stars
First of all, to the guy who recited the chorus of "beautiful disaster" and submitted it as a review-pretty chill, man, u should write it down in your journal. The link says "write an online review." Stick to that.
Okay to the review. This album would get 5 stars, no question, just like the self-titled and "from chaos." I really would. It's just that there are a total of 21 songs on just one disc, clocking at 67:59. And that's not including the bonus tracks (there's actually a bonus track before the first track, pretty chill!) I really haven't found a bad song on this cd, but I just haven't gotten a chance to focus on everything here. I just don't have that time. I love the fact that they are doing something different. I love "Beautiful Disaster," as well as "Use Of Time," "Electricity," and many others but I can't think of what they are because the cd is so damn long! Maybe as I listen to it more, I can honestly move it up to a 5-star album. Actually, I'm kinda rootin' for that. It's okay though, because I would still recomend this to someone who likes other works by 311, but don't start out with this one. Save it as an afterthought. In school, you can't take Algebra II before you have taken Algebra I. Same rule applies here.