Wallflowers - Rebel Sweetheart
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Free Music Notes for Rebel Sweetheart
Free Music Review: Rebel, Sweetheart: Classic rock for troubled times
Hit: 5 Stars
The Wallflowers return with their 5th, and strongest, album. Each of the 12 songs are engaging, thought-provoking, melodic, and layered. Producer Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen), brings his signature techniques to the album, layering the songs with various guitars, keys, and vocals. The textured sounds give the songs depth-each time you listen, you hear something new. Every song is written by Jakob Dylan, whose songwriting talents are in top form. The themes in the songs reflect the title of the album: a tension between fighting who & where you are vs. finding contentment in being that person in that place. Dylan paints a lot of situations where a fight is warranted. In "Here He Comes (Confessions of a Drunken Marionette)" an exploited puppet realizes there might be a way out, "They sing Auld Lang Syne/I've got mutiny on my mind." A song with a unique and catchy sound, "I Am A Building," portrays a character who is defeated, closed, & abandoned. But then sees things differently: "Things are looking clear now/My eyes are wide enough to see the way a sniper does." Or, in "Back to California," there's a promise of hope by returning to the way things were. Finally, in "From The Bottom of My Heart," a beautiful ballad with minimal instrumentation accompanying Dylan's honest vocals, we learn the lesson of the perseverance of "an army of one/Marching back up the steps/Into the rays of the sun." There are many ways to rebel. And then sometimes, it's best to accept. A stand out track, "We're Already There," is just one song that explores this side of acceptance. The most emotive song on the album, "God Says Nothing Back" rings of despair with the realization that neither God, time, love, nor death say anything back. The lesson is in the title of the song "How Far You've Come," with a message about altering our perspective instead of the world around us. And finally, "Nearly Beloved," a contradictory song: upbeat in tempo but full of struggle and acceptance suggests, "if we could do better I know that we would/Maybe admit it now/we're not that good."
While some may fight everything and err on the side of being always the rebel, others may resign themselves to accepting "whatever comes my way," this compilation of songs reminds us that it's more complex than that. Instead, there's a delicate and beautiful balance between resistance and acceptance. The beauty is in finding happiness in both roles ... perhaps when one both resists and accepts, they also find "The Beautiful Side of Somewhere." When a bunch of rock'n'roll songs, with catchy lines and foot-tapping melodies can teach us life lessons that profound, that is good music. The Wallflowers' Rebel, Sweetheart is superb music.
Free Music Review: Probably The Wallflowers' Best Album Yet
Hit: 5 Stars
Being quite familiar with The Wallflowers' previous albums, I looked forward to "Rebel, Sweetheart" with much pleasurable expectation. This collection of songs is astonishing! Each song and soundscape paints a lyrical picture in the form of The Wallflowers' best work. Jakob Dylan has produced lyrics encompassing all the richness of experience; some common observations are made especially profound, as in "God Says Nothing Back" where Dylan expresses a sense of assured wonder in his views on God, time, love and death. Each song on this album is especially unique in that sense, and beyond those common ideas, the songs address the deeper themes of loneliness, yearning, human fallibility, and ultimately the power of persistence. We are sometimes redeemed by the narrator through the lyrics, though that happens especially often through the music. Notice how you might think "Hey, sounds like he means something different than how the music makes me feel about what I just heard..." An astonishing lyricist and band has given us so much! On "Rebel, Sweetheart" The Wallflowers take their influences and make something of their own better than so many other bands.
Consider the final song, as "all things [become] new again", those new things are much like they were before. Only now, it's most important that we learn how to make the best of what's there through some hint of positive thinking. This positive light, you may notice in the song "From the Bottom of My Heart," is often hard to come by within the individual, though hopefully "we" could become a better group of individuals with a more positive inward light that translates into a better outlook on things.
What is truly great about this collection, to an even greater degree than The Wallflowers' previous albums, is that each new listen allows you to explore ways of interpreting the lyrics while tapping your foot and moving to the music--a wonderfully seamless flow of great songs, filled with new possibility! Read the lyrics sometime while listening to the album; try different things. And "Rebel, Sweetheart" ought to sound amazing in 5.1 Surround--another rewarding experience for listeners with those capabilities, and probably the next best thing to experiencing The Wallflowers in concert. Yes! Buy this album!
Free Music Review: Completely underrated
Hit: 5 Stars
Whenever I hear the wallflowers, I have to think, why isn't this band huge? They had a taste of big name success with their 1996 hit "One Headlight" but after a stream of less succesful singles and a four year gap in between the 1996 release of "Bringing Down The Horse" and 2000's "Breach", it seemed everyone thought the wallflowers had fallen off the earth.
Well they haven't and their right here in 2005 with "Rebel, Sweetheart" the follow up to 2002's "Red Letter Days". The wallflowers are still in their form, creating irresistible snippets of alt rock glory. They haven't changed much over the years and still have a sound much like they did when they released their break through. From the undeniably great opener "Day's Of Wonder", through a string of ballads including the lead single "Beautiful Side of Somewhere", all the way to the closer "All Things New Again", frontman Jakob Dylan never once faulters, or fails to deliver his signature vocals and songwriting, which are some of the best in music.
"How far you've come" and "God says nothing back" are gorgeous ballads, while "Back To California" almost has a punk rock tinge to it. "Here he comes" is one of the most interesting rock songs i've heard in a long time, while "Days of wonder" and "Beautiful side of somewhere" are incredible five star tracks that reward countless re-listens. Every song has its own sound, they don't sound exactly the same which is a nice thing to see in todays music.
The Wallflowers are one of the dozens of bands I fell in love with in the 90's and never forgot, but in todays music, they're just one of many bands who aren't getting what they deserve. With bands like coldplay holding at the top of every sales chart for a month, and a ton of faceless rap/hip hop artists who somehow become popular, almost all the music released today is overshadowed, even if its ten times better than the stuff that goes 5 times platinum. The wallflowers, over ten years have released five albums, 60 some songs that never fail to satisfy, and I'd say that's a pretty good reason to buy this.
"Rebel, Sweetheart" is one of the best albums of 2005, and recieves my highest recommendations, and the wallflowers deliver a near masterpiece in a time when their are way too few of them.
Free Music Review: Solid but will be under-rated!
Hit: 5 Stars
Jakob Dylan has a great vocal range and I definitely especially in the track "We're Already There" feel that he believes in what he is singing about. It is my favorite track on The Wallflowers new offering "Rebel Sweetheart". This should be their next single. To me this after the great "Bringing Down The Horse" feels like their real great follow up album, whilst the others were good, they lacked in sincerity and passion.
As other reviews I will not point out the obvious but rather that Dylan sounds a lot more influenced by the legendary Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band, just take a listen to the wonderful "The passenger." On this new offering the catchy pop rock hooks does find Dylan & crew following and borrowing in steps of the Boss.
Rebel Sweetheart is full of great songs but the way the Radio Stations work is that they will only play what is cool - The sad Marketing ploy of higher execs which contradicts what music should about. But that is a whole different story.
While "The Beautiful Side of Somewhere" is their first single, it's a great song don't get me wrong but it's the wrong choice for a 1st single when there are other outstanding offerings on the album. Another great thing on the album is the employment of producer Brendan O'Brien (he manages to bring out the best in most artists that he works for without having to compromise what they are about). This is evident in the fact that the Wallflowers have never pretended to be something they are not and do not change over to play what is hip at present and rather continue at what they are good at doing.
The saddest part of the story is this will probably go un-noticed which is a big shame as it's a SOLID album and right up to par with "Bringing Down The Horse." It can even be argued that it is better.
Well done to Dylan & the Crew for putting out a very enjoyable new offering. I'm singing along to #5: "whistle baby, while we walk, now don't say anything, do not talk, the journey is over, it is time to exhale, wherever we're going, we're already there."
Free Music Review: Excellent, Excellent, Excellent
Hit: 5 Stars
Jakob Dylan, no matter how often they may compare him to his rock-legend father Bob, is a very talented rock star in his own right. He is an exceptional rock vocalist, guitarist, and I think most of all, an excellent songwriter. You can not deny him those things because he is one of the BEST songwriters (not just chord progressions, but actual songwriters) out there.
REBEL, SWEETHEART is an excellent album. While the fuss now is over many of the sub-genres of rock and roll resurging with groups like The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, and The Bravery, I think that is important to always remember a group like The Wallflowers. What makes this particular album stronger and more enjoyable than says FRANZ FERDINAND or HOT FUSS is the songwriting. It is so focused and so unique. True, it probably isn't correct to compare a straight ahead rock album to new wave or indie-rock, but songwriting wise, compared to Flowers or Kapranos, Dylan is on a "higher level" so to speak.
One of the positive things about this kind of music, rock, American rock, is that there is a true emphasis on making every word have wait. If you listen to U2's HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB, you also see there is an emphasis and weight on every lyric song because it is so pure. That is the case with THE WALLFLOWERS. Dylan has crafted a masterpiece of which no one can deny. The musicianship of which he articulates is phenomenal. It takes only one listen to fall in love with this great recording that should DEFINITELY be a Grammy Nominee in 2006.
It is hard to pick top picks because this album is so well written, but "Days of Wonder" and "The Beautiful Side of Somewhere" are my two personal favorites. I Love this album and I highly recommend it. 4 1/2 stars!