Search - Agents of Good Roots :: Needle & Thread

Two by Two

Greg Young | Alexandria, VA United States | 12/16/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've always thought that Agents of Good Roots was the best musical thing to come out of Virginia (yes, including the Dave Matthews Band). The combination of unique musical styles and raw talent with stage-sizzling live performances is like nothing I've ever seen or heard anywhere. No studio album could ever fully capture the magic that this band was capable of creating. But Needle & Thread comes the closest and, as such, is the very best of their recordings."

Agents of Good Grooves!

blair_cham | Charlotte, NC USA | 03/28/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having seen this band live several times I can honestly say they have more musical talent than 75% of the bands that make all of the money in the music world. I have most of AGR's albums that I decided I had to have after seeing them live for the first time. Andrew Winn's raspy vocals are a perfect blend with this jazz-rock-blues concoction. Along with his innovative riffs and swift piano rock style are JC Kuhl's 'cool' sax, Stewart Myers bass and smoother vocals and Brian Jones drums and sloppy grunge style vocals. Jones and Myers are a very strong backbone to the foursome and they give great freedom to Winn and Kuhl to invent funky jams and take their songs to new levels everytime they play them. This group from Richmond are often compared to Dave Matthews Band because they are from the same area of Virginia, might've had the same label early on and have played shows together way back when. I think they are both great, but AGR has more of a grasp on combining the local sound for the southeast and powerful jazz-rock. Buy this CD! It's great for driving and getting pumped up. And definately try to catch them live if you can."

Their best studio release

Guinevere | 02/26/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After breaking away from Redlight (Dave Matthews Band's managing co.) and a temporary delay, AGR released this album, their last, in 2000. I agree w/reviewer and longtime AGR fan, Greg Young, that this represents their best work in the studio. "Shotdown," written by classically trained guitarist, Andrew Winn, represents some of their finest lyrics ever. "The Blinds," one of my many favorites by them and written by bassist and vocalist, Stewart Myers, evokes an almost heart wrenching sympathy and flows smoothly and beautifully. (There was once a rumor that Myers wrote this song about Kurt Cobain, and it took much goading to get him to finally play it at shows). "Beautiful Genius" showcases drummer and vocalist, Brian Jones's, typically ambiguous yet intriguing lyrical style, while JC Kuhl's sax playing adds an incendiary component to each song. They're also one of the few groups i know of in which all the band members (though mainly 3 - JC only sung lead for one song as far as I know) took turns as lead vocalist w/in various songs and pulled it off w/panache. In response to Todd Wacthel's review, I'm not sure any album that is given a rating of 5 stars should be qualified as "life-changing," and there is no such claim with this one (and incidentally, there are NO obvious musical similarities between this band and DMB). It is simply a great, extremely unique album. There are lots of bands out there whose music sounds like someone else's, but AGR had always been one of those whose sound was virtually uncategorizable and singular. It's sad to know that so much of their expansive repertoire has never been released, but at least they couldn't have left their mark on the music scene w/a much better album than this one.Regarding their lyrics, I think that while many of AGR's songs where very good, they rarely, if ever, wrote from a truly personal or emotional perspective. Winn seemed to at times, but this perspective, when direct, usually came off as shallow, juvenile, and uninteresting (w/the exception of his some of his solo work), and when Jones or Myers seemed to do so, their lyrical topic was so vague that few, if anyone, could ostensibly recognize or relate to it. It was as if they had potential for revealing feelings and experiences that were universal (as I think everyone has) but never chose to delve into them or to really bare their soul, so to speak - not that individuality is bad. Overall, their perspectives tended to be objective, with a focus on the impersonal or on a sometimes obscure subject outside of themselves, and many of their lyrics lacked a kind of universal experience w/which anyone could connect. Many times if an artist writes from a more personal experience, I think that feeling is captured w/in the message of the lyrics and average listeners (average being those that are musically untrained), either consciously or subconsciously, pick up on this and make it their own. In a sense, they internalize it; they relate to it, and this can make them appreciate the music more. While ambiguity and objectivity are not in and of themselves negative traits, I would venture that it is one of the reasons this band never became more well known or had a relatively large fan base beyond their immediate locale. Their songs weren't "catchy" or "poppy" enough (again, many consider this to be a good thing.) I think that some musicians believe that if the general population can relate to the lyrical message of their music, if there is one, then they've dumbed it down and these musicians try to avoid doing this; maybe they feel that if they're too direct or if the masses can openly relate to the lyrics, they must be too generic. I think a lot of musicians want to maintain a level of mystery and esotericism in an attempt to be sophisiticated and cool, and I think AGR wanted to portray themselves this way as well. I'm sure there are many AGR fans who would disagree w/me on this, but it's what I've observed. In fact, there's a quote from Beck that sums up some of what I'm trying to say: "The weight of importance on a stage can be oppressive to performer as well as audience. We're all there to essentially take part in a ritual of music and response/reaction. The truth can only be told by the veracity or genuineness of our intention. If an action or word disrupts the structure then I'll use it. I'm not usually worried about cheapening the aesthetic or lessening the respectability of what I do. I know some artists are afraid of being laughed at or not taken serious." So part of my point is that maybe just some of the time, AGR took themselves a little too seriously (though I think they definitely lightened up towards the end). Still, their shows and their music were lots of fun to experience."