Search - Big Metal Rooster :: Big Metal Rooster

Seventy-four minutes, and still wanting more

geiiga@rightwaynews.com | Bel Air, Maryland, US | 02/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The debut album of the most talented band to come out of Kansas since Kerry Livgren's friends certainly does not disappoint. If forced to put a genre on this album, I'd call it 'jam,' but it's more than that. It starts on jazz, and meets classic rock and bluegrass on an album that plays like a winding road.One of the biggest strengths this album has is that it's versatile. It works either blasted from a car stereo or as ambient music.The first thing you'll notice when you put this CD in (other than the intro--just an example of the band not taking itself too seriously) is the upbeat tone of the music. With rock music imploding on itself using teenage angst as its primary source of inspiration, BMR's catchy guitar riffs and pleasingly different spin will have you hooked.The second thing is the length of the songs. The disc is over seventy-three minutes, with only six tracks. The first three (Sunlit Mirror, Sweet Surroundings, and River Dog) are played as one thirty-four minute song. It's really the second half of the CD that shines, though. Trapeze, a twenty minute epic song, features some of the best bass lines you're likely to see, and the guitar work on it is second to none. That's followed by The Adventures of Herman the Frog, a bluegrassy homage to children's stories. Stella wraps up the whole package with drummer Matt Miner on vocals.It's a live studio album, which basically means it was recorded in one take--given that that only 74 minutes fit on a studio-recorded CD, the length of this was like pumping $20 of gas with your eyes closed. Listening to this, you get a good feel for how the live show sounds, and anyone who doesn't pick it up is missing out on what we can hope is the future of rock music."