Limited edition low price Japanese pressing features one bonus track, 'Grind My Bones'. A significant departure for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Howl finds the Los Angeles-based trio abandoning the cold, amped-up sound of ... more »Take Them On, On Your Own in favor of a more heartfelt, acoustic-oriented aesthetic. (It's noteworthy that frontman Robert Turner has gone back to his birth name, Robert Levon Been, and his father, Michael Been, of the 1980s band the Call, contributes piano to one track.) The album's artwork nods to classic '60s record sleeves, and it's no coincidence; the music here is stripped-down and folk-inflected, revealing a major change from the group's earlier reverb-heavy, Jesus & Mary Chain-influenced vibe. Elements of rural blues, soul, and even gospel work their way into these tunes, but the BRMC stills rocks--just in a more inspired and inventive way. Those who had written the band off after Take Them On will likely embrace Howl, which shows a promising act making bold steps to revitalize its career. 14 tracks in all. BMG. 2005.« less
Limited edition low price Japanese pressing features one bonus track, 'Grind My Bones'. A significant departure for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Howl finds the Los Angeles-based trio abandoning the cold, amped-up sound of Take Them On, On Your Own in favor of a more heartfelt, acoustic-oriented aesthetic. (It's noteworthy that frontman Robert Turner has gone back to his birth name, Robert Levon Been, and his father, Michael Been, of the 1980s band the Call, contributes piano to one track.) The album's artwork nods to classic '60s record sleeves, and it's no coincidence; the music here is stripped-down and folk-inflected, revealing a major change from the group's earlier reverb-heavy, Jesus & Mary Chain-influenced vibe. Elements of rural blues, soul, and even gospel work their way into these tunes, but the BRMC stills rocks--just in a more inspired and inventive way. Those who had written the band off after Take Them On will likely embrace Howl, which shows a promising act making bold steps to revitalize its career. 14 tracks in all. BMG. 2005.
CD Reviews
Don't buy this CD...
Bob Robesky | Fresno, CA USA | 10/24/2005
(1 out of 5 stars)
"1) if you want to transfer the songs to your iPod.
2) if you want to make mp3's.
3) if you want to listen to it on your pc.
The cd is copied protected, so you have no rights to it. You have to agree to a restrictive EULA before you are allowed to play it on a PC. You cannot copy the music to your iPod.
If you want this cd, which is very good by the way, purchase it from the iTunes store. Then you have the freedom to copy it to CD, and to copy it to your iPod.
As a side note: Amazon should add a warning label when any music cd is restricted."
Unplugged... and seated (on the back-porch in the deep South
Paul Allaer | Cincinnati | 09/03/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Wow... where to begin? I am a huge fan of the band's first 2 albums ("B.R.M.C." and "Take Them On, On Your Own"). I knew the buzz was that the new album would be different. I've had the new album since it came out about 2 weeks ago, and have been listening to it quite a bit.
"Howl" (14 tracks, 52 min.) is not just an evolution from the previous sound, but as radical a departure that I can ever recall from a single band. The best way to imagine what this album sounds like it is to picture the band sitting on the back-porch somewhere in the deep, deep South about 100 years ago, and strumming along to some songs, all acoustic if course. The influences of gospel, blues and even country are everywhere. That said, if you can accept that a band can make such a musical departure, you can then start to appreciate the album for what it is, and the inevitable conclusion then is that "Howl" is a terrific album. From the opening sounds of the opener "Shuffle Your Feet", with a gospel choir filling the air, "Holw" is a mood piece that begs repeated listening. "Ain't No Easy Way" (UK single) is a short blast of acoustic jamming, but most songs are pensive ("Fault Line", "Restless Sinner", "Gospel Song" are good examples). This album reminds me in spirit of the "O Brother Where Art Thou?" soundtrack and it's no surprise then that T-Bone Burnett contributed as well to "Howl".
In all, this is a very nice album. If, however, you are looking for more of the sound of the first two BRMC albums, save your money and DON'T buy this. As a separate thought, I am really curious how BRMC is going to take this album on the road. I guess they'll simply have 2 different sets altogether, one for the old stuff, and one for the "Howl" songs. Maybe they'll change outfits as well. It would be appropriate. "Howl" is highly recommended!"
WARNING - This CD Can Sabotage Your Computer!!!
David Lord | Clemons, Iowa United States | 11/05/2005
(1 out of 5 stars)
"This is not LEGALLY even a Compact Disc! The BBC reports (Nov 4, 2005) that Philips, who defines standards for CDs, is very clear that copy protected "music delivery systems do not count as Compact Discs and cannot use the CD logo." In 2002, Klaus Petri (Philips rep) told Financial Times Deutschland that "those are silver discs with music data that resemble CDs, but aren't".
Apparently this record label is a subsidiary of Sony because Tim Foreman, the bass player of Switchfoot, posted a work around for this disc's style of copy protection (also on Switchfoot's disc under duress) on the Sony music forum. Naturally Sony deleted it. Unfortunately, even with this workaround, the copy protection still gets installed on your computer.
DO NOT ALLOW YOUR COMPUTER TO AUTORUN WHEN YOU PLAY THIS DISC. Also, if you use a username that does not have administrator privileges on your computer the rootkit on the disc may not be able to be installed. But your best bet is NOT to use this disc (or ANY copyprotected SONY disc) on your computer.
This rootkit is the same type of software hackers illegally install on your computer for nefarious purposes and is illegal in some states and a number of nations. It will run on your computer using up CPU power even if the disc is not playing. There is no uninstall provided. You are not warned that it will be installed. (Maybe you are in newer releases, I hear the EULA for the software has been changed online just in the last week. But if your computer is never online you only have the old EULA to read.) It is poorly written code and incompatible with some software, causing freezeups and bluescreens. And if you try to remove it with a spyware tool your computer will all of a sudden not be able to 'find' your CD drive and it will be unusable. For the full story, check out http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html.
If you are online this rootkit connects you to connected.sonymusic.com and www.sonymusic.com and tells them an id number, apparently identifying the album. So Sony then knows your IP address and what disc you are listening to. This rootkit also hides any files beginning with $SYS$, so if a hacker wants to install software on your computer he can begin the files this way and Sony's software will hide them so you don't find them!
If you use Sony's zip "fix" it reveals the rootkit files, but the 3.4 megabyte "patch" actually updates the rootkit and reinfects your system!
According to one consumer, when he called Sony Tech Support at 212-833-7305 he was transferred to a "very rude" individual who said that he "wasn't even supposed to be talking to me". When the consumer said he "didn't appreciate this unauthorized and apparently illegal modification of my system", he said, "So sue us." So...
In California, if Sony damages your computer, please outline the damage (include the linked article) and file a complaint with the US Department of Justice (http://www.usdoj.gov/), and your state's attorney general (CA: http://caag.state.ca.us/). They are a little more on top of things than most states...
Too bad Sony wants to scare off the very people who are NOT stealing their music online!
SONY
System's Ours! Not Yours!
"
Still holds their sound nicely
MEWZIK | 08/24/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I knew when I heard the advance cd, people would be a bit upset regarding the departure of the previous two albums' anthems of addrenalin - I was taken back as well, but kinda pleased to see the expansion. I mean, BRMC are talented enough to not rely on the same formulas. To be honest, I shouldn't be rating this album so quickly, but for all the people that think it's sorta terrible, I needed to write a review to counter their motion. This band is great. They still have that Love & Rockets/Jesus & Mary Chain factor working for them - it is just something you will have to sit with instead of instantly saying - I love it...although track 5 is one of their best songs to date.
EXTENDED REVIEW:
Howl is an excellent album that partitions their catalog in two. The best generic description I can come with is Johnny Cash vs. Love & Rockets. The lyrics are brilliant, regarding love, religion and self as the focal points. The music, not a total departure from the previous two, but stripped down to more of an acoustic kickback to contemporary artists like later Dylan. I don't think BRMC was going for any particular sound, nor gave a care about keeping a fan who loved the last two albums. This was about keeping it real in a round about way - and what they are into, NOT what the fans expected them to do, which I totally respect. I don't mind people saying this record is not what they are into, but to say it is terrible means you have no clue to what music is. No offense, but I guess take some."
DANGER - INSTALLS UNAUTHORIZED SOFTWARE
T. Mitchell | 12/20/2005
(1 out of 5 stars)
"If you run Windows XP, do not insert this (or any Sony BMG) CD in your computer. Without prompting for permission, it will install a cloaked 'Root Kit' on your hard drive that can interfere with the proper operation of your computer and leave it vulnerable to hacking and virus attacks. This software is very hard to remove too. This just happened to me. My firewall did not stop it and it destroyed my anti-virus program and several of my system tray applications. VERY BAD STUFF. YOU ARE WARNED. You can search "Sony BMG Rootkit" on one of the big search engines for more information.
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1