Search - Melvins :: Joe Preston

Odd can be good

04/11/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"OK...this is NOT a conventional rock album...by any means.As a matter of fact this album merits some concentration on the part of the listener to fully "get" this one.Truthfully,it may be kind of hard the first couple of times to even listen to it.But once you find the right mood and open your ears and mind,i think you'll find this one of the most interesting eps you'll ever hear.I also think it merits mention that this is easily the most inaccessible of the three Melvins solo albums.Now onto the song by song:
The Eagle Has Landed-Not much in the way of a song.More of an ambient peice.It sets the mood of being on the beach perhaps,with kids playing in the background and "elevator" type music in the forefront.Suprisingly catchy but not much to it. 3/5Bricklebrit-Here you go.The whole reason to get this cd.Very heavy and ominous.Perhaps the most melvins sounding song on here.If this were the only song on the cd it would still be worth buying. 5/5Hands First Flower-OK...heres where the concentration comes in.This song is about 22 minutes long and doesent really change much through the song.Basically it comes off as endless droning with very little change in it anywhere.As a musical peice it is'nt much,however,i do think its interesting that someone could sit through this 22 minutes waiting for something to happen....like major key change...explosive guitar riffs.....seizures...ANYTHING.All only to find that it never comes....somehow i find that funny.But again I must say its not much of a song. 2/5
So there you go.In a nutshell i think its an interesting album and worth it for Bricklebrit alone.But definately buy this with the other three to get the full picture of the bands flexibility."

This EP is too Sick

D. Miller | Grand Rapids, MI | 08/13/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've always been so torn when choosing a favorite out of the classic Melvins solo EP's. By a long shot it's most likely always gonna be Crover's. But then Buzzo's had the mind blowing song 'Annum', which almost outdoes the entire set. But recently I've had some time to relisten to the one I passed over. Which was one of the many from the Melvin's fallen bassist catalogue; Joe Preston. Many early fans claim he was their very best. (I still say Rutmanis slaughters all, but thats another argument).



When i first heard it I was a bit turned off, just by the first track alone. We all hate that screaming child in the grocery store's voice fouled over that mind numbing muzak track that's playing above it. And Preston Utilizes it in his solo album! Actually it's a very inventive opener now that I think about it. Then with the killer horror movie death metal groove of 'Bricklebrit' equipped with some samples from Apocalypse Now and some of Preston's sickest Basslines. And the 23 minute 'Hands First Flower' a doom ridden plodding movement of one H E A V Y riff and it grows heavier and sprawls through some of the most evil atmospherics. It's kind of like waking up in an abandoned factory and not remembering a thing.



That's when I really started to admire this album. Preston used the EP to his advantage to throw those early Melvins fans off or on to his unique sense of doom crunch riffing and sweet atmospheric ambience (bass and guitar). And if you notice today there are countless amounts of bands using film samples in their music. Wasn't to much of it going on in 1992



Alreayd apparent it's the most diverse of the Three Ep's. It's kind of becoming my favorite but when i'm ripped and hear Crover's i'll always chnage my mind.



All of the Melvin's albums are amazing, and this one is no exception. Just because theirs no Buzz and Dale Chemistry aboard doesn't make it a bad listen. Preston was a Melvin once too. And besides it's 500x better than anything KISS has released.



(Sorry, I really hate them. Melvin's OWNED 'Going Blind'. That's their song now.)"