Great Weird Pop
Frank Bock | 11/29/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album is great, quirky pop from Shudder To Think. These guys have always managed to sound fresh and original with every release and never formulaic. Get Your Goat is probably my favorite. Starting with Love Catastrophe, shining in all its weird glory, the lyrics are twisted and blown with Craig Wedren's operetic voice. And right up after, Shake Your Halo down is just another treat after treat. Wedren soars on this one. His voice has always been a favorite. Original and different for the constraints of pop/rock music. There are no real weak tracks on this disk. Pebbles is cryptic and bizarre yet sweet. And of course there is She Wears He Harem which to me has some vague memories of Purple Haze in it. It's great. Get it if you're a Shudder To Think fan and you've got there recent albums. The band was a little different, featuring ever present Wedren and Stuart Hill on bass, plus original members Mike Russel and Chris Matthews. Amazon lists this as special order, so you should probably just write to Dischord Records. They have a website which I think you can order off of... but this album, along with Ten Spot/Funeral at the Movies, their second and third album on one cd are just incredible treats off Dischord. While, you'll have to write to the band if you want to get a copy of their first album Curses, Spells, Voodoo, Mooses (which is how I got mine!)"
A good-but-not-perfect offering
Alex M | NYC | 08/15/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Shudder to Think have already earned their place in the rock pantheon as one of the most unique, inventive, and downright impressive bands of the past thirty years. Their penchant for jarring musical changes, time signature insanity, and dissonant guitars, combined with Craig Wedren's operatic vocals and a desire to STILL (despite all that) craft good pop songs makes them a band it's almost impossible to compare to anyone else, because they just sound THAT different. That being, this record is a damn fine one, but suffers from a rather poor production quality, making it difficult to fully enjoy some of the finer points of their music. If you've never heard this band, I would suggest starting with either Pony Express Record (their masterpiece, though incredibly dense and takes some patience) or 50,000 B.C. (by far their poppiest and most accessible album). Get Your Goat, while very good, is more of a follow-up for the already familiar."
Surprisingly good
Alex M | 03/21/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I normally wasn't into this type of stuff, but i heard friends mention this band, and got this. Well i really love this cd. The songs have original structures and wierd lyrics, but it's Craig Wedren's voice that stands out as the key to the band's greatness. It's amazing, soaring from low to high, and that vibrato! I love it. It's really haunting to listen to in "Funny." The songs are all surprisingly catchy and have great melodies; plus they rock out! I really like this cd, it remains a quirky favorite."