Search - Urge :: Too Much Stereo

Absolutely excellent

A. Whalen | Raleigh, NC, USA | 12/15/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I typically only bother to write reviews when I find a gem. This is no exception. "Master of Style" is a GOOD album; a large portion of "Gift of Flavor" I found to be rather clumsy fumbling. NEVER on "Too Much Stereo". I have a fairly eclectic taste in music, from classical to indy rock, from jazz to industrial metal. Pretty much anything except country and rap shows up in my collection.



Here we have a truly wondeful album. EVERY song is solid and listenable. There are very few albums one can listen through and not find ONE track where you think, "*sigh*, when will this be over so we can get back to the good stuff?" Well, not only does this album sport that special property, but MOST of the songs are EXCELLENT. I don't just spin up the disc wanting to hear 1 or 2 of the best songs; 9 of the 11 tracks are fantastic. Though, I must admit that the sonorous and melodic lead-in to track 3, "What Do They Know", is particularly addictive.



The most difficult part of this review is to compare this album with other discs. If there exists a distinctive genre to which The Urge belongs, I'm not familiar with it. In some ways, they're Ska. In others, indy rock. Though it is a rather vague point of reference, this album is among my all-time top-N along with albums like "The Bends" and "Hail to the Theif" by Radiohead (well, OK, pretty much all of the Radiohead albums), "Chutes Too Narrow" by The Shins, "Electric Version" by New Pornographers, "Welcome Interstate Managers" by Fountains of Wayne, "Undertow" by Tool, "100th Window" by Massive Attack, and (perhaps strangely), "Wolverine Blues" by Entombed. (OK... placing it in that context probably just confused matters.)



If you like GOOD music - meaning, good tunes, clever beats, addictive riffs - buy it, give it a spin. You're almost certain to fall in love. If you liked the previous Urge albums, then you MUST buy this album - you already love it!"

A different Urge, but still a great CD

Chicken Head | Souderton, PA USA | 07/28/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, the Urge has definately changed alot since Recieving the Gift of Flavor. There are WAY less horns, and they have definately softened up a bit, throwing in some more "radio friendly" sounds. But that doesn't have to mean this CD is bad, I happen to think it's some great music, but besides steve's voice, I could barely tell it's the Urge at all. If you thought Master of Styles was too toned down from Flavor, maybee you should think twice about buying this. Me, I can't get the song "Too Much Stero" out of my head! I liked Recieving the Gift of Flavor more, but that CD it one of my all time favorites. A different Urge, but I love just about every song, so it still gets 5 stars. I'm VERY pleased, give this CD a chance, and get ready to hear "Too Much Stereo" on the radio real soon!"

The Urge Change Their Sound

x2069@hotmail.com | North Carolina | 07/20/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album represents a big change from Recieving The Gift Of Flavor and Master Of Styles. Overall, Too Much Stereo, is much slower and more pop oriented. The loud guitars from the last two albums are toned down quite a bit. The horns are only backround music. On previous albums heavier guitars and horns led the Urge. This is a good CD though even with all the changes. The best tracks are "Too Much Stereo","Four Letters And Two Words","I Go Home","Living On The Surface" and "Warning Warning". If you are a big fan of RTGOF or MOS then listen to this before you buy it. If you want to hear the Urge do something new definitely check this out. I still miss the loud guitars and prominent horn parts. Hopefully they will be back on the next album. This will still be in my CD player all summer. The Urge are one of the best bands out there and Immortal Records NEEDS TO RE-RELEASE ALL of the out of print CDS."