Honorable Mentions for my Top Album List of 2011
This
list of five albums are those that were just about to make the list but
for some reason or other didn't make it to my Top 25 of 2011. These
are pretty good albums themselves, they just lacked something I was
looking for in them. Check them out. I'm sure you won't really be
disappointed.
Forevermore
by Whitesnake
Oh,
Whitesnake. Talk about guilty pleasures. I've never been a huge fan
of 80s Hair Metal. I don't hate them all, but I am not a huge fan of
bands like Poison and Warrant. David Coverdale is another thing
entirely. It's surprising that at 60 years old, he still sounds so
powerful. Before I got into Whitesnake, I was a fan of Coverdale in
Deep Purple, so it was pretty easy to get into their music. This album
comes three years after their comeback album (Good to be Bad).
The musicians here are all experienced people who have played in
fantastic projects. The aforementioned Coverdale, Doug Aldritch (Dio) on the guitar and also Brian Tichy (Derek Sherinian, Gilby Clarke, Pride & Glory)
on the drums do a fantastic job not only paying tribute to the history
of the band but also giving it a more modern feel. Sure, songs like
"Easier Said Than Done" are pretty ballad-y in that way I kinda dislike,
but it comes with the territory. This album won't win many awards, but
it will keep Whitesnake fans happy.
A Dramatic Turn of Events
by Dream Theater
The
year 2010 was a tough one for Dream Theater. Longtime member Mike
Portnoy decided to leave the band for some reason or another that
doesn't really matter here. This did mean that they had to work extra
hard in order to make 2011 the year of the DT. Having replaced the
iconic Portnoy with drummer Mike Mangini, they were ready to let the
world know that they were still Dream Theater post-Portnoy. Which is
probably the same thing that is wrong (if you will) with the album.
After all that happened and the name of the album, I expected something
to refresh the Dream Theater sound. Too bad this is not the album to do
that. DT has seemed stale these past few years and I hoped that a new
drummer would change all that. Mangini does a good job in terms of
hanging with the virtuosity of the rest of the band, but he doesn't have
anything new to offer, yet. This album has top notch musicianship,
cheesy lyrics, overindulgent music, like everything that DT is and has
been for most of its history. But there is something about listening to
the music that makes me forget all those things (like a good fan of
anything prog should).
Unto The Locust
by Machine Head
Machine
Head are one of those metal bands that seems to be overlooked by almost
every metalhead out there. Sure, they have had their up and downs in
terms of the quality of their music (The Burning Red comes
to mind as a huge down), but from their earlier albums and now the
newest couple, their metal credentials are firmly in check. Rob Flynn
is an interesting vocalist. His melodic voice sounds fantastic in this
album ("Darkness Within" and the acoustic version on the Collector's
Edition) and his growls seem to have renewed passion and anytime he is
not rapping (really terrible), he seems to be doing the right things.
This new album is different from the older material in that they seem to
have switched from the shorter song structures made for MTV and VH1 and
switched them with more complex song structures which makes their songs
quite interesting. Sure, the lyrics are still pretty cheesy, but the
guys seem to be trying to show that they are music fans and a lot of
things influence them. Forgive their past transgressions with the
nu-metal camp and give them a shot. If you can, check out their covers
of "The Sentinel" by Judas Priest and "Witch Hunt" by Rush that appear
on the Collector's Edition of the album.
Wasting Light
by Foo Fighters
Modern
music seems to be generally lacking those kind of people that you just
knew were pure musicians. Guys that could take whatever project they
decide to work with and make it work by the sheer force of their
abilities to make catchy music. It's hard not to consider Dave Grohl
one of those people. It's obvious that this guy bleeds music. One of
the things I enjoy most about Grohl's vocals is the passion he imbues
the songs with. I really like a couple of the songs in this album.
"These Days" is probably my favorite right now. I like how he gives you
the melodic and slow and then explodes but doesn't go to far. "Rope"
is also a song that has grown on me. The one track that I just couldn't
stand was "White Limo". It just doesn't feel like it fits in with the
rest of the tracks. There are a couple of forgettable tracks, but its a
consistently good album. Problem is that I didn't feel it was great.
Thank You, Happy Birthday
by Cage the Elephant
I
really like Cage the Elephant's debut album. I thought it was funky,
it was interesting and it was incredibly catchy. I'll gladly admit that
the first time I heard the song "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" was
through the game Borderlands (which is also an incredibly
fun game). Truth is, I loved that one song but it took me a while to
get into the whole first album. Once I got it, I was just hooked. This
second album was just as difficult to get into, if not more. You have
to understand going in that this is pretty far from what I usually
listen to. Even after saying that, this album has some really great
songs. "Shake Me Down" and "Aberdeen" immediately come to mind.
Something that can be taken from this album is that its angsty.
Probably more so that the self titled debut. While that first one
seemed more playful, this one is harsher. The intro to the song "2024"
is a testament to that angstier side. Sure, it might seem like I'm
trashing the album, but I'm not. I like it. Just not enough to be in
my 'Best Of' list.
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