The problem unfortunately is that in my opinion the BoDeans have consistently put out the same album. As time moved forward and music changed and my music tastes changed, it seemed every BoDeans album was the same. As much as I loved the sound in 1993, albums in 2008 and 2010 need to show a bit of change or evolution. I gave up on new BoDeans music because it was too much of 'every song's the same.' I think the BoDeans are a perfect example of having a great sound in 1993 but just not moving it forward as often music needs to be. Their sound has not changed much since that Mary Washington College concert in 1992.
However, maybe I am being hypocritical here. Take Mumford and Sons. Sigh No More and Babel are two of my favorite records of all time and they will forever be in rotation or I guess my streaming. However, when I first heard "Believe" off Wilder Minds I hated it. It sounded like Cold Play and Sons. Wilder Minds was a needed album by Mumford and Sons. As a band, if they were going to continue they could not continue to make the same banjo record, the problem was as a fan, we loved the banjo records. Wilder Minds is an album that will grow on you and there are some absolutely terrific songs on there including: Ditmas and Just Smoke, even Believe. However, this CD will never be in rotation as much as Babel or Sigh No More, it will never get a fair shake because it is not a banjo record even though it is ultimately very good. Mumford and Sons would probably be no more, had they not changed their sound up a bit, but as a fan who wanted another banjo record, it was not an easy sell.
Justin Currie was the lead singer and song writer for one of the most under appreciated bands out there: Del Amitri. Del Amitri is a band that I discovered in the late spring and early summer as I graduated high school and prepared to enter Mary Washington College as a freshmen. As I have blogged about before, I have had a life long love affair with the music of Del Amitri. Waking Hours and Change Everything was the music of my Mary Washington years, and Twisted was the soundtrack of that last summer in Fredericksburg and those commutes into DC. But I must be honest here: much of my life long love of the music of Del Amitri revolves around three records: Waking Hours from 1989, Change Everything from 1992, and 1995's Twisted and the various B-sides that went with them. 1997's Some Other Suckers Parade is a great album and 2002's Can You Do Me Good, are great records, but never had the impact of the other records. Some Other Suckers Parade has some great tracks and Can You Do Me Good actually continues to sound better with age and I did not appreciate that record in 2002 as much as I do now, but regardless of how good Some Other Suckers Parade and Can You Do Me Good are, they are not Waking Hours and Change Everything. And there lies the issue I have with all 4 of Justin Currie's solo efforts. And this is entirely on me, not on him as an artist. There is and will always be are part of me that when I hear a Justin Currie solo record or any new Del Amitri material (please please please), that wants/expects a record that sounds like Waking Hours. There is a part of me that wants the same record that I listened to in Russell Hall as a Freshmen. The problem is that Waking Hours is from 1989 and it is now 2017. I can't speak for every Del Amitri fan, but those albums left such a huge impact on me and there is this nostalgia for songs that sound like Hatful of Rain or Surface of the Moon. So, my point is this, when reviewing any new Justin Currie material there is a big part of me that still wants it to be 1992 and hearing a song like "Learn to Cry" for the first time like I did in the studios of WMWC and my "Fiery New Yorker Radio Program." However, it is 2017, Justin Currie and Del Amitri can't as artists make the same music from 1992, its almost 30 years later. I know that, that is why I appreciate what Mumford and Sons did with Wilder Minds, that is why I appreciate Can You Do Me Good so much more in 2017 than I did in 2002. This is how you don't end up putting out music that sounds exactly the same as all your other music. But, at the same time, I still long for a record like Change Everything. So, any review I do of Justin's new music, must be taken with a grain a salt. That is my bias and a bias I know I have, I understand why I shouldn't and yet I still do.
5 long years after Can You Do Me Good, Justin released his first solo album. This was a long stretch as a Del Amitri fan to go without new music. These were the days I wondered if I would ever hear Justin Currie perform new music again. These were the days I had to deal with the reality that my favorite band was no more and again at the time their last CD Can You Do Me Wrong was not fully appreciated by me. What is Love For is a brilliant work. It is perhaps, Justin's best solo album of the four. However, it is not Del Amitri. What Is Love For is a very slow dark album. It is beautiful, it is haunting, but it is at times too dark and slow to be in the heavy rotations that say the songs from Twisted are on my playlists or on mixed tapes. With that said, the album contains one song that took me back to the early sounds of Del Amitri that I loved so much from Waking Hours and Change Everything. "Walking Through You" is everything that I loved about Del Amitri and remains one of my favorite songs by Justin whether solo or with Del Amitri.
If all of What is Love For sounded like this, it would have been the Justin Currie record I was hoping for. There are many beautifully haunting tracks on this record, but there is one more that in my opinion really stands out and it has a Nothing Ever Happens vibe not necessarily in sound, but in message. And that is the epic track "No, Surrender."
This song is epic. There is no other way to describe it.
What Is Love For is a terrific record, but I really wished it was more "Walking Through You" in sound than it was.
Of the 4 solo records, I think The Great War had the most tracks that sounded like the old Del Amitri that I loved so much. "At Home Inside of Me," "Ready to Be" and "Can't Let Her Go Now" have that Change Everything and Waking Hours vibe. And like "No, Surrender" on the first solo album, The Great War contains another epic track. "The Fight to Be Human" and it is even better the way it fades right into "Ready to Be." The Fight to Be Human has that No, Surrender and Nothing Ever Happens manifesto statement brilliance. Once again epic. Between these tracks are some very lovely songs, but again more in the vain of the darker songs of What is Love For. Again, I understand that Justin could not just make a whole record that sounded like 1992 music (just as I can't expect to act or think the same way I did back as a junior at Mary Washington), but in a way those tracks like "Ready to Be" were almost a tease because of how much they reminded me of what I wanted more of. My biggest disappointment about The Great War was not knowing that there was a deluxe version with a bonus track. This bonus track is difficult to find streaming, but fortunately is on YouTube. "In My Heart the War Goes On" in my opinion the best track on the album and it is not on the album.
Had the entire record sounded like this, it would have been the Justin Currie record I was waiting for. Instead, I got a very good record that was about 1/2 the record I was waiting for that had some tracks that gave me a strong taste of that sound I loved and was missing. But those tracks in between, were not enough to keep this album in a long rotation in my car or iPOD. The Great War is a solid CD, but for me it was frustrating in the sense that at times it was everything I had been waiting for in a Justin Currie solo record. This album was a bit of a tease in that sense.
Lower Reaches, from 2013, is the album that brought Justin Currie back to the states for a tour. Ultimately, I can't complain about an album that did that. For all its faults, because of this record, I got to see Justin Currie live in a very small intimate venue right here in Phoenix. Lower Reaches to me reminded me of the short, catchy songs of Some Other Suckers Parade. It lacked the epic track that The Fight to be Human and No, Surrender were on the first two solo albums. Lower Reaches is a good album with great songs like Priscilla, Little Stars, Every Songs the Same, and in my opinion the stand out track: Bend to My Will. Unfortunately, I am not as big a fan of the songs in between. Again, like the Great War, the songs in between were more the slower songs of What Is Love. Lower Reaches was a good effort, with 4 great up beat songs, but the rest just slowed down the record to much in my opinion. Lower Reaches as a whole was played the least of all my Justin Currie solo albums. Yet with tracks like "Bend to My Will" there was that tease of what I wanted this album to be.
Now between Lower Reaches and This Is My Kingdom Now there have been some big changes in how I purchase and listen to music and that is also something that is going to affect this review and may also effect how I look back on the previous 3 solo records. I have had an MP3 player for a long time but streaming music and using things like Spotify and Amazon Prime, and Google Play are new for me. Again, let me back track. I am a child of the late 70s and early 80s. I remember albums. I remember tapes. I come from an age where you listened to the whole CD or record and often you bought the new album solely based on the artist or group. I had not heard one track off Change Everything when I bought that CD or tape in 1992. I bought it simply based on how much I loved Waking Hours. I bought all of Justin's solo albums because they were Justin Currie not because I had heard any tracks on them prior. I come from an age where you followed the artist and you listen to entire records. I work with teens everyday. I talk to them about music all the time. That is not how they listen to music. Very often they don't even buy music. Up until about two years ago, I actually still bought music. This Is My Kingdom Now is the first record I have straight up bought in two years. When I say bought, I actually purchased it entirely online/streaming. I no longer have anywhere to play a CD. I wanted to buy the CD, I like holding a CD, I like looking at lyrics and covers, but none of my computers have a drive, and both my cars no longer have a CD Player. Everything is streamed. My students, our current young people don't buy music, very often they can't tell you who performs the music, they only know the song, and they certainly could not tell you the name of the album the song comes from or how it relates to other songs on the album.
Take for example Lord Huron's "The Night We Met." This song is very popular right now because of the TV show 13 Reasons. Many people know it because of how it was used in the TV show with the two main characters dancing. Most people don't know who sings it. Even less realize that it is on a album called "Strange Trails" which is a concept album where all the songs are connected. "The Night We Met" is the closing track on that album. The song meaning is so different in the context of the album, but most people who are listening to it have no idea.
With streaming and playlists, I can listen to Justin's solo work very differently now. I can take those tracks that I love, and there are many, and put them onto one big playlist, which I have, which also has my favorite Del Amitri tracks. This is new to me. Again, I was an artist and whole album guy. Separating these 4-5 tracks from the first three solo records from the other tracks and playing them together or together with older Del Amitri songs, has given me new perspective on the songs and a new appreciation. We listen to music differently now. Younger people have known no different, for us older people it has taken some getting use to. I have an 80 song Justin Currie/Del Amitri playlist on spotify...it is brilliant. I can listen to it all day. I don't have to skip or fast forward or sit through anything I don't want to. This is very new to me.
So when buying and listening to This is My Kingdom Now that is the context. I have no physical copy of it. I have it on Amazon and Spotify, but it is probably the first record by an artist that I really love, that I actually do not have an actual copy of the record.
So finally, me review of This Is My Kingdom Now....
First off, I have probably played (streamed) this album more than any of Justin Currie's previous solo records. So what does that say? Once again, I feel the record is more Some Other Suckers Parade/What is Love For than Change Everything in tone and song style. To sum it up: once again a very good album but not the remake of Waking Hours that part of me still wishes for. Once again there are some excellent tracks with some good tracks in between. If Waking Hours and Change Everything are A+, I would say This Is My Kingdom Now, like What is Love For and the Great War are solid B+
The opening track: My Name is God is a terrific. Brilliant way to open a CD. A great cross between the mellower sound of What is Love For and that great early Del Amitri sound.
This is My Kingdom Now is a very good song, more in line with what you might have heard on the first solo album
Sydney Harbor Bridge has clever lyrics and again reminds me more of the style and structure of Some Other Suckers Parade.
Crybabies, cute and clever lyrics and in line with Justin's solo work.
Failing to See, is one of the albums highlights with a 70's ish sound that is actually fresh despite sounding 70's ish. This is a refreshing track and one that will get a lot of replay on my playlist.
The Dead Sea is hands down my favorite track on the album. This is up there with the best of Justin's solo work. This song is as good as any song he has written or performed on any of his solo albums or on any Del Amitri album. This track has been repeated often and is probably the song I have played most on the album
Abandoned Sons is a good track but this reminds me of the issues I have had with all 4 of the solo albums. The Dead Sea reminds me so much of that sound that I love and it is followed by a much slower more intense and dark song. Abandoned sons is similar in sound to the first solo album. This is a good track, but just slows things down a bit too much for me.
Hey Polly, I Love the Sea, I'll Leave it to You, Two People in my opinion are all good solid songs, but lack the punch of the first few tracks on the album. So again, this is the issue I have had with all the solo records, and that is the pacing. I get that song that reminds me of old Del Amitri and I love it and then it is followed by the much slower more introspective sounds of the solo albums. I like these songs, they are good songs, but I like the sound of Fallen Trees and Dead Sea more. Those are the solo songs I couldn't wait for.
My Soul is Stolen is a strong way to end the record. Yes, it is more in line of What is Love For, but the placement of this track at the end, ends the record with a strong emotional punch. However, I wish the record had a "No, Surrender" or "Fight to be Human" like on the first two solo records. Like Lower Reaches, the new record in my opinion is missing that epic "Nothing Ever Happens" type song.
Had I not been such a die hard Del Amitri fan, I don't know how my review of Justin's solo work would be different. Would I love the songs and records even more? Would I love them less? I am not sure and it would make a great experiment to compare the reviews from those of us who have been fans since the late 1980s to those who are new fans or maybe have never heard Justin's music before. As I have stated before, I can't fairly review Justin's records. It is a bit like Francis Ford Coppola. How can you review any of his movies fairly after the brilliance of Godfather 1 and Godfather 2. The bar has been set high, maybe too high.
This is My Kingdom now is a solid record. All of Justin's solo records have been solid. His voice and song writing is amazing. However, there is a catch 22. He is a living breathing evolving artist who continues to write and create. As an active musician who produces new music, I can't fairly expect him to make the same record every time. The catch 22 is that there is a part of me that wants that same record and will ultimately be slightly disappointed when I don't get an album full of songs that sound like "Hatful of Rain." With the exception of Lower Reaches, which I will give a score of a B, all of Justin's solo work in my opinion has been a solid B+ Justin's solo albums have all been very good, but in my opinion none have reached the greatness of Waking Hours and Change Everything. This is My Kingdom now is a B+ in my opinion. All of the songs are good, there are some songs that are fantastic and among the best Justin has ever written. I can't say enough about how good "The Dead Sea" is. I think all of the solo albums have had great songs: "No, Surrender", "The Fight to be Human," "Ready to Be," Every Song's the Same" but as a whole the albums have for me have never reached the level of greatness that Twisted, Waking Hours, and Change Everything did.
I often dream of Mary Washington College and Fredericksburg. Those years made such a tremendous impact on me. I do realize that a good part of the Mary Washington and Fredericksburg that I hold so dear is gone and is never coming back. Mary Washington in 2017 is not the Mary Washington of the early 1990s. Once I was the student body president who felt the pulse of the campus, today I follow the school on social media and there are things happening on campus that I simply don't understand. Just as the school is different, I am not the same person in 2017 as I was in 1994. A 45 year old father with a 10 year old kid who has been in government school classrooms for 22 years straight is not the same kid who yelled from the Madison Hall 3rd story window. Logically I know that the music of Justin Currie in 2017 can't be the music of 1992. But just as I dream of Mary Washington I remember from the early 1990s, I also long for that sound of Del Amitri that I was listening to in Russell 2nd South or Madison 3rd Floor.
Though it might not come across this way in this review, I appreciate and love the fact that Justin's music has not stayed the same. Like the old cliche when breaking up with a girl, when you tell her "it's not you it's me," I think my review of This Is My Kingdom is the same way. The issue is not the brilliance of Justin's voice and song writing, the issue is my inability to move my taste in music past 1995.
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