1965

Afghan Whigs

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 27, 1998)
• Original Release Date: October 27, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000DFRU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #131,581 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
For close to a decade, Cincinnati-based alt-rock combo Afghan Whigs created music that hurt so good. Rooted in an emotive hybrid of self-loathing punk and exhibitionistic soul, the band's tunes writhed and roiled, cutting to the core of dysfunctional relationships. But after their bleak, bitter 1995 release, Black Love, was met with general disinterest, the discouraged band took four years off to reevaluate its art. 1965 indicates that if the Whigs were suffering identity crisis, they've certainly found themselves. Instead of wallowing or brooding, as they did on past efforts, the band struts and staggers lustfully, coming across with the drive and vibe of the Rolling Stones' hormone-fest Some Girls. Many songs on 1965 are augmented with braying horns, gliding strings, and jaunty piano, and the hedonistic mood clearly reflects the downtown New Orleans environment the record was created in. High points include the swarthy surge of "Something Hot," the torch-lighted drama of "Crazy," and the sleazy pulse of "66," which begins with a 23-second recording of one of frontman Greg Dulli's intimate encounters. --Jon Wiederhorn

Spin
Loose-limbed and light-footed, this casually eclectic record doesn't pretend to offer anything more substantial than brash, horny, good-times music.... [T]his remains Dulli & Co.'s most fluid and enjoyable record to date.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful. Rejuvenating. Restored my faith in rock., December 5, 1999

By A Customer

This album blew me away. I am a very tough critic of modern rock...most of it totally sucks, and the rest is mediocre or pop and wears quickly. But this album..., I don't know what to say. I spent five months overseas in the middle of nowhere (long story) and had to travel light. I took my CD portable and five CDs. This was one of them. And I listened to it everyday. It not only kept me going, it totally restored my faith in rock, which I though died in the early 80s. If you are tired of wimpy REM songs, tired of yawning paeans to juvenile angst you hear on the radio, and want something that stretches your limbs, your lust, and your learning, unwind with this album at nine and a half on the volume knob. I am so refreshed to find a band that can blend blues, hard rock rhythym, lyrics that are both introspective and overtly sexual, and key physical elements like brass and superb bass...it reminds me of the Stones. And John the Baptist has got to be one of the best rock songs ever written. Man, I love this album.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars wicked dark fun, January 26, 2006

By	Teflon Kid - See all my reviews

It's pretty obvious I think the Whigs are among the most underrated bands in rock history--otherwise, I wouldn't be writing this.

After several albums mining such dark subjects chronicling love gone bad, addiction, murder, remorseful sex, and generally living the life of a modern American male Tarintino style, the boys are back with a collection of tracks that are, for a lack of a better term, light hearted. I mean, they're actually having fun here, without all that downer self-torture business (okay, maybe there's a bit of that, but it's way muted). Production values are high. Soulful background vocals, ballsy horns, and winning arrangements; this LP absolutely shines.

I know I'm gonna take a lot of flak for the following closing comment, but honestly, this is the album the Rolling Stones _wish_ they recorded.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SKIP MY REVIEW AND JUST BUY IT, December 31, 1999

By	"deafula" (Ypsilanti, MI) - See all my reviews

Okay, if you have to read this, here it goes. I was never quite the fanatic when it came to this band, so when I first heard this album, I was blown away at how good they have become. I was always a fan of their R n' B flavored work, especially the "Uptown Avondale" EP back in '92. This album is that good and more, much much more. It's a lusty, sweaty rock record that follows poor Greg Dulli from one failed relationship to another. He quotes Nas and Pink Floyd, he includes pounding piano solos and gospel backgrounds, and basically shapes together one of the most solid albums of the '90s. Think mid-eighties Replacements, early seventies Stones, and a little Bauhaus thrown in for good measure. While critics were peeing their pants over the latest French techno bores, this album went unfairly unnoticed, but if you buy it, you can avenge the Whigs fate!