Customer Reviews

Barrel Chested

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Don't let the name scare you off. It takes a lot of nerve to wear that moniker like badge when you're making music this good. Good? I mean great. Call it roots rock, or cow punk, or alt country or whatever. I call it smart, sharp, literate songwriting, perfect understated instrumentation, and fine musicianship. This album never ceases to amaze me. It delivers everything you could want, from melodies you can't get out of your mind to guitar licks you can't help but do a little head-noddin' to. Crunchy guitars and slick banjo pickin' and tough bass lines. There's a reason why Stephen King considers Slobberbone one of his favorite bands -- they're good. Give em a listen, you won't be disappointed. They're the best band ever named after a dog's chew toy. And one of the best American bands around today.

There was an amazing amount of growth between Crow Pot Pie & this album. Brent Best has certainly honed his skills as a songwriter. Barrel Chested is like a Larry Brown novel set to music. Where Crow Pot Pie was aggresive and at times tongue in cheek, this one settles into a dark journey through the underbelly of rural life. The songs strongly reflect the desolation, frustration & hopelessness of alcoholism. This is one of the best cds I have picked up in years. I still play it at least once a week, after two years of owning it. Crow Pot Pie brought me to Slobberbone...Barrel Chested will keep me there! Excellent lyrics and wonderful musicianship set a firm foundation for these gritty tales.

These guys rock better than my sister sleeps around, and my sister is reeeeeeeally good at sleeping around.

Slobberbone's music has been a recent discovery for me, and I'm really kicking myself for not finding out about them sooner, while they were still together. However, if you like music by the Drive-By Truckers, Uncle Tupelo, the Bottle Rockets, or even the Black Crowes I can tell you you'll love this. Fast-paced rockers that'll make you bang your head and sing along in the car, and some ballads that are real enough to appreciate as well. This is one of the top 5 cds in my collection, and probably the best Slobberbone album, with the possible exception of Crow Pot Pie.

Slobberbone definately rocks very hard but the songs are as catchy as anything the more 'pop sensible' bands are putting out right now. You can't help singing along with them. Brent Best has a knack of putting things we feel and experience, especially loss
and failure, into lyrics that make us believe the songs are about our lives as well as his. The album begins,"I'm broken down and barrel chest, again/some people try for all their lives and they never make a dent", and states in the albums closer 'One Rung',
"One bad day leads to more, like the one drink that you pour, and becomes a lifetime of hopes and dreams ignored". The lyrics range from lost love, alcoholism, and stories centered around societies outcasts. Often all at the same time.
Most artists today are either making albums that ceaselessly shove their humorless artistry down your throat ad infinitum so that no one can doubt what serious musicians they are, or are over dramatizing their attitude and delivery so that you think they are being deep when, in fact, they are saying nothing interesting or important whatsoever. Slobberbones songs are sad, intelligent, and funny. Kind of like a cross between John Prine and The Replacements.
All that being said, I never get tired of listening to Slobberbone CD's and they never get much rest. My suggestion is to get them all. Let the mainstream have their Matchbox 20, Blink 182, Our Lady Peace(fake alternative music), and Tim Macgraw(fake
country music). Let the cutting-edgers have their Wilco, John Mayer, Ryan Adams, and Radiohead. Slobberbone is better than all of them.

This is one of my very favorite bands and albums. The band has evolved and improved quite a bit since their debut record "Crow Pot Pie". "Barrel Chested" shows a more mature and focused band. The lyrics are dark and thought provoking. The music is well arranged and crisply played. Particular favorites are Front Porch, Engine Joe, I'll be Damned, Get Gone Again and One Rung. There is certainly an alt. country edge to the record, but one thing you must remember about Slobberbone is that they are a ROCK band, and guitar rules the sound. I think Slobberbone is the best rock band in the country at this time. With influences as wide as Lynyrd Skynyrd to Neil Young, this is a band worthy of attention, and "Barrel Chested"an album worthy of your money. Buy it. Listen to it. Enjoy it again and again. See them live if you get a chance. You'll be glad you did.

This is the best Cd I've purchased in a long time. It's a geat mix of rock with alt-country. I'm a big Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo fan, and Slobberbone combines good rock with an alt-country edge. Brent Best's vocals and guitar work is excellent. "Barrel Chested" and "Lame" rock hard and the rest of the CD is a mix of acoustic with more crisp guitar work. Don't miss "Billy Prichard" a great twisted ballad.

I LOVE all of Slobberbones albums with a passion. I feel so lucky to have seen one of their final shows!! They are the quintessential American rock-n-roll band for me...powerful music mixed with amazing lyrics...that touch my heart and the bottom of my bottle.BUY THIS!!!!!!

Music doesn't that is. Stinging vocals and guitar riffs keep your interest while the words tell too many stories. Brent Best has to be one of the best songwriters around. He keeps it real with words and lets the twangy chords do the rest. You gotta try this CD. It's definitely worthwhile.

I like Slobberbone and I like this album. If your new to the band, this would be a good place to start.