Customer Reviews

Between the Bridges

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I don't know that much about Sloan (other than what can be gleaned at Amazon.com) but this is a stunningly good album. Not a stinker in the dozen songs. Kind of 70s rock with a contemporary sensibility. Good vocals, crunchy guitars, electric pianos, catchy tunes. I have trouble thinking of individual songs on this disc, 'cause they all fit together so well. Seriously, my favorite is probably Marquee and the Moon, or it's Take Good Care of the Poor Boy, or its Delivering Maybes, because the album finishes so strongly, but any one of the tracks could be a favorite. Buy it.

Sloan is the best kept secret of the Great White North. Though the Toronto-via-Halifax quartet has been the toast of teenagers across Canada for more than half a decade, garnering gold records, tours with Alanis Morrisette and music videos galore, they are virtual unknowns in the United States. It's hard to understand why, because these perfectly adorable geeks have been churning out record after record of the kind of completely accessible retro-pop music Lenny Kravitz and Oasis take all the way to the bank. "Between the Bridges," a refreshingly concise 12-song aperitif, is no exception. If you're looking for musical visionaries, you've come to the wrong place. Sloan's greatest strength is certainly not the originality of their songs; one can easily hear references to classic rock standards throughout all of their records, and the nods to Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, John Lennon, Thin Lizzy, and even .38 Special are particularly evident on this album. Instead, what the lads in Sloan do so well is breathe new life into a classic rock formula made tired by endless, repetitive radio play. The superbly written songs on this and past Sloan albums defy notions of mere recycling by reminding listeners why they like classic rock and pop in the first place. The good cheer, enthusiasm, and efficient, skillful musicianship on "Between the Bridges" makes the album pretty difficult not to like. The band members, all of whom write and sing their own songs, exude charm as they crank out tunes that are imprinted on the listener's brain by the second listen (who can forget a couplet that rhymes "ocean" with "Nova Scotian"?). A couple of rote riff- rockers dampen affairs somewhat, but when you hear the creamy harmonies and funky rhythm guitar on the insanely catchy "Don't You Believe A Word," you may say to yourself: it's the same old song, but it sure sounds good.

Sloan prove their longevity and enduring creativity on "Between The Bridges", their fifth studio album and sixth full-length release. Let's start with "Losing California", since it's the first single... my brother thought it sounded like Ace Frehley, an astute observation indeed. (Then again, my brother thought Bonkers was gum. But he knows it's candy now.) Sloan continue their exploration of 70's sounds and arrangements on this track, yet still sound distinctly like Sloan, as we've come to expect based on their exploration of 60's and 70's musical history on their last two studio recordings. "Losing California" is reminiscent of Sloan's pure-pop early days, sort of a sped-up "Sugartune" (from 1993's Smeared). As a single this song admirably fulfils its purpose of stating to the world, "Hey, we're back, and we're still Sloan!" And the rest of the album? From the 1-2-3 no-pauses-between-tracks attack at the beginning of the album, Sloan shows that their main concern is songwriting, as it always has been, and fans will not be disappointed. The opening chords of the first track "The N.S" immediately reveal that they have not abandoned the piano they took to heart on their previous studio release, and that Andrew's knack for writing a subtle epic has not waned. The novel yet eventually tiresome cut-and-paste arrangements of 1998's Navy Blues have been abandoned this time in favour of actually arranging the songs before they're recorded (or did they just hide the edits better?), a welcome return to grace for fans of Sloan's adept arrangement skills. Their trademark shared vocal duties continue on this album; can the Kiss-like solo albums be far behind? From straight-ahead romps like "Delivering Maybes" and "Friendship" to mellower numbers like "The Marquee and the Moon", the album is a varied listen from start to finish. Blending the Sloan sound with influences ranging from Sgt. Pepper to Fleetwood Mac, Frampton to the aforementioned Frehley, "Between the Bridges" is another Sloan blast of fresh air in an often overproduced and overly serious musical landscape, and proves once again that they have earned their coveted place on the Canadian music podium alongside Rush, Trooper and April Wine :-) Ideal Canadian house-party music to get us through the impending winter. (©1999 TuneVault.com, reprinted with permission. Check out TuneVault.com for more reviews, MP3s and cool music!)

This is different than any other sloan album, the album stars with 3 very mellow songs, which makes you wonder, is this how its gonna be? But "friendship" kicks and you hear sloan doing what they do best, ROCK(that was cheesy). All of the songs flow into eachother extremely well.

Key tracks: N.S, friendship, sensory deprivation, losing california, take good care of the poor boy

GREAT ALBUM, GREAT BAND

I hate to say this but even many 'hardcore' Sloan fans dismiss this record. Why I cannot imagine. It is the perfect analagy for their career. It's between the pop of Navy Blues and the rock of Pretty Together. This is Sloan's 2nd most solid album. Their is growth and maturity oozing from this record with out boring us to death.
The NS is a classic Andrew song with even more clever humor and a bit more pop than what he normally delivers
The Marquee and the moon is Chris Murphys "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".. on this album and Pretty Together Chris has really grown up and shown some vunerability as well.
Losing California is a great ROCK song with pop singability as it gets stuck in your heard, all day.. it's fantastic.
Waiting for Slow Songs is another great one by Jay that really makes you feel<insert feeling here>, he's a master at expressing his personal insecurity which we then take on as our own, too.

There has been alot of talk about "california" albums lately and I think this is a great one if that is your cup o' tea. It's a tiny bit beach boys, BUT definetly ALL SLOAN!

The two extra tracks are a bit of a bonus after being used to the CD ending with "Delivering Maybes". I'm biased toward Sloan, so I think the two bonus tracks are quite good (especially the lyrics in the first). But I'd say that you should only buy the import for the novelty of it since Sloan is supposed to be coming out with a rarities album anyways.

This album amazes me; I saw them live last weekend and they were _amazing_.... the album is just as good. I put it on and now I can't stop listening to it. This is what rock 'n roll should sound like; without MTV to cute-it-up or sanatize it.

Wow!!! I know many of these "customer reviews" are populated by the most fanatical of fans, so let me qualify my review ith this comment: I am hardly what anyone would call a "Sloan" fanatatic. I had chance opportunities to catch a handful of their videos on Muchmusic, liked what I heard, but never was motivated to buy an album. Then a passing comment by one of the critics in Rolling Stone in which he named Sloan's "Navy Blues" as one of the prior year's best caught my eye. I bought the album and was impressed. Then "4 Nights at the Palais Royale" (Live Album) came and my interest was piqued even more. So, this past week I picked up "Between the Bridges." What an album!!!!! This may very well be the Best of 1999.

This is the best album you will never hear on American radio. This is the stuff that legends are made of.

You will hear Brian Wilson, the Beatles, Big Star, Todd Rundgren, Matthew Sweet, the (late-great) Grays, and numerous other influences and flavors on this album. This is not an album you buy and listen to one or two tracks, not to say there aren't any hard ripping singles ("Friendship", "Losing California"), but it is a complete work of art. The more you listen, the more you will appreciate just how good this album is.

From what I understand, Sloan will be playing in New York City in November. I will not make the mistake of letting that show pass, and if you are good enough to yourself to buy this album and live in the area, nor will you.

Sloan come from Halifax,Nova Scotia,Canada. The band consists of four highly talented singers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists. I challenge anyone to name me a band out there since the Beatles who have that level of diversity. This album is a pleasure from start to finish. The songs run into one another. It's the first time that Sloan have done this on an album. It gives the album a coherence. That is not to say though that the songs are all similar. They are definitely not. The songs are as different from one another as is possible. My personal favourites are 'Don't Believe A Word' by Jay Ferguson and 'Friendship' by Patrick Pentland. All of the songs are outstanding. This album is a must for fans of Todd Rundgren, Beatles, Raspberries, 10cc and other power pop outfits.

Sloan are one of my favourite bands because of their consistency. Between the Bridges is another in a long line of very good Sloan albums. It is the kind of album where you pick it up for those catchy singles you hear on the radio or on tv, and end up loving the entire album. Sloan benefits greatly from the versatile input of all 4 members, each who write and sing their own songs. Andrew Scott's memorable "The N.S." opens the album, which runs from track to track without any seams. Also particularly strong is Jay Ferguson's catchy "Don't You Believe a Word".
In a world where Pop has become synonamous with Brittney Spears and Justin Timberlake, Sloan have spent over 10 years creating strong Pop/Rock in the grand tradition of the Beatles. Between the Bridges is a great album.