Customer Reviews

Cold As the Clay

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

 

 

First of all im a big fan of Bad Religion...This is not Bad Religion. This cd is far from what Greg is known for, but it is so well done and fresh it surpasses some of his classic work. The sheer idea of releasing a folk album in this style would seem crazy to some, and i wasnt at first sure it could be pulled off. I was very wrong as this cd has now made it in my collection with VIP treatment. Every song flows well and backing band is an amazing compliment to Gregs well known vocals. Even if your not a fan of folk music check this cd out to see what your missing.

There are at least two songs on this CD (Talk About Suffering and The Watchmaker's Dial) that I felt made it worth owning. The thing is, this is obviously a vanity project. Which, don't get me wrong, Graffin has more than earned. He is a great punk songwriter and a lot of fun in concert, so I say, "Good for you, Greg. Sing what you want to." The thing is, though, while there is nothing embarrassing on this CD, by and large the singing doesn't rise above "pretty good karaoke" status. Graffin doesn't do anything wrong--it's just that a lot of folk singers do it so much better. Having said that, though, it's interesting to listen to the music and imagine what influence exposure to these sorts of songs have had on Bad Religion. It's not nil. And the one disturbing thing about the CD was inclusion of two songs that can only be described as Gospel (Talk About Suffering and One More Hill), when Graffin has been such a reliably outspoken critic of theism. He's not wrong, though, about the power of such songs. Perhaps even an atheist can be forgiven for finding some religious expression to be fairly compelling performance art, if nothing else.

I don't see many people outside of the Bad Religion fan base giving this much of a try, which is a shame, but it's a cool record. Don't read so into the song choices, and the what / where/ and why....Buy it and listen to it. It's pretty good! Good job Greg! Hey, I have been listening to punk rock for years and years...You get older and wiser...this is that kind of record. I like it and listen to it a lot.

Such talent.. A punk Icon such as Greg can lay down wonderful Americana sound w/ punk lyrical content.

I suggest everyone ignore the previous comments by kids who want a Bad religion album.. Well it isn't. Its better.
Some of us 42 yr old punks are all growd up now.......

These songs are interesting in that they are old style 1800s country/folk tunes, and its unique to hear Graffin singing them. I did not expect punk when I Bought this but I must admit the previews made me think I'd like them a bit better. I ended up being 50/50 on whether or not I should have got this, but I own it now, and for that I say 3 stars "Its okay" but don't spend your last $10 on the digital album.

Let me just say that I'm a huge Bad Religion fan and this album is really different (but in a good way). I saw Greg perform this album live in Los Angeles when it first came out and I was blown away.

The music and words thought provoking, Cold as the Clay is a message of sorrow and loss but also hope. That which J. R. R. Tolkien expressed about loss and hope is also something I associate with this album. Graffin shows he is more than capable of moving the listener in a very different genre from his associations with Bad Religion. I highly recommend this musical exercise in thinking about the future. Good work, Greg Graffin!

Wow from Bad religion, to his own solo he decides to write a folk-musical record. This albulm I gave four stars, since its not good not bad, my opion its in between but still worth buying. If you want to hear something other than what you usually listen to pick this up.

Graffin has always admitted that what makes Bad Religion songs "good" is the song itself. He concocts most BR tunes on a simple piano, just enough to get the melody and structure, then the "punk-ifying" comes after. Therefore, most BR songs sound as great with the trademark Hetson buzzsaw rhythm attack and the Finestone/Schayer/Wackerman backbeat as with a simple acoustic guitar. This is what made American Lesion so successful, those songs were basic BR songs simply performed before the punk rock was baked in (Cease makes for a good example).
The problem here is that the song, the basic melody and notes, are simply not nearly as compelling as Graffin's best work with BR, and pales in comparison to even the mediocre BR stuff. It seems here that he is attempting to write "to" a theme, instead of merely giving a good song a different sort of flavor afterwards. It's the sort of album you play thinking, "Wow, that first song was disappointing, i hope the rest of the songs get better," and then once the album ends you realize "Wow, the songs actually got worse." To give Graffin some credit (and don't get me wrong, i'll take Graffin's contributions to BR over almost any other American punk songwriter of the last 20 years) only about half of these songs are originals, many are "traditional" tunes, sung around campfires and on back-porches for many generations.

The other problem i have with it is the backwoods "folksy" quality of it. Personally, I have never heard much from Greg (an Ivy League PhD student who attained fame using vernacular like "anechoic nebula" and "quintessential mindless modern epicine") that would lead me to identify him with anything remotely backwoods or truly folksy. I realize that the alt-country influence has been far-ranging in the last decade, but i'm not just sure Greg can pull it off sincerely (no matter how much "woods cred" he claims in the liner notes). Johnny Cash had very little range, but used his voice as his most recognizable asset. On this album, Greg's voice simply works to his detriment, and reveals how limited his vocal range really is.

I hate to make it sound like i'm jumping on the guy, but after a lot of us waited years to hear Graffin's contributions in an acoustic & unadorned setting again, we're greeted with this half-hearted, half-accomplished set of "down-home" tunes that lack both the memorable songcraft and passion of his usual output. If, as a songwriter, you choose to go out on a limb, it helps to think it through. Though i'm sure it will sell like rural hotcakes because of the name.