Customer Reviews

Exit the Dragon

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

ok well its really simple, this album pretty much seperates all the squares from all the people that have an intuitive sense for good taste. the mixed reviews are pretty obvious and innevitable i mean mainstream doesnt really want an album with even a bit of irony. Exit the dragon has managed to incorporate so many elements and genres of music that it practically has come down to just that good ol' bad ass rock n roll. mixing power pop, melodic, punk, experiemental, blues, country ballads, duets, just all beautiful melodies to crunching guitars. im flabbergasted my favorite albums sells for only 2 dollars i mean you seriously cant beat that. but as many other bands such as new york dolls for every 5 fans that love em youd have another 50 that would label em as 'mock rock'. Which is probably the best sign of something being really good, usually the unlistenable is whats hot. this gem holds all the beauty of any album that will always grow on you.. The best song off the album hands down has to be last night/tommorrow a metaphor based song involving the from when the point you score smack to the transition of the song peaking and then the beautiful break down which symbolizes the come down.. A beautiful tragic album by one of the best bands that carried the power pop throne along side the replacements, cheap trick, posies, the dolls, superchunk, redd kross, i could go on but its better if you hear it from them and not me...

I am shocked at how few people to whom rock really matters have knowledge of this album. I feel somewhat clumsy all the same in labelling it a 'lost masterpiece' as UO still maintain a relatively healthy degree of respect and name recognition. But it is all the same true that 'Exit the Dragon' broke the back of this extraordinary band, and on account of that fact they never achieved anything close to the status they deserved. The lead review damns with faint praise by suggesting a link to 'Exile', 'Big Star 3' etc. I say this not because it is as good as 'Exile' or 'Riot' - (it isn't, but what is?) - but because it suggests that Urge are worthy of commedation largely on account of the quality of their influences. I think the real truth is that this is one of the few hyper-intelligent bands who rose above their own capacity to be arch and delivered instead a clear-eyed illustration of the sheer weight of everything they had been through together; the bruising of their collective dreams. In so doing they produced a testament to all that is glorious in rock music. Appropriately enough, hardly anyone cared. In my opinion, 'Exit the Dragon' is one of the great, great albums, - far better than any other UO effort - and is worthy of being compared to the efforts of any band in any era. Obviously, there's stuff like 'The Candidate' and 'Guyville' on the other releases, but this is the one definitive album Urge released. I am one of those who failed to realise on first listen how much 'Dragon' had to offer, indeed, it was probably a few years after first listening before I really came back to it. But when that switch was finally flicked, I was floored. It is impecable: so slick, so brilliantly played, yet so raw and human. If I had to choose one track it would be 'Take Me', but I am loathe to dissemble further. You need to get it, and stick with it. Listen to this album in tota, repeatedly, very very loud. It will reveal itself, I promise. This is high art, at the absolute peak of the form, and deserves to be remembered for decades to come.

Hey folks--I've noticed that a lot of great music like "Exit the Dragon" is in ending up in the old dollar bin because the used merchants have too much and nobody cares anymore (uh, supply & demand I think). Well let me tell you--this is one great rock and roll album that, as I write this, can be had at a bargain.

These guys were a great band and they released their best when they were at the end of the rope they eventually hung themselves with. The tension and desperation are palpable, particularly on the Eddie Roeser tracks like "This Is No Place" and "Tin Foil." "The Mistake" is a regret-filled dirge about a drug suicide written by the drummer Blackie, who subsequently quit/was fired, allegedly for reasons including his own substance abuse problems. The Nash "Girl, You are a Woman Now" Kato tracks are generally more upbeat and help lift the gloom momentarily, but this one is a delightful downer(think Big Star's "Third/Sisters Lovers" or Sly's "Riot" but not as good).

I saw these guys in Athens, GA at the 40 Watt on the "Saturation" tour and I can attest that they were the real deal. They hit the stage barechested and wearing giant "UO" gold medallions around their necks. Too bad they had their chance when it was becoming uncool to act like rock stars.

So buy a copy now because I think its out of print and it will probably be worth BIG BUCKS someday...or maybe not, but you can still listen to it and think about how little you paid for so much listening pleasure.

God. They had that special quality. Urge had soul. Exit the Dragon is Urge Overkill's best album, but even if Geffen had done their job and had given the record a fair amount of promotion (yeah, they didn't), it probably still wouldn't have sold very well, I'm very sorry to say. Most people don't "get" UO, but all they need to do is listen with the ability to recognize what makes great art and what makes art great! It's all about "the touch", as Dirk Diggler once sang(although I think he was talking about a different sort of "touch"). UO truly had "it" on this record, but Geffen had just about "had it" with UO. I was 14 when this came out (I was even more of a fan then), and I don't remember knowing anyone who was into them at the time besides myself and some friends I had personally influenced. Sad stuff. It's okay, though, UO will be "Big Star"'s someday...It's the same old story; an inventive, ridiculously good band is misunderstood and frustratingly commercially unsucessful during their existance until ten years later or so after their demise when a bunch of record collecting geeks "discover" them and turn them into cult-legends. They deserve so much more than that...Karma? Just buy this record and love it.

I love how "Exit the Dragon" is always referred to as a colossal F-up. It is one of my personal favorite albums EVER. The jacket and interior pictures are awesome [especially the LP]. The story behind it and the fact that it got no promotion is interesting. And most importantly, the music is beautiful. It is one of the few albums I enjoy listening to front-to-back, side a-side b all the way through. They hit every mood, which is something very few albums accomplish. In fact, I think I'll go listen to it right now . . .

I got in to Urge Overkill thanks to "Sister Havanna" which had heavy rotation on MTV's "Alternative Nation" (back when MTV was OK to watch, now it's just horrifying). I bought Saturation and thought it was such a brilliant rock album. I remember buying "Exit The Dragon" when it first came out in '95. It was much darker then "Saturation" but I really thought it rocked harder then that album did. Little did I realize that the band were about to break up after that.

10 years later, listening to ETD, it's even better then it was when I first bought it. "The Break", "The Mistake", "Monopoly" are just as great as when I first heard them. Though they have been pretty much forgotten by todays music lovers I will always love this little piece of musical heaven. I have heard they are launching a comeback. If they are I would be extremely excited to pick up anything new from UO.

Urge Overkill's final album " Exit the Dragon" generated mixed reviews from the music press- as a whole, the album was disregarded by the critics. In this, I find another reason to doubt the capacity of critics in general to judge good music from bad music. Because this album is definitely great, and stands well up against their previous album " Saturation", which was hailed by critics and press. If you liked " Saturation", you ought to like " Exit the Dragon."

The reason I cannot understand why this album was disregarded is because I cannot find any major crucial flaws in it. Indeed, I find much to love about it, and see it as a unique rock album. In the end, it is probably an album you will love or hate.

All of the tracks are killers, but if I had to choose standouts, I would say " The Break", " Need Some Air", "Somebody Else's Body", and "Monopoly" are the "best" of the album. But upon further thinking, I conclude that each track is strong, and that each track offers something a little different musically and lyrically.

Essentially, I love this album because it is one of those albums that offer something that I cannot find anywhere else. It is a special breed of rock, and utterly satisfying. It is unfortunate that they broke up due to internal difficulties, and I can only hope they regroup one day to release more albums. But Nash Kato has just released a solo album (which I have yet to hear), and the two remaining members are apparently still going ahead with the band.

In summation: do not listen to the critics on this one, and if you are a true fan of rock music, buy this album at an insanely low price. Perhaps not a classic in the critic's eyes, but for this "critic", a definite classic.

Maybe it was because the members of Urge Overkill chose to sing about the perils of a hard-partying lifestyle instead of reveling in it that music publications like Rolling Stone ineptly panned this CD upon its arrival in stores in 1995. Whatever the reason this album wasn't properly celebrated as a growing of Urge Overkill, the fact remains that "Exit the Dragon" remains the band's best, most mature release in an impressive canon of albums. If you love rock and roll, it's simply pointless to complain about the juicy guitar crunch on such great songs as the opener, "Jaywalkin,'" and "Need Some Air." Along the same lines, just as UO did on the great Saturation album from 1993, the band flavored many of the songs on "Exit the Dragon" with an irresistable barroom swagger, topped off with a wide array of despondent lyrics. Though sonically and lyrically this album is great, it would be a disservice not to mention the bleakness of such darker-tinged songs as "The Break," "Honesty Files," "This is No Place" and "View of the Rain." Clearly, UO were a road-weary band during the making of this record.

Still, despite whatever problems they may have been going through during the mid '90s, there's a real chemistry and sense of soul on "Exit the Dragon," an album miles above the murk of UO's first two non-major-label efforts. As always, there's a great trade off between the vocals of Nash Kato and Eddie "King" Roesser, and some of the best UO songs seem to feature a subtle musical tension that makes for exciting music. One such song on "Exit the Dragon" is the utterly radio-ready "Take Me," which, in a perfect world, would have been this band's biggest hit. Sadly enough, I don't recall any of these songs getting radio airplay, but if any song from this album deserved it, "Take Me" was the one.

Other cool tracks include the one-two-three punch of "Last Night" (mid-tempo swaggering song with hopeless lyrics)/"Tomorrow" (confident punk tune complete with hand claps) and "Tin Foil" (just a great, sorrowful love song). Like other albums from Urge Overkill, "Exit the Dragon" might slightly overstay its welcome by two or three songs, but considering the band has been on a (permanent?) hiatus for so long, at least in terms of putting out new material, this transgression actually turns out to be a welcome turn of events.

Bands like Urge Overkill don't come along every day. Pick this one up if you want some great music at a great price.

Got this shortly after getting a DUI in late 94(If I remember correctly.) This record really struck me as being a very sincere and introspective effort. Clearly, the references of particular things is present. What originally impressed me with UO was their nod to 70's approaches and style. Saturation was one helluva fun record to listen to in 93. Part of the group of bands that people sick of listening to metal would go for, they were able to reach people with open minds that wanted something solidly rocking while also veering off into stranger directions. This record has a downer feel to it which wasn't apparent in the same way on Saturation. I remember 95 when I listen to this record. Getting wasted/drunk while listening to this. It's a great record and I hope that people will discover it down the road. And by the way, I did quit drinking.

Forget what you've read. Forget all the hipster-snob critics who trashed this upon it's release in '95. This is one great record! Urge Overkill will always be underrated, and this follow-up to the more power pop Saturation, is a bit darker and moodier, but every song works. Great band, amazing Rock album. Songs that stand out as favorites include "Need Some Air", "Last Night/Tomorrow", "Monopoly", "This Is No Place" "Jaywalkin'", Somebody Else's Body" and the ballad "View Of the Rain". If you dig good rock and roll with thick, vintage guitars, strong soulful vocals, catchy riffs, killer Thin Lizzy meets Tom Petty style arrangements, with a little 70's era Cheap Trick for good measure... check this out- UO's best album. I saw the band at one of the last shows on the Exit The Dragon tour, December of 1995, at La Luna in Portland, Oregon. Great show, the band really rocked that night.