Customer Reviews

Getting There

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent CD and definitely worth a listen. I was very pleasantly surprised at how good they truly are. Very tight harmonies, upbeat, enjoyable music! Think really good folksy garage band. My personal favorite song is "Ten Years in Mexico" then, "Don't Look Back", followed by "Jersey Girl", "Angelina" and "Getting There". "T.M.I." and "Arm Wrestling Woman" are happy catchy songs that got stuck in your head and you really don't mind that they are stuck there! Kevin Bacon is more than just a pretty faced, talented actor - he can sing and so can his brother! The Bacon Brothers really do ROCK!!! Check them out!!!

This second CD, while maybe not quite as profound as Forosoco, their first, is still amazing. I can almost say that I like Keven Bacon better as a singer than as an actor. Michael's voice has a strong James Taylor sound to it, and his musical training is evident in his writing and arrangements. "T.M.I." is a hoot, although there's an awkward bridge in there, but still a great song. I have no idea what the previous reviewer was thinking regarding "Chop Wood," but I find it to be a very thought-invoking look at sibling rivalry, child rearing and the effort we make to not repeat the mistakes of our parents. "When You Decide You've Stayed Too Long" takes you to a place we've all been, and "July Away" is a perfect showcase for Michael's voice. You really need to listen to the words to "Not Born To Beauty," and once you're past the humorous lyrics, think about all the bar bands you've listened to and identify with it. Another excellent CD worth having in your collection!

The Bacon Brothers have made a great little set of catchy pop tunes on their second CD. Brother Michael had formed the folk-rock group "Good News" in the 70's and issued several solo LPs. Together with Kevin, they explore a number of different styles and pull them off admirably. "Tequila smile & a mango kiss" starts the sweet midtempo "Ten Years In Mexico." My favorite track is the Smokey Robinson penned "Don't Look Back" which is some great blue-eyed soul that'd rival Hall & Oates, "If you just put your hand in mine, we can leave all our troubles behind." The title track has some nice percussion on a soft midtempo pop tune. "T.M.I." is a humorous country confection, "He had a swollen wallet & a swollen head; there's more to life than being good in bed, too much information!" "Not Born to Beauty" rocks out with the Brothers giving particularly good harmonies. One of the best pop rock tracks is the optomistic "Chop Wood," "I gotta chop wood; I gotta carry water, hold my boy & respect my daughter." There's some dexterous acoustic guitar work on the midtempo "Don't Lose Me Boy," "So you say you'll be the next Hendrix, Clapton or Buddy Guy." I like the sound of the toe tapper "Strung Out," but have some disconnect between the drug language and a love lyric, "Strung out on you baby & I can't clean up my act; You're like a heavenly addiction; you're like an angel on my back." The Brothers give a soulful treatment to Tom Waits' "Jersey Girl" complete with the sha-la-la-la hook laden chorus. "City of Fear" seems to shift between country, pop, folk in one song. The CD concludes with the lovely "Angelina." "Getting There" is a good set of catchy pop tunes. The Brothers shift effortlessly between many styles. If there were a suggestion to develop, it'd be in getting a diversity of instruments to flavor the tracks, add flourishes, to make each song even more distinct. However, they have a great set on "Getting There." Enjoy!

For those of you who have not heard the newly released cd," getting there ", by the Bacon Bros., GET IT, LISTEN TO IT, YOU ARE SURE TO LOVE IT.Great music,featuring, Kevin and Michael Bacon. It is one of those rare cds, where you like every song. Sure to be a hit.. I believe the Bacon Bros. have 'got there'.

This is a fabulous album. Kevin & Mike sing so well, it well worth to buy this album. I hope that they will come out with more albums. Every song is great, but my total favorites are Don't look back, Chop Wood, Don't Lose Me Boy, Strung Out, and City of Fear.

The Bacon Brothers are among my favorites because they write songs about a subject rarely addressed in popular music: The love and tensions experienced in a family that obviously respects one another. On this CD, "Chop Wood" is devastating when placed next to "Don't Lose Me Boy." On "Forosoco, there was "Brown Eyes" and "Adirondack Blue." Also on Forosoco were the stories told with self-deprecating humor that led to this maturity: "Grey-Green Eyes" and "Boys in Bars."

Great fun, great stories, great arrangements, great band. And there isn't one song I "couldn't stand."

I LOVE this CD. When I'm listening to it I think, "oh, I love this song, this is my favorite one on the CD" and then the next song plays and I feel the same way. The songs are well written and the band is fantastic so they all sound great. And, like on their other CDs, they threw some fun ones in for us, T.M.I. and Not Born to Beauty. The ones that stand out most for me are Angeliana (written by Kevin and definitely in my top 5 favorite Bacon Brothers songs), Chop Wood, Don't Lose Me Boy (a heartfelt song that Michael wrote for his son), and City of Fear. Music has always been Michael's career, so it isn't surprising that he is an excellent song writer. And that talent definitely runs in the family because Kevin is a very powerful song writer. He has an amazing way with words. Listen carefully to City of Fear or Chop Wood...he puts it all out there and opens up his world to us. Seeing them perform live is a real treat because they have a great energy on stage. Michael and Kevin play well off each other, and the band is full of incredibly talented musicians.

The sophomore release from the Bacon Brothers shows them stretching their wings and trying more with their basic folky/roots rock sound, and while some of the experimentation sinks them, more often it's improving the songs.

Best outings for Kevin are usually quiet understated ballads (his elegiac "Ten Years in Mexico", the achingly beautiful "When You Decide You've Stayed too Long"), with "Arm Wrestling Woman" the lone exception where he manages to come off sounding tough instead of phony on a rockier number.

Michael's best are "It's a Rocky Road" (sounding not unlike James Taylor's "Copperline") and his empty nest lament in "Don't Lose the Boy". The duo also manage a surprisingly good rendition of Tom Waits' "Jersey Girl", complete with great vocal interplay and some nice falsetto from Kevin.

Low points for the disc are "T.M.I" which runs too long and in too many directions (rapid tempo changes, awkward verses at times, a strange choir part singing "T....M....I"). "Not Born to Beauty" is an ambitious bar band tribute that suffers from too busy an arrangement and a vocal from Kevin that descends into parody by trying way too hard to sound "soulful".

Several other songs are solid without being exceptional. (The arrangement weighs down "Chop Wood" a bit, "Angelina" has Kevin's best vocal work but just isn't as good a lyric as some of the others).

Bottom Line: These guys are still quite a bit better than the amount of recognition they get would indicate. Don't let the fact that one of the band members is a grade B movie star keep you from giving them a chance.

3 1/2 stars

I love the Bacon Brothers. I have been to three of their concerts and love both this CD and Forsoco. Michael Bacon is similar sounding to James Taylor. Kevin Bacon is not my favorite actor but the boy can sing! Every track offers a surprise and a hint of humor. Great for long trips or to play as background music for a party or get-together. Always a pleasure to listen to. This CD is one of my favorites. I look forward to seeing them in concert again!

This album is really great. There isn't a single song on here that I don't like. I wasn't even aware that Kevin Bacon had a band with his brother until I was home with the flu last year and saw them on a daytime talk show. I was blown away! As soon as I was up and about again, I immediately ordered this CD, then I ordered their first, Forosoco. This one is better than the first, but they are both excellent. I have heard that they have a new album coming out in June, and I can't wait. Their songs really convey to you just what they were feeling or thinking when they wrote them. If you listen to the words, you really understand the meaning - how many bands can you say that about anymore? I highly recommend any Bacon Brothers CD.