Customer Reviews

Golden State

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Let me start off by stating that I am almost 35, I'm married and i have loved Bush since 16 Stone. I am one of the few who found Razorblade Suitcase to be a delightful little "bitter pill" that I swallowed over and over again. Much better than their debut album. It just OOZED emotional angst thu the speakers.
The remix album was good and Science of Things was solid, but lacking.
Enter...Golden State. Simple. Complex. Bitter. Reflective.
This album is the culmination of EVERYTHING the band has done. Yes, there are radio friendly singles. Yes, there are dismally wallowing songs. And yes, EVERY damn song on the album has it's charms. (see, Oldskool there, "Album" instead of CD!)
I swear, there is not a song on this disc that I dislike. In fact, the couple of songs i dismissed as filler on first listen, later became my favorites.
A cold rainy July nite in Northern California (The Golden State), it is 50 degrees and i stand on the rocks overlooking the Pacific, listening to this CD. It just flows thru me, all the anger, all the love and everything in between is captured on this album. The lyrics are deep and the music is solid. It really doesn't get any better than this.

You know, I always considered 16stone to be a great album. As a matter of fact, I shoplifted it when I was only eleven and listened to it solidly for six months. Its been a decade and now I usually pay for the cds, so perhaps i've moved back into the recording industry's good graces with adulthood, but who cares? Bush still rocks like no other.

A few steps off the beaten path (Deconstructed, The Science of Things) never hurt a solid rock act like Bush, although they did push a few of their devotees away for awhile as they experimented with the electronic movement. Returning to the majesty of 16 and Razorblade, Bush has once again proven that they aren't cut-rate diluted Nirvana worms, but truly an original, pulse-racing, head-banging hard rock entity that has laid claim to the throne of the new world of Rock and Roll.

At times speed metal quick, at others raspily heartfelt, Gavin never fails to confuse and inspire with his spaced out lyrics, making the stellar 'Head full of Ghosts' a hauntingly accurate pre-tribute to the 9/11 tragedy, and giving the absolutely fantastic 'Superman' a last-chance-to-cheat-death feel to it.

As with 16stone, Golden State is fairly devoid of weak tracks, you can put this one on play and let it ride. 'The People That We Love' is a fantastic nu-rock anthem, 'Infatable' recreates 'Glycerine,' but with more heart and 'My Engine Is With You' is lent a cheap, lower east side barroom punk feel to keep your head bobbing and your heart racing.

This album is a defiant statement by the all too often underestimated Bush, declaring that they are indeed the new royalty of rock. Do Not Pass on this album, Golden State is only the beginning.

I bought the album after hearing the catchy first single "The People That We Love", it wasn't a great song, but was good enough for me to check out the rest of the album. I was kinda disappointed by the album for the most part, though, there are some high points on the album. The highlights of the album are "Superman" and "Inflatable", the first being a really excellent song, the second a great, slow ballad. The biggest surprise of the album was the punk on the song "My Engine is with You", and Bush does do a good job of pulling it off. The rest of the album is the standard Bush fare ranging from crunchy-guitar driven songs to other acoustic ballads. The rest of the album is decent, not excellent, but above average. Recommended for all those die-hard Bush fans that never want to see them change. For some, though, a little change would not hurt and Bush could use a little revamping in my opinion. Anyway not a bad album, but not even close to the quality of 16 Stone.

I was a big fan of "Sixteen Stone" and unlike many others, I simply LOVED the dark, brooding sound of the Steve Albini produced "Razorblade Suitcase". "The Science of Things" was a solid effort but it seemed to lack the passion of the first two albums.
Let me state, with absolutely NO uncertainty, that Bush is definately back. "Golden State" has everything you love about BUSH and then some. There are the radio friendly singles with the catchy choruses, the soulful ballad, and the full-on rocking songs.
The band is tight. Tighter than ever before. I have never noticed this before but the drumming is really an integral part of this CD. There is still that industrial sound that Bush seems to have gravitated towards but it simply fuels the English fire that is Bush.
After about 200 listens, I can honestly say that there is not a throwaway track to be found on this CD. Even my wife, who abhors hard rock has been heard to be humming "Land of the Living", "Solutions" and "Reasons" among others. The more you listen, the more subtle you realize this album actually is.
I cannot believe Gavin just got married as the lyrics, while not dark, definately do not sound like someone who is at peace with the world. Bush is exploring the same musical territory as they have always been, only this time it goes to new depths.
EVERY song is on the CD for a reason. For example, on the first couple of listens, I could have done without the repetitive "Hurricane". A few weeks later and it is my favorite song. It's not so much what Gavin is singing, it's HOW he presents it.
"My Engine is With You" is one of the heaviest, pure heavy rock numbers I have heard in years, while "Fugitive" and "Land of the Living" grow on me until I am singing them even after the CD has been taken out of my player.
For anyone who thought that BUSH had lost their edge, was washed up and ready to "phone it in", I ask you to buy this CD, right now, and then listen to it for a couple of weeks. If you do not appreciate it, email me. I honestly believe this is the best BUSH album released in years and one of the best of 2002. Trust me on this one.

These guys have been called Nirvana rip offs,but it's time to give Bush their due--They are a great band!I love this CD!All the songs are great but some are incredible!"Headful of Ghosts"is probably my favorite track,Gavin has a great way with words and his singing isrich and passionate!"Superman""Hurricane""Land of the Living"no,these songs don't offer anything new,infact they sound like they'd fit right in on their debut album "Sixteen stone"but they hit all the right notes,strong lyrics(that you can hear and understand!What a concept!)and powerful tight playing by a band that rocks!"Float"is a great closing song!I have to say being a Bush fan since their debut,this is the first album where every track is great!If you like classic rock you need to get it!

This album was thrown under the bus when no one was looking, but it is simply their best album since 'Sixteen Stone.' Whereas 'Razorblade Suitcase' was status quo and 'The Science of Things' lacked a defined album musical direction, 'Golden State' surfaces as a great comeback with hanuting yet beautiful melodies. Lyrically, it is superior to the last two records and Gavin's vocals are of course gorgeous.

Listen to these three tracks and you'll marry this album: 'Solutions,' 'Inflatable,' and Bush's best song ever - 'Float.'

It's a shame Nigel Polsford left the band because this is CD is unbelievable, it's friggin' great. It's as catchy as sixteen stone, as hard as Razorblade Suitcase, and keeps alot of melody like Science Of Things. Rossdale gets better every album, and this one he lets himself go and out does himself. Headful Of Ghosts is awesome and should have been a hit of atlantic records didn't mishandle the album. The People that we love was really the only decent hit on the album. Solutions is a great opener, just like Everything Zen, Personal Holloway and Warm Machine. The ballad Iflatable is easily as good as Letting The Cables Sleep or Bonedriven but only made a brief air play. Every track is cool, and you couldn't as for more in an album. Pick this up now, and prep for Gavin Rossdale's new band Intitute, the new single is on the "Stealth" Soundtrack.

This sound sunlike any of the other Bush albums, and its their best, every track matters on this album unlike Sixteen Stone which is more of a singles collection with some undeveloped songs to fill up the rest of the album, although they are certainly not bad tracks.

Every track on this album, holds up pretty well, although a couple are'nt ones you would want to have overly repeated listens to.

Heres Bush's best to least best albums.

1. Goldenstate
2. Razorblade Suitcase
3. The Science Of Things
4. Sixteen Stone (I'm sure many will disagree with this one being at the bottom)

Of course they are all very good.

I bought the album after hearing "The People That We Love" (originally called "Speed Kills", the title was changed after the 9/11 disaster) and "Headful of Ghosts". I loved the first for its hard rock passion... a grunge anthem, in the year 2001? And as for "Headful of Ghosts"... mellow, a tad depressing, but overall beautiful. A touch of humanity.

So... buying the record was the right move to make, right?

At first, I wondered if I wasted my money. The tracks were so slow, and they just lacked... something. Something like pizazz... the stuff that "The People That We Love" had. But then I listened again and again... and again and again... and I found that I fell in love with tracks like "Superman", "Hurricane", and my current Golden State favorite "Inflatable". This is a great mix of a mellower style and 90s alternative... and that's not something that's popular at this point, but it makes for awesome art. This is a record that has to be truly listened to by ear... the lyrics are symbolic, figurative, and at other times, cuttingly straightforward. But they're all fantastic just the same. It's modern poetry.

And here they are again, Bush coming back with their fourth (and possibly their best) album: "Golden State". Losing touch with most of their fans with their third release "The Science of Things", Bush decided to go back to their regular post-grunge ways. The reason I labeled this album four stars is because this album sounds like a sequel to Sixteen Stone, which is perfectly alright it's just when I bought this album I was expecting a change (like their previous follow ups to Sixteen Stone) that would put Bush back on the charts. Now now, dont get me wrong this album is still a perfection, "The People That We Love" makes the whole album worth-while and while they still have their weaknesses, ("My Engine is With You" and "Out of the World") such songs as "Headful of Ghosts" and "Flost" definetly make up for it. Another reason why I put the album four stars is because the album sounds REALLY typical and arguably out of date. Every song on this album does tend to sound the same in most cases (something that was never a problem with Bush before) and the only song that really changes direction is "Inflatable" and while that song is pretty good, it's different what most Bush songs sound. If you're a real fan of Bush (and love Sixteen Stone) I guarantee you'll love this album and should definetly buy it if you're smart. Atleast this album still shows that Bush has the strength to survive through all the mainstream metal (and/or hard rock). Standouts: "Solutions" "Headful of Ghosts" "The People That We Love" "Inflatable" "Float"