Customer Reviews

Gran Orgo

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Let me start this review off by making the point I want to make, and then elaborating later: If you are any kind of an At The Drive-In fan and you do not own this fantastic album, go find it. Now. Get offline, throw away your empty can of Diet Coke and go to the nearest record store. It's can be hard to find, but is more than worth the effort. Hell, if you're any kind of a rock n' roll fan you owe it to yourselves to hear some ATDI. You get to work, too.

If you didn't already do what I told you, I guess you probably want to know WHY you should go buy "El Gran Orgo". Fine, I'll tell you.

For those of you who don't know, At The Drive-In were an exciting, fresh new rock band putting out great albums for a few years. They got on a major label and their single "One-Armed Scissor" starting getting airplay. So naturally they went on hiatus for about half a year then broke up.

To describe their sound is difficult. I could refer to them as hardcore, indy, punk, or even the dreaded 'emo'. Lead singer Cedric Bixler just called them a rock 'n roll band, and I tend to agree. 'El Gran Orgo' is just that. A six song EP that gives you seventeen minutes of great music.

This album should appeal to any ATDI fan. Even if you've only heard "Relationship of Command" and stumbled onto this you'd enjoy it. One of the most unique things about "El Gran Orgo" is it's fairly straightforward lyrics, by At The Drive-In's standards, anyway. ("Oh dear. 'Speechless' is almost normal," said a fellow ATDI fan during our discussion of this subject.)

The band's later releases feature very abstract, although still very personal and emotional, lyrics. For comparison, lyrics like "For our amusement/We bring stares to the defendants/Mechanical panaceas/Absolved by history/Phonetic paralysis/Inflicted through morality/The seed that it nurtured/Was a wilted bouquet" from "Rolodex Proganda" demonstrate the band at the peak of their ability to make you run circles in your mind trying to figure out what the hell they're trying to say.

I have this theory about At The Drive-In in which the band made a bizarre pact to make their lyrics more abstract with every release. "Give It A Name" might just be the closet the band came to doing a love song, and hearing it certainly was a surprise for someone who started with "Relationship of Command."

But as I said, the more straightforward nature of EGO is the charm of the album. It starts with the aforementioned "Give It A Name", an upbeat two and a half minute, dare I say pop song that deals, quite simply, with the end of a relationship. The song is delivered with the typical ATDI energy, giving it an almost triumphant feel at times as Cedric sings lines like "So take those diamond bland shaped tears/And maybe I'll see you in twenty years/And I will always wear your ring/You know the one that turned my finger green".

With that, the momentum of the album never lets up, aside from a quiet fifty-second breather in the middle.

The best example of the album's excellence is its closer and best track, "Speechless". The song is one of ATDI's finest moments, combining all their best qualities: an energetic, passionate performance, a dynamic instrumental performance, and some of Cedric's most heartfelt vocals. It deals with the difficult subject of rape, but doesn't belittle the issue. Lyrics like "Hiding bruises he brings you roses/Says "I'm sorry" now it's okay/No hard feelings, no deep meanings/You were once special/But just for a day" evoke the victim's feelings of betrayal and shame.

The song goes to a whole new level when the guitars drop out during the bridge and allow the bass and drums to play under the lines "All those lonely nights/You stayed up and cried/Sick to your stomach with butterflies/He says "come here and hold me close/You never really seem to smile when I touch you", helping bring the song toward it's emotional peak. The repetition of the line "She's reaching for something right" and the final scream that end the song beautifully wrap up the song and the album.

At The Drive-In's break-up was a big loss to rock, with the exposure they were starting to get they could have helped bring more exciting new rock music into the picture. As it stands, they left behind several great albums, and this is one of them. Do yourself a favor and look into this one.

How do i begain. El Gran Orgo has to be one of the best releases by At The Drive-In, with intensely origonal songs and riffs it completely defines the band in a math-rocked/punked up, late Drive Like Jehu fashion that could only be accomplished by these high energy Texas boys. I can still remember seeing them play there first seattle show at a gym that used to double as a show venue during the weekends. They were just starting to tour there first full leight cd and they did amazing, most likly one of the best shows i have ever seen. If you do not have this cd buy it now!

Being an At The Drive-In fan for lord knows how long, I recently decided to try and seek out El Gran Orgo. Having all their other albums, I expected this to perhaps be "decent" or "sub-par" compared to all their other amazing albums. However, I was proven wrong. This is a fantastic album and you can hear their sound just devoloping into something unique. It took me at least 3 spins to truly get a feel for the album, but I grew attached to it. Songs like "Speechless" and "Honest to a Fault" truly are classics in my mind. If you love ATDI and are unsure about buying this album, trust me you won't be dissapointed. It was sad to see ATDI go, but they left behind a number of great albums, this being the beginning of the path.

Solid effort compared to their other albums. Raw EP, but is enjoyable because of the bands typical amazing energy that flows into your body listening to the tracks. Also, its strange of all ATDI album music samples you can listen to. only El Gran Orgo is able to play its samples. Not a must have, but if you're a die hard its worth it.

Noisy, ugly, and mostly amateurish early punk release from the great band is seen hardly beginning to spread their wings on this adolescent outing. Short of a few interesting ideas the release is a throwaway for greater things to come.

at the drive-in are an extremely inspiring band, thursday have quoted them as one of their serious influences. el gran orgo is an incredible achievement, kicking off with the uplifting 'give it a name', and following that up with two amazing songs, 'honest to a fault' and 'winter month novelty' (the best song on this ep), AtDI show that not only are they talented musicians and songwriters, but that they have variety and range.

i was sad when AtDI broke up, but the majority of the band has reformed as Sparta, and their ep (i think it is called 'austere')came out march 26th. i get to see Sparta with Thursday in about a week, so hopefully i will get to see the guys continuing their inspirational careers.

this album is an essential album... that's all there is to say.

If At the drive-in wanted to achieve the fame and glory bands like Green Day have this was the album to do it. All the songs make great singles and aren't to alternative for the mainstream.

To be perfectly honest i would hate it if ATD-I where mainstream and i would probably look upon their work in a different way so thank god this is only listened to by their loyal fan base.

All the songs are catchy but maintain a rawness and angryness about them. Don't not by it because you want their angry stuff. Anybody who likes ATD-I would love this album. Whereas in the latter albums the used soft melodic tunes in between agression in this album they use aggression in between melody.

Their are 7 tracks on this album like the amazon site says however on the back of the case only 6 are listed. This because even though their are 7 tracks (track 4 whcih is untitled) is less than a minute long and isn't really a song. The stand out tunes have to be tracks 1, 3 and 7.

ATD-I fans need this now.

This is some of the first work produced by the greatest rock act in history. Of course this is my opinion. Cedric and Omar need to leave "The Mars Volta" and come back to thier roots. If this is your first time listening to ATDI, I recommend starting with "Relationship of Command" and working your way back.

This EP is a classic at the drive-in number in its 1997 release. All seven tracks blasted an enrgetic emo-core melody that was pure brilliance.This cd is definantley worth buying.

Could someone be so kind and list the tracks of this album? thanks alo