Customer Reviews

Juggernaut

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

 

 

I really respect Hunters and Collectors for calling it quits rather than withering away. This excellent CD has the feeling of melancholia you'd expect when a band goes into the studio knowing it's their last outing, but it also has the feeling of a bunch of friends who still enjoy collaborating with each other so much that they don't want to go so long they start faking it. Why this makes a difference is probably not clear to most of us Americans, since we haven't been exposed to H&C's music on a regular basis the way they have in Australia. Let's just say that this band turned out a succession of great rock and roll records that are probably three times as exciting if you share the culture they come from. Their song "Throw Your Arms Around Me" was recently voted Australia's number two favorite song of all time, right after "Smells Like Teen Spirit," but H&C wrote at least a dozen other songs that worthy. Every album is recognizably theirs, yet every one is different. You'd just have to buy a few to hear what I mean.

I have everything the band has ever recorded. From their early, rough, innovative albums through the more mellow and mature material the band has always remained musically explorative and vocally superb (Mark Seymour's solo material is amazing, fyi). This album captures all of their thoughtful, confident energy as well as any of their studio material. After first listen I felt like the band had arrived at an album representing everything they have been and could be. "Suit Your Style" is an upbeat song that I believe rates among the band's top five songs over the last 20 years. If you liked Ghost Nation or Fate I think you will enjoy this album very much.

This is the band's swan song, mostly written and recorded during a 10-day jam session. Bearing that in mind, you wouldn't expect brilliance. It probably should have been an EP, but those six or so "good" songs capture the essence of H&C as well as anything the band has ever done. You can't help but listen and think that this was a band whose creative energies and mosaic of instrumentations fused so naturally into a musical realm beyond that achieved by any other rock & roll band. If they could achieve such original and downright beautiful songs as "Good Man Down" with such little time invested, it's a shame that it all had to end. But then, everything does.

As a die-hard fan of this band, sorry to say that it never rise to the melodic heights of their earlier albums, particularly Cut. For those who are looking for a sample of this band's best material, look to their earlier 1990s releases.

The Hunters and Collectors last album before the dissolution of the band. The Hunnas have come a long way from their first albums that were reckless super energetic songs written for the punters in the pubs. This last CD is a more laid back approach. Mark Seymour's years have made him more mellow and his voice is getting better from a pure musical point of view. The tunes are still great and there are a few good rocking songs still (old mother hubbard for example). The CD in some senses seems to reflect the life of the band. The first song repeats 'did it for the good times' which may reflect why the band stayed together so long with little commercial success. The song Titanic is also a description of the band and how they have been sinking slowly towards the point of breaking up. If you are looking for songs like those on the Firemans Curse, this may not be the CD for you but if you are looking for some good rock-and-roll that still has some feeling and played w! ith the passion of a band that doesn't just write songs but lives them this is a must have.