Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Obviously clueless., July 23, 2006
I've read some reviews of this album that say it's an exact duplicate of the original Keasbey Nights. These people obviously either don't listen well, or they don't understand music. There are so many differences, and I still find some when I listen to the album for the 100th time. The horn lines are nearly all more intricate, the bass on this album is absolutely astounding, there are lyrical alterations, and the solos are beautifully done.
Someone else said that Tomas needs to realize that music is for fans to listen to. What? No, it isn't. Making music is a way of expressing ones self, and if other people buy it, it's an added bonus. If you listen to the final track, it was either he re-record it with SM, or they (the label) re-release it with no real changes. But even that shouldn't have to be explained, because no musician should be making music to make fans happy. That would be like an author writing a book that he doesn't like, or a visual artist making a drawing/painting that they wouldn't purchase themselves. Artists are in NO way using their talent just to please the masses. If they are, they aren't true artists, plain and simple.
I fully recommend this album. I still listen to the original, and you can't compare the two and say which is better, because it wouldn't be fair to either record, because they're both wonderfully good.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Change is Good., March 8, 2006
The mastermind behind the original Keasbey Nights, an album hailed as one of the best ska albums of all time, Tomas Kalnoky, has re-recorded the album with his new comrades who make up Streetlight Manifesto.
Many people will be criticizing him for touching up a record that many love for its raw and unpolished sound, but that's not what Tomas wanted. According to the interview at the end of the record (spoken by computerized voices of the Hawking type) they wanted to 'get it right for once'. All of the tracks have something different, some of them much more noticeable than others, with added verses, horn parts, etc.
Now for tracks.
1. Dear Sergio: The added verse (The one from BOTAR) adds a lot to the song and seems much like a epilogue to an old fan favorite. The chorus is also much better on this version. 9/10
2. Sick and Sad: As much as I liked the original, this one was so much better. A much better guitar, horn parts that are punctuated, especially the bone, and vocals that are much cleaner make this track one of the best on the album. 10/10
3. Keasbey Nights: Sounds much like the original but the bari sax gives it more backbone. 8/10
4. Day in Day out: Greatly improved from the first album. This is the first track where you can really tell the change in Kalnoky's voice from eight years, losing some of the raspiness. The background vocals that were added to the chorus really give it a lot of flaver. 10/10
5. Walking Away: Cleaner bassline at the beginning sets the stake high for the rest of the song but it does not dissappoint. The solos are all different which was a nice surprise hearing the talent of the musicians. 9/10
6. Giving up, Giving in: Fuller guitar, being the main force of this song as there are no horns, bring this track out and show that Kalnoky isn't limited to playing lightspeed upstrokes. 7/10
7. On and On and On: One of my favorites from both albums. One of the best moments of the original album was the last 45 seconds of this song, so i was really hoping for an improvement on this one. By golly i was so pleased when i heard it break out at about 2:24. 9/10
8. Riding the 4th wave: Major changes to this song with just about every solo changed and an acoustic guitar added to the originally flute-solo intro. 8/10
9. This one goes out to..: A once-overshadowed song becomes one of the prominent tracks on this album thanks to the superb horn section - four guys can do a lot with experience. Vocals are still stronger than ever, not to mention a dynamite Sax solo that makes this song. 10/10
10. Supernothing: Sounds basically the same with some minor changes, mostly the tweaked horn harmonies. 8/10
11. 9mm and a three piece suit: While this song is still amazing and was one of their most popular, it is being overshadowed by the improvements to other tracks while generally leaving this one as it was besides cleaning up the bass and bone. I do like the rddddddddd noise though. 8/10
12. Kristina she don't know i exist: After hearing Walking Away's new solos all i could expect was that this song, chock full of them, would also have new ones, and i was right. Fun. 7/10
13. As the footsteps die out forever: I wasn't too happy with the quality of musicianship on the last album and this song really epitomizes how they are much better at playing now, especially if you listen to one right after the other. 9/10
14. 1234 1234: The best part about the track is the interview at the end, as the song (which ends at about 3:50) is basically the same. 8/10
Average: 8.6
Buy this album. You will not want to skip any track, period.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A good ska album, June 8, 2006
I have to say that this is a decent album. The original Keasbey night was the first ska album I listened to. Hell, it was the CD that got me into ska in the first place. When I first saw SM in concert, I fell in love with them, and when rumor was that they were remaking KN, I was ECSTATIC. However, despite already being able to sing along with this CD, I was looking forward to having more changed than there was. There are some subtle lyrical differences, and you really have to listen for them. And unless you perfectly know C22's version, they're kinda hard to pick out. There were also some solo differences. Also, on many songs, Tom seems like he doesn't have as much energy put into this album, like he's just singing because everyone expects him to. He has WAY more energy on the original. As much as I love streelight, I was hoping for SOMETHING else...maybe a combo Point/Keasby/Counterpoint, like what they do in concert. Good album, slightly dissapointing.
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