Customer Reviews

Keep It Together

5 star:		(103)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The first time I put this disc in my player, I was UNDERwhelmed. "Drum kit INSTEAD of bongos?! PISH-POSH!"

Having come to know and love Guster from their flawless 1999 album, "Lost and Gone Forever," I had high high hopes for where this quirky pop band with neo-Simon & Garfunkel harmonies would go next. This isn't what I expected. It's radio ready. It's slick. It's polished. And it's absolutely wonderful.

"Amsterdam," the first single, is the most immediate song they've ever crafted. And "Careful," "Homecoming King" and the title track aren't far behind. But, in case you're unfamiliar with Guster's off-beat musical landscape, no instrument is ever off-limits with these guys. No matter how radio friendly they get, "Keep It Together" showcases just how inventive and daring their arrangements are. The banjo on "Jesus on the Radio," the whistling in "Long Way Down" and the lightning-speed strumming in "Homecoming King" just scratch the surface of the depth of this band's musical intuition and keen pop sense.

But the two best songs here, without doubt, are "Ramona" and the stunning "Come Downstairs and Say Hello." The former track lays some Beach-Boys sunshine down on a heart-tugging chorus for brilliant - and bittersweet - effect. "Come Downstairs..." is easily the greatest song this band has tackled yet. Every moment of its glorious extended-crescendo is pure perfection. The lyrics (which begin and end with a clever nod to the myth about Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" matching up with "The Wizard of Oz") sketch out suburban isolation and introverted courage with brevity and clarity. And the arrangement - from a plodding whisper to an up-tempo sighing confection - is breathtaking.

The only hindrance here is the jokey "Red Oyster Cult." It's just not that clever of an idea, and its chorus is a bit too brash for where it sits on the album. But this is obviously a band that knows how to build drama and suspense without grating nerves or getting too syrupy - as evidenced by the Crowded House-like "Backyard" and the graceful hum of "Long Way Down." And be sure to check out the charming hidden track, complete with a children's choir.

If Guster can out do themselves after this, the world is in for a modern guitar-pop masterpiece. Until then, this is easily one of my favorite albums of the year - and one I return to OVERwhelmed again and again.

When Lost And Gone Forever came out, I bought it and played it constantly, amazed that it had no "skip over" tracks and that every song was so good. Now Keep It Together is delivering the same amazement, though I shouldn't be surprised anymore since I love Guster.

"Amsterdam," the first radio single, is excellent, but when I played the CD the first time, the songs that immediately stood out to me were "Careful," "Homecoming King" and "Come Downstairs And Say Hello" (the last of which in my opinion rivals "Either Way" for the most beautiful song they've written). Even the tracks that didn't stand out were infectious enough that I've found myself singing them to myself without realizing what I was doing.

The musicianship -- or perhaps the production -- here sounds more mainstream to me than it has in Guster's past releases (with the exception of some banjo on "Jesus On The Radio"), but the songs are all interesting and well-crafted, plus they've added a piano on some tracks, which I like. I highly recommend this album to anyone who's a fan of Guster, and also to anyone who isn't (yet).

I have been with Guster since Lost and Gone Forever, and Keep It Together surpasses their superb earlier work. I am proud to say that EVERY SIGNLE person I have introduced this CD to-- I usually start with the catchy "Careful," has loved them.

This is the CD where Guster break out of their "those three guys with the bongo drummer" mold and launch into superb pop rock-- one of my friends who I convinced to go with me to one of their shows described their sound as kind of "Toad the Wet Sprocket with happier lyrics." But I think they stand on their own as one of the most unique, tuneful, and underappreciated (except by their fans-- count me as one!)/underestimated bands out there.

Keep it Together starts out with "Diane," which builds up and showcases singers Adam and Ryan's unbelievable vocal harmonies. This continues throughout the CD-- every song here is superb! "Ramona" is one of my favorites, with everyone pitching in for some Beach Boys-esque heartfelt harmonizing for a genuinely touching song.

Playing along with them on the CD, and touring with them as well, is the talented Joe Pisapia, who rounds out their sound and from what I have heard is now a permanent member of the band. Despite what many may see as a band that is no longer who they were, I see this as a band who is willing to evolve, experiment and grow, and it pays off.

If you like MUSIC at all, you will not be disappointed with Keep It Together. This is a catchy, toe tapping, sing-along CD that I had in extremely heavy rotation for two years straight.

And if you get a chance to see Guster live, GO!!!! They are great and will make you a huge fan if you are not already. I cannot recommend this CD more highly, which is why it is on my desert island list.

Anyone who has seen Guster live knows the kind of energy they bring to their genre-defying music. Their third album, Lost and Gone Forever, was a successful attempt to capture that live, manic energy, and a significant step from Parachute and Goldfly, their first two albums.

With Keep It Together, their newly-released fourth album, Guster has gone in a somewhat different direction. Gone is the two-acoustic-guitars-and-a-maniac-on-congas format (well, not completely gone), as Guster branches out to bass guitars, banjos, and (gasp!) a drum kit.

This leads to a measure of exhilaration that is palpable, especially in the early songs. When Ryan Miller breaks out of his rarely-heard low notes into the sweet tenor chorus of "Diane," you can feel the band smiling. While "Amsterdam," the third track, is the first single being released by the band, it is the second track, "Careful," that is the catchiest.

Shades of Guster old can be heard on the fourth track, "Backyard," a spare, beautiful song with a wonderful harmonica solo at the end. "Jesus on the Radio" is another fairly short piece, and it is the closest to alt-country that Guster has ever dared, with some great banjo-picking by Joe of the band Joe, Marc's Brother.

Other highlights include "Keep it Together," which seems to refer to the challenges facing the band after their label didn't love their first attempt at this album, and "Come Downstairs and Say Hello," a song that starts slowly and builds to a frenzied pace, helped along by Brian Rosenworcel's phenomenal drumming. "Long Way Down" is a slower, mesmerizing song that highlights Miller's tenor again.

Overall, this is Guster's most ambitious release to date, as well as their best. It doesn't sound exactly like other Guster albums, but it does sound like a band at the height of its creative powers. Buy this CD and tell people you liked Guster before they became huge.

Guster goes downhill a little on their 4th album after recording three brilliant albums, including the under-the-radar classic "Lost and Gone Forever", one of the greatest pop/college albums of the past 20 years. Guster experiments with new instruments and sounds on many of these tracks, with mixed success.

Of course, the album has its high points, including the dark, multilayered "Diane", the light rock, bouncy, acoustic "Careful", the radio single "Amsterdam", and the instrospective, tempo-changing "Come Downstairs & Say Hello". Also, in my opinion, the best song is track 11, "Long Way Down", which sounds like if Dan Fogelberg and the Cure wrote a song together. It's fairly slow and moody, with a haunting melody and great harmonies towards the end of the song. It's the only song both musically and lyrically that lives up to the brilliance of their previous record.

The downside is that a few tracks on this CD are the weakest tracks Guster has recorded to date. "Keep it Together" and "I Hope Tomorrow is Like Today" muscially sound very bland and uninspired. "Red Oyster Cult" is a bad experiment into a musical style Guster shouldn't even attempt. "Backyard" has a good melody but is too simple and underdeveloped and sounds too much like a Moby song.

Other songs are badly produced despite strong songwriting. "Jesus on the Radio" is a strong song with beautiful harmonies but is ruined by the bad production, which makes it into a bluegrass song with the banjo too loud in the mix and not enough emphasis on the harmonies. The live version is much better. "Homecoming King" is another strong song that is hurt by overly commercial and sugary production by Ron Aniello.

I wasn't happy with how at least a handful of the songs came out. The songwriting overall isn't as strong as their previous 3 records and the record seems very unfocused. The Guster worked with 2 different producers on this album and the songs easily reflect that. Guster's signature sound of acoustic guitars, bongos/congas, and harmonies is gone from much of the record and they're moving towards more of a standard rock group setup. It's a little sad to see Guster lose of their uniqueness and edginess which marked their previous work. Also, the lyrics in most of these songs don't really move you like their past two albums.

Of course, a Guster record is still going to be better than the vast majority of what's out there and there are some very good songs here. But after listening to this album a few times, I really missed their older material and immediately put LAGF back in my CD player. I marginally recommend this CD, but it's not really a standout album in my opinion. And yes, I'm a huge Guster fan.

Keep it Together is one of the best CDs I've ever owned. I originally had a burned copy from a friend and I immidiately felt the need to go buy the CD to support this excellent band. Since then, I have boughten 4 of their studio releases.

Keep it Together is clean-cut poprock in it's truest and most interesting form. They make overly complex music sound simple and completely listenable.

What I love about Guster is how fun they are to listen to. It's odd, but I feel like a good person, a warm happy person when I listen to Guster. "Guster is for lovers" is probobly the saying I have ever heard.

Diane - 9/10. A beautiful song, the piano is beautiful, the lyrics are excellent, and Ryan Miller sounds wonderful as usual.
Careful - 9/10. The chorus is so infectious, I could sing that song all day and never get bored of it. The guitar intro is very good as well.
Amsterdam - 8/10. An excellent single. A very good song, catchy. Took a while for me to warm to, but it's a very fun song.
Backyard - 8/10. Though I initially use to skip over this song, I now find myself listening to it often. The melody is unique and so is the music. Love the piano.
Homecoming King - 8/10. Great anthem, good tribute to Boston and back to High School. A very fun song that I find myself discovering something new about every time I listen.
Ramona - 10/10. A beautiful Norah Jones-esque dreamy jazz like ballad with a driving chorus and very interesting lyrics. One of the best tracks on the album.
Jesus on the Radio - 7/10. It's virtue is that it's short, so it is a barable song. By no means a bad song, but it's not their best attempt. Still interesting enough.
Keep it Together - 9/10. At first I hated this song, and as a title track I thought it was a wasted song. But the chorus got me hooked, and Ryan Miller impresses me yet again. Now a favorite of mine.
Come Downstairs and Say Hello - 10/10. I could go on and on about this song, but let me just say, THIS IS WHAT MUSIC IS. The best track on the album, possibly the most beautiful song I have ever heard. The lyrics, the music, the melody, the build up, the transitions. Everything about this song works.
Red Oyster Cult - 8/10. The most driving song on the album. Makes me want to get up and dance. The lyrics are interesting, and they prove to us that they can do more than pop, they can rock!
Long Way Down - 7/10. It's not quite an 8. It's a very entertaining song, and the chorus brings it a step up, which is very good.
I Hope Tomorrow is Like Today - 8/10. Very beautiful song, love Ryan Miller's voice in the chorus. Very good ending, love it.

CD AVERAGE: 8.41 - though this I would actually consider low for how well I actually like the CD.

Guster is amazing.

After such a long hiatus from releasing a studio album the expectations for Guster's latest effort "Keep it Together" are surely far too high. This being said, the album does infact succeed in a few respects but also bears the mark of the band's repeated mixing and remixing the tracks.

The bright spots are numerous and the album is enjoyable. The record has a clean mix to it that when done well comes off in pure guitar peel-offs but when done poorly becomes a mess of studio overdubbing.

The highlights are "Diane", "Careful", "Ramona", and "Come Downstairs and Say Hello". The first single "Amsterdam" shines except for an oddly simple, power chord chorus. "Backyard" is close to being a subtle favorite were it not for some weak experimentation with dissonance. Yes, certain notes sound very bad together, lets accept it and stop ruining potentially good tracks.

"Come Downstairs and Say Hello" may be the best song on the record. Though it starts in slow winding fashion it seems to follow a musical and lyrical progression which ends in a classical almost galluping Guster sound. Despite the slow begining, the song maintains its musical interest and weight throughout and its end only serves as a pleasant and logical completion of the begining.

The true disappointments are infact not totally unredeemable. "Homecoming King" is musically fairly catchy but the lyrics are as reprensable as some of Jonh Mayer's weakest efforts. It is clearly a bitter coda to the people who made fun of these boys in highschool. The image of "Homecoming King" is trite and about as smart as all the word play on an O-Town record. "Jesus On The Radio" is clearly supposed to be an example of musical growth but pretty much flops under the weight of being a really bad song. The same goes for "Red Oyster Cult" whose supposed clever title only the defaces the cow-bell friendly band name on which it plays. Another concern is the striking similarity between the opening chords of "Careful" and the chorus of The Cure's "In Between Days".

The album on a whole was enjoyable and in places bordering on brillance befitting the long production and recording period. Saddly the album often seems to lose itself in a sea of production hinging on guitar and vocal overdubs. It is worth a purchase and I enjoy supporting the band but the record fails in places and ways that the previous three have not. It also does manage to succeed in different ways that make it an interesting and valuable purchase. "Keep it Together" simply does not capture the simple, pure, brillance of "Lost and Gone Forever" or the rugged clairity of "Goldfly" and "Parachute". Nor does the latest release truely establish new ground. Caught between a formula that works and new musical interests the record reflects the tension and a prolonged studio stint.

I'm amazed Keep it Together wasn't more popular than it was. One thing about this album that I love is that I don't find myself skipping any songs. If you like the first track on this Cd you'll love all of them. Guster Didn't make the mistake of trying to create a CD as good as they're last one, they simply made a great CD! Keep it Together has a slightly different style from Guster's other albums, but it won't lose any fans, it will only gain them. A thing that I love about Guster is that they don't write two good songs and then fill in the blanks with some other dull tracks, they actually take time on each song individually, and that really comes out in they're music. I really look forward to they're next album.

i don't understand where the negative reviews are coming from. this was my first guster cd, bought it on a whim, had never heard them that i could remember, but something told me to rescue the album from the record store and take it home with me. i've never looked back...
"come downstairs and say hello"~ transcendent
"backyard"~ inventive
"amsterdam"~ poppy but thats not a bad thing
"jesus on the radio"~ sweet sweet love
as i wrote on my review of "lost and gone forever", it's so hard to choose favorites from a guster cd. the album, as a whole, is an experience. one thing i love about guster is the universal appeal. ok, i'm gonna say it. guster is a pop rock band. but, as my brit faves, delays, say, "what's wrong with pop?" pop music has gotten to be a bad name, when applied to certain groups and artists. being a pop band doesn't make you a media whore, althought the reverse is often true. remember back in the day, the beatles and the ramones were called pop! i hope bands like delays, guster, jump, etc. will be able to restore the good name of pop.
sorry about the tangent. buy "keep it together". tell all your friends. listen and fall in love. and listen, listen. and then listen. you will thank me

Many bands make the mistake of following up an album even THEY must know is near-perfect by trying to duplicate it. It becomes apparent when listening to Keep it Together that Guster made absolutely certain they weren't rehashing Lost and Gone Forever when they cut this great album. Having said that, when following up a near-perfect album, it is hard not to review one in light of the other.

Keep it Together is not as immediately likeable as Lost and Gone simply because the songs aren't quite as hooky. This isn't good or bad, just descriptive. The songs are wonderful, slightly less poppy, and definitely more experimental for these guys. Jesus on the Radio features a raw banjo track, and Red Oyster Cult is the most unGusterlike song I've heard them record yet. That said, both tracks are amazing! If you liked Lost and Gone Forever but aren't looking to spend $15 on buying the same album twice, Keep it Together is a worthwhile purchase.