Customer Reviews

Last Call For Vitriol

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Superdrag fans rejoice! Our favorite sons from Knoxville have dropped another outstanding recording for your listening pleasure. And it is a pleasurable listen, for sure. Opening with the clever "Baby Goes to Eleven", Superdrag deliver the goods once again. "Last Call for Vitriol" contains two of the best songs I have heard this year: "The Staggering Genius" and "Feeling Like I Do". Once again, you will be wondering why commercial radio and MTV don't play the heck out of these guys. Hey, if it's this good, who cares!

Superdrag have always been able to pack three to four stunningly awesome songs on their albums, but "Last Call" is consistently the best Superdrag album, tune-by-tune. There is a warm, easy-going feel to this quite diverse recording. Elements of power pop, classic rock and country pulse throughout the 12 tracks on this disc. The two newest members, Sam and Mic, are welcome additions and their presence is definitely felt on this recording.

But the real star here is John Davis. His lyrics are clever and thoughtful. His singing on a par with so many of the greats to carry out a tune from Tennessee. You can't have power pop without killer guitar, which this album delivers in droves. Folks, whether you are new or old to Superdrag, you will enjoy "Last Call for Vitriol".

Definitely on a par with their earlier efforts, the tracks on this album contain a great deal of influence from older, paradigm-setting rock music. Listen for the Eagles and the Beatles. And be sure to set The Staggering Genius on repeat!

So you're looking for a genuine rock band? One that won't give you a bunch of B.S.? You're tired of the glossed up garbage that MTV feeds you, or all those "geniuses" (or at least that's what the critics tell you they are) like the Strokes and the White Stripes? Well, my friends... Superdrag is what you've been looking for. Last Call For Vitriol is their 4th major release, and it keeps this band from Tennessee pinned as a band that deserves respect and a whole lot more.

Overall, Last Call is very, very different from the band's three previous albums. As another reviewer stated, gone are the mid-90s Superdrag. There are remnants of the old in this album, mainly lead singer John Davis' terrific vocals. But it's an older band, a wiser band. You can tell these guys just wanted to play something they really loved playing, something they might love listening to themselves. Well, they aren't the only ones.

For "old school" Superdrag fans, this album might take a little getting used to. I've only been a fan of their music since the beginning of May of this year, and even I had to get used to it after getting comfortable with their three other albums. But be patient, Superdrag fans. Give Last Call a better chance. Eventually, it's powerful music will reach you and you'll adore this album. Oh... except for I Can't Wait, which personally is my least favorite Superdrag song I've ever heard. But that doesn't dilute the greatness of the rest of the album. Enjoy!

The best Superdrag CD yet. The variety of genres, the tight craftmanship, the sheer pop joy of it . All these qualities make this the best Superdrag CD to date.

At first I liked the second half of the CD better but the first side really has caught my attention as well.

Buy this CD, you will listen to it over and over again and find something new each time.

Once more superdrag puts out an excellant album. This album is possibly my favorite by " the drag" and is not too much diffrent from the others. However, this album has no grey area. Either the songs are heavely guitar driven, or soft and acoustic. This is a good thing concerning the song list. The heavy and acoustic songs are spread quite evenly throughout the album making it enjoyable to listen to from " baby goes to eleven" until "drag me closer to you". Although the heavier songs out number the softer songs it is still an evenly laid out album. John Davis does an incredible job as usuall on the song's lyrics and format. This album also features Sam Powers on lead vocals on a few songs which is nice. Overall, this album is well worth the money and well worth the time and effort to listen to it. Plus, its superdrag-this album is incredible.

While not the shot of adrenaline that the previous album was, Last Call for Vitriol is a very solid rock album. Mixing pop, rock, and punk in a way that this is largely a lost art, the band from Tennessee delivers an album of wonderful texture and mood. The addition of Sam Powers to the band has given the band's more rough side a bit of life without sacrificing the sensitivity ( read as incitefulness and not cloying sentiment). Powers penned tracks like Remain Yer Strange and Stu keep the album lively. These tracks are bolstered by sucessful Davis-Powers forays into softer territory like "Her Melancholy Tune" or "Way Down Here Without You". And Have no fear, that main songwriter Davis has not gone maudlin as evidenced by songs such as "The Staggering Genius" or the superlative closer "Drag Me Closer To You". If you need something to throw you over on whether or not to buy this great 2002 release, let me point out that Bob Pollard of GBV makes a (minor) appearance on the album's opening track, "Baby Goes To 11".

Superdrag returns with rockers and some surprising slow country-esque numbers. Robert Pollard from GBV guests on "Baby Goes to Eleven." John hands over vox to Sam on bass on a couple of songs. And prepare for ex-V-Roys Mic Harrison who is now an official member of Superdrag. If you don't like Superdrag, you don't like rock and roll.

Superdrag let a few more influences shine through on this one. From quiet countryish to balls-out rock, this record does not dissapoint. "Feeling Like I Do' is classic Superdrag. All of the previous records with a little bit of 'Mats, Stooges, AC/DC thrown in. Check out the lead on 'I Can't Wait'.
My 'disc of the year' thus far.

This isn't the old Superdrag. If you're looking for songs by the mid-90's Superdrag along with fuzzy guitars and buzzing amps between tracks... well, perhaps you should track down a copy of 'Fabulous 8-Track Sounds' or '360 Sound'.

If you're looking for the polished but experimental 'Head Trip In Every Key', well you're not going to find that on this album either. This album is closer to 'In The Valley of Dying Stars' but with a hearty mingling of sounds from the bands that have influenced them personally such as The Beatles (of course), The Who, Chris Bell, Merle Haggard, AC/DC, Dinosaur Jr., Teenage Fanclub, and on and on and on.

This album isn't about Superdrag trying to make 'Regretfully Yours' Part II, or 'Head Trip In Every Key' Part II, or 'In The Valley of Dying Stars' Part II, which unfortunately is what some fans want.

This album is a solid collection of songs by a band that has grown and matured over years of touring and hard work rock-'n'-roll style. Sure, Mic Harrison is new to Superdrag, but he was also rocking with the popular V-Roys for years before he started his own band The Faults. And Sam Powers has been rocking with Superdrag for almost 2 years now. Still providing their A-game, John Davis and Don Coffey, Jr. stay true to form and rock like madmen, just as they have been doing for 9 years.

This isn't the same old Superdrag that some fans may wish for. This is the new and improved Superdrag that will have you rocking for years to come and wondering how they could get any better. If you haven't the new Superdrag yet, here's your chance!! If you haven't seen them play their energetic live sets with this new line-up, then you're really missing something good!

Like every great album there is a mixture of tempo and pace, but when it comes down to it, this album is chock full of pure rock 'n' roll. So buy this album and sample the rock 'n' roll goodness!

SuperDrag is my favorite band and did not hesitate to sign autographs or do tequila with me when I saw them in concert. This CD is awesome like all their recordings. If you are listening to them for the first time, you have to get headtrip in every key. You'll never stop listening once you hear it. As for this CD, it is a great CD if you've heard their earlier stuff, but if this is the first superDrag album your going to buy. You should get Head trip.