Customer Reviews

Needle Bed

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

 

 

I saw these guys open for Dashboard Confessional and they were fantastic. After the show I bought Needle Bed and it didn't disappoint. My favorites are Gone Gone Gone and Time For Me To Ruin Everything. It's definitely a worthwhile purchase.

01. No Catcher In The Rye
02. It's Not Your Fault
03. Hang A Sign
04. When We Are Cats
05. I Believe In Ghosts
06. No One Said It Was Easy
07. Gone Gone Gone
08. Time For Me To Ruin Everything
09. Keep Me
10. Avalanche
11. Our Favorite Record Skips

It's so refreshing to see 'nowadays' (sorry if that word makes me sound too old) bands that record a complete album, instead of an album with a single radio-worthy hit and then make the rest of the album filler.

I must admit, there's nothing real profound in the lyrics. None-the-less, the tunes themselves managed to give me goosebumps. Ralston's lyrics are the same throughout the entire album - similar to a whisper - and there isn't help from other band members, so depending on how much you like the tunes, the album will be ubiquitous and grand or monotonous. I loved it.

I'd recommend that readers sample the songs:

I Believe in Ghosts
When We Are Cats
Gone Gone Gone
Keep Me

If I had to compare him to anything I guess I'd say he kinda reminds me of Elliott Smith's sound.

I L-O-V-E this CD, and John Ralston for that matter.
Almost EVERY song was amazing.
I bought this at a Dashboard concert, (he was the opening act), and I ended up liking him better than them. So I bought the Cd after.
Been listening to it since.
Some of my FAVORITE songs, were "I believe in ghosts", and "hang a sign".
GREAT Voice.
INCREDIBLE Lyrics.
overall... AMAZING!!!
~Livvie <3
(& yes I like my CAPS key) : )

Love it! Amoung the dark lyric's, is some pretty good song writing and melodies. Ever since I heard gone, gone, gone on fuse, I was hooked and thought I would check it out. I recommend this CD. The songs are so catchy, you look past the true words.

Despite what's been posted here, this isn't an album of "sunny pop songs". Ralston dwells in break-ups, death, failure on Needle Bed. And it's pretty good stuff, despite that it sounds like it was recorded in a home studio (it partially was). Some of the turn phrases (see No One Said..., Avalanche) seem like abortive attemps at "hooks" - I prefer it when he plays it straight, as with the album's gem, Gone Gone Gone, which with any luck will break into AC radio. Buy and enjoy.

Sure, there are some similarities between John Ralston and Chris Carraba, but there aren't that many of them. Luckily for Ralston, I hear more elements of Elliott Smith than Dashboard, which isn't to say that this guy compares; he doesn't.

One of my beefs with this CD is with the recording and production. Most of it sounds as if it were recorded with blankets on the microphones, which results in a muted sound. But this is an album of sunny pop music. I think it would be better served with a bit of room to breathe.

"Needle Bed" works best when Mr. Ralston forgets to be cute, which he spends most of his time trying to be. All of the mentions are there: girls, seasons, roses, etc. However, there are some keepers here. Tracks like "Avalanche" and "I Believe in Ghosts" give us something to look forward to in future releases.

For now, John Ralston is a middle-of-the-road singer/songwriter, but I think he has the tools to do better. My hope for him is that his next album will be a bit more untethered and honest, instead of the standard experience that "Needle Bed" gave us this time around. Delving into his darker side might yeild more interesting results.

For a Debut album I was highly impressed with his writting and singing! He could definatly remind me of Chirs Carraba, not by his vocals but by the way he writes his songs. Although he does have what i think is a completly different sound than Dashboard Confessional, if you love the way Chris writes his songs I think you will be equally as impressed with John Ralston's songs espcially Gone, Gone, Gone!

If you get this CD for a penny on the used tab it's a good deal. Even if you paid full price for it there are great songs on this CD. No One Said This Was Easy and I Believe In Ghosts are two of my favorites. Saw him open for Dashboard. Dashboard had the better show, but I appreciate this CD more than any Dashboard I've heard recently. I agree with an early review comparing JR to Elliott Smith. There's a bit of Ben Folds (a bit) as well as a song that sound very reminiscent of Dashboard. Bonus tracks you can download. CD is too short. Looking for more in the future.