Pacific Dust

Mother Hips | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 26, 2009)
• Original Release Date: October 26, 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: CAMERA RECORDS
• ASIN: B002PC4QRY
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,195 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Gorgeous Effort By The World's Greatest Band...., December 5, 2009

By 

Cliffton L. Ainley "Saint Of Circumstance" (Reading,Pa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pacific Dust (Audio CD)

Wow. Tim Bluhm holds a seat in my heart that is only second to Jerry Garcia. This album is so good it almost hurts. But what a hurt it is. The Hips last effort, Kiss The Crystal Flake was the Mother Hips harnessing their sound into a sleeker, dare I say, more focused sound(on record that is). This album takes that a step further and really showcases the maturity of Tim's scholarly approach to hook laden songs and Greg being the best sidekick since Bob Weir. White Falcon Fuzz is a sturdy "Beach Boysesque" tune that gets more powerful with each listen(which can be said for the whole album). This is where Amazon is going to hate me. Go to [...] and buy the digital download. It comes with a separate Ep containing three outtakes from the Pacific Dust sessions and four deliteful live tracks. More bang for your buck. And what a bang it is. The Third Floor Story used on the Pacific Dust album is a much weaker version than the one on the Ep which contains a muscled up version with a stronger guitar and Jackie Greene on keys.But I digress. Jess OXO is another jawdroppingly catchy effort which evokes an indeed Beatles like catch to it.Greg finally charges out with the strong offering of Lion And The Bull. The excellence continues with my personal favorite and an instant classic from my point of view, with the Bluhm pennd One Way Out. If you don't like this track you will probably never like the Hips. Go buy Godsmack and veg out to some professional wrestling. Gregs offerings of All In Favor and Young Charles Ives are jarring at first. Strings in a Hips album?!? IT WORKS. By the second time through, both these offerings stuck like glue. Do yourself a favor and either get a nice buzz(from however way you get it.Rum for me personally) and listen to the lush beauty of these tracks. Sidekick? If so, Greg is one h@!! of a sidekick.In between is the awesome stoner rock of Pacific Dust that lives up to title track billing. D@mn that track is a genuine rocker. Following the gorgeous Young Charles Ives is the curveball of the album; Are You Free. Who says the Hips can't right pop music? More deliteful hearing it than if I read about it.Greg's Bandit Boy is a straight up rocker and a bit nondescript. Raining Gravel and the campy Anchor Out Pirates from the Ep have more personality but, oh well(get the Ep). It ends with the majestic pschydelic blues of Cheer Up Champ. All in all, an album worthy of the Mother Hips moniker and coming after a grandslam like Flake, these boys continue to affirm why I am willing to drive 3 hours to see them live. Kudos to the producer as well, as Pacific Dust may be the best sequenced album of their career, as it just flows. Thank god for music like this!P.S. live cuts on Ep include revved up versions of Red Tandy and Song-In-A-Can as well as accoustic version of singing Seems to Ease Me and an Everly Brothers cover.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The hips are on!!!, October 27, 2009

By 

Tim Zold "the bop" (St. George, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pacific Dust (Audio CD)

Once again The Hips deliver a masterpiece!!! Tim had told me that they were working on harmonies primarily on this one, and they are better than ever!!! This is really the style that I feel defines the band and carries a signiture sound for future releases. White Falcon Fuzz is stellar with Tims' descending and rising vocals. Third floor is a rocker worthy of bows from all. I think Jess OXO is my favorite track, and a hard choice. It really has a Beatles feel to it. and how can you go wrong there? Lion and the bull is a fun jingle with Tom Petty like vocals. One way out is my wifes favorite song on the cd which makes it pretty special to me also. All in favor was absolutely beautiful with its' prime harmonies and lyrical progression. I loved Pacific Dust, it totally grew on me like fungus, also provides some awesome guitar riffs, and feels. Young Charles Ives was original and had a groove you can't get out of, hats off Greg!!! Are you free was completely different from the normal Hips song, and was reminiscent of DaDa (also one of my favorite bands). It was a much appreciated change that completed the albums versatility. Bandit Boy is a perfect live song and reminds me of their powerfull live shows. Cheer up champ takes me back to the times Tim was solo and was just the icing on the album. I also listened to the extra EP songs which were all great in their own respect. Raining Gravel was spectacular. All in all I dub "Pacific Dust" album of the year!!! Hope to see you all on tour again soon in Utah!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars excellence peppered with throwaways, May 1, 2011

By 

Gasmask Emperor "gasmask" (Minneapolis,MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pacific Dust (Audio CD)

The Mother Hips were a favorite of mine for years. Since seeing them on the Horde tour in 1995, I've loved these guys work. Their output from 'Back to the Grotto' through 'Green Hills of Earth' is flawless. Pacific Dust and it's predecessor Kiss the Crystal Flake suffer from uneven songwriting. After spending long periods of time with both albums, I am always 50 percent moved by these albums, and 50 percent disappointed.

Track by track:
1. White Falcon Fuzz: Brilliant, one of Tim's best. The lyrics roll in like waves and swell with emotion. 10/10
2. Third Floor Story: Rockin! It's great to have this on a 12" and this version is just as good as the old one. 10/10
3. Jess OXOX: A little light rock song. It's nice. 7.5/10
4.The Lion and the Bull: meandering and pointless. Greg Loiacono's work is usually very strong... his material on this album lacks focus. 4/10
5.One Way Out: another nice light rocker: 7.5/10
6.All in Favor: Greg's best tune on the album, a nice light rock song: 7.5
7.Pacific Dust: Weirdo space rocker. Finally a little surge in energy! Give us more of this. 9/10
8.Young Charles Ives: horrible. Boring. Meandering. Greg, you have much better material than this.1/10
9.Are You Free: A well done 'in the style of' type of song. Very 70's cheesy AM feeling. It's just fine... but certainly not great. 6/10
10.Cheer up Champ: The album closes with this fun tune that has lots of cool breaks, twist and turns. 9/10
Average: 71.5 percent.

This could be a great record. We know these guys can write memorable music. We know how good of a band the Mother Hips are. It seems like they need a good editor... someone to tell them that a song isn't good enough. If you combine the best tracks on Pacific Dust with the best tracks on Kiss the Crystal Flake, you would have a great record. As it stands, we get another watered down affair. I do like this album better than it's predecessor, but it's mediocre moments drag the high moments down.