Customer Reviews

Pacific Dust

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!!!

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.

My life long buddy Jeff, residing in Montana now but for 20 years in Sonoma, tells me about this band that he really thought I would like. He followed their progress over the years and considered himself a major fan. For my birthday last fall he bought me tickets to a show in a small club in Fairfax, CA so I went. I was impressed by the Hips' skill, writing and execution as well as their laid back stage presence. Don't get me wrong, the show was exciting as hell as there is so much going on musically and coming off that stage is a solid sound that gets in your bones while the harmonies and lyrics fill your heart.

I was at the Mother Hips album release party in San Francisco and got my copy of Pacific Dust at the door. The show was just fantastic as they played two 50 minute sets and an encore. I listened to Pacific Dust all the way home after the show.

The album is original without being so far removed that the average listener can't relate and enjoy every track and the production values are first rate. Good mix, good sound and very easy to listen to over and over. For a real treat put five Hips albums in your CD changer and hit "Shuffle All". I assure you that you won't be bored!

The nagging question about these guys, nagging me anyway, is why they aren't known to a wider audience? I'm not complaining, no. I love endorsing the Mother Hips to friends that have never heard of them like my friend Jeff did for me. I just wish I could take them all to a show but I suppose Pacific Dust in their Christmas stocking will have to suffice.

The Mother Hips are the greatest band that never broke on the national scene, and it's an inexplicable shame. All of their albums are fantastic, but I really feel that Pacific Dust is their magnum opus. It is one of the catchiest, well written and best produced albums I have ever heard. The harmonies on this album are so spot on and delicious that it will give you chills. This album has just the right mix of hard rocking tunes and amazing pop ballads, a perfect balance. There is definately a strong Beatles vibe running through this album, I hear the spirit of George Harrison swirling around on "Jess Oxox" and especially the great "One Way Out". "White Falcon Fuzz" has some of the catchiest and gorgeous lyrics I have ever heard, how could you not smile at lines like "Any legacy of mine/is gonna be sunshine/and I leave it behind/as a sign of my love for mankind..."? "Third Floor Story" is a pure rocker, and John's drums are so damned punchy and forceful on this song, overall I have never noticed and marveled at John's excellent drumming as much as I do when listening to Pacific Dust. This is the sound of a California Soul, perfectly distilled into music. Get this album if you want to be reminded of why Rock and Roll will never, ever die. In a cynical and dreary age where frivolous and formulaic "music" is served cold by lifeless automatons on corporate radio, Pacific Dust reminds us of what was once good and holy about Rock and Roll, and still is, if you know where to look.

Another great album from one of the best bands around. If you like Wilco, Son Volt, Tom Petty, Neil Young, and/or The Beach Boys, you owe it to yourself to buy this album!

I first fell in love with "The Hips" back in 1996. On a spontaneous night out while visiting a friend in Sacramento we dipped into a small club called Old Ironsides to see a band that my friend heard was real good live. I stood in awe as I watch something happen I though did not exist anymore; A REAL Rock N' Roll Show! No flash, no ego, just pure talent mixed with a little bit of magic - I was hooked.

Like the Beatles no two Hips albums are the same - Pacific Dust keeps that promise of change and growth and dare I say could be their best work to date. Following the minor bump in the road of "Kiss the Crystal Flake" (which BTW is still far better than most the field) Pacific Dust delivers on so many levels. First and most importantly is that the music translates well onto the stage. This band has always been at their best live on stage and to me their albums have always served, like the drug dealer tactic, as a little taste to hold you over until the true high comes. ;-) Superbly produced the album is a journey through nearly two decades of experiences. My only regret is that bonus track Raining Gravel did not make the cut to the LP, but that is of little note.

This is not an album to play, but one to listen to. This is not music designed to make you like it and buy it, but music channeled through the heart, crafted by the mind, soul, hand and foot. This is music that remembers the true spirit of music as it grabs you like a warm hug from a friend. I'm not going to pick the record apart one track at a time, my advice is to pop it in, lay down, close your eyes and let the warm sounds wash over you so you can know for yourself.

I hope you enjoy.

While not my favorite Hips album (Shoot out/Green Hills; I just can't decide as they are so very diffferent) it is very good and well worth the time. The intro guitar riff on Fuzz lays down the the mode for the whole album; thought full and driving but never unleashed. I keep wanting them to let it rip but find that I greatly appreciate that they don't. As always, the Hips are lyrically interesting and therefore this album requires (and is receiving) multiple laps through my hi-fi. I was pleased and surprised to hear Wilco on the radio maybe the Hips are next; nah probably not, but they deserve it far more than the vast majority of the pop drivel which does get air time.

Finally, why doesn't the "company" ever do **** for their records!

If you like music with great vocals, great melodies and great instrumentation, then this is your album.

This is the simply the BEST rock and roll record I have purchased in the past two years, and it is on my top ten list for the decade. If you are tired of the music scene, this band could renew your hope.

Excellent lyrics and a nice range of songwriting without a trace of bombast, tackiness or indulgence. Each player has a no-nonsense sound, and the band's fresh, live-sounding performances are tastefully captured, mixed and mastered. On a nice system, the LP is sublime (in a rock and roll way), and the accompanying CD has been spinning in my car player for a couple of weeks.

It has been a long time since I've stumbled upon a record like this one. It really grabs you. I can't say enough about it ... it is just plain fun ... a perfect rock and roll record.