Customer Reviews

Phase 3

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

 

 

The riverdales found their own sound. This record is as good as the first two ones, and it's got its own personality. It's not just a Ramones rip-off...(don't get me wrong, the Ramones are my favorite band...)

I think this one of best Riverdales cd ther is. All of the songs are awesome. You should defenetly buy this if you like the Ramones.

A lot have people have really slammed recent Screeching Weasel albums saying Ben Weasel can't write good tunes anymore and is only doing it for the money. While I can't say I totally disagree, when you hear a record like this, it's clear Ben has not lost his touch for crafting catchy as hell Ramones rip-off songs. Actually, maybe he has and all the credit should be given to Dan Schafer but let's not split hairs here because this record smokes!

For those of you not familiar with the Riverdales, this is basically Ben's tribute band to the Ramones but instead of covering their songs they write original ones that sound just like Ramones songs. Sometimes they sound so similar to the it's hard not to get them mixed up with real Ramones songs but where the Ramones drifted off course in later years with metal tinged albums like "Too Tough To Die", Riverdales stay on target to the vintage early period Ramones sound from start to finish, album after album.

As would be expected of a band so closely tied to the sound of another band (and even worse, a particular period of said band), you wouldn't be crazy to think this could get really derivative and really boring really fast. Certainly that charge has been leveled against the Riverdales from the beginning as they employ the same simple song structure and basic approach of the Ramones but the Riverdales do offer a unique, satisfying take on that classic sound. However, everything doesn't turn up roses every time. Truth be told a couple of the ballads on Phase Three drag a little but these type of songs have plagued preceding Riverdales records so that should be no surprise to long time fans. What is a surprise is the how much the ante has been upped from their last record in terms of stuck in your head choruses and big guitar hooks. Even the ballads are decent enough that I don't feel a burning need to hit the skip button.

As noted above the faster cuts hold bigger appeal for me so thankfully they deliver here with plenty of solid rockers like "Homesick", "Sniper" and "Wait It Out" but where they really shine is on songs with exceptionally catchy choruses like "Party At The Beach" and "Last Stop Tokyo". I challenge anyone to listen to those songs and not be singing along to the chorus thirty seconds later. In fact, "Last Stop Tokyo" has replaced "Riverdale Stomp" from their last album as my all time favorite Riverdales song. So, at least in my eyes, the plethora of catchy cuts on this disc tops their previous efforts and makes this a must own for any Ramones or Riverdales fan...hell, I'll even throw Screeching Weasel fans in there too...even the bitter sell out ones!

I find it extremely ironic that a band with such a narrow scope has managed to turn out their best album to date on their third attempt. I'm sure many people thought this was a one time thing (I know I did) but I'm really glad they've stuck with it. If Ben is indeed in need of some cold hard cash lets hope it stays that way so he continues to pump out Riverdales records!

Check out more reviews at ohboydestroy.

EDIT: This review is in reference to the original release of "Phase Three," the 12 track long album on 1-4-5 records, and NOT the Asian Man records reissue. Since amazon considers this version and the re-issue to be the same product, you can find my review for the Asian Man re-issue attached below this review.


Anyway...


This one is much better than Storm The Streets, as the songs are actually well written.

Its short (like 24 minutes or something like that), but its a good ride while it lasts. "Homesick" is now my favorite Riverdales song, "Look Me Up" and "I Believe In You And Me" are downright beautiful punk ballads that do a good job at capturing the naked honesty of similar Ramones songs like "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" and "I Want You Around." It all ends with "Last Stop Tokyo" which is an absolutely great song. The rest of the album isn't as memorable, but its still pretty good, making for a solid listening experience. Overall its a darker album than the previous two, with a re-occurring theme of secret agent stuff poking its head up in some songs ("Last Stop Tokyo," "A.W.O.M," "Tick Tick Tick," "Sniper," etc).

I should also mention the production, which is stellar. Mass Gorgini did a great job, the production is loud and warm, without sounding over produced.

And they have a new drummer on this one, Dan Lumely from Squirtgun replaced Dan Sullivan. It doesn't really matter, they both did a good job. I bring it up because this means that of the four total people who have been in the Riverdales (a three piece band), three of them have had the name Dan. Weird.

Anyway, long story short, if you like the Riverdales, Screeching Weasel, and/or the Ramones, this is another good album to add to your collection. I still think the Riverdale's first album was their best (and will probably be the most memorable), but Phase 3 is a close second (with the semi-crappy Storm the Streets being a distant third). It's good stuff. Original album: 4 out of 5 stars.




This is my review for the ASIAN MAN RECORDS re-issue of "Phase Three."

Anyway...

"Phase Three" is a very good pop-punk album, marking a darker turn for the Riverdales, and delivering many many good songs in 24 short minutes.

This re-issue boasts that its "Completely re-mixed, re-mastered, re-done vocals, added harmonies, and 5 unreleased songs gives this album brand new life."

For starters, there's no new vocals recorded for the original 12 songs on the album, Ben Weasel corrected that mistake in a recent blog entry ("There was no reason to re-do them and we didn't have money for that anyway. There were five unreleased songs from the session, three ofwhich had never been completed. For two of those, I took the existing recordings and wrote new melodies and lyrics around them because I felt the original songs were weak. So we did vocals on three tracks, but none of them were on the original release."), so don't worry about the album having different singing or anything.

And that whole "re-mixed and re-mastered" bit? Darned if I can tell the difference, but the original was made in 2003 and issued on CD so what in the world would they have to remaster? Its not like it was only on vinyl or anything.

So none of that makes much of a difference.

The album does come with 5 bonus tracks, but most aren't worth going nuts over. "Phase Three" is a somewhat dark and world-weary album, so stuff like the happy, half-written "Countdown" and "Total Blockhead" sound like they'd fit better on "Storm The Streets." Why they included a faster, shorter version of "Mental Retard" on here I don't know. That song WAS on "Storm The Streets" and it sucks, it has no place on the album. "You Know You Do" is at least a little darker but its another half-written song. The only truly good song of the five bonus tracks is "Out For Myself" which is not only dark and brooding but also very very good.

Not that all of that would matter much if they had given us the twelve songs on "Phase Three" in the original album order and tacked the five bonus tracks on at the end, but they don't do that.

For some reason, the re-issue jumbles the original track order and sprinkles the 5 extra tracks in with the others, resulting a very different listening experience compared to the original. It honestly wrecks the original mood of the album with the happy stuff sprinkled in the original darker material, and I'm at a loss as to why they chose to do it this way since the re-issued self titled debut had the album in its original track order and the bonus stuff attached to the end.

"Phase Three" is still a good album, but if you get it, re-arrange the tracks on your mp3 player like this:

1. Homesick
2. A.W.O.M.
3. Sniper
4. Lead The Way
5. Out Of My Heart
6. Look Me Up
7. Wait It Out
8. Get Away
9. Tick Tick Tick
10. I Believe In You And Me
11. Party At The Beach
12. Last Stop Tokyo
BONUS TRACKS
13. Countdown
14. Total Blockhead
15. Mental Retard
16. Out For Myself
17. You Know You Do

That way you'll hear it the way it originally was, the way it was meant to be. Reissue: 3 out of 5 stars.

"The idea of setting yourself up as a derivative band is a road that leads nowhere" - Frank Zappa. At least Weasel doesn't talk about meditation and drop the names of famous authors and philosophers who "influenced" his writing on this one. Riverdales, Black Crowes, Yngwie Malmsteen, what's the difference? Oh yeah, Malmsteen is introverted and unprententious in comparison.