Customer Reviews

Razorblade Suitcase

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

For their sophomore effort "Razorblade Suitcase," Bush went into the studio with producer Steve Albini to replicate what Nirvana had done with "In Utero"-- strip away the gloss and create a jagged, thorny, live-sounding record. (Not that Bush had that much gloss in the first place. Compared to "Sixteen Stone," "Nevermind" sounds like a Michael Jackson album.) They succeeded, resulting in a(nother) string of huge radio hits and one of my personal all-time favorite albums.

Albini's rough-edged production is a perfect fit for Bush. Drums are impossibly loud, guitars churn and scrape unpredictably, and Gavin Rossdale's voice floats crystal-clear above the rest of the mix. His songs are a blend of straight-ahead rockers and more intricate songs filled with twists and tangents. "Swallowed" and "Greedy Fly" have to be two of the weirdest, least straightforward hit singles in rock. Ballads "Straight No Chaser" and "Bonedriven" are like skewed, dissonant reflections of the bands' earlier signature hit "Glycerine." As the album progesses, the mood darkens, culminating in the austere "Communicator" and the menacing "Synapse," before closing with the more hopeful "Distant Voices" and a short reprise of "History." There's not a bad song to be found, all of the tracks building on "Sixteen Stone"'s strengths while simultaneously branching out into more obscure territory.

Bush took a lot of critical punishment for following in Nirvana's footsteps, and while the kinship is undeniable, it's also nothing new in rock music: Nirvana is indebted to the Pixies, who are indebted to the Jesus and Mary Chain, and so on. Bush's music stands on its own despite its influences, and "Razorblade Suitcase" is their crowning acheivement, an album that perfectly captures its era yet hasn't dulled with age.

I've been reading the reviews for this album, and alot of them disgust me. I have a feeling that alot of these people who rate bush's album with one star go home and listen to Smashmouth or Kid Rock, two of the biggest flunky's I can think of in today's popular music scene. Razorblade Suitcase is by far the best Bush cd. Sixteen Stone was also an awesome cd , but it lacked the rawness that the band displayed on their second album. Their music, especially on tracks such as Bonedriven and Straight No Chaser, has the amazing ability to convey the emotions that Gavin's feeling. I can understand why some people just don't get the music. It's because their shallow and simple minded, who would rather listen to a little ditty that everyones listening to then a song that was practically torn from the heart.

Ok. I've looked @ the other reviews (ah-umm, the bad ones) and I can see how a person might not like this CD. I almost returned it b/c, like one other reviewer said,the music kinda sounds the same (and I was let down by "mouth" @ first). But after listening to each one, I discovered that they're all different in their own ways. "Swallowed" "Greedy Fly" and "Mouth" are probably the most recognizable tracks on here. (Note:The version of "mouth" on this album ISN'T the one you hear on the radio & is on the American Werewolf In Paris SndTrk) "Synapse" "Bonedriven" "Straight No Chaser" are the 3 that are really good, even though they're not well-known.Try it; I wasn't really a hard-core Bush fan before. :)

When I first listened to this album, I was quite ashamed to say, "I wasted my money on this crap?" When I really like a band, I like to finish my collection of all their work. That's the main reason I bought 'Razorblade Suitcase.' The first time I listened to it, I knew I could've done without it. But when I gave it a chance and listened to it another couple of times, I fell in love with it. Bush can't top '6teen Stone' but this album comes pretty close to doing so. In order of greatness, here it is: 'Greedy Fly', 'Mouth', 'Swallowed', 'Communicator', 'Cold Contagious', 'Straight No Chaser', 'Bonedriven', 'Synapse', 'History'...Wish I could go on. The point is, it's all good.

everyone loves sixteen stone and hates everything bush did after it, but i say that razorblade suitcase was their best work and the rest weren't as good. how can anyone hate razorblade suitcase? it appears to be a emotion-filled album about a marriage gone bad. sixteen stone was just corporate, commercial rock for the time it was released. razorblade suitcase is a great, serious album.

Okay, I've read where someone has questioned why people call this the greatest album ever. I'll tell you. The album is so dark, edgy, and emotional, it passes Sixteen Stone in terms of lyrics, music, and passion. In Sixteen Stone (also a great album), Gavin's voice sounded distant and merely content, but on Razorblade, Gavin's been stripped of the vocal enhancer and now sings with passion and intensity. The lyrics are not straight up; they let you decide what emotion to feel while listening to the album. No other album has had the effect on me this one has had, and even though their new album The Science of Things is the best album this year, it's not as good as this one. Pick it up. You won't be disappointed.

It all starts off in fine style once again with "Personal Holloway" a song with more punch than a ballon on fire, which so to speak is more of a pop, but its all great and "hooray!"

Then Bush's best song "greedy fly": it'll hit you in the back when your not looking and bring you down again with an almighty crash which will shake the ground like a..........balloon.

The rest of the album is "tops" and is just as good and probably alot better, yes this is a better album than Sixteen Stone, although its just as good.

Bush's first album (Sixteen Stone) is one of the worst pieces of music I have ever heard. It's completely unoriginal, soulless, has no personality, and consist of the worst lyrics ever written (my willy is food??? OK, yeah...) My favorite bands and artists (The Smashing Pumpkins, R.E.M., Bob Dylan, My Bloody Valentine, Pink Floyd, Jimmy Eat World, The Rolling Stones, Nirvana, Tool, Radiohead) have always crafted beautiful music with excellent lyrics, and there aren't very many bands that have been able to match the standards they have set for music. I'm always comparing other bands I hear to them, and most don't hold up AT ALL. But when I heard "Razorblade Suitcase" by Bush, I absolutely could not believe how good it actually was. I didn't want to believe it, but I couldn't lie to myself for long. The album is so distorted, loud, scattered, and ugly on the surface, but beautiful underneath (much like Nirvana's "In Utero" or R.E.M.'s "Monster"). It amazed me how "Sixteen Stone" was the worst thing I had ever heard, but "Razorblade Suitcase" was one of the best. Gavin's lyrics have taken on a subtle beauty, and the music is very unorganized, but very raw, emotional, and affective. And it sustains a weary, depressed, angry mood throughout.

"Personal Holloway" (the first track) is loud, rough, distorted, and very good. It sets the tone for the rest of the album. "Greedy Fly" is schizophrenic in it's stop/start patterns. The moments of silence during the song are simply amazing, and well placed. "Swallowed" is a desperate, sad song, and is very beautiful in it's distorted ugliness. "Insect Kin" is the angriest and fastest paced song on the album. It isn't one of my favorites, but still exceptionally good. "Cold Contagious" is my absolute favorite song on the album, and is one of my favorite songs of all time. It's very sad and angry, and seems to have Gavin lashing out against an ex-lover (Everything looks so much better now...you will get yours...What you save is what you lose out in the end). Utter perfection. The next song, "A Tendency to Start Fires," simply ROCKS. It's my third favorite song on the record (Here's tomorrow man, best of my ability...Chasing what I can...). "Mouth" is an EXTREMELY good song for those who haven't heard this in it's purest form. The remix for "Deconstructed" was completely unnecessary. "Straight No Chaser" is the first truly slow song on the album, and it's pretty good. The violins were a nice touch. "History" is my second favorite song here, and is also the hardest rocking. The way that the guitars squeal with feedback throughout the song accent the bass, drums, and vocals very well (Gave my love to two thousand yesterdays...History moans, mouth of our father...). Amazing, amazing song. Those are the best songs on the album, but the last 4 are incredible as well, especially when put in context with the rest of the songs.

Bush never, before or since, even came close to making an album as good as this. Gavin Rossdale hit a very strong (and apparently for him, very rare) creative peak while writing this album. It's simply incredible, so forget the fact that all of their other albums are horribly unoriginal, and just listen to this one. Trust me.

You may of only heard "Comedown" "Glyrcerine" and "Swallowed" the overplayed songs on the radio. But if people actually took the time to really listen to Bush's albums, they would actually discover that this band is much more than three songs.

The guitars in the this band, will just blow your head off.
They have so much full throttle it justs blows you away (especially the stop start part in "greedy Fly")

This album is not a sing along album, or a sing a long band.
And if your you've heard "Sixteen Stone" and are expecting something similiar. Then don't.

Its completley different from it and is a very raw and uncut album with songs that are'nt over worked. Which is excellent because it gives the album character and a unique sound.

If you like music that involves guitars, then you'll love this band and this album.

Razorblade Suitcase is an all around great album, and a super follw-up to their already popular Sixteen Stone.

This album is slightly darker than their debut album, but the high level of quality is still there. "Swallowed" and "Mouth" are probably the two most recognizable singles to the mainstream music world, but there are several other really good songs on the album like "Greedy Fly," "Straight No Chaser," and my personal favorite, "Cold Contagious."

Bush is one of those bands that seem to take lyrics that don't always make the most appropriate sense, but mixes them with a good sound, in essence, making really good music. This album is an excellent piece of work making for a very enjoyable listening experience. You cannot go wrong with this album.