Customer Reviews

Rebel Sweetheart

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the best Wallflowers release to date and it is the best release I have heard this year (Amos Lee and Springsteen close behind.) The songs here show depth and character that we don't really get to see in music today. The range of sound here is perfect and the whole CD from beginning to end is a great listen. So put away your Killers, Green Day, and whatever else you have clogging your ears and listen an album that feels like the artists are deeply connected to their music and they care about what they are releasing. You have to give them credit they have consistantly put put great material.

The Wallflowers are helplessly underrated leaving me to question why. I have been a fan since their first release The Wallflowers in 1992. Listening to their sound grow with every album you're able to witness the evolution of their sound and appreciate their commitment to quality. Rebel, Sweetheart is yet another great staple for a music lovers collection as it blends a deep acoustic sound with thoughtful lyrics. This album is sure to make new fans as well as please those of us who have been enjoying their sound for a while.

The Wallflowers return with their 5th, and strongest, album. Each of the 12 songs are engaging, thought-provoking, melodic, and layered. Producer Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen), brings his signature techniques to the album, layering the songs with various guitars, keys, and vocals. The textured sounds give the songs depth-each time you listen, you hear something new. Every song is written by Jakob Dylan, whose songwriting talents are in top form. The themes in the songs reflect the title of the album: a tension between fighting who & where you are vs. finding contentment in being that person in that place. Dylan paints a lot of situations where a fight is warranted. In "Here He Comes (Confessions of a Drunken Marionette)" an exploited puppet realizes there might be a way out, "They sing Auld Lang Syne/I've got mutiny on my mind." A song with a unique and catchy sound, "I Am A Building," portrays a character who is defeated, closed, & abandoned. But then sees things differently: "Things are looking clear now/My eyes are wide enough to see the way a sniper does." Or, in "Back to California," there's a promise of hope by returning to the way things were. Finally, in "From The Bottom of My Heart," a beautiful ballad with minimal instrumentation accompanying Dylan's honest vocals, we learn the lesson of the perseverance of "an army of one/Marching back up the steps/Into the rays of the sun." There are many ways to rebel. And then sometimes, it's best to accept. A stand out track, "We're Already There," is just one song that explores this side of acceptance. The most emotive song on the album, "God Says Nothing Back" rings of despair with the realization that neither God, time, love, nor death say anything back. The lesson is in the title of the song "How Far You've Come," with a message about altering our perspective instead of the world around us. And finally, "Nearly Beloved," a contradictory song: upbeat in tempo but full of struggle and acceptance suggests, "if we could do better I know that we would/Maybe admit it now/we're not that good."

While some may fight everything and err on the side of being always the rebel, others may resign themselves to accepting "whatever comes my way," this compilation of songs reminds us that it's more complex than that. Instead, there's a delicate and beautiful balance between resistance and acceptance. The beauty is in finding happiness in both roles ... perhaps when one both resists and accepts, they also find "The Beautiful Side of Somewhere." When a bunch of rock'n'roll songs, with catchy lines and foot-tapping melodies can teach us life lessons that profound, that is good music. The Wallflowers' Rebel, Sweetheart is superb music.

This release by The Wallflowers is packed with well-written songs and solid musicianship and production. Thoughtful lyrics and solid melodies make the Wallflowers stand out. Some of these tunes are more bluesy or mellow/folk-influenced than others, while Jake Dylan's vocals are well suited to the varied songs and have a soulful quality that defines the band's sound. From the Bottom of My Heart is the most folk-influenced song, while Back To California is the most rock-oriented. The album begins with songs that have an upbeat feel, like Days of Wonder and the Passenger, while it becomes more wistful and bluesy with tracks like Confessions of a Drunken Marionette, God Says Nothing Back, and How Far You've Come, all pleasing rootsy rock tunes that should suit the tastes of existing Wallflowers fans. It's not that often I hear a rock album like this with song after song of soulful, poetic, and melodic tunes that are captivating enough for me to not feel like skipping tracks when I listen to the album.

The Wallflowers are a delight to listen to. If ever a dull moment manifests itself into your life, insert "Rebel, Sweetheart" into the nearest CD player and be prepared for a carnival of sounds. This is was songwriting is about. "You'd have a wonderful day if you could see how lucky you are. Don't get carried away with your heart. You're better where you are." After the less than stellar response "Red Letter Days" received, I feared The Wallflowers days as radio busters were numbered. And although they still may be, at least the music loving public has been blessed with one more outing by Dylan Jr. and his alliance of bandmates, together known as The Wallflowers.

I have been a Wallflowers' fan since they broke into the mainstream circa 1996, and this new CD definitely does not disappoint. I'd read rave reviews of it in a few different magazines, but still wasn't prepared for it to be as great as it is. I just thought it was wonderful that they were releasing a new album, and that it would be at least pretty good. It's a lot more than "pretty good"! If you're a Wallflowers' fan, you will love this new CD, and if you aren't a fan you should get it anyway, because you will be a fan after you hear it. Either way, it's great music, period.
A lot of music being released these days is mind-numbing, inane and awful. This CD is full of songs that won't insult your intelligence. Thanks Jakob, et al, for not letting us down!! (All songs written by Jakob Dylan.) Can't wait for the next one, but in the meantime the new songs are substantial enough to last a while.

Don't know about you, but I didn't care much for their last album Red Letter Days. However, since I'm a fan of Jakob and company, I thought I would get The Wallflowers one more chance. Paired up with Brendan O'Brien pays off, and Rebel, Sweetheart is their best since Bringing Down The Horse, perhaps even better. The Wallflowers continue to play straight ahead rock and roll, and even if Jakob sounds more like Bruce than daddy Bobby, every song is handcrafted in the finest Rock sense. Most people would go for Tom Petty via way of Bruce songs such as Days Of Wonder or The Beautiful Side, actually my favorite songs come toward the end, with the ballad From The Bottom Of My Heart, a perfect song for that long drive home from work. I also enjoy the rocking Nearly Beloved and the slow dance How Far You've Come.

While their last album may have tried to please too many people, Rebel, Sweetheart returns to what the Wallflowers do best, make straight ahead rock and roll, just like they did back in the classic rock days. In fact, this record is so good, I played it twice in a row in one day, which says a lot. This is their comeback album. Grade A-

I've been a Wallflowers fan since the conception of the band and have never been disappointed with anything the band has put out...each album seems to have a specific life of it's own and they're always chock full of great hooks and insightful poetic lyrics...but with Rebel, Sweetheart the band has really taken a step forward.

Jakob's songwriting is stronger than ever...melodically he's always brought a lot to the table, but on Rebel,Sweetheart it's consistently unleashed and brilliant. I believe he's stepped out of his box a bit with chord progessions and the band sunk it's teeth into the arrangements to the point where the songs are really sailing with a pioneering ebb and flow enabling them to project a sonic crank of ear candy.

Lyrically...OMG...NEVER better...blasting symbolism, obtuse references, lush imagery are all at your fingertips. If you can't find something amazing - both dangerous, questioning and affirming - in all of these songs, maybe it's time to get off the bling-bling bandwagon and start banging your head with a tire iron.

One final thought,Jakob mention in an recent article that every front man has a right arm...ie - Jagger/Richards, Plant/Page, etc....and he believed in the Wallflowers that arm would be Rami and I couldn't agree more (Huge fan to begin with). He fills the atmosphere with ethereal depth and feeling.

Phenomenal - Thanks guys!!!

I just purchased this album and I have to say I am impressed. This band has matured so much that they are breathtaking to listen to. I became a huge 'Wallflowers' fan when I heard 'One Headlight' and immediately ran out and purchased 'Bringing Down the Horse'. I don't have their other albums, except 'Red Letter Days' which I thoroughly enjoyed. This album blew me away. I was expecting some of the pop/rock tunes I heard on 'Red Letter Days' and got more than I bargained for. This is the rock band that I remember, all of the songs on this album were so 'musical' and the lyrics...wow. Jakob Dylan's voice is so rich and poignant, and he sings like he means every word. My fav songs on this cd are 'Days of Wonder', 'The Beautiful Side of Somewhere' and 'God Says Nothing Back'. 'God Says Nothing Back' sent chills up and down my spine. Just a great song. I highly recommend 'Rebel, Sweetheart'. It's the best Wallflowers offering to date. Buy this cd if you're a fan or even if you've never heard of this band. It is thoroughly enjoyable!

Being quite familiar with The Wallflowers' previous albums, I looked forward to "Rebel, Sweetheart" with much pleasurable expectation. This collection of songs is astonishing! Each song and soundscape paints a lyrical picture in the form of The Wallflowers' best work. Jakob Dylan has produced lyrics encompassing all the richness of experience; some common observations are made especially profound, as in "God Says Nothing Back" where Dylan expresses a sense of assured wonder in his views on God, time, love and death. Each song on this album is especially unique in that sense, and beyond those common ideas, the songs address the deeper themes of loneliness, yearning, human fallibility, and ultimately the power of persistence. We are sometimes redeemed by the narrator through the lyrics, though that happens especially often through the music. Notice how you might think "Hey, sounds like he means something different than how the music makes me feel about what I just heard..." An astonishing lyricist and band has given us so much! On "Rebel, Sweetheart" The Wallflowers take their influences and make something of their own better than so many other bands.

Consider the final song, as "all things [become] new again", those new things are much like they were before. Only now, it's most important that we learn how to make the best of what's there through some hint of positive thinking. This positive light, you may notice in the song "From the Bottom of My Heart," is often hard to come by within the individual, though hopefully "we" could become a better group of individuals with a more positive inward light that translates into a better outlook on things.

What is truly great about this collection, to an even greater degree than The Wallflowers' previous albums, is that each new listen allows you to explore ways of interpreting the lyrics while tapping your foot and moving to the music--a wonderfully seamless flow of great songs, filled with new possibility! Read the lyrics sometime while listening to the album; try different things. And "Rebel, Sweetheart" ought to sound amazing in 5.1 Surround--another rewarding experience for listeners with those capabilities, and probably the next best thing to experiencing The Wallflowers in concert. Yes! Buy this album!