Customer Reviews

Situation Out of Control

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This second album by the Stone Coyotes picks up on and creates new ideas out of even more themes than the first album. They are so confident as a band that they can take anything and make it theirs (listen to the stunning cover of an old Donovan song called "Season of the Witch.")

My personal favorite is "Highland Boy," but I keep changing favorites the more I listen. There are so many different takes on this album, for instance there is a "get over yourself" song called "Lucky Day," a "story" song called "Where the Old Oak Grows" and a live version of their earlier "Saw You At The Hop" (anyone who ever went to high school anywhere ever has to love this tribute to teen hormones and the mad romance of cars and cruising.)

Even with all the ideas that Barbara Keith comes up with, she never puts talk in the place of Rock. The background ride given by Doug and John Tibbles (drums and bass) is as fierce and fiery as anything I've heard in a long time.

Get both these albums, burn a CD and play it in your car as loud as you can. No one will dare mess with you.

EKW

The new Coyotes CD is as sturdy and timeless as a stone wall in the New England countryside. It is a boundary line for rock's past and a stepping off point for its future.

It is rock for those who see the ties that bind Johnny Cash to The Clash and how they both influence Rage Against The Machine.

It is rock for those of us who have, or wished we had, taken the road less traveled, regardless of where it might end.

Barbara Keith (Lead guitar vocals, mom), Doug Tibbles (drums, dad) and John Tibbles (bass, son) are The Stone Coyotes. Yes, it's a family affair. Oh no, this is no casual picnic in the park folks. This is burn the house down rock-alternative-country that will set your soul on fire. Barbara's scorching lead guitar and wailing and reach-out-and-grab-you vocal style will endear you to their cause. Think of Jason and The Scorchers without Jason, then put Keith out front conducting the show. That's a good example of what this group sounds like. Then add dabbles of blues, and there you have it. Of course, having a totally kickin' rhythm section never hurt any lead singer/guitar player either.

When I heard the first song I wasn't to sure what I felt, as the album progressed it grew on me. When it was all over, I wanted to hear it again. I was hooked. Mission accomplished. The sound created by these three people is quite amazing. They sound as if there where five people in the band opposed to three. There's something about the quality and sound of an exceptional power trio, when it works it's like magic. The family ties are surely a plus when it comes to artistic chemistry. You can feel the power and emotion come flying off the disc.

The situation may be out of control in regards to music and lyrics, don't' let that mislead you. This group has their act together and sound as if they are ready to take on the world of rock and roll head on. So dust off those dancin' shoes, grab a partner and get down and dirty, bump and grind, and work up a good sweat. Let this group be your rock n' roll doctor. They have the right prescription. Remember that name...The Stone Coyotes.

Keith Hannaleck June 22, 2000 MuzikMan's Sound Script

Just when you think the great Machine has swallowed all originality and chance-taking in music, the Stone Coyotes come out howling! The fierce guitar, bass and drums on "Situation out of Control" start this musical feast with crazed abandon, and the music just keeps growing. Barbara Keith's words on each song are pure American poetry. "Highland Boy" is brilliant, moving, "When Parliament Convenes" is so musically AND lyrically intense, I Want to Rock" makes you want to turn it up loud, cruise, and howl to the full moon. This band always plays on the edge..they are a national treasure!

Another excellent album by this East Coast band. Both this one, as well as the first (Church of the Falling Rain) sound very Mick Taylor-era Rolling Stones (that is a compliment!) I just got this one, & am already looking forward to the next!

This is one of the songs you hear when being transferred to an order specialist! Let me tell you folks, I called, and was put on hold, and after hearing this song, I was so touched... it was like an angel came and sat on my shoulder. Soon after that experience, I finally got to talk to a LIVE person, and she must have picked up on my overwhelmed state of X-tacy, that she was able to help me with all my problems, and then proceeded to give me a gift certificate for my future purchases! Talk about luck! I credit this song for my good fortune! You know, sometimes I call in and just ask to be put on hold...

A few more wise words for you:

Whatever you do, don't be downhearted, blah - blah - blah, somethings might be coming round the corner, this might be your lucky day,

this might be your lucky day,

your lucky day,

lucky day-ay-ay.

This album is so good that it gives me chills. I especially like "Where the Old Oak Grows" and "Highland Boy".

"Situation Out of Control", "Lucky Day", "When Parliament Convenes", the haunting (for a sometime sailor) "The Black Atlantic", the kicking "I Want to Rock" the cover of "Season of the Witch", "Saw You at the Hop", what's not to like? How many albums are you going to find where EVERY song is outstanding? Barbara Keith had an eponymous vinyl LP in 1972 that I tracked down and purchased on CD (well worth the effort) learning in that search about her subsequent band, 'The Stone Coyotes'. All (so far) seven Coyotes' albums are terrific, with, in my opinion, "fire it up" and "Situation Out of Control" being the stand-outs. "Barbara Keith" was folk with considered lyrics. Barbara Keith brings every bit of that intelligent poetic sensibility to hard-core rock and roll with 'The Stone Coyotes'. Just the first song alone, "Situation Out of Control", is worth the effort to acquire.

to have any expectation about this album is to have it blown away by the opening power of the title track. moving from storytelling in "where the old oak grows" to the imagery of "my horse has wings" and the crunch of "bone tired" there are only moments to catch your breath when needed. this isn't to say that "situation out of control" moves forward at a breakneck pace, out of control in itself - to say that would be an insult to an album taking inspiration from all sorts of places musical from straight-ahead american rock to country to punk to rap - all strung together throughout the album, and, in this reviewer's opinion coming together in the spectacular "when parliament convenes" - thus sounding truly, for the first time in years, like no other band sounds...

For those of you who are fans of the Stone Coyotes, I would recommend tracking down an album by Tom Faulkner called, Lost in the Land of Texico. I think you'll enjoy it for the same reasons you like the Coyotes.

Jay