Slow Dark Train [Original recording reissued]

Vigilantes of Love | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 3, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Volcano
• ASIN: B00005LMVV
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #281,239 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellently LOUD, if somewhat frustrating, October 14, 1999

By 

"dukeray" (Los Angeles, ca USA) - See all my reviews

The V.O.L. album that MUST BE PLAYED LOUD to be appreciated! After the brilliantly produced masterpiece "Blister Soul" didn't make the big splash it deserved to, it appears V.O.L. had a lot less cash to work with on Slow Dark Train, their follow-up studio album. The band does their best to turn this to their advantage by cranking out Southern post-punk garage rock songs of despair held in check only by day-to-day faith in God. They mostly succeed, and the album is full of excellent hooks, in addition to Bill Mallonee's typically inspired lyrical genius: "I was drowning in/complancy's cheap perfume/yeah, licking my wounds..." is one of many indellible verses. Unfortunately, the somewhat canned sound of the album lets down the material at times -- several songs cry out to have the sonic force of Neil Young's "Mirror Ball" or "Ragged Glory" albums, others the polish of "Blister Soul," but SDT's production just doesn't quite hit that level. Two or three of the best songs here can be heard to much better effect on V.O.L.'s "Live at the 40 Watt."

That said, with songs written by one of the best rock songwriters ever, Slow Dark Train is a MUST for any fan of this incredible band. I would suggest the live album, the self-titled compilation or, best of all, Blister Soul, as a better entry point for newcomers. Then, after you inevitably become a V.O.L. fan, you will come back and buy this CD.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent!, January 3, 2000

By 

David Bennett (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This is a most excellent CD. I actually bought this after I bought 'To the Roof of the Sky' and found it unlike that CD in many ways. Initially I only liked a few of the songs. After I listened to it a few times I loved it as much as 'Roof.' My favorites are 'Judas Skin' and 'Hang on Every Word.' The songs are haunting and melancholic, much like 'To the Roof...' but in a different way.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars VOL's "angry" record, October 17, 2001

By 

Michial Farmer (Toccoa Falls, GA United States) - See all my reviews

Vigilantes of Love frontman Bill Mallonee has called Slow Dark Train his "testament to despair," and it fits. When the record isn't raging against corrupt record labels, false friends, and human nature itself, it finds Mallonee weeping in a motel room over his own fallenness and inability to follow the truth.

The opening triumverate--"Locust Years," "Tokyo Rose," "Black Crow"--is about is hard and angry as VOL is ever likely to be, but from there, the band retreats back into more identifiable territory with the Dylan-esque "Only a Scratch." Some songs work--"Points of My Departure" is a winner, and "Judas Skin" is Mallonee's most heartbreaking song to date--and some don't, like the painfully misplaced remake of "Love Cocoon" and "Hang on Every Word," which just can't decide where it's going. Still, Slow Dark Train is a fine album, and while the first-time listener will be better off with Killing Floor or Blister Soul, they should come to this one third.