Customer Reviews

Slow Hole to China: Rare and Re-Released

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I don't usually write reviews, but I figured I'd add this rating as a counter to the reviewers that feel gouged. (Note: I think the album description is inaccurate, the one with the brown cover background and 12 tacks is "Rare and Unreleased", the 2009 one with the green background I picked up is called "Rare and Re-Released")

First, I'll agree with Ian's comments that any of these tracks could have been on a standard album and are not cutting room floor fodder. Second, there are new Clutch fans being created all the time (such as myself) who didn't yet have the prior album. If you feel slighted at having bought the first one, you can get the 3 new tracks from this one as MP3s for $0.99 each... hardly going to break the bank.

Finally, the music business is just that... a business. According to wiki, the prior album was released by two labels I've never heard of... this time it's being released by Clutch's own recording label Weathermaker. I had yet to see the older version in stores, so this re-release is more of a replacement to the prior version, which made it much easier for me to get it... and if it puts more money in Clutch's pocket, well that just helps them to keep making new music.

Consider the bands that release a string of largely redundant "best of" albums... this is not nearly that blatant.

Yes, it's true. This rerelease has only 3 new tracks compared to the original version. If that's all you care about, then just download the new mp3's at $0.99 each and skip buying the whole album.

But a very important fact that no one else has yet to mention is that this release is digitally remastered. If you have a half-way decent stereo and the original version, then you already know that the original release is very poor quality. If you don't have a half-way decent stereo, then you haven't really heard Clutch at their full power.

So my suggestion? Get this rereleased version if you have a good stereo. If you don't have a good stereo, then get a new stereo and then get this rerelease. You'll thank me later.

This is my personal favorite Clutch album , it is a good blend musically of the older stuff and the emergence of what Clutch would come to sound like after "Pure Rock Fury". It's like you put the self titled album and "Blast Tyrant" in a blender and this what would likely come out. Best tracks are "Nickel Dime" , "Rising Son" , "Willie Nelson" , "Day of the Jackalope" , and "Sea of Destruction" which the latter I feel is the best Clutch song in the library. If you like newer Clutch this album will please you more but if you are into "Transitional Speedway League" or the self titled album (which is the only other Clutch album that competes with this one from start to finish) you may not be into this as much. But hey , the beauty of Clutch is their independent creation of the music they make along with one of the best live shows out there , especially for those who miss the days of bands making the real music they want to make and not what a label tells them too. The working mans rock and roll band!

Absolutely great album focusing on some of Clutch's tunes. Hardly a B-side album, any of these songs could have very easily been in previously released albums.

Now the part that grinds my gears...

I don't like the whole re-releasing scheme... Add three songs to an album that most all Cluth fans already have, and expect them to buy it again. I'm sure they wouldn't have to look very far to find another eight or nine songs, and they could have an entirely different "Rare and Unreleased" album, not one that has been out for seven years.

Agent Orange by Sodom is one of those must-have thrash metal albums that you'll always find in countdowns and lists of top 100 metal albums and top 20 thrash albums etc alongside the likes of Beneath The Remains, Extreme Aggression and Forbidden Evil.

Released in 1989, the German thrash band's third full length album was a breakthrough moment that raised their profile, shifted a lot of units and earned the band a lasting respect. Earlier Sodom albums and EPs had been very noisy, harsh and extreme and became very influential for black and death metal artists much like the earliest Sepultura and Kreator records.

Agent Orange found the band unleashing their full potential as songwriters and as musicians, song lengths extended, acoustic sections got introduced, guitar solos came more frequently and more impressively, structures got more complex and the album as a whole just has a grand and important feel like all the very best thrash albums do. All of this happened in conjunction with a notably better production job resulting in a stunning album all around.

Another thing in its favour is that Agent Orange isn't all just mindless thumping, and intense speeds with no respite. The band make the faster sections good by use of contrast; Sodom play a mixture of tempos here, using chugging sections and even occasional grooves and sudden tempo shifts to brake up the monotony, making for a very strong listen that doesn't get old on repeat listens.

Standout tracks include the amazing title track `Agent Orange,' as well as the slower `Remember The Fallen,' and the furious `Tired And Red.'

Sometimes you will read that Agent Orange is a bad album, but that is almost always from the perspective of people who prefer really extreme music, raw production and the like. If you aren't just an elitist and are a fan of well composed and interesting thrash metal trust that Argent Orange deserves its reputation on all those top metal album countdowns and lives up to the hype.

In summary; If you are a fan of thrash metal I would strongly recommend this album, doubly so if you like late eighties work of Kreator, Destruction or Sepultura. If you are a fan of Sodom already you absolutely must check it out.

Excellent disc. Clutch is a great band, discovered them about a year and a half ago. I love all their music and Slow Hole to China is no exception.

Simple, buy this disk, put it in your CD player and turn it up loud. Rock Out ! Great Lyrics, Vocals, Guitars, Drums.

A great down to earth album. Songs about life and Willie Nelson. A nice reprieve from songs about space robots and comet chasing galaxy 500's. Not that there's anything wrong with that. This album isn't as polished as Beale Street but not as raw as Jam Room. It fits right in between.

i am torn. this album rocks like no other and i would have give it 5 stars in a second, but they released this thing a few years ago w/ only 12 tracks and now they are re-releasing it? that's a bunch of b.s. if you ask me! they should have just made a new e.p. with just the new stuff. honestly, while i love the additional tracks, i found it hard to spend over 10 bucks to get what is nearly an identical album to the previous release. why should i spend that much to get 3 new songs?!?!?!

sure, pitchfork and lost needles was essentially a re-release too, but at least that stuff was from hard to find ep's from their early days. stuff that you would be hard pressed to find now without paying out the @$$ for it so i am totally cool with that. but to re-release this less than 7 years since the original was released? come on. sounds like a band trying to cash in on something...

and that is something that i would have never expected this from a band like clutch, who always deliver great album after great album all the while receiving little to no radio play, little promotion, etc., etc. for them to gouge the loyal fans (hey, all clutch fans are loyal fans!!!) is a disgrace! i have seen clutch several times and they always are top notch live, they always put out excellent studio albums, they put the time into releasing rare and out of print material, and all those other things that make them such a cool group of guys! but this is a serious load of donkey crap...for shame, clutch.