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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The Hold Steady's ascent and eventual breakthrough with 2006's Boys & Girls in America was never pre-ordained. If anything they did it without the tastemakers' consent. Their shtick is old-fashioned through and through, beginning with Thin Lizzy and ending with Bruce Springsteen, performed by men advanced enough to have experienced those touchstones first or second hand. And look at them--not exactly The Strokes, are they? But it was precisely their enthusiastic unoriginality, the fact that the clichés were piled on so thick and so fast, that they triumphed. And placed next to that unapologetically feel good record, that Stay Positive sounds so immediately brighter and more muscular is undoubtedly a great sign. Production is really cranked up--see the horns wedged into "Sequestered in Memphis", the REM mandolin texturing of "Both Crosses" and the surprising harpsichord flagrancy of "One for the Cutters". They're clearly determined to not be so easily pegged this time around, though admittedly they never exactly go that far off-piste. "Our songs are sing-along songs," announced Craig Finn semi-helpfully, and though the spirit is right, with such a conversational lyrical style that is rarely the case. It's more about the rock gestures and knowing when to punch the air. And there are instances aplenty, from the Pete Townsend-esque windmill power-chords in "Constructive Summer", to the overblown solo in "Lord I'm Discouraged" that is so "November Rain" it's practically going through Stephanie Seymour's trash (those not watching MTV in the mid-90s, hit Youtube). --James Berry
Product Description
Limited edition packaging (50,000) includes 3 bonus tracks:
Bonus Tracks
1.Ask Her for Adderall
2.Cheyenne Sunrise
3. Two Handed Handshake
Bonus Tracks
1.Ask Her for Adderall
2.Cheyenne Sunrise
3. Two Handed Handshake
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 26 people found the following review helpful
By Wayne H
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
News of the new Hold Steady album raised a lot of questions. Could it possibly live up to the escalating expectations their first three albums produced? Will the familiar characters of the past be back? Can Craig Finn keep writing the wittiest lyrics in rock music? Will every review make a Springsteen comparison? The answer to all of these questions is yes.
Stay Positive was released in digital form last month and like it's predecessors gets off to a rocking start with "Constructive Summer" which revisits Boys and Girls in America's theme of partying with friends while tossing in a toast to "St. Joe Strummer" who "might have been our only decent teacher". "Sequestered in Memphis" keeps the rocking party going but throws some shadows in the lyrics. There are subpoenas and sequesters, and the lyrics seem to be the response to an interrogation. In Craig Finn's addled world you don't go back to her place when you leave the bar, you go to "someplace where she cat sits".
When a harpsicord leads off the third song "One for the Cutters" you start to realize you may not be in Minnesota anymore. Kids are being killed, suspects are on the run, and every townie is being paraded to the police station. What follows in the album are the consequences to the partying. Characters are older but not wiser, and aging but not gracefully. Holly (who like Gideon and Charlemagne are never named) may be in worse shape than where she was left in the song "First Night" from BAGIA. "Lord I'm Discouraged", a heartbreaking ballad with a monster guitar solo finds the singer pining away for her and praying "she don't die".
Even the title track "Stay Positive" warns "There's gonna time a time when the scene'll seem less sunny." and begins a great four song sequence that culminates with "Slapped Actress" which may be the best song The Hold Steady has ever released. The song, influenced by the John Cassavetes movie "Opening Night" sways back and forth between re-examining the events in previous albums "Don't tell them Ybor City almost killed us again" and exploring the relationship between the performer and the fans "Some nights, it's just entertainment and some other nights it's work".
If you are a Hold Steady fan "Stay Positive" has the comforting themes, name and song dropping, intertwined lyrics and explosive sound you are used to. If not "Stay Positive" may be the album that will make you go back to find out what happened before this, as BAGIA was for me. In any event it is The Hold Steady's most musically diverse album to date, with a storyline that can stand up to the brilliant "Separation Sunday", something even the most positive Hold Steady fan may be surprised by.
Stay Positive was released in digital form last month and like it's predecessors gets off to a rocking start with "Constructive Summer" which revisits Boys and Girls in America's theme of partying with friends while tossing in a toast to "St. Joe Strummer" who "might have been our only decent teacher". "Sequestered in Memphis" keeps the rocking party going but throws some shadows in the lyrics. There are subpoenas and sequesters, and the lyrics seem to be the response to an interrogation. In Craig Finn's addled world you don't go back to her place when you leave the bar, you go to "someplace where she cat sits".
When a harpsicord leads off the third song "One for the Cutters" you start to realize you may not be in Minnesota anymore. Kids are being killed, suspects are on the run, and every townie is being paraded to the police station. What follows in the album are the consequences to the partying. Characters are older but not wiser, and aging but not gracefully. Holly (who like Gideon and Charlemagne are never named) may be in worse shape than where she was left in the song "First Night" from BAGIA. "Lord I'm Discouraged", a heartbreaking ballad with a monster guitar solo finds the singer pining away for her and praying "she don't die".
Even the title track "Stay Positive" warns "There's gonna time a time when the scene'll seem less sunny." and begins a great four song sequence that culminates with "Slapped Actress" which may be the best song The Hold Steady has ever released. The song, influenced by the John Cassavetes movie "Opening Night" sways back and forth between re-examining the events in previous albums "Don't tell them Ybor City almost killed us again" and exploring the relationship between the performer and the fans "Some nights, it's just entertainment and some other nights it's work".
If you are a Hold Steady fan "Stay Positive" has the comforting themes, name and song dropping, intertwined lyrics and explosive sound you are used to. If not "Stay Positive" may be the album that will make you go back to find out what happened before this, as BAGIA was for me. In any event it is The Hold Steady's most musically diverse album to date, with a storyline that can stand up to the brilliant "Separation Sunday", something even the most positive Hold Steady fan may be surprised by.
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By D. G. Bagley
Format:Audio CD
This excellent record deserves to be played loud. Unfortunately, it's been so aggressively mastered, that I haven't been able to turn it up without distorting.
I'll gladly pay twice if somebody can tell me that the vinyl was treated differently.
Musically, this is the best album of the year.
Sonically, the wrong mastering for what should be a loud, dynamic rock masterpiece.
I'll gladly pay twice if somebody can tell me that the vinyl was treated differently.
Musically, this is the best album of the year.
Sonically, the wrong mastering for what should be a loud, dynamic rock masterpiece.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By TC
Format:Audio CD
I have to admit that I came pretty late to The Hold Steady party but better late than never. I picked up their 2006 release Boys and Girls in America about 6 months ago and quickly followed it up with Separation Sunday and Almost Killed Me. After fully immersing myself in those albums I was more than ready for this release. Stay Positive could be The Hold Steady's masterpiece, but somehow I think that album is still to come. What it is, however, is one of the finest albums in a year of fine albums.
In the rock press The Hold Steady is often referred to as a unique blending of The Replacements and Bruce Springsteen, but they'r much more than that. In the opening track "Constructive Summer" they mine the ground formerly occupied by another Minneapolis band, Husker Du and name drops Joe Strummer opining that "I think he might have been our only decent teacher". The song is similar to many of their earlier works except that the characters are older and a bit more damaged a world of dashed hopes and diminishing expectations. Craig Finn writes abotu these scenes as if he's not only lived them, but breathed them and drank them down. Never is this more in evidence than on the second track, and obvious single "Sequestered in Memphis" a rollicking account of a one night stand. If your not singing along by the second chorus of this one then this band is not for you.
Despite it's title Stay Positive is a fairly dark album in content. On Boys and Girls in America the characters were young hard partiers who still had their optimism. Now they're older and more beaten up by life. On "One for the Cutters" with it's murder mystery theme and harpsichord (!) tones this is in particular evidence. The beautiful "Lord I'm Discouraged" takes a similar tone and features a nuanced vocal by Finn far outside of his usual sing/speak style. The album's weakest cut, "Navy Sheets", references the synth tones of the Cars in a rather unfortunate manner but still features a brilliant lyric. Rounding out the album are standout cuts like the title track, "Joke about Jamaica" and the magnificent closing cut "Slapped Actress". The literate lyrics throughout and the inspired guitar of Tad Kubler tie them all together with a shiny bow on top.
The bottom line for any album review is should you buy this album? Well I have to admit The Hold Steady are not for everyone. If you're not a fan of unusual singing styles and lyrics about hard living, then this band is not for you. On the other hand if you love honest songs, with complexity, ingenuity, pop culture reference and a strong tip of the hat to great artists of the past pick up Stay Positive. You won't regret it.
In the rock press The Hold Steady is often referred to as a unique blending of The Replacements and Bruce Springsteen, but they'r much more than that. In the opening track "Constructive Summer" they mine the ground formerly occupied by another Minneapolis band, Husker Du and name drops Joe Strummer opining that "I think he might have been our only decent teacher". The song is similar to many of their earlier works except that the characters are older and a bit more damaged a world of dashed hopes and diminishing expectations. Craig Finn writes abotu these scenes as if he's not only lived them, but breathed them and drank them down. Never is this more in evidence than on the second track, and obvious single "Sequestered in Memphis" a rollicking account of a one night stand. If your not singing along by the second chorus of this one then this band is not for you.
Despite it's title Stay Positive is a fairly dark album in content. On Boys and Girls in America the characters were young hard partiers who still had their optimism. Now they're older and more beaten up by life. On "One for the Cutters" with it's murder mystery theme and harpsichord (!) tones this is in particular evidence. The beautiful "Lord I'm Discouraged" takes a similar tone and features a nuanced vocal by Finn far outside of his usual sing/speak style. The album's weakest cut, "Navy Sheets", references the synth tones of the Cars in a rather unfortunate manner but still features a brilliant lyric. Rounding out the album are standout cuts like the title track, "Joke about Jamaica" and the magnificent closing cut "Slapped Actress". The literate lyrics throughout and the inspired guitar of Tad Kubler tie them all together with a shiny bow on top.
The bottom line for any album review is should you buy this album? Well I have to admit The Hold Steady are not for everyone. If you're not a fan of unusual singing styles and lyrics about hard living, then this band is not for you. On the other hand if you love honest songs, with complexity, ingenuity, pop culture reference and a strong tip of the hat to great artists of the past pick up Stay Positive. You won't regret it.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
If Bruce Springsteen was bitter - and drunk....
...it might sound something like this. Clever lyrics and plenty of bombast, a unique combination. Why wouldn't you buy it?
Published 5 months ago by David Caven
4.0 out of 5 stars
Vinyl review
I was so looking forward to this double record set to replace my CD. Soundwise, it's ok but not great. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Geee!
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good album but not so good sound quality
Stay Positive is a very good album from The Hold Steady. While the band wears their influences on their collective sleeves, they write great songs and Craig Finn is a clever... Read more
Published 22 months ago by John Alapick
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great music, execrable sound.
I bought this cd as soon as it was released and could never really get into it. Although professional reviewers loved it universally my repeated playings never revealed to me what... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Philip Bradshaw
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bought Immediately
It doesn't happen much. But it happened with this album. I caught the track, "Sequestered in Memphis" about halfway through on the radio and instantly knew I had to have this... Read more
Published on February 21, 2011 by Chris Bowen
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's a grower.
The Minneapolis, New York City band The Hold Steady released their 4th studio album in 2008. "Stay Positive" #30, produced by John Agnello, an album that took a few listens to get... Read more
Published on November 13, 2010 by ScottE
5.0 out of 5 stars
They make their own movies
This is my favourite Hold Steady album. Why? Because there is a sense of a narrative arc playing out which culminates in the finale 'Slapped Actress'. Read more
Published on August 7, 2010 by hired goon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Stuff That Summarizes an Era
Craig Fein and The Hold Steady are great artists. Hell, I don't need to tell you how many times I've seen this kind of scene go bad real fast. Read more
Published on April 16, 2010 by S. Mayer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Edgy smart rock and roll
Edgy, smart rock and roll
With a very solid rhythm section anchoring a driving beat, The Hold Steady channel many influences that go right to the heart of rock and roll and on... Read more
With a very solid rhythm section anchoring a driving beat, The Hold Steady channel many influences that go right to the heart of rock and roll and on... Read more
Published on February 15, 2010 by J. Carroll
4.0 out of 5 stars
Staying Positive While Holding Steady
I first caught The Hold Steady in concert on a PBS music show late one Saturday night... Awesome... Then my super cool Millennial-esque nephew told me how much he liked 'em and... Read more
Published on August 22, 2009 by David Lazar
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