Customer Reviews

Take Them On, On Your Own

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Nothing new I know...and I say so what. This is the best Rock 'n' Roll album to come out this year. Now let me preempt and say that BRMC are not new to the scene. Robert "Been" Turner (bass, guitar and vocals) is the son of Michael Been from the fine 80's band The Call. Ironically enough the sound you will find here is a polished and refurbished 80's sound. When I purchased the first release I salivated and delved into my crates pulling out old vinyl from Love and Rockets, Jesus and Mary Chain, Gene Loves Jezebel (pre House of Dolls), Teenage Fanclub, Bauhaus, Tones On Tail, Joy Division etc etc ...The influences were obvious. However Robert, Peter and Nick have a much stronger, crisper and tighter sound. On the new release "Take Them On..." the production is hot. Much like Iggy Pop's album "Raw Power" it is recorded in the red... and as for the lyrics? Well let's say they are far more mature than what was pouring out of William Reid or Daniel Ash during their heyday. After at least 3 complete listens if you do not love this album get in gear to see them live. After that if you are not a fan then strap on sh*t kickers and head out to a square-dance partner because R'n'R bleeds when you are in the room.

German expressionists often thought that there were no political solutions, only spiritual ones. That is how BRMC present their music often. They just want you to hear the music and keep it to yourself. Their garage punk is for people who have heard of Spiritualized and Primal Scream. It doesn't have the joy and bravado of other rock and roll bands. "Stop" and "Six Barrel Shotgun" sound like tracks from their first album. If it is not broke why fix it? Why is anyone thinking that BRMC is going to do a prog rock album? Other songs like "Generation" and "US Government" deal with the disconnected feel of the times. They are questioning the current slide of young people into cliché, cynicism, and being jaded. They have hope in their music, even though their politics are more personal. This band has the coolest name, but who knows if anyone will discover how good they truly are?

With the radio plagued with faux-emotional scrapple ranging from the baritone whines of sludge-rockers Nickleback to the pre-menstrual-punk of Simple Plan, and the only remnants of New York's once so promising rock revival incarnated either in underexposed dance-punk acts (Le Tigre, The Rapture) or ulcer-inducing novelty rockers (Whirlwind Heat, The Coral), there seems little hope for solid, radio-friendly rock. There's more than a little irony in the fact that the first act to truly resurface from the ashes of the mini-movement still in triage at St. Joseph's Hospital hails from San Francisco, a city known to raise as many eyebrows over its dubious musical scene as are raised over its inhabitants' sexual orientation.
When the self-titled debut from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club hit shelves in early 2001 it arrived on the coattails of the aforementioned chic post-punk revival spearheaded by the stripped-down stylings of the Strokes, Hives, White Stripes, etc. So, naturally, with a tepidly subversive band name and their respective mop-tops gracing the stylishly black-and-white album cover, it was only logical to lump them in with the trendy, lukewarm power-poppers taking CBGB by storm at the time. This pre-association was not only flagrantly false, but served to deprive many potential fans of one of the most original and mesmerizing rock albums this millennium.
Amidst the surplus of unique successes offered up by BRMC was its capacity to blur the lines between preexisting musical genres seldom interconnected, most notably the long-defunct shoegazer movement of the early nineties, a U.K.-rooted style characterized by waves of indiscernible sound in which all elements fade into the swirling mix pioneered by My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Ride, and contemporaries, and the more direct down-tempo rock of past acts such as the Jesus and Mary Chain, and all the while bypassing bipolarity.
Many critics fancied this blend an inconsistency and chided the album as unfocused. Consequently, the trio decided to lean more heavily toward their straightforward rock dimension, accounting for Take them On's increase in accessibility and slight drop in originality from their first effort.
That said, this change is not so much a devolution as it is a stylistic shift. The approach adopted here yields what is easily one of the best rock albums so far this year, but one that nevertheless sacrifices heavily in diversity and innovation. BRMC's standout tracks were almost unanimously the more passive of the crop: the blissfully soporific drones of "Awake," the chorus-laden guitar work and nearly whispered vocals of "Rifles," the biting dissonance and throbbing bassline of "Red Eyes and Tears," all decidedly mellow. The most driving track "Whatever Happened to My Rock 'N Roll [Punk Song]" proved a seemingly deliberate outlier, as indicated by the particularly descriptive song title, and one that seemed like to stay such come later releases. This expectation was subverted from Track One of Take them On, for which it seems nearly a blueprint, and the remaining tracks tend to stay true to form in this regard.
Even so, innovation is hardly forgone. Lyrically, the trio tread the grounds of banality ("I kill you all with a six barrel shotgun/ I kill you all but I need you so"), try their hands at some abstract political commentary with "US Government," and fill in the blanks with the vague lyrical catch-alls ("We're all in love with something that we can't see") that kept BRMC strictly musically-oriented. The sedated biker-rock of "Ha Ha High" stands out as new territory, as does the trebly, sinusoidal guitar pulses of "In Like the Rose." "Shade of Blue" echoes BRMC's lullaby feel, rendering it easily one of the most successful tracks, but maintains cohesion in the context of the album.
All in all, with its generally one-size-fits-all approach, Take them On would almost make a more successful debut than it does a sophomore album, but is still like to prove the best pop-rock album for some time. For those bogged down in the muck of Good Charlotte, Evanescence and cohorts, you will find solace, shelter and redemption in Take them On.

An excellent follow-up to the original. Without a doubt, BRMC is taking them on, on their own terms! The album kicks off with the rocking STOP and takes you through a plethora of BRMC fuzzy guitar tunes. I enjoyed the unique HA HA HIGH BABE. An outstanding collection right through the entire album to include the HEART & SOUL ending.

TAKE THEM ON, ON YOUR OWN, will be a staple in my CD player for some time to come.

Excellent, simply excellent.

I bought this on an impulse because it was only 5.99, and I am glad I have it. It sounds like a darker, more droning version of the Strokes (pardon the Strokes comparison.) It has some really great, driving songs. Also, there are some very nice slower songs.
Buy it and decide on your own if you like it. You won't be disappointed. Also get the new Raveonettes cd, these two cd's complement each other well.

Black Rebel Motorcycle has proven that rock can still be played the way it should be in their last album and in this one. Bands like them are rare these days and I'm just glad they are the group that they are. This album is a great follow up to their first. It kicks off with their new single "Stop" which is a totally kickin song. Nice and catchy from the first listen. The whole album is full of great songs like "Six Barrel Shotgun", "US Government" and "Suddenly". This album is similar to their last one in a few ways of sound but it is incredible and I suggest it to anyone who wants a taste of what real rock is like.

The follow-up 'Take Them On, On Your Own' basically sounds like the BRMC's debut CD Part 2, perhaps with a little more rock, with a little more swagger. Sometimes not changing your musical formula isn't such a bad thing, especially if a bands previous album was strong. You can still hear that Jesus And Mary Chain influence, yet at the sametime they're kinda shifting towards more high-energy rock. People have always described BRMC's sound in fancy colorful terms, Neo Psychadelic, Noise Pop, distortion with fuzzbox vocals, etc. But if you look past all of that, it's basically rock and roll. Just like the debut, the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club still has that dark ominous swagger, but just might rock a little harder this time around.

Hey, have you heard the news? Excitingly, rock and roll protest is back - all it took was the Bush administration to make it an interesting, nay, vital subject. Last year we had Sleater-Kinney and Steve Earle with daring commentary on the events surrounding September 11th - this year we have LA drone rock band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club yowling: "I bought my legs from the US government to keep me in line." An interesting new level of standoffishness from a typically languid group, and Take Them On, On Your Own is harder and much more furious than their eponymous debut album. Still, this remains the BRMC that you know and love, as evidenced by lead single "Stop" which shows all their trademarks still in place. "Generation," "Us Government" and "Ha Ha High Babe" all swagger mercilessly, while songs like "Shade of Blue" waft by beautifully. This is a startlingly exciting record, and BRMC have succeeded at the hardest hurdle - they have overcome the sophomore album slump. The future suddenly looks a whole lot brighter.

Impressive new release from this band. It's dark, spacey, moody and catchy. Yeah there's a number of other popular bands all doing the same kind of thing right now, and a select few of them are very good....BRMC is one of them, along with Interpol, The Doves, The Raveonettes, The Dandy Warhols and Long Wave, for instance.

If any or all of those bands interest you, BRMC just may tickle your fancy and entertain you with 2 CD's full of lots of repeat listening and songs for the ages.

Much like the Doves, this band is underappreciated!

This being their sophomore effort, BRMC had to have had a lot riding on "Take Them On...". Cutting right to the chase, they surely did not disappoint with this endearing outing. It is filled with much of the same melodramatic poetry and captivating sound that defined them thus far.

The leadoff track and single, "Stop" is not only the best on the cd, it was the track that started it all for me. I quickly immersed myself into the sensuous BRMC world, bought this cd and remain floored since then. Other really great tunes include the roaring "Six Barrel Shotgun", the tranquil "Shade Of Blue", and the epic "Heart + Soul".

Ride on with this cd, you'll be relieved afterwards.