Customer Reviews

Tape Head

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"TAPEHEAD" has now been out for several months, and after giving it the required 500 or so listenings I've come to the following heart-felt conclusion: these guys are pretty darned good. Admittedly, I've been a fan since '89 when I first heard "Over My Head", but each CD has had its own personality since then, reflecting on the band's self-envisioned place in the world. In "TAPEHEAD", they say to me that they accept the fact that American radio just doesn't have the smarts to recognize the unequaled talent of their band, so they'll just do what they want to do and let their true fans enjoy it, and enjoy it we do (although MTV did use several tracks from this CD as background music for one of their "Spring Break '99" rocku-documentaries). Where "DOGMAN" was King's X telling their boss to take this job and shove it, and "EAR CANDY" was the band taking a relaxing vacation, "TAPEHEAD" finds Doug, Jerry, and Ty rolling up their sleeves and getting back to work with renewed vigor. The opening track, "Groove Machine", does just that, as does "Happy", which is just plain nasty. "Little Bit of Soul", a personal favorite, could almost have passed for a Motown release from the '60s, and if any of you X-Games enthusiasts are paying attention, "World" is custom-made for catching some serious air.

Some things remain the same ... some people never change. In the case of King's X, thank God for that.

Their follow-up to 'Ear Candy' this was the band's seventh CD.Tracks here are considered by many fans to be some of the trio's best work,ever.Overall,plain and simple just good progressive hard rock.Tunes that are worth mentioning are the ass-kicking "Groove Machine","Over And Over","Happy" and "Walter Bela Farkas".Line-up(still the original players):Doug Pinnick-bass&vocals,Ty Tabor-guitar&vocals and Jerry Gaskill-drums.Recommended if you enjoyed their earlier releases.

I agree with Ron Manning, to a "T" (not for Texas -- I'm a Packer fan!) When I first picked up Tape Head, I was kind of unimpressed. But I've always found that the greatest CD's take time to grow on you. It's my favorite King's X CD. Welcome to the Groove Machine, baby!

...Actually, this trio never lost it. They hit a few bumps in the road along the way, but for the most part, their recording career (10 years by the time of this album) has been full of many more highs than lows. If you love melodic rock, this is the band for you. They have the love of a die-hard cult fanbase as well as the respect of fellow musicians. Why they are not one of the biggest bands in the world is beyond me. I guess the mainstream just doesn't get it.
Which might explain the slight deviation of the band's flight plan on Tape Head. They seem to be struggling with simply being themselves and trying still this far into the game to appeal to the masses. Many of the songs here are short and radio rock friendly, such as Fade, Ocean and Higher Than God. Others simply groove and rock with such infectiousness that they are impossible to resist, such as Groove Machine and Ono (thankfully NOT about Yoko Ono!).
Guitarist Ty Tabor has taken on the role of producer for the band, and his talents for such a task are strong. He is missed in the vocal department, as bassist Doug Pinnick handles almost all of the leads.
The problem with Tape Head is that the album is uneven. Most of the really great songs fill out the first half of the disc, with only a few notable tracks later into the set.
The lyrics have become darker, atleast by King's X standards, a band that for years had been known for its ties to 'Christian rock'.
Still, its better than the raw noise of Dogman, but not quite as lovable as Ear Candy or their fourth album. It is, after all, King's X. And in the musical landscape of today's market, they are a welcome oasis in the desert wasteland of pop/rock.

In other King's X reviews, I have written that the first 4 albums in the King's X catalogue are absolutely essential must haves. If you are going to buy any King's X album as a new fan or customer, start with those first 4(Out of the Silent Planet - 1988/Gretchen Goes To Nebraska - 1989/Faith Hope Love - 1990/King's X - 1992).

But admiring this band as much as I do, I cannot help but recommend any other album more than Tapehead. It was almost 10 years later after their debut, and this band, to me, released one of the best albums of their career. Finally released from Atlantic Records, it seemed a bit of new found freedom can be found on this album. Though much material wasn't prepared for it, and a lot of these songs come from the pen of Doug Pinnick, Tapehead is one of those instantly accessible albums in their catalogue. There are songs on this album I believe rank up their with anything on Gretchen Goes To Nebraska, though a little bit of Faith & Hope have disappeared from their 'energy'. What's left is Love, and it is said , the greatest of the three is Love, so maybe King's X haven't disappointed after all.

I loved this album on first listen. There weren't any acoustic guitars, or augmentations as on other releases, but I do not think this album suffers one bit because of that, because simply, the songs are all that good. From track 1 through 11, Id say this is one of the best collections of songs in a row that I've ever heard, and though the last 2 songs are not ones I play often, how can you go wrong whne so much of this album screams out 'Aren't I great?'

Standout tracks have to be 'Ono', 'Groove Machine', 'Happy', 'Higher Than God', and 'Cupid'. 'Fade' was the video/single release from this album, but again, the presence of Ty as main singer seems to indicate what companies think will play on radio, rather than the voice of a black man fronting a 'rock group'. Whether or not this is true I don't know, but I can think of 5 other songs on this album slightly stronger than Fade. But when you take this album as a complete whole is when you understand this is one of King's X's strongest albums, quite possibly since Gretchen. That's if we're looking at it like, song after song, you're wondering where they're coming up with it all from.

The same year, Doug Pinnick's first Poundhound album came out, called Massive Grooves . . . , and to me 1998 was one of the best years for King's X. Ty Tabor's Moonflower Lane also came out this year, but I didn't buy it. The demos from this album called Naomi's Solar Pumpkin, just did not strike me in the way Tapehead or Poundhound had. It wasn't as instant. Years later, I picked up Moonflower Lane, and re-listened to Naomi which I had when it was released. Naomi is actually a very good collection of songs, and some of my favourites from Naomi were completely left off the professional'Naomi' that is Moonflower Lane. I appreciate these albums much more now than I did back then. But I still think 1998 was one of the best years for King's X album releases, either solo or together.

Please buy this album.

Stripped down, occasionally slowed down, but man, the high points of this album are right up there with anything ever recorded. Most bands will never come close to recording a song half as good as "Ono" or "Happy", but for these guys, that's an established level of quality and artwork.

King's X has established such a ridiculously high level of expectations that anything they release is going to be examined under a very harsh light, yet they continue to blow past previous highs. Highlights of the album include "Groove Machine", "Fade" (which should be an AOR staple but'll never get any airplay), "Ono", and the throat-rending, soul-battering, wall-shaking "Happy", which is reminiscent of one of those surprisingly hard Beatles songs where John Lennon was possessed by some supernatural force of genius looking for an earthly vessel and finding it in these three musicians.

To quote Lynryd Skynyrd: "Turn it up."

I'm glad King's X went over to Metal Blade. Although Metal Blade's resources are more limited than those of Atlantic, this freed the band from their former record label's intrusive design to make them a big "hit" band. Tape Head, the first King's X release on Metal Blade, was produced entirely by the band itself, leaving them free to explore music as they pleased.

Despite the change in record label, however, King's X didn't really change themselves that much. Snarling, post-grunge riffing, shining vocal harmonies, and instrumental chops are still the name of the game. The production and mixing duties, mainly handled by Ty Tabor, lack enough treble to give it the punch it needs, but the band is still rockin' pretty good. Ostensibly streamlining the album's style, "Groove Machine" sets things up for one of the grooviest King's X albums yet. "Groove Machine" itself is a jewel, with hard and catchy riffs, deep-voiced vocal harmonies, and the piquant grooves implied in the title. Most of the songs that follow are dominated by that thick grooviness. What Tape Head lacks in the adventurous King's X spirit, it makes up for in pure groovy rock.

There are plenty of highlights: "Fade" has its killer riffs and melodic hooks; "World" is the fastest & hardest song on the disc; "Ono" is archetypal King's X songwriting; "Happy" is the album's most rhythmically dynamic piece; "Higher God" moves along with heavy, clomping grooves but embeds itself in your mind with a great melodic chorus. I especially like "Hate You" for how the words work with the music -- the way the heaviness slides in so perfectly when the line they sing "...how much I hate you" is classic, and the paradoxical lyrics are interesting. At the end of the disc, you get the live track "Walter Beta Farkas", which is an improvised jam with weird screaming.

As I said at the beginning, I'm glad King's X is with Metal Blade now. Sure, they might never release another album as great as Gretchen, but I can deal with that. The band is free to explore music as they please, and Tape Head is a good little CD.

OK, all you King's-X fans, time to get this cd! Here we have an awesome mix of heavy grooves, with some lighter, fun rockin' tunes...all good though! Excellent guitar work by Ty Tabor (as usual). This whole cd features some of their best musicianship to date. Ty Tabor did an excellent job of producing this cd. From the opening killer song "Groove Machine", to songs like "Ono", "Over & Over", "Higher Than God", and a slew of others, makes this one cd you must keep in your collection. If this cd doesn't make you groove, and make you wanna play guitar nothing will. Listen to it a few times, and you will find yourself never taking it out of your cd player! If you like your metal heavy, funky, diverse, and fun to listen to, then, pick this up, you'll be glad you did. Excellent!

My initial impression of this CD was that it was very simple as compared to their previous releases. I wasn't disappointed but I wasn't impressed. However, after many listening sessions, it has become a favorite. I'm biased in that I really like this band. I do believe though that if one likes Kings X, one will want to include this CD in their collection.

So what does "Tape Head" have to offer on this their seventh full-length release? More of the same power-trio, multi-dimensional singing, pop-metal grooves that have created them a HUGE underground following of fans around the globe. "Tape Head" is a different kind of Kings-X album though. More stripped down in the definition of a power-trio that's even across the musical board of one album without overindulging the ears. Could it be that the pressure of major label expectations (Atlantic) is now off their back? Oh I bet that's a big part of it. Now it's a band writing what they want without big brother watching their every move. Personally I'm a little surprise the material is as good as it is with Ty Tablor (guitarist) and Doug Pinnick (Bassist)individually recording and releasing solo albums this past year. "Tape Head" will throw you back into the days when real rock musicians plugged in their instruments and created music not influenced by major label hypocrisy, MTV or needing radio airplay. A power-trio to save our ears from the everyday crap we hear or see on the airwaves. Kings-X have succeeded again and Metal Blade must be drooling at the mouth they have one of the worlds greatest living rock bands still in their recording prime! Buy!