Customer Reviews

Three Easy Pieces (Dig)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been a huge fan of Buffalo Tom since the Let Me Come Over days, and over the years I've eagerly anticipated the arrival of each new release. With such a long gap since the last album, the band had drifted off my radar until recently when I did a random search for them and found that some fresh material was about to hit the street. Having listened to Three Easy Pieces now in its entirety, I have mixed feelings. Overall it is not an outstanding album, but the quality of the good songs and the pristine production more than makes up for the overall weakness of the opus. The opener "Bad Phone Call" immediately strikes you as being something new for the Tom - a lazy, country-tinged rocker that could almost be a love duet if it hadn't been sung by two heterosexual males. "Bottom of the Rain" is more familiar and would have fit right in on Big Red Letter Day, the bands crowning achievement of almost 15 years back. "You'll Never Catch Him" sounds more like Let Me Come Over era material, and is also excellent. However, the band's finest moment is "Lost Downtown," a song that could perhaps be their best ever. Bill Janovich sings as if he is a love-smitten teenager instead of a 40+ something. The gentle, melodic rhythm is complemented perfectly by the bouncing baseline and Janovich's impassioned vocals. It's a subtle piece that demonstrates just how amazing a songwriter Janovich is when he's on top of his game. The rest of the album is, unfortunately, fairly forgettable, and Tom Colburn's contributions are weaker than usual. There is no "Late at Night" "The Bible" or "Twenty Points" here, sadly. All said, this is a "must buy" for Buffalo Tom fans, and others would be recommended to download the above mentioned songs from itunes, lest they be disappointed by the album as a whole. Despite my mixed review, I will be praying to the rock gods that Buffalo Tom deliver at least one more album before they call it quits for good.

Okay, so it's time to have a tempered review put up here. There will be no gushing, nor will there be no bemoaning hate. It's simply this; it's been a long pause since Smitten and it shows. I rather take issue with the Amazon review that this album is reminicent of past records... it does only in the respect that it "is" a Buffalo Tom record. When I initially put this album on, I'd steeled myself for a let down, as earlier return efforts this year had underwhelmed me. The good news... this is a decent Buffalo Tom record. The bad news... it's not outstanding and I don't hear anything on it that has "breakout" accessibility. Furthermore, a certain spark is somewhat dulled on here... a blunting of spirit, I guess from the passage of time, maybe. Smitten, their last effort, if a little overproduced, still had a sharper pop, spirit to it, even in sad songs. If you have liked Buffalo Tom all through their career, definitely get this. If you have not, start with an earlier Buffalo Tom release, just about any of them. Finally, my favorites and skips change over time, some songs grow on me, and some, I grow out of. My fave on this album, so far, is Pendleton, and I feel, personally, that the album's weakest tracks are ironically the first two. Cheers.~

While doing some recent shopping for CDs, I saw a cover for a Buffalo Tom record that I had never seen before. Buffalo Tom recorded a new record in 2007, and somehow I missed it, as I am sure most people did. My first response was that they must just be riding the nostalgia wave, since it seems that every early 1990's band that got more than one video onto MTV's "120 Minutes" is getting back together. I held off on picking it up. I was apprehensive. I hearkened back to an unpublished Pitchfork review I had written for "Smitten" way back in 1998. I had closed out the review with the statement, "I hope that Smitten is an anomaly, and not a swansong. These guys sound tired and bored with the recording industry that should have made them stars, then tried to make them stars, but never really understood what Buffalo Tom was all about."

Given that it is 10 years between "Smitten" and "Three Easy Pieces", the latter case appeared to almost be true. After a while, I decided to purchase "Three Easy Pieces" and give it a listen. The first song, "Bad Phone Call" comes on. Chris Colburn's falsetto backing harmonies start up. The loud, melodic yet harshly distorted guitar ring through my ears. Tom Maginnis' drumming keeping a perfect beat and setting the tempo and energy. Then Bill Janovitz's vocals come in, and a song about looking back and moving forward kicks in.

"Hell yeah!" I shouted in my Civic, driving down the highway. "Buffalo Tom has come home!"

For those who don't remember Buffalo Tom (likely most anyone reading this), they came out of the 1980's lo-fi scene in Boston. Unlike most of the bands that came from that scene, Buffalo Tom had three things going for it: they understood melody, they knew when to turn the amps up to 11, and they were the tightest band of the entire genre. (The final point is probably because, unlike their contemporaries, they had a stable lineup throughout their run.) Their live performances blew you away. They were that good. Until their record company too late realized what they had, tinkered with their sound, and apparently caused the Toms to get bored and frustrated and hang it up. Or maybe they just got tired of it all. Whatever the case, they pretty much vanished, going off to side projects and the occasional one-off.

The ten-year layoff seems to have recharged the batteries. The band sounds refreshed and invigorated again. The songs are melancholy yet more mature, with a wider-eyed look at the world. There are a few clunkers on the record, but nowhere near the level they were to be found on smitten. And things get a bit too "mellow" in the middle. But despite the layoff, the Toms are as tight as ever. They still know when to turn the amps all the way up, and they still know when to ease everything back. They still know how strike that perfect balance between delightful melody and lo-fi noise.

There's nothing new on this record. No innovations. No exploring new musical directions. And that's a good thing in the case of Buffalo Tom. They do what they do so well, and they are so good together as a band, you don't mind that this record sounds like it would be more at home in 1995 than 2007. Fans from way back will revel in a new set of songs that capture the energy and songsmanship that made Buffalo Tom the best band you never heard of. It likely won't win over any new fans, but even if a few people take a listen and seek out an old copy of "Let Me Come Over" or "Birdbrain", it's all worth it.

Listening to this CD on that ride home put a smile on my face all the way, like seeing your best friend for the first time in years, and finding out that nothing has changed between the two of you despite the time apart. It's great to have you back, Buffalo Tom. We've missed you.

Three Easy Pieces sounds exactly like what you would hope a new Buffalo Tom album would sound like. Though it's reminiscent of the band's earlier work, it continues the steady maturity the group has displayed on its progression of albums. This growing maturity, however, does not require sacrificing hook-laden songs that reverberate in your brain long after they have stopped playing.

It is hard to believe that Smitten came out so long ago (where did those years go). I was worried that this new effort would not be true and an Adult Contemporary version of the BT I knew of the 90s. Happily I was wrong. Three Easy Pieces is a very strong effort that ranks up there with their best. Gone is the uneveness of Smitten. Every song gets under your skin. They also are doing a good job of using Chris's strong and different vocals. He sings lead on four songs, and unlike most groups where another band member gets a few "token" songs to sing, his are just as great and provide a nice contrast. Buy it, You will likey.

Circa 1993 - Newbury Street, Boston... late afternoon showers followed by sunshine... listening to homemade comps of Buffalo Tom, Dino Jr. ... some of the best memories.

There is comfort in Buffalo Tom. Something there is about the chemistry between these three guys that makes the world feel half way right. Three Easy Pieces calls to mind all the amazing music made during their "popular years" back in the earlier to mid 90's; however, there's no hint of "formula". I don't think they set out to create "Let Me Come Over II". The songs on 3EP have that same melody, that same pop sensability, everything we love about Buffalo Tom. "Where are all those golden years?" - right here in 3EP.

This is a band that has had strong effort after strong effort in its long musical career. It is quite mind boggling why this band never "made it" (pros and cons of "making it" not to be debated).

Three Easy Pieces is everything a Buffalo Tom album should be, if you are a fan of thier poppier and mellower albums. Bill Janovitz and Chris Colbourn's vocals and lyrics are as catchy as ever. Lost Downtown and Throw are classic BT work that you'll find yourself singing to yourself or outloud.

Long time fans should enjoy this one as much as I did and newer listeners should give it a whirl....it's worth hearing the complete work rather than a download of just a few tracks.

If you liked the early records Big Red Letter Day and Let Me Come Over, you'll likely like this record. I wasn't crazy about Sleepy Eyed and Smitten, and thought they took a different direction, but this sounds like their earlier work.

Definitely a return to the "unrefined" sound of their earlier work, but there is a similar regression in the quality of the songs. I have found only 2-3 songs on this album that warrant repeat listening.

Three Easy Pieces is a truly remarkable album for those all-too-familiar with Buffalo Tom, as well as those new to the band. Incredibly catchy, this is the album that I've been waiting for in today's overly saturated pop and hip-hop musical landscape. It is not a retread of the band's work from the 90's--althought BT's patented sound does shine through in many of the songs--but is rather a fresh, relevant collection of alternative rock less obsessed with sounding "radio-ready" and more committed to sounding timeless (at least as far as Buffalo Tom fans should be concerned). It is the perfect combination of old and new and is utterly impossible to avoid once the "play" button is pushed. Give it a listen. Come to think of it, give it a few listens.