Customer Reviews

Tinderbox

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

 

 

Well I finally managed to get a copy of Tinderboxand although the wait was frustrating, the album is great. After hearing "Tinderbox," "You Can Move Mountains" and "I Could Be Happy Yesterday" at the Toronto gig, it was amazing how familiar these songs sounded when I heard them on the CD.

Tinderboxranks up there as one of my 'all time favourites' both lyrically and musically. As always, Jake has demonstrated clear insight into the pressures and disillusionment felt by those of us decent human beings who would like to be left alone to get on with our lives, and perhaps lend a helping hand along the way.

A couple of the tracks ("Dead of Night" and "My Ever Changing Moral Stance") took a little while to grow on me -- but grow on me they did, and already I wonder why they didn't grab me straight away. "The Message" was well done -- and certainly well titled, and "A River Flowing" is another easy favourite. Which leaves the other tracks to enjoy on an all round excellent album. But what's with the song that is not noted on the song list or in the lyric sheet?

The surprise and possibly even the gem of the album is "Roaring Boys (Part 2)." The mix of SLF and traditional celtic music is thoroughly enjoyable - please, please on future albums have more of this!

OK I'm totally naive to SLF. I was trying to see what Bruce Foxton of the Jam fame was up to and it looks like him on the cover. Anyway I played the samples and they sound like The Chords, I'm wondering if SLF picked up the singer from that old group also? Who knows, no reviews here so no one must care. Pity, see ya Bruce!

I have been a Stiff Little Fingers fan for more than 20 years. Unlike many long-term fans I welcome the fact that the group have evolved over the years rather than sticking in the superb punk-rock mould they made for themselves. This album unfortunately is awful. Very few highlights. SLF were always more comfortable writing political lyrics rather than relationship songs and this CD is made up virtually entirely of the latter. Even the songs which show some potential are undermined by Jake Burns' inability to write love songs. For example 'I could be happy'- a powerful guitar rift is wasted on a track which includes such cliched lyrics as 'Just like the Autumn when leaves turn brown and fall upon the ground, that's how you left me'. The second part of the roaring boys is interesting in the punked-up version of Irish music it offers but unfortunately the song falls apart on the weakness of the verses. The lyrics on this album are cliched and the music bland- something you don't expect from SLF. If this was your first introduction to this superb band you would avoid their other records like the plague. If you want to know this group check out their other records.