Customer Reviews

Turn It Upside Down

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

turn it upside down is probably the most overlooked doctors cd. i dont see how people could review this cd negatively. this is one of my favorite cd's hands down. i dont rate cd's on commercial success and how good their singles are because those are the only songs people take notice too. this cd is amazing. its a very optimistic album and i love everything about it. im not going to go on about my favorite songs because thats a personal opinion and really doesnt make much sense for me to try and influence your opinion for the cd. you should take a listen and form your own opinion. this is one of those cd's that grows on you more and more each time you listen to it. take a listen and youll be hooked.

I voted for this album as the top album of the decade in a Rolling Stone poll. I bought it when I was 13 and my taste in music was evolving. I had to listen to it a couple times for it to grow on me and then the more I listened the more I liked it. I cant give you a technical, intelligent-sounding, mumbo jumbo review, but what I can do is tell you this is some good music. You Let Your Heart go too fast(the 2nd song on the album) is one of the best songs I have ever heard. Chris Barron is truly the greatest singer in rock music, his voice expresses such joy and optimism. Get this album, listen to it and you will thank yourself for doing so.

Pocket Full of Kryptonite was a very, very solid release. But when a band has years to write their first album, then the expectation to create an incredible followup in a short time, most bands disappoint. They can overcome this by changing styles.
For the most part, the Spin Doctors delved into their library of chestnuts for this album. There were a few newer songs, and some that didn't translate as well into live settings.
Chris Barron has much more creative control over this album than he had on PFoK. This is evidenced by the less jam-centric nature of some of the songs.

This isn't a bad thing - Chris Barron has a lot of good songs in him.

Big Fat Funky Booty opens the album, and it's an excellent choice. It was a solid crowd-pleaser for years before release.
You Let Your Heart Go Too Fast is an interesting track. While it's well written, both Mark and Eric sound a little more out of their element.
Cleopatra's Cat was one of the strangest missteps, and I'd blame it on the relative failure of this album commercially. The song doesn't grab the listener instantly, unless they were already paying attention. However, the track is incredibly interesting... if you turn the volume up. Listening to this track loud - or on headphones - is what they were hearing when they decided to release it as a single. Mark's bass is very cool.
Hungry Hamed's is classic. This was also a popular live track. Eric's guitar work is spectacular, especially the scraping noises during the main riff as the chords are about to ascend at the end of the phrase. Mark's bass is as funky as ever.
Biscuit Head is a lot of fun, and that's probably the way that they approached the song.
Indifference is Eric's song, and similar to his spotlight on PFoK, it's an enjoyable song. Hearing Barron's backing vocals is very nice.
Bags of Dirt is another older song. It's good, and they bring a strong energy to the song. The backing vocal does the hook with the "truckload of hurt" line.
Mary Jane is Barron's song. It doesn't come across as being a song that the whole band worked on. It's still a very likable song.
More Than Meets The Ear is an unusual song. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it does sound like it was a whole band effort.
Laraby's Gang is another Barron song, and is just as charming as Mary Jane.
At This Hour was another old song. It's good, but unremarkable.
Someday All This Will Be Road is very good. But I think it was difficult to reproduce live. The guitar work is very enjoyable.
Beasts In The Woods is a peculiar track. It sounds much more poorly thought-through than the others. I suspect it was lot of fun to play, and there's some interesting guitar work. But it doesn't feel as much like a complete song.

Is it as good as PFoK? No, but it's nowhere near as bad as it's been made out to be.
The biggest problems with every one of the Spin Doctors albums is the mixing. These mixes are made for casual listeners who are interested in getting the sense of the song. If the mixes would pull out the bass a bit more, and maybe separate the instruments with a little more clarity, we'd hear how terrific Mark White's bass work is, and how clever Aaron's drums are.

You've got to give them credit. Each time the SD's make a new album, they go for some different, not just a rehash of the previous album. With the other albums, the results have been great, but on this one, they are mixed. The first three songs are outstanding. Big Fat Funky Booty lives up to it's name and is hard to sit still to, You Let Your Heart Go Too Fast is a great driving rock song, and Cleopatra's Cat makes you want to snap your fingers and tap your feet. But then, something goes wrong. Not BAD wrong, I mean. It's still good stuff overall, and better than most bands will ever produce. But when you compare the rest of the album to the first 3 songs and their other albums, something is, well......lacking.

For the most part, the energy of their other work is just not there. Also, the singing leaves a bit to be desired on a couple of tracks like Mary Jane and At This Hour. Chris Barron is a talented singer with a unique voice, and I've been a fan of his for a long time, and I KNOW he can do better than that. And then there is Biscuit Head. I'm sorry, but the lyrics on this song are goofy and mindless, which is a damn shame, since the music is pretty cool. The Doctors do some goofy songs now and then, but their usually goofy in a fun and cool sort of way (example: Gorrilla Boy, Yo Mama's a Pajama), not like this.

Fortunately, there are some other bright spots besides the first three tracks. Indifference and Laraby's Gang has a nice, laid back appeal to them, but with good momentum so they're not boring. Hungry Hamed's is a cool, funky song that may well remind you of some restaurants you've been in.

Overall, the title of the review pretty much sums it up. You might won't to get some of their other albums first---namely Pocketful of Kryptonite, You've Got to Believe in Something, or, if you're feeling really adventurous, the more experimental Here Comes the Bride. Despite its flaws though, Turn it Upside Down is still a good CD, and a nice addtion to one's music collection.

I had this as a cassette tape back in the day, when my kids were small and when we would play it in the car we all sang along, my older son's favorite song being bisquit head. I bought this CD for my son for Xmas and one for myself.

I feel that this was written off too fast in 1994. Of course music was turned upside down in 1994, so in all the hoopla this album was dismissed too soon. Of course down here in Florida the first single to be played on the radio was "Cleopatra's Cat". To me that was a mistake to release as a single as it doesn't have the feel to be a single. I feel that "Beats In The Woods" would've been a better choice as it has that "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" beat to it. This was a victim of circumstance I believe, and it's about time to let people know that this is a good album. It's not quite as edgy as "Pocket Full Of Kryptonite", but still packs power with songs like "You Let Your Heart Go Too Fast", and "Indifference", so it does have potential. I feel that if it was released in 1996-97 it might have been a big hit, but 1994 everyone was still into grunge, so this was pushed to the back.

I really enjoy Spin Doctors music, and I already own Pocket Full of Kryptonite and love most every song, its definitely a 4 to 5 star album, with some gems on it. This one just pales in comparison. I still gave it a 3, one because I can't make myself give any of their work less than a 3 unless it really deserves it, and because there are still some great tunes. The starter, "Big Fat Funky Booty" is a prime example of the groovy, but in your face funk- rock of their earliest days, and Cleopatra's Cat has an incredible jazz feel that the guys pull off quite well, and has some cool skat lines. Now, with the exception of Beasts in the Woods, and a few others, the album was disappointing. The tunes have mostly lost their groove from before, Chris' vocals have gotten more nasally, and "Biscuit Head"?, yes they may be know for goofy lyrics and I'm all for that, but what? So overall I guess if you're a fan of the group pick it up on here for a close to nothing and a little shipping, if you just want to know what else the Two Princes band did, it's not worth the effort.

Success hits a lot of bands hard, but few harder than the Spin Doctors. Like many bands, the Doctors had the proverbial lifetime to write their first album, and just a few short months to deliver a second. And in those months, they were constantly attacked by Pocketful Of Kryptonite was critics and alt-rock fans, who thought they sneaked onto the charts through deceptive marketing. They didn't weather the criticism especially well, and their second record, Turn It Upside Down, is pretty much an over-thought mess. They were at their best turning out tuneful, barroom rockers, occasionally letting them run a little bit longer with jams. Here, the jams, not the songs, are at the foundation of the music, and there are no hooks (outside of "Cleopatra's Cat"). Furthermore, the production is cautious and glossy, resulting in a stillborn album that shows everything that could go wrong when a jam band decided to plunge headfirst into the mainstream.

This is great, how can anywone give this 2 stars? This stuff is awesome and I have the 1st cd pocket full of kroptonite and its great too. These guys have talent!

They started so good, with the album "Pocket full of kryptonite" and goes on with this. thats hurt in my hart