Souljacker [Bonus Disc]

Eels

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 12, 2002)
• Original Release Date: September 24, 2001
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Dreamworks
• ASIN: B000062YAJ
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,400 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
If irony could be traded like currency, Eels singer-songwriter E would be a wealthy man. As it is, his remarkable ability to filter out the mundane and focus on the fringes, where the really interesting cats dwell, guarantees he'll always have a career but will never be a household name. On Souljacker, E and the gang frame a motley assortment of characters with the sonic equivalent of a doodle pad--all random squiggles, free-floating words and phrases, disembodied hearts, and unblinking eyes. As such, unlikely bedfellows--"Dog Faced Boy," "Friendly Ghost," "Bus Stop Boxer," "Woman Driving, Man Sleeping"--are bundled in a patchwork quilt of guitars, bass, drums, organ grinder-style synth, and quite possibly a toy piano and percussion. The unabashedly goo-goo-eyed ballad "Fresh Feeling" launches with a swell of strings, just to underscore how dreamy our protagonist feels, and the spastic instrumental twitches on "That's Not Really Funny" counter the song's title, while doubling as one of the few elements able to snap E's voice out of its vaguely narcoleptic drone. Ruggedly individual and wickedly catchy (not to mention more upbeat than the two death-obsessed albums preceding it), Souljacker cements E's position as patron saint to the weird-and-weary-but-still-hopeful. --Kim Hughes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I have issues with this CD, January 16, 2003

By	Christopher Conley (Saginaw, MI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Well here it goes. No Eels album could ever top Electro-shock Blues. It's just not possible. The sincerity that E, the lead singer, shows in every song on that album is amazing and you can almost feel his pain since he wrote the majority of the album while coping with the death of his mother from cancer and sister from suicide. As the second follow-up, Souljacker disappoints. Many of the songs on this disc are beautifully written ie. "Fresh Feeling", "Friendly Ghost", and "Busstop Boxer", while others especially "Dog-Faced Boy" and "That's Not Really Funny" are a bit abrasive. Most Eels fans are not used to E screaming at the top of his lungs and the rest of the band simply rocking out, however, this is precisely what they do throughout half of this album.
If you are a casual Eels fan I suggest picking up either Electro-Shock Blues or Daises of the Galaxy. Although this is a good CD, it is definitely not one of their best.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great rockin', catchy and interesting album., April 28, 2002

By	Pen Name? "fluxus" (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

I just picked this cd up after listening to some of it at a store and am quite impressed. The songs are catchy enough and feature a lot of interesting textures from distorted guitars, awesome basslines, some dj beats, etc. Many have tried the cut-and-paste technique of mixing dj and rock elements to lesser success, but the Eels do a great job at it, making nothing but flawless rock songs. Nothing is forced. It is interesting to see John Parish working on this cd, known for his work with PJ Harvey and recently helped on Sparklehorse's latest. Parish has also done some terrific haunting film score work (the only thing I enjoyed in the European film Rosie), which I wish I could get a hold of on cd.
Songs like "Dog Faced Boy", "Fresh Feeling" and "I Write the B-Sides" are such a release. They are catchy and envigorating: meant to be turned up. E (lead singer) offers some strange and memorable stories through his lyrics, too. This album fulfills the promise I thought this band had on Beautiful Freak. Souljacker is a much more solid album, perhaps one of the year's best.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 21st century pop should atleast be this good!, April 6, 2002

By	George a Pletz "cult explorer" (Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ideally I'd give this album, a three and a half star rating. While being better than 95% of the dross out there, there is something missing. Not that you'll notice it at first. The first four tracks create a compelling multi-faceted presentation. From the simply rocking "Dog-Faced Boy" to the manic propulsion of "That Ain't Really Funny" to the best song Beck never wrote "Fresh Feeling" to the beatz driven balladeering of " Woman Driving,Man Sleeping", you can't help but feel like this is where pop circa 21st century should be. Not to say there isn't good songs throughout but I certainly got that feeling that each song wasn't as good as the one before it. That said Bus Stop Boxer and Jungle Telegraph are still very solid songs.

Now we come to that problematic Beck comparison. While there is a thrift shop take on rock music going on, The Eels are more straight forward than the cut and paste "The Real Artificial" Still there is definitely some distancing between singer and subject.This is as much about crafting as it is about confession. Whatever insights that E is going to make are always coming through a character.

You could do way way way worse than spend sometime with Souljacker.

As for the bonus disc, you are going to have to wait until I buy it.