Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gretchen Goes To Nebraska, November 7, 2004
If I could give this album 7 stars I would.
What was begun on Out of the Silent Planet kicks up a notch and presents one of the most cohesive, energetic, and must have albums of any decade. From one song to the next, you are left wondering, where did they get all of this from? Who is supplying them with this much talent, and where can I get some of that. Honest. I am a musician, and just generally a music lover anyway, but I bought King's X's second album on day of release (I had bought their first soon after it came out), and I was just a FAN. This band to me, was the band I was waiting for. In the 80's everything seemed geared to earn capital, and then there was this band with a black lead singer (a big ''no-no'' in the Caucasian rock industry) who could outsing most of the singers I hear then & now. A guitarist who just seemed to come up with these solos you wanted to hear again and again, just so you knew what he was doing. Was he being technical? Was he being improvisational? His guitar playing had as much 'soul' as the lead singer sang with. And the drummer just made the two of them sound so good. All 3 could sing to different degrees, but it was the sound they made together that was just making me almost weep.
Gretchen... is the album to buy for any fan of music in general. Though I do not think it is their definitive work, and I think I have yet to see that anyway, Gretchen is such a wonderful introduction to what King's X are/were about that it is indispensable. It was also on this tour that I first saw them live. Everyone in that audience knew all the parts of the songs as if they came just to show King's X they knew their songs. I have never been to a live show that had that kind of effect on people. Never, and I have been to a lot of shows by tons of different artists. King's X had a power that people responded to in droves, but the popular culture seemed to not want to know so quickly about them. I can think of many reasons why that hardly seems fair, but such is Life.
You can hear King's X's influences on their first 4 albums, but its the way they have blended them together that produces something very original, and unto itself. I cannot say there is one song that stands out over any others, they are all that good, and show many different sides to each member of King's X (which is heard better on their solo albums as to who provides what to the band's sound).
I try and point to one song in particular, and have to give up, because not one song on this album defines it. They are all essential, but I know my favourite Ty guitar solo is on ''I'll Never Be The Same'.
Do not let the Christian tag dissuade you. As I said in another review, this band never made me run out to a Church to go and find God. They made me realise quite a few things, but I did not go out and ''find religion'' after hearing a King's X album. This band is about Faith, Hope and Love, and they have'had this in abundance on their first four albums, and that is what carried through beyond any Christian rock tag that they suffered with, and stopped people from actually enjoying a band that is one of American rock's most important bands. The sound of hard rock took a giant swerve when King's X arrived on the scene.
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Closing the 1980's in style, November 26, 2004
After their first album, Out of the Silent Planet, Kings x regrouped to try and achieve the nearly immpossible, create a better album. They did with ease. "Gretchen.." finds the band still drwing upon their roots to deliver another batch of nearly perfect songs, each one unique and stellar. "Over My Head" received a minimal amount of airplay on television and somehow failed to make an impact on a metal scene filled with hair bands getting plenty of video rotation and writing poor songs. One can see now why, Kings X never catered to the dismal metal scene of sex, dark themes and juvenile lyrical content. They also happen to be Christians, which didn't help matters much in the metal scene. But the music is by far better than ANY other metal in the late 1980s. "Summerland" should still be in heavy rotation on clasic rock radio these days, but it's not. I could write a short novel about each song on the album because their so easy to comprehend because the logic of the lyrics is so pure and unfettered with double and single entendres. The music is incredibly simple with easy-going melodies that hide the complexity of the song structures. It's my vote as the best metal album of the 80's and in the top five of best metal albums of ALL-Time. I really do hate calling it metal, because of all the baggage that comes with "metal". So let it be ROCK. A must have in ANY collection. This album, folks, is the unheard of gem that awaits you by purchasing your music outside the box and outside the conglomerate owned media recomendations.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Rock Album over the past 20 years, October 14, 1999
For the uninitiated King's X has managed to bend the rules of traditional rock by adding the folowing elements: soul, metal, vocal three part harmonies (ala the Beatles), blues, funk and spirituality. This album is uplifting to anyone of any belief. The music reaches inside and grabs you with catchy rythms, beyond excellent musicianship (without being overly technical), and soaring vocals. This is the best album I own and gets better with each listen. The classics: Over my Head, Summerland, Mission, Pleaides
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