Fueled by the uncanny, sibling-tight vocal interplay and ambitious-to-eccentric songwriting of guitarists Sammy Llanas and Kurt Neumann, the BoDeans caught commercial and critical success in the late-'80s/early-'90s. Llanas' keening, adenoidal gymnastics, the group's most distinctive (and, occasionally, most annoying) feature, gradually retreated to a more Everly-esque counterpoint. Recorded live at Milwaukee's Pabst Theater on New Year's Eve 2001, Homebrewed finds the BoDeans' founding trio (Llanas, Neumann and bassist Bob Griffin) adding welcome rock muscle from keyboardist Bukka Allen and all-world drummer Kenny Aronoff. The well-paced, two-disc set presents a dynamic eighteen-cut overview of the band's career, avoiding material from their weakest albums. The hits are here and presented with gusto, while seven "new" tracks (which eventually showed up on 2004's Resolution) more than hold their own in this solid affirmation of a quality rock band.
Read next
ALBUM REVIEW: Sweet Petunia Gets Raw and Real about Mental Health on 'Foggy Mountain Mental Breakdown'
“Heels” is a tale of insomnia, told patiently; until it’s not.
Maddy Simpson and Mairead Guy of Sweet Petunia sing of lying awake all night, desperate for sleep and yet wary of recurring nightmares. In the end, “the stars, they fade. The streets start shining / Above the trees, the
ALBUM REVIEW: Trey Hensley Lays Down a Guitar Masterpiece on ‘Can’t Outrun the Blues’
Several years in the making, Trey Hensley’s new album Can’t Outrun the Blues showcases his triple threat as a singer, songwriter, and guitar player. His intricate rhythms and lead runs provide the foundations for his expressive vocals, and he is as comfortable delivering a fast-paced bluegrass scamper as
ALBUM REVIEW: With 'Watterson Hall,' William Clark Green Embraces a Mainstream Sound
With his seventh album, Watterson Hall, William Clark Green blends old-country stances and new-country sounds, addressing such subjects as love, partying, and feeling down but keeping your chin up. Throughout the fifty-minute set, Green acknowledges the inevitability of hardships while insisting that life is a gift we should never take
Comments ()