Piątek 10 Mar 2006, 10:25

I caught the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club show in Dallas on Tuesday night at the Grenada Theater. The band was running on all powerful cylinders. Most of their latest album, Howl was included in the setlist, along with a mix of their first two records. Highlights for me were 'Stop', 'Six Barrel Shotgun', 'Ain't No Easy Way' and 'Howl'. Other highlights were Peter Hayes playing the trombone on 'Promise' and realizing how great a bassist Robert Levon Been is live.
Howl was my favorite album released in 2005. I was amazed at the polarization of the reviews of this album on metacritic.com. 'Howl' was either loved or hated by the press. What irritates me about the reviewers who gave the album a low rating is that they keep on insinuating that BRMC changed their sound drastically to an Americana, Gospel, Blues oriented one. The reviews give the impression that the band was somehow unworthy of taking this style on. Ironically, many of these are the same writers who claimed that on their first two albums, BRMC was a knock-off of The Jesus And Mary Chain, and had a limited sound – there is no doubt that TJAMC were a heavy influence, but many lazy journalists just regurgitated this tag without really listening to the music.
Their 'change' in theme was not a drastic one…..it was, in my opinion, a natural progression. Check out 'White Palms' and 'Salvation' from their first album B.R.M.C. and tell me that Gospel wasn't already a part of BRMC's palette – or 'Shade Of Blue' in particular from Take Them On, On Your Own and not hear a blues influence. Many bands such as Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones borrowed just as heavily from past influences – but it was the sum of all the parts plus some innovation of their own that produced a great body of work for those two legends.
I sensed a lot of sincerity and passion for music out of the band earlier this week. This passion was transferred to all in attendance making for a memorable night. I am certainly looking forward to the next BRMC album and tour.