Word: bande
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Local band Firecat advertises itself as a rock 'n roll trio with some other instruments and catchy vocals thrown into the mix. The combination is supposed to create a more interesting variation on the guitar-based rock formula. The ingredients are there for good music, and the band comes from the rich heritage of Boston-area rock. But the problem with Firecat is that they don't have the one essential quality which defines a good rock band--they don't rock...
Four years ago, the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band would sound fresh, intelligent and original. Now, however, the band sounds like it steals from the talents of musicians such as Tom Petty. Live On, their new album, seems to be trying for a folk-rock-ballad like quality, with an overuse of the harmonica-lead guitar combination. In most instances, this tactic fails. "Was," "Oh Well" and "Losing Kind" have the sound of recycled Bon Jovi B-sides. The lead guitar spurs the song's movement with redundant and basic chords, while the bassline is a simple mirror of the lead...
Originality and good use of changes in tempo and key do emerge from the rubble. "Everytime it Rains" shows that the band is capable of funky, fresh guitar taps and witty, slapping basslines, while Shepherd's vocals are perfect for slow-paced, harmonica-wielding songs, as the Clapton-like "Losing Kind" reveals. But the traces of good musicianship, well-timed vocals and beat progression in Live On are dwarfed by the generic nature of the album...
...year and a half ago, Stone Temple Pilots verged on the edge of non-existence, for Weiland's continued struggle with his drug problem was putting undue stress on the rest of the band with regard to touring and recording. Luckily, Talk Show, an STP album without Weiland's lyrical and vocal talent, spurred the other band members to pine for the chemistry that once produced musicianship that helped define grunge. Thankfully for anxious STP fans, No. 4 satisfies the STP craving fans were so ruefully denied...
...capitalizes on the interplay between the hard rock emphasis of STP's debut album, Core, and the lessons in eclectic beat formation and poppy renditions of 1994's Purple and 1996's Tiny Music from the Vatican Gift Shop. In many respects, the album seems to reflect a band that is almost too happy to be creating together again, so instead of the work indicating musical growth it becomes a stylistic retrospective...