Friday, October 7, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Big Talk- Big Talk 2011
Big Talk - Big Talk
Little Oil / Epitaph
2011
For all the different styles I play and listen to I think if I could be in any type of band it would be musically close to the Cars or Cheap Trick. I have a huge and never resolved love of power pop. Somewhere in the back of my brain is a dissertation on the nature of art and craft but for the purposes of this I’ll give the Reader’s Digest version: In any work of art there are two dynamic forces “art” and “craft”. “Art” is the inspiration and expression of emotions. “Craft” is the skill and training of the presentation. Power Pop…the good power pop that is… is one of the best representations of this balance. It takes unique artistic statements and molds it with pop songcraft and forms to create something truly next level.
For my money Cheap Trick, the Cars, Weezer and the great Canadian band Sloan are the best exemplars of power pop since the Beatles. Other bands have bested them on individual albums or singles but for consistency these bands deliver(ed) the goods time in and out. Recently I acquired the debut album by the band Big Talk. Big talk is a side project by Killers drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr along with guitarist Taylor Milne.
I was never a huge fan of the killers as a whole. I greatly enjoyed some of their singles (particularly “All These Things That I Have Done”) but have found the albums to be a mixed bag with at best one or two good songs per outing. One draw to me to the Killers though has always been Vannucci’s straight forward yet passionate drum work. Too often drummers are given to over drum and he has consistently shown taste and skill, so I was more than a little excited to see what happens when he was given the chance to step out of the shadow of Brandon Flowers. To my shock and excitement he delivered something far better than I imagined. Big Talk’s Self entitled debut is a power pop masterpiece!
The leadoff single Getaways sounds exactly like a lost Cars track. It’s blend of guitars, synths, and a killer hook has a certain timeless quality that would make it at home on the radio station airwaves anytime in the past 50 years yet still sounds fresh and original! The over arching feel of Big Talk though is a definitely in debt to the 80’s. Vannucci and Milne have a knack for sounding like… well the Knack. This isn’t a bad thing the album brings with it not just the sounds of 80’s rock but also the fun of it as well. If a big fun power pop album is what you are looking for Big Talk by Big Talk is defiantly the way to go!
Big Talk (July 19, 2011), produced by Joe Chicarelli and Ronnie Vannucci Jr.
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Katzenjammer" Vannucci 4:46
2. "Getaways" Vannucci 3:22
3. "Under Water" Vannucci 4:28
4. "The Next One Living" Vannucci 3:27
5. "Replica" Vannucci 3:58
6. "No Whiskey" Milne, Vannucci 3:55
7. "Girl At Sunrise" Milne, Vannucci 3:37
8. "White Dove" Vannucci 2:35
9. "Living In Pictures" Vannucci 2:33
10. "Hunting Season" Vannucci 3:45
11. "A Fine Time To Need Me" Vannucci 3:24
12. "Big Eye" Vannucci 3:54
Total length: 40:64
Deluxe Edition
No. Title Length
13. "Hey Marie" 4:22
14. "The Hooker" 3:29
Total length: 48:15
Little Oil / Epitaph
2011
For all the different styles I play and listen to I think if I could be in any type of band it would be musically close to the Cars or Cheap Trick. I have a huge and never resolved love of power pop. Somewhere in the back of my brain is a dissertation on the nature of art and craft but for the purposes of this I’ll give the Reader’s Digest version: In any work of art there are two dynamic forces “art” and “craft”. “Art” is the inspiration and expression of emotions. “Craft” is the skill and training of the presentation. Power Pop…the good power pop that is… is one of the best representations of this balance. It takes unique artistic statements and molds it with pop songcraft and forms to create something truly next level.
For my money Cheap Trick, the Cars, Weezer and the great Canadian band Sloan are the best exemplars of power pop since the Beatles. Other bands have bested them on individual albums or singles but for consistency these bands deliver(ed) the goods time in and out. Recently I acquired the debut album by the band Big Talk. Big talk is a side project by Killers drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr along with guitarist Taylor Milne.
I was never a huge fan of the killers as a whole. I greatly enjoyed some of their singles (particularly “All These Things That I Have Done”) but have found the albums to be a mixed bag with at best one or two good songs per outing. One draw to me to the Killers though has always been Vannucci’s straight forward yet passionate drum work. Too often drummers are given to over drum and he has consistently shown taste and skill, so I was more than a little excited to see what happens when he was given the chance to step out of the shadow of Brandon Flowers. To my shock and excitement he delivered something far better than I imagined. Big Talk’s Self entitled debut is a power pop masterpiece!
The leadoff single Getaways sounds exactly like a lost Cars track. It’s blend of guitars, synths, and a killer hook has a certain timeless quality that would make it at home on the radio station airwaves anytime in the past 50 years yet still sounds fresh and original! The over arching feel of Big Talk though is a definitely in debt to the 80’s. Vannucci and Milne have a knack for sounding like… well the Knack. This isn’t a bad thing the album brings with it not just the sounds of 80’s rock but also the fun of it as well. If a big fun power pop album is what you are looking for Big Talk by Big Talk is defiantly the way to go!
Big Talk (July 19, 2011), produced by Joe Chicarelli and Ronnie Vannucci Jr.
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Katzenjammer" Vannucci 4:46
2. "Getaways" Vannucci 3:22
3. "Under Water" Vannucci 4:28
4. "The Next One Living" Vannucci 3:27
5. "Replica" Vannucci 3:58
6. "No Whiskey" Milne, Vannucci 3:55
7. "Girl At Sunrise" Milne, Vannucci 3:37
8. "White Dove" Vannucci 2:35
9. "Living In Pictures" Vannucci 2:33
10. "Hunting Season" Vannucci 3:45
11. "A Fine Time To Need Me" Vannucci 3:24
12. "Big Eye" Vannucci 3:54
Total length: 40:64
Deluxe Edition
No. Title Length
13. "Hey Marie" 4:22
14. "The Hooker" 3:29
Total length: 48:15
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
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