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If you told people a few years
ago that James LaBrie, the vocalist of a heavy, progressive
band, would release solo albums that were neither heavy, not
particularly progressive, the reaction wouldn't have been too
positive. I admit, I was one of the skeptics, but LaBrie won me
over with a solid debut effort in 1999's, "Keep it to Yourself."
On Mullmuzzler 2, James LaBrie pretty much
repeats the formula that made, "Keep it to Yourself," work so
well. The same co-writers -- Trent Gardner ("Magellan"), Matt
Guillory ("Dali's Dilemma"), and members of "Shadow Gallery" --
assisted Labrie in writing the ten tracks on this sequel. For
the most part, the same musicians -- former Zappa sidekick Mike
Keneally, bassist Bryan Bellar from "Beer for Dolphins", ex-"Extreme"
drummer Mike Mangini, and Guillory on keyboards -- returned to
help flesh out Labrie's musical vision.
So what's different about this second go
around? For one thing, the "Dream Theater" front man no longer
sounds like he's doing guest vocals for his co-writers' bands.
That might be attributed to Labrie's own songwriting style
emerging more here than it did on "Keep it to Yourself." Or,
alternately, it might be the fact that Guillory and Labrie
co-wrote seven out of ten tracks, and those songs were grouped
together, in contrast to the all mixed together 4:3:2
songwriting split on the first album. Whatever the cause, "Mullmuzzler
2" is a more cohesive album than its predecessor.
I'm not saying that to downplay the
contributions of Trent Gardner and the Shadow Gallery boys. The
album starts with the one song Gardner co-wrote, "Afterlife,"
and it is arguably the best song on the disc. A psychedelic
synth swirl opening gives way to a funk drive, courtesy of
Bellar, setting up Labrie for another mind trip through almost
stream of consciousness lyrics (similar to the closing track, "As
a Man Thinks," on "Keep it to Yourself, also penned with the
help of Gardner.) "Shadow Gallery's" (actually, only Carl Cadden-James
and Gary Wehrkamp this time around) contribution is a two part
story about an event and its repercussions. In it, a father goes
through the heart wrenching experience of learning his best
friend has been molesting his son. Acting on his baser
instincts, he is left regretting his actions after realizing
that in addition to the emotional scarring,
his son is essentially orphaned by his being sent
to prison.
The second song in the duo,
"Confronting the Devil," almost sounds like an outtake from
Dream Theater's "Metropolis part 2: Scenes From a Memory," both
in terms of the music, and the way Labrie sings on the track.
Given the title of the song, it's climactic lyric, "It's so
unreal/The cruelty of fate," has taken on an added poignancy
since the events of September 11th . The
Guillory-assisted tracks begin with, "Falling," a surprisingly
mature ballad. Lyrically, Labrie pines over a girl whose
affections have moved on, but he manages to avoid the overly
sentimental trap he's sunk into before. Guillory's simple
keyboard theme, standing out over the rest of the
instrumentation in the chorus, adds just the right note of
wistfulness. Although Guillory and Keneally are the featured
players on the disc, the production of the album allows the
rhythm section their moments. The whole album benefits from an
outstanding drum sound, with Mangini's
percussion often assaulting the listener from different angles
in the mix. This might best be heard on, "Stranger," where the
separation of his cymbals and snare work into different
headphone channels adds a new layer of complexity to possibly
the most progressive song on the album. Bryan Bellar also gets
into the act on occasion, such as the churning groove he lays
down at the beginning of "Save Me."
Come to think of it, pretty much the
entire album is a showcase for the various musicians involved.
However, the best is
saved until second to last, with Keneally's turn on, "Listening."
That track begins with a simple piano melody from Guillory,
around which Keneally employs a very few notes to achieve a very
soulful effect. With LaBrie's contemplative delivery flowing
over the instrumentation, "Listening" makes a case for "best of
disc" honors.
The album ends on a grinding note, with a
thoroughly sick-of-it-all person declaring, "I don't care how
the story goes/Just tell me how it ends." Set to a hard,
somewhat industrial-edged soundtrack, "Tell Me," gives a hint of
the direction "Dali's Dilemma" was supposedly going before they
disappeared off the musical map. Regardless of its origins, "Tell
Me," brings "Mullmuzzler 2" to a solid, satisfying end.
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| Artist |
Mullmuzzler |
| Title |
Volume 2 |
| Label |
Magna Carta |
| Reviewer |
Partha
Mukhopadhyay |
| Rating |
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|
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| web site |
Mullmuzzler
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