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The press release calls "King's X"
" . . .an institution in higher musical enlightenment. .
.Dough, Jerry and Ty have it down so good, it scares you . .
."
Well, they did.
Being a seasoned, 10-year old band, with
6 studio albums and a "greatest hits," "Tape Head"
fails to impress. The music sounds generic and tired, and there
is a consistent lack of consistency. Sometimes they try to sound
like a kick-ass heavy metal band. Then, a few tracks later, they
try to show how "sensitive" they are (this is a formula
that "Aerosmith" has exploited to death, but at least
it works for them).
Sometimes they can get their act together,
like in the fourth track, "Ono," which they might be
able to push for some airplay. This is one of the very few tracks
in which the trio plays like they are a real group and not a
band-for-hire playing backup to whoever is in town.
Notwithstanding their past musical achievements,
the "King's X" that is presented to us on "Tape
Head" is dull, boring, and monotonous. The album lacks synergy,
and the band sounds like three guys playing their own tune. One
of the things that makes good music great is that when you put
together a group of musicians that really hook up to each other,
synergy is created and you get more than the sum of the parts.
This is what you get when you listen to some of the classics
like "Santana" and "Cream," or even contemporary
stuff like "Foo Fighters," "Barenaked Ladies"
and "Blues Traveler."
I would not recommend "Tape Head"
unless you are a hard-core fan, in which case you will buy it
even if the band itself says that it stinks. For everybody else,
wait to see If "Ono" gets airplay and hope it does
not achieve overexposure. |
