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CD REVIEWS |
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WRITING
REVIEWS
SILVER
BELLS WEDDING
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Better Than Ezra is one of those nineties bands that I had heard but could never put my finger on a specific song they sang. My wife is a huge fan of the band since she graduated from high school in Baton Rouge and college in north Louisiana, nearby to the hometown of the band. Last year I surprised her with tickets to see the band play here in Oklahoma and I sat in shock at how many songs the band performed that I recognized and liked. They are one of those bands. Better Than Ezra was originally formed in 1987 by Kevin Griffin while he and the original members attended college at Louisiana State University. The band had some minor success until 1989 when lead guitarist Joel Rundell died of an apparent suicide. After some short time off, the band rebounded and finally released their first nationwide album Deluxe in 1993 before finally getting signed by Elektra Records in 1995. Their first hit was Good which they followed up with Rosealia, King of New Orleans, Desperately Wanting, Extra Ordinary and Misunderstood. In 2009, the trio lost their drummer as he decided to play full time with Jennifer Nettles and country group Sugarland. He was replaced with newcomer Michael Jerome just in time for their seventh studio release and first album since 2005. Kevin Griffin ... vocals, guitar,
piano Songs
Songwriter Kevin Griffin stated he believed the band reached their creative peak with their third album How Does Your Garden Grow. Their new album, Paper Empire, shares much in common with that very eclectic release. Better Than Ezra is at their best when they release pop friendly music and the new album makes me wonder if after twenty years, Griffin is still trying to find his sound. “We're all bringing in new influences into the band,” Griffin said in a recent interview. “Whether I'm listening to a Friendly Fires album or MGMT or the new Raconteurs, you're gonna hear that in our music. The sound has always kind of changed as we've changed, but I think that's why we continue to have success and every album has a couple of songs that do well at radio.” The album opens with two great songs displaying both the strong songwriting of Griffin and the sound fans of Better Than Ezra have grown to love. Absolutely Still is a song reflecting on those times when things are perfect between you and the person you are with (The world is spinning turning day to night/and my thoughts are running at the speed of light/Got an empty feeling that I never want to fill/absolutely still/I waited longer 'cause I needed proof/that every door I shut is leading me to you/and there's a nervous feeling that I never want to kill/absolutely still). It’s the first single off the new album and the song most similar to their classic catalogue. Turn up the Bright Lights is another good song but remains too close in tone to the opening song, which hurts it when it comes to remembering it on its own. All the best qualities of Better Than Ezra are included in the third track, Just One Day, a song that asks what you would do if you could spend one more moment with everyone you loved and lost (What would you do? / What would you say? / If everyone you loved came back for just one day). It is a beautiful song with great lyrics and an amazing sound. It does sound a little too radio friendly, but I will never complain about a song based on that reason. It is one of the best songs on the album. It is followed by my favorite track, The Loveless. It reminds me a bit of some of the greatest hits of the band, especially Desperately Wanting. The next track is where the band starts to get a little crazy. All In is an upbeat rocker, a bit like a fast paced Misunderstood. This is a definite live concert song, a sing-a-long song for fans. What gets me a little uneasy when I listen to it is that the band, now in their early forties, are singing songs with lyrics geared towards twenty-somethings. It just seems wrong to me, although the synth-pop sound may be a clue that these songs are meant as memories of what it was like to be young and stupid. Hell No! is a fast paced and fun track. Like, All In, it is a decent diversion to get the heart pumping among the more meaningful slower songs. Hell No! is a stupid anthem, right up there on the level of Dee Snyder screaming “We’re Not Gonna Take It Anymore!” When a voice, representing an athletic coach, gives an inspirational speech (Men, you will never let anybody disrespect you / Hell No! / You will keep your head held high whether you win or lose because no one will come into our house and tell us what to do), the song almost screeches to a halt. I fear Better Than Ezra is trying to focus their music on rebellious youths, not their target audience. While the prior two songs are fun anthems, I absolutely hate Nightclubbing. The lyrics are juvenile and uninspired and the song is too familiar in sound to the much better Somebody Told Me by The Killers. It is like crashing into a brick wall on an otherwise decent album. The only part of the song that really pulls it up is Griffin’s Mick Jagger-esque vocals at the end, bringing back memories of the much better Juicy from Before the Robots. It is followed by another poor song in Black Light which suffers from the same poor writing (Me and my sister burning up in the room / we turn the black light on) and uninspired sound that hurt the previous three songs. I understand the need for rockers but Black Light and Nightclubbing fail on just about every level. In between those rocking songs are some average tracks including Fit, Wounded and the very slow I Just Knew, displaying the songwriting talent of Griffin. In the middle of all the rock and roll and average tracks is the wonderful Hey Love. It is a great love song and has both the great lyrics (And if every new beginning / Is just another's end / Tell me love, why should I begin / Again) and music style I was hoping for when I originally put this album on to play. While I enjoy The Loveless, Hey Love is the one song that will probably remain with me for a long time after I finally retire Paper Empire. The song includes everything I love about music. This is by far the best song on the album and one of the best songs Better Than Ezra has ever produced. Better Than Ezra’s Paper Empire is not an album made to have a long shelf life. There are not enough songs that have meaningful lyrics or original sound that will stick in your mind. There are some hidden gems like the upbeat Absolutely Still, the great Just One Day and The Loveless, and the beautiful Hey Love. However, there are also giant missteps in Nightclubbing and Black Light. It has been five years since the band last released an album and Kevin Griffin seems to be searching for a new sound. It is disappointing since the band’s original sound was so great.
7.5/10.0 |
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