Артист: King's X Альбом: King's X, 1992 Издатель: Atlantic / 7567-80506-2 Жанр: Hard Rock Формат файла: APE Ссылка: CD 2 clicks Нахождение: eDonkey/Kademlia

QUOTE

Biography by Greg Prato Few hard rock bands are as widely respected yet criminally overlooked as King's X. The trio (bassist/vocalist Doug Pinnick, guitarist/vocalist Ty Tabor, and drummer/vocalist Jerry Gaskill) seemed destined for the big time with their irresistible blend of melodic Beatlesque harmonies, metallic riffing, and prog rock detours, yet for reasons unknown, never truly broke through to a mainstream audience. Pinnick (b. September 3, 1950) first met Gaskill (b. December 27, 1957) when the duo was touring with the Christian rock outfit Petra, and soon after, met up-and-coming guitarist Tabor (b. September 17, 1961). The trio joined forces in 1980 with the Top 40 cover band the Edge and thoroughly played the Missouri bar scene. By 1983, the band had changed their name to Sneak Preview and was now completely focusing on their original compositions -- resulting in an obscure and very hard to find self-titled debut album released around this time. Sneak Preview was offered a recording contract in 1985 if they relocated to Houston, TX, which they did, but the deal failed to materialize. Undeterred, the trio continued on and perfected their sound and songwriting further, catching a break when ZZ Top video producer Sam Taylor took the group under his wing, helping them secure a recording contract with New York's Megaforce label in 1987, and suggesting that they change their name to King's X (the name of a local outfit that Taylor was an admirer of back in his high school days). In 1988, King's X released their debut album, Out of the Silent Planet. Despite praise amongst critics, the public didn't know exactly what to make of the group's original and multi-genre encompassing style, and the album sank without a trace. But with their sophomore release, 1989's classic Gretchen Goes to Nebraska, a buzz began to develop around the band in the metal community, as members of Anthrax and Living Colour praised King's X in the press, and MTV granted a few airings of their anthemic track "Over My Head." The stage was set for the group's big breakthrough, and things appeared to be going according to plan when their third release, Faith Hope Love, surfaced in late 1990. The album just missed the U.S. Top 30 and nearly reached gold certification, due to landing a lengthy spot opening on AC/DC's sold out arena tour in both the states and Europe, while the Beatlesque "It's Love" received major airtime on MTV. What should have been an exciting time for the band quickly turned sour, however, as King's X began to experience trouble with manager Taylor. 1992's self-titled release (the group's first to appear on Atlantic Records without the Megaforce imprint) proved not to be as focused as their previous pair of albums, resulting in the album disappearing quickly from sight after release (and their ensuing tour halted), as they ended their relationship with Taylor. But it appeared as though the change had refueled the group's musical desire once again, as evidenced by the Brendan O'Brien-produced, stellar 1994 release, Dogman, which performed respectfully on the charts. This success resulted in the band opening shows for Pearl Jam and a show-stopping performance on the opening night of the mammoth Woodstock '94 festival. Atlantic Records began putting pressure on the trio to deliver a breakthrough hit but when 1996's Ear Candy failed to live up to expectations, King's X left the label (Atlantic would issue one more release from the band a year later, The Best Of, which featured 13 fan favorites, as well as three unreleased compositions and a live track). 1998 saw the group sign to the Metal Blade label, as both Pinnick and Tabor issued their first solo albums (Tabor with Moonflower Lane and Pinnick with Massive Grooves, the latter issued under the alias Poundhound), followed by the group's seventh studio release overall, Tapehead. Now free to issue albums at their own pace, the group issued two more albums only a year apart -- 2000's Please Come Home...Mr. Bulbous and 2001's Manic Moonlight. Pinnick continued his solo career in conjunction to King's X, issuing Poundhound's second release, Pineappleskunk, the same year (as well as forming a side-project with former members of Trouble, dubbed Supershine), while Tabor issued two albums with the prog metal supergroup Platypus -- 1998's When Pus Comes to Shove and 2000's Ice Cycles. Around the same time, King's X received a pleasant accolade from their peers when they were voted as one of the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" on a VH1 TV special. In 2003, the band released Black Like Sunday, a collection of re-recorded songs from early in their career that had previously only existed as demos or bootlegs. Their first concert album, Live All Over the Place, arrived the following year, followed by their eleventh studio recording, Ogre Tones, in 2005.

QUOTE

Album Notes: This album marked the end of the band's relationship with producer and often referred to "4th member" Sam Taylor. The band cites creative differences for the split. The bonus track "Junior's Gone Wild" appears on some foreign releases of this album and on the soundtrack for the movie "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey". This album was the band's first album to be released exclusively on the Atlantic label. There was a video made for the track "Black Flag" which saw moderate airplay on MTV and even on "Beavis and Butthead". There were actually 2 versions of this video made but only the one was released commercially. The second video featured darker imagery and a different general theme. The released video for Black Flag keeps the band's positive type video image as in the previous releases. The video was filmed on location in Dallas, TX and Fontana, CA. The original title for the album was "Since Hector Was a Pup".... When the band saw thew artwork of Randy Rogers they dropped the title. The inspiration for the song "World Around Me" came to Doug while listening to the 'Looney Tunes' theme song

QUOTE

Reviewer: David M. Koblentz Rating: (4.8 out of 5) Review: What happens after a successfull album can haunt or help a band. In this case following the success of Faith, Hope, Love was not as easy as it would seem. The KX4 album did not sell as well as Atlantic might have hoped and it also marked the end of the band's union with long time "4th member" Sam Taylor. The album itself features the trademark sound that has become a King's X staple: soaring vocal harmonies over hard/heavy (semi-progressive) rock. Featured on this album are tracks which have become main stays in their live arsenal. Notably "Lost in Germany" with it's flowing guitar riff and excellent vocal harmonies. Ironically the track "Black Flag" got medium airplay and video play on MTV and may be one of their most recognizable tunes to date besides "It's Love" from the FHL album. Personally I think it might be the "worst" track on this record (note: It's not a bad song but seems a touch boring in comparison to some of the other offerings of this album). This album might not hit you on the first play but try "Ooh Song", "Prisoner", "Silent Wind", and the aforementioned "Lost in Germany". Those songs are gems and of course the sitar-laden ride of "Not Just for the Dead" is also worth many listens. Once again there is a great diversity of material here ranging from the heavy rock side (see: World Around Me) to the ballad side (see: The Big Picture). Overall this is an excellent album that never seems to get the credit it so richly deserves. Hot Tracks: "Lost in Germany" "Prisoner" "Silent Wind" "Ooh Song" "Not Just for the Dead" Avoid like the Plague: "Black Flag" - Not nearly the best song on the album. King's X PERFORMANCE: Huskily contorted but strangely flat HOT SPOTS: "The World Around Me", "Ooh Song", Tabor leads BOTTOM LINE: Unmistakably King's X, but falls short of the expected amazements. King's X has developed a unique style of progressive power trio metal. The band's self-titled fourth album develops their characteristic blend of pure Beatlesque harmonies, husky songs marked by melodic and rhythmic twists and a floor-rattling heavy guitar sound. Ever present are the questioning, thought-provoking lyrics. And the album's brutal, almost smugly difficult musicianship always impresses, especially via Doug Pinnick's massive bass, which combines a Sumo wrestles' mass with the grace of a ballerina, and Ty Tabor's thick, expressive lead ramblings never fail to lift the band's wordy songs. But King's X seems flat, the songs almost too studied, too intentionally mixed-up -- too King's X-ish. We've come to expect a lot from this daring band, but nothing surges as powerfully as the album's opening track, "The World Around Me." The album never flat-out rocks like its predecessors, and it melodies are darker, denser, "downer" than those on Faith Hope Love that pushed the band to new heights of popularity. The band set itself Herculean standards and now may be trying too hard to meet them. Still, few modern guitar bands have developed so powerful and singular a vision, and King's X far out-guns and out-heavies most 1992 rock.

QUOTE

Review by Ed Rivadavia Having lost their way somewhat with the overtly commercial and carefree Faith Hope Love, King's X tried to regain lost momentum with their eponymous fourth release. The album explores the darker side of their songwriting with mixed results, often over-compensating for the cheerfulness of its predecessor at the expense of the courageous experimentation for which the band had become known. The unprecedented aggression in the opener "The World Around Me" illustrates the band taking stock of this new challenge and fighting back, while the first single, "Black Flag," clearly displays their fresh no-nonsense approach. The excellent "Prisoner" and "Lost in Germany" are also standouts, and despite its confusing lyrics, closer "Silent Wind" manages to put a positive spin on things. Other interesting moments include the wistful "Dream in My Life" and the somber "Ooh Song," which harkens back to days past with its prog rock feel and use of space.

This post has been edited by Keykey on 09-06-2007, 16:23

I overlooked this fact, sorry. This Cd DOES contain this song:

01. King's X - [King's X #01] The World Around Me
02. King's X - [King's X #02] Prisoner
03. King's X - [King's X #03] The Big Picture
04. King's X - [King's X #04] Lost In Germany
05. King's X - [King's X #05] Chariot Song
06. King's X - [King's X #06] Ooh Song
07. King's X - [King's X #07] Junior's Gone Wild
08. King's X - [King's X #08] Not Just For The Dead
09. King's X - [King's X #09] What I Know About Love
10. King's X - [King's X #10] Black Flag
11. King's X - [King's X #11] Dream In My Life
12. King's X - [King's X #12] Silent Wind