Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 01/22/2002
In which
Neil Halstead is
finally able to show everyone that he is the real talent of
Mojave 3! Hurrah! OK, maybe not: Anyone who has looked at songwriting credits on a
Mojave 3 record will tell you that the idea of a
Halstead solo record sounds completely pointless. Even a casual fan is led to believe that
Halstead's band
is his band -- meaning he writes the songs and calls the shots. With a
Halstead solo record a reality, you have to fight the urge to throw your arms up in puzzlement because the wrong member of
Mojave 3 has made a solo record. History says that the second fiddle goes off to release a work of his own; the one who writes most of the material -- or, in this case, almost everything -- doesn't need another outlet. But apparently listeners have been duped and
Mojave 3 is more of a democracy than had been imagined. More importantly,
Halstead is too prolific and restless to leave these previously orphaned songs unrecorded. So, after a relationship bust-up that left him homeless, he set up shop in a hospitable studio and made a record with some friends pitching in. One of those friends was
Mojave 3 drummer
Ian McCutcheon, so it could be said that this record is a la-la-la and a few basslines away from a
Mojave 3 record. It certainly doesn't sound that much different from a
Mojave 3 record, if not
quite as excellent due to the less than prime quality of some of the songs. Aside from a prominent synth shading here, an uncharacteristically loud burst of guitar there, and
Halstead's preference to pick instead of strum, this is a logical, if rather slight, progression from the third
Mojave 3 record. And that's just fine, actually.
~Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
;)
Listen
