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Didn't get mine from Stickman yesterday.
Went into town and bought a couple of Stupids vinyls to cheer myself up.
Stopped by Tiger and got mine today!
Love Snah`s tone and the vocals are great!
Landslide really makes me wanna get back into Phanerothyme.
@ Traktorbass: I second that! Although the rest of the album is killing, i still fynd myself playing wishing well the most! Such a raw and beautyful version this one! I even went and learned the bass riff + i'm contemplating making my own version of the song (shall we revitalize the whole MP cover album idea? Mono minds 2 anyone?) :MPD:
@GBD: We shall!
Been thinking about it and I have to agree that this is the best Roadwork so far, although it still feels like comparing apples and oranges.
RW2 is an artifact in and of itself, quite separate from the rest of their output. RW3 is – like 2 – a complete concert, but of a band in transition, somehow losing focus from all the shifting musical interests of the members (as Bent pointed out in the RW4 press release).
So RW1 is the closest comparison, although that one had material from one tour only whilst 4 takes in roughly three years. What it does have in common however, is that it captures the band at a creative peak. Still, apples and oranges. 1 was recorded in '98 with Geb on drums, not Kenneth. RW1 was captured on recording equipment of that time, so of course this one has better sound quality.
What makes this one most special in my case, for as far as I am able to point it out: the focus of a band travelling in the same, though boldly undefined, direction – the scope of the material chosen and the liberties they take with it – the enormously diverse musical palette they now draw from for painting their sonic pictures – tight, but loose, whilst unafraid of bringing down the hammer of the gods…
"Oh my God, I think we're… coming together" (Volman & Kaylan)
Grtz, T
Excellent performances and the sound is really great , but as always and as said before IT'S MUCH TOO SHORT and I can't get the point of recording everything and releasing almost nothing . Come on boys six songs out of probably 60+ played between 08 and 10 .
And instead of focusing on the vocals I would have wished for a roadwork that features more songs or a complete performance to show Kenneth's influence and abilities more properly . And please don't get me wrong , I love their music and especially their live stuff but this is how I feel/think about this RW thing .
yes, great record. not entirely mind-blown, but the first half is incredible!
during bomb-proof there's are def. 3 voices audible. did i miss that kkenneth is singing as well or is that an overdub?
btw, nice mc5-reference "kick out the marmelade, motherfuckers"
Found my copies (CD and vinyl) in the mail today, now listening. Favourites so far: Bomb-Proof (it totally lives up to the rumours spread in this little community that surround this 'legendary' Leipzig-version which until today I had never heard), Kill Devil Hills (bringing the noise) and Alchemyst (the vocals! I've never heard Bent sing this good live, so my guess is they fixed up a few parts). Actually, this version of Alchemyst far surpasses the original in terms of intensity and performance. This is gonna end up as my favorite of the Roadworks-series so far.
RW IV >>> RW I > RW III >>>>>RW II
Got mine today as well.
Very happy.
Didn't have time to go through all of it yet as I sort ended up playing Wishing Well over and over again.
There's always tomorrow…
Wow, RW4 is definitely mindblowing!
Kenneth is an octopus with sixteen brains. Either that or he has hidden arms somewhere. I'm no drummer so maybe I'm easily impressed, but e.g. on Wishing Well, how does he manage both the "sticks on the edge of the drum" and all the other stuff?
Bent is Bent. 'nuff said.
Snah is God. How he can go from soaring like Robert Fripp in a rocket to sweet sweet Jerry Garcia-inspired licks to beautiful noise to pure rock 'n roll is beyond my understanding.
Bomb-proof: First time I listened to RW4 I had to stop halfway through this song to have a cigarette. It was that good. What a groove! Great jam portion as well, going all kinds of places before "oops, fusion!" and the slight return. Snah is really soaring at the beginning, above the wonderful übertight drum&bass foundation Kenneth & Bent builds. Listen for Jerry Garcia's ghost guiding Snah's fingers starting at ca 16:05. Just a small thing, but definitely Garcia-esque!
All is loneliness: Great version, but actually slightly disappointing, since I honestly think that the version the played here in Trondheim on March 17th was miles above this one. But hey, this one's great too!
Wishing Well: I've loved this song since I first found the Nerve Tattoo EP with cardboard mini-vinyl cover in a small record shop in an even smaller town, and I love this version. Side C of the vinyl has been on repeat today.
Landslide: Fantastic version, Snah's vocals are perfect (just listen to "anger", so full of emotions and beauty, and this jazzy interpretation works really well. It's really opened my eyes to a song I've always liked, but now I like it even more! Snah's lyrics are great IMHO, they can seem strange, but I think he manages to pick out and describe all the little things in a situation you don't necessarily think about. I think Landslide is a love song and about being insecure, waiting for the landslide. "Nothing to explain / whenever you're around me" / "So easy that it's hard" / "can't find no joke to fend you off" +++
Kill Devil Hills: I've always liked this one, especially the imagery it evokes. This version is special because of the wild climax. Not my first choice for a Roadwork album, but it's a great version.
The Alchemyst: So far, not my favorite track on the album, and so far it doesn't strike me as very different from the album version. Cool climax here as well.
Gotta run now!
I`ve been listning to "all is loneliness" very closely. To me it sounds like three voices. Is that right? Does Kenneth sing on that track??
RW4 is amazing, by the way. Great production, great performance, great recording.
My two cents:
The "setlist":
`Nuff is said about the bomb-proof; it's bulletproof. Listened alot to the Leipzig-boot and absolutely loved it then, great opener for rw4 now!
When I saw the tracklist for the first time I thought it was a waste of space to put All is Loneliness on. Don't know why, because I love the song, both on DB and live, but it's the kinda MP-song that has a "You get what you expect"-kinda vibe from, i guess. Well, turns out I'm wrong, as this track is one of the strongest on this disc; very atmospheric, even darker than the original and with those slight variations in performance, (the way Bent draws out the second verse before the explosion.)
I love that they included Wishing Well. Like Rolf, this has been a favorite of mine since the nerve tattoo-ep, and what a great version they pulled out here! Makes a good powerpopsong out of a little melancholic diddy, kinda what they did with Come on in (in Leipzig as well?), hope they keep pulling those old goodones out of their bag. They're to good to keep rusting on some old CD-singles!
I have to agree with the ones who have already said that the first half is the best one..
While Landslide is OK, I have problems believing this is a good representation of the best material since Kenneth came onboard? Maybe it's just me. I like the song on Phanerothyme, and expected them to do some crazy shit with this song when I saw it on the tracklist (since they chose to include the it in the first place), but after listening to it, I still wonder why it's here. Should have put Wharf Rat from Bergen instead.
KDH and The Alchemyst are great to, but kindof anticlimatic in view of the opening.. The Alchemyst is one of those songs that seems to me to never work as good live because of it's (tight?) structure, and KDH is just an OK Motorpsycho song. The whole US-point of view in the lyrics bothers me, and it always has. MP lyrics aren't supposed to oppose the american establishment from within. Let Bruce Springsteen or Marilyn Manson do that. They are born there, they can't help it. You can. Your views are global, or rather cosmic…!
But all in all, I'm quite pleased. The only negativity stems from the selection, which could have been sorted out by making it a double or a tripple. Too few Roadworks leads to more gripes with the ones who are released. Therefore: More Roadworks! It's not like there is a lack of material (though they make it seem that way by what they print on the back of the cover..)
P.S: The notes from Bob Le Bad are hilarious. I think he should write the authorized biography of the band. He seems to have the a good ballance between firsthand inside-info about the band's history and goings-about, mixed with the distance-inducing comical genious that would be perfect for that book we all know is bound to happen sometime in the future. Food for thought, Bob!
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