Do give Rocks a rating out of 10 :)That mid 70's right, left, uppercut combination of Toys, Rocks and Draw the Line are all knockouts IMO. Find it hard to choose between them to be honest although Rocks edges it in terms of engineering. As soon as the sun's out, they're all on in the car.
Rocks was my introduction to them too. I think it was a glowing Geoff Barton review in Sounds that caught my attention. As such, it will always have a special place for me. On hearing it they became instantly one of my favourite bands overnight. As you say, they were very much an underground band here at that time. I would love to have seen them in their prime. Nearest I got was having tickets some years later for them playing the Apollo (with a young band called Guns n Roses in support) but the whole tour got cancelled.
Your description of it very much mirrors my own thoughts on the songs, playing and production. It is their finest album for me. Easily a 9/10.
I loved all they did, up to and including Perry and Whitford-less Rock In A Hard Place. Everything post clean up and bland out has zero attraction for me.
FIrst, glad that the work at work has eased up a bit for you. Always a good thing. And much appreciated on the Doves feedback. Never too late to hear about reactions to that. Hopefully the repeated plays has helped.Crumbs, I owe a few reviews, work has been a more than full time occupation for around a month but this being the first weekend in several I've not felt the need to log on to my work computer there is finally a bit of breathing space.
I scored the Doves a 7 but to be honest that was a slightly emotional score and based on the potential for it to seep into my consciousness with repeated playings. Which it finally has and could well have been an 8 in normal circumstances.
Interesting. I don't get Radio X in the US, but I suspect it's a lot like one of the alt stations (Alt Nation or Alt XMU) on Sirius XM radio, both of which I'll listen to occasionally when I get a free subscription offer. All that said, I don't think I've heard Doves on satellite or FM radio in the US at all. I only heard of them via word of mouth and then in getting their albums. As I said previously, very underrated, especially here in the States.There was the usual discussion about all indie bands sounding the same, I have some sympathy for that up to a point. My wife likes to have Radio X on in the car and it's not unusual for a song to be playing and we're guessing which indie band it is, running through our usual suspects only to find at the end it's someone completely different. I don't think the Doves fit into that generic sound at all and there are plenty of indie bands who don't but then one man's meat...
Come on, you can do better than that - what is it about them and their music that makes you think that way?Fucking Aerosmith?
Absolute shite.
He can’t do better than that. His posts are hamster shit.Come on, you can do better than that - what is it about them and their music that makes you think that way?
Normally I am not as declarative as this but . . . critics, Rolling Stone and some of you are wrong. “Toys In The Attic” is a definitively superior record to “Rocks”. More on that in a bit.
This is decent stuff, played with energy, replete with the usual witty Tyler lyrics matched note-for-note with Perry chords (a hallmark of theirs — e.g. how the riff matches the lyrics “Cat got your tongue” on Sick as A Dog), and consistent song-to-song. Saddle is great — it’s still the tune here I like best. Combination and Dog and Lick are all good enough too. Still not in love with Last Child, but there’s nothing I disliked here. It’s all perfectly listenable.
But that’s all it is. I recognize at the time this particular combination of barroom rock, blues and a tinge of metal was a little nouveau (was it, though?). But there’s a lot of talk about production. I think the production is covering up both a band that was waist-deep in drug-abuse but also — more importantly — convinced that their drummer and bass player weren’t really that crucial to the tunes. And THAT, right there, is the key issue for me — the rhythm section is pushed back at best and slushy at worst here.
Now compare that to “Toys.” Hamilton’s bass MAKES Sweet Emotion. Kramer’s drum riff MAKES Walk This Way. Do you think Run DMC covers it without the beat?! And throughout that record the rhythm section is mixed higher — they’re both flashier and more important (crucial even). Where are they on Rocks? In the background.
Then there’s the song variety on Toys. The only other popular band who would ever cover Big Ten Inch record would be Van Halen. The closer is a beaut. The opener is great, as good as Back In The Saddle. And the harmonies are terrific too — and missing on Rocks in terms of number and quality (those on Nobody’s Fault are . . . ugh).
The bottom line? I don’t think these records are even close in terms of fun, riffs or quality.
Now is it fair to dis Rocks because I like Toys so much? Not really. But I think it is fair when I believe the listening world has overrated it. That said, I’m glad I’ve spent some time here because it allowed me to rediscover Toys and re-recogniz(s)e an American rock and roll classic. Rocks more poses as one, but it’s still pretty good — a 6.5 to my ears, but a final score of 6/10 — docked a half point for Rolling Stone ranking it above Toys in 2003. And for Christgau giving Rocks a higher grade too for that matter.
You forgot ATWAS and power windows off that list.2112 (1976)
A Farewell to Kings (1977)
Hemispheres (1978)
Permanent Waves (1980)
Moving Pictures (1981)
Signals (1982)
Unmatched! ;-)