Elephant (2003)
I’m definitely racist in terms of my musical Jacks. I prefer White over Black any day. Which isn’t an insult to Jack Black…after all, he has acting skill (?) to fall back on. Oh…the album review. Sorry. Uneven but entertaining rock/pop with hooks.
(“Seven Nation Army”)
Grade: B-
Get Behind Me Satan (2005)
The sound of most of this album is so similar to ‘Elephant’ that it’s either comforting or depressing, depending on whether or not you prefer musicians who “grow” or those that use the same formula each time out. That’s not a criticism, just an observation. Myself, I like to hear a good formula repeated over and over again as long as it produces similarly good results. When the results start to wane, perhaps it’s time to branch out a little. I suppose the guitar parts here are a bit different than ‘Elephant”s in that they perform at unexpected and unusual times, with mixed results. I know, you’ve heard this before: songwriting. ‘Elephant’ without the hits. It’s not embarrassing…maybe some good cocktail music at your next party. You know, music that doesn’t demand attention and just sort of fades into the background as you go about your business.
Grade: D+