I have to admit. I was really late on this bandwagon. I am the kind of the person that fans of bands like Kings of Leon hate as my first taste of them was "Sex on Fire" and then the hugely popular "Use Somebody." However, I had heard their name in various outlets and when my friend mentioned how good this cd was, I gave it a shot.I wouldn't say I was immediately hooked, but I was immediately intrigued. I felt really late to the party when I realized they have had like 3 or 5 albums before this release, but no matter. This one stands alone, even without the commercial success of "Use Somebody."
I think I started realizing I liked this cd when I realized how amazing the beginning is. Seriously, name a better introduction song than the ironically named "Closer." The alarm-type sound, the emotional bass line... I love how every instrument introduces itself, even the vocalist with the lyrics "Stranded in this spooky town / Stoplights are swaying and the phone lines are down / This floor is crackling cold / She took my heart, I think she took my soul / With the moon I run / Far from the carnage of the fiery sun." It sets the stage for how the rest of the album is going to feel.
Then it jumps right into "Crawl" and it kind of tells you "look, this is going to be slow at some parts, but we are going to jam in others." And I really dig that. "Sex on Fire" is still a classic and little trivia: it wasn't till I played it on Rock Band that I realized he said "Head while I'm drivin." Awesome.
I don't know how this is going to come across, but I love his voice. It's like he knows just how to use it and draws you in. Specifically, he knows when to use it, in one of my favorites, "Revelry," when he croons, "Just know it was you all along that had a hold of my heart / But the demon in me was a best friend from the start."
Kind of random, but another of my favorite tracks is "17." No big description, I just really like. And the other highlight is the closing track, "Cold Desert," when it sounds like the song is over but they come right back and hit you with instrumental emotion.
This cd is classic and has inspired to listen to their back catalog. Grammy well deserved.
Love love love this! Closer is such an amazing opening track. They opened with it when I saw them live in September.
ReplyDeleteWe talked about this at dinner... I feel so in the loop haha
ReplyDeletei danced to "closer" in my last show!
ReplyDelete@Allison:
ReplyDeleteAll I've heard is how great of a live band they are. Need to see for myself.
@jeanette:
VIP section
@JSjov:
Wish I could have seen that :)
I lovedddd this album originally, but "Use Somebody" and "Sex on Fire" were so overplayed that it just annoys me now. I will always love Caleb's voice though. :)
ReplyDeleteMr. O-- my heart just stopped beating...just for a moment. I can't even TELL you how much I love Kings of Leon. Every single cd is fabulous. If you ever get the chance- you should listen to each one, in full, one after the other. It is such a treat to hear a band really evolve. Lots of bands do- but KOL's evolution is amazing and the amount of talent in that band blows me away. Caleb is such a fantastic singer and his voice is so unique.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever get the chance to see them live, you will never regret it. A band that can sound the same on a cd and live is what I call talent. Lots of band sound so different and to me, it's a huge disappointment. I feel like I've been duped with auto tune and shit. Which isn't cool.
SO, some of MY fav KOL songs is obviously Sex on Fire (I liked it, but when I saw it live and you have the energy of 10,000+ people singing?? BLOW YOU AWAY.), Molly's Chambers, Fans, Four Kicks, Revelry, Dusty, Rememo, Soft, Knocked Up, My Party, Ragoo, etc. I pretty much love them all.
Fun fact- "Cold Desert" is also called "Jesus Don't Love Me" which I think is a better title. Fun fact #2- I would do dirty, dirty things to Caleb. Yum.