Great bands can be born out of simplicity. Individually they may not be the greatest musicians, and in some cases may be down right terrible. But if the members are put together with those that share a similar vision and a good dose of creativity and some of the most badass music can spew forth. The flip side of that however, is that some of the best musicians in the world can breed mediocrity, whether from overplaying or overthinking, sometimes it just isn't happening.

Not to be confused with the great early '70's band fronted by Joe Walsh, this is the new album by JAMES BAND, "It's Harder To Land Than to Crash, But It Is Mostly the Same'. Throughout the 10 track, 51 minute disc there is fantastic playing involved and one really couldn't ask for better musicianship; great solos, great drumming and top notch bass lines. At the end of the day however, you have an album that just isn't very interesting. The disc opener "In Out Of the Rain" pops off on a high note with an over-the-top, melodic guitar solo that could have set the tone for the rest of the record. Instead my eyebrow didn't raise until track 5 "Nothing More", which had a decent melody and very good, subtle vocal harmonies. Track 7 "Blood Shot Eyes", also got my attention with some very tasty and unconventional slide guitar, but after that I literally fell asleep again.

Quite simply with James Band there is nothing to sing your teeth into. The album is as long winded as it's title. There is plenty of instrumental interludes, multi-instrumentation, and musical prowess throughout. The question is, do you really care and want to sit through it? Although most of the songs average between 4 and 5 minutes in length, a lot of this just reeks of "jam band". I really got tired of all the strummed out guitar droning throughout this entire record. It made me long for just one discernible riff. Sometimes it is just better to be bad than to be horribly average.

-Peters

OFFICIAL SITE: http://jamesband.no/

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