The new 77's album is out, and their fans rejoice. I can attest to that fact because I count myself and my friends among the highly selective but significant throng. And better than just being new material, A Golden Field of Radioactive Crows is really good stuff. With that said, I'll offer a little bit of context for this album and, hopefully, I won't be considered heretical when I explain why this album seems so good to someone like me.
In terms of their potential as a profitable mainstream rock band, the most significant watermark in the 77's career would have to be the release of the band's self-titled album. However, as most fans know, the major label handling that album was Island, and the 77's were overshadowed in the year of that release by another one of Island's albums: U2's The Joshua Tree. The story of Island's missed opportunity has become nearly mythic. The 77's were so close and yet . . . .
I suppose I could be philosophical and suggest that the years between then and now forced the 77's back to basics with vast improvements in style, substance, and technique. They incorporated and mastered many different influences on subsequent albums ranging from traditional blues to melodic pop to classic rock. Mike Roe's maturity as a lyricist also grew in fantastic ways. While I believe all of that is true, I can't forget that Mike Roe and his band consistently struggled to make enough money to live and make music.
More important to this review, no single album was as well-balanced a rock creation as the band's self-titled album. While Pray Naked, Drowning with Land in Sight, and Tom Tom Blues all have individual strengths and collectively represent a body of great songs, each album lacks flow as a whole. Songs often "stick out," and Mike Roe's individuality is sometimes buried underneath his well-chosen influences.
Judging from the statements he regularly makes at concerts, Mike Roe sees himself in the tradition of a classic bluesman. Like Son House, his music addresses both the sacred and profane. Rather than swinging from one extreme to the other as he has on some other projects, A Golden Field finds Mike Roe doing what all great bluesmen do--he allows tension to invigorate each and every song on the album.
In many songs, sweet vocal melodies form a natural counterpoint to crunchy guitars. And all songs pair self-conscious and intelligent lyrics with catchy hooks to produce fun music. A Golden Field is a collection of great songs by musicians who know and love what they're doing. Particularly notable songs include the 77's newest depiction of love and longing "There Forever" and the playful "Mr. Magoo" (using the cartoon character as the personification of a lover's blindness).
One of my favorites is "Genuine," which layers guitars and fully uses Mike Roe's vocal talents (his delivery ranges from understated and delicate to loud and energetic). Lyrically, it's a tale of desperate times:
"We're living in a time with all the borders tripped and mined / Days are gone when you could just be ordinary / Another patient on vacation / Gone for days without your medication."
Most surprising is the mix of "Related" (released previously as a single). Ostensibly a contemplation of death, the song delivers a message of connection and hope: "Now we know the reason for the undertow / So we don't forget how deep the water goes / If you let me know what I can do / I will surely try to help you / We are related." Including samples, scratching, and vocal distortions, this song is one of diverse pop influences unusual for the 77's.
However, the eclecticism pays off on this song and on the album in general. Like other rock musicians on the fringe such as Tom Waits, Peter Gabriel, and Bruce Cockburn, the 77's bring together solid songwriting and musicianship with varied styles and electronic sources. In a significant coincidence, the 77's have produced a worthy successor to their self-titled album in the same year that U2 has returned to a stripped-back style reminiscent of The Joshua Tree.
In doing so, the 77's have made good on the idea that they could be one of those bands that produce relevant yet incredibly accessible music.
4.5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #89Reviewed by The Kern County KidIt was the "mean green season" at the St. Roe Motel, where hunters that craved the Northern woods jammed the logging trails and lodges for a 200 mile radius. It was a stressful time behind the motel office desk for Mark, a greasy introvert who never seemed to look visitors in the face. But all that changed the day that nun checked in. Her genuine smile did something to disarm all of his religious…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Michial FarmerIt usually takes me a few weeks to really get into a new 77s release, so I approach this review (and its deadline) with some trepidation. To add to my cautiousness, A Golden Field of Radioactive Crows is the band's first full-length album since 1995's disappointing Tom Tom Blues and, by all reports, is the poppiest, sunniest album they've ever done. This is a good thing, as I've always preferred…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Steven S. BaldwinThe Seventy Sevens inspire nostalgia. An early incarnation of the band was gleefully creating the landscape of alternative Christian music's future while most of today's hip stars and their fanbase were banging Legos and slobbering on pacifiers. Few bands that were categorized as valid alternative/modern rock options in the Eighties survived into the Nineties, not to mention this 21st Century.…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Tony LaFianzaThe 77s' long-awaited return comes with a mix of old and new sounds. Easily-recognizable song styles from the first few 77s records take a leap forward to the digital age of 2001. The band combines well-produced multi-layering effects with the returning treasure of Mike Roe's ringing guitars beneath his emotionally energized vocals. As always, Roe's guitar playing is the shining center of the 77s…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Alex KlagesThe last major release from the 77s was the album Tom Tom Blues. While a good album, it seemed to be missing some of the range of some of frontman Michael Roe's solo work (since The Boat Ashore had the same lineup as TTB, it seemed to fill the other end of the spectrum of Roe's playing). This new album blends the hard edge of the bluesy Tom Tom Blues with the more complex and interesting song…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Scotty TeemsIt is a rare feat when a band can actually become better with the loss of their best musician. But when lead guitarist David Leonhardt left the 77's after 1994's Drowning With Land in Sight, it forced founder and frontman, Michael Roe to take over all guitar duties for the band. The result has been a shedding of the fat, a rebirth of a once-bulky guitar rock band, now a slim, trim power-trio more…Similar sounding releases
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1995Tom Tom Blues
1992The Seventy Sevens
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