It's all subjective. Personally, as of now, I prefer both HIG and 12BB to this one. It's still early, but a few thoughts I have thus far. I'll start with the negative:
- The sound quality is certainly better than what I heard on the Pandora stream, but I still don't love the way this record was mixed. The production sounds noticeably compressed on a number of songs. Amethyst would probably be my favorite track if not for this
- Much like on tour, Scott is a bit inconsistent on this record. You never know when he's gonna show up. The vocals themselves sound fine, but you can tell he's not really present the whole time. This is a shame because tracks like Modzilla and Blue Eyes have such killer performances from the band, but Scott kinda half-asses his way through it.
- I'm not sure why 20th Century Boy is here. Parachute would have flowed perfectly into Circles. I can't think of a reason for this song to be on the record other than to boost the number of tracks. I actually prefer the Jean Genie cover featured as a bonus, and think it would have been a better fit. Scott's fingerprints are all over this one, rather than the note for note 20th Century Boy cover
Now for the positive:
- Way She Moves, Parachute, White Lightning, Hotel Rio, and Circles are my favorite tracks thus far. I greatly prefer the live version of Circles to the studio, but it still shines on the album. I think people underrate White Lightning because it was released so long ago, and the new songs we got hit with when the album dropped have sort of pushed it to the backburner, but I think it's the most "all in" track they recorded, with both Scott and the band really bringing it.
- I'm surprised with how much I've been enjoying Beach Pop Rock. Hearing the live versions of it I thought it would be one of my least favorite songs on the album. The piano adds a really nice element. He kinda loses me in the bridge a bit, but color me pleasantly surprised.
- Jeremy really shines on this album...such a shame. His work on Modzilla is so kick-ass. I mean, anytime you get compared to Jack White right? I love his understated bluesy riffs on Way She Moves and the little run he goes on after the first Hotel Rio chorus. His work on Parachute, throughout the song, is fantastic.
Overall, after two days of spinning, I'd give the album about a 6.5/10. It's good listening, but I guess I personally prefer the artsy solo Scott to the balls to the wall solo Scott. I realize that's not even a fair comparison since he considers this his band now, but I can't help but see it this way. It's still a good record, but I'm not yet making any wild declarations about where this stands in the pantheon of Scott and STP history.
I'll probably get crucified on here for the negatives, but as for the positives, it's just one man's opinion.
