Blaster CD

[NickLorenza]

I think I've really come to terms with how I feel about the Wildabouts in the last month.  The addition of Joey Castillo really boosted my interest a bit, the yahoo show was a big turning point, but this record's release was the icing on the cake.


I've been pretty cynical about this band in the past, and no, I don't necessarily think the final product of this record is anywhere near as great or as "face melting" as Scott hyped it up to be a while back.  But I do think this is his best sans-STP release to date and it really isn't a bad record. It is growing on me more and more with each listen.  Some of these tracks are pretty infectious.  Even a few tracks that I didn't care for at first are growing on me. 


I think Scott sounds great on this record whether he uses auto tune or not.  His sense of melody is definitely still sharp and it clearly does show here. Beyond Scott, how about the band?  They actually sound pretty damn good with moments of greatness.




A few days ago I read some review link posted on here where the guy pretty much expressed some disappointment saying something along the lines that the album showed signs of a different, more interesting album that could have been.  I think this guy was far off the mark.  I got how he felt you could pretty much put the lyrics to Dope Show over the verse of White Lightning, I'll give him that but that's about it.  I do think this album keeps me interested, but no, it's not breaking any new ground and no it's not a concept art record.  This is a collection of pretty solid tunes that really gives this band their own identity and their own two legs to stand on.  Think along similar lines of Bob Mould playing with Sugar after Husker Du.  That's the best way I can describe it.


Am I the only one here who totally hears major vibes of Superdrag during the verses of Amethyst?  That's some pretty fucking fine power pop!  A very uplifting tune!


Overall a very good release.  As for live performances though I think they should focus more on these originals, Scott sounds much better on these songs than most STP tunes these days.  Maybe limit the STP tunes to 2 per show?

[STP92]

Finally got my signed copy today. Very cool.

[Tyrant]

I finally was able to wrap up my head around this album.
I need to say that I was very skeptical about the band in the past and mocked them a lot of times, but, much to my surprise, they stepped up like no one else. They easily did a much better job on this album than Scott Weiland.
My main points:
- The songs are very repetitive. It's hard for me to listen to the most of the songs all the way through to the very end. I just skip them in the middle. There are quite a few pretty phenomenal melodies and ideas, but Scott struggles to write something interesting around them.
- The production killed some of the songs. Amethyst could have been a monster of a song if it wasn't for its production.
- I keep hearing small parts that sound criminally similar to songs by other artists. They are too small to call it a plagiarism, but I can't shake off my thoughts of the certain songs by The Doors, Depeche Mode, David Bowie and others. Just listen to "Strangelove" by Depeche Mode to understand what I mean. I think you'll recognize the song from Blaster right away.
- The band is tight. RIP Jeremy. You will be missed.
That's all. I don't feel like I want to get back to the most of these songs.

[kravdog]

I finally was able to wrap up my head around this album.
I need to say that I was very skeptical about the band in the past and mocked them a lot of times, but, much to my surprise, they stepped up like no one else. They easily did a much better job on this album than Scott Weiland.
My main points:
- The songs are very repetitive. It's hard for me to listen to the most of the songs all the way through to the very end. I just skip them in the middle. There are quite a few pretty phenomenal melodies and ideas, but Scott struggles to write something interesting around them.
- The production killed some of the songs. Amethyst could have been a monster of a song if it wasn't for its production.
- I keep hearing small parts that sound criminally similar to songs by other artists. They are too small to call it a plagiarism, but I can't shake off my thoughts of the certain songs by The Doors, Depeche Mode, David Bowie and others. Just listen to "Strangelove" by Depeche Mode to understand what I mean. I think you'll recognize the song from Blaster right away.
- The band is tight. RIP Jeremy. You will be missed.
That's all. I don't feel like I want to get back to the most of these songs.

Just listened to strangelove. Have no idea what song on blaster your are referring to. Please be more explicit.

[Slither]

I'd assume he's talking about the beginning of hotel rio. I've never heard strangelove before but I do see the similarities. Doubt it was intentional though, it's a pretty basic riff

I do agree with the rest of the review, though. It's like I was saying the other day - Amethyst is such a GREAT song, but the overdriven guitars combined with the production style almost ruins it for me, especially in the chorus.

[Pingfah]

I don't know whether or not they were ripped from a CD but, having done some digging, I've found out why they can still sound better. Here's a specific description (from Linn forums):

"On a CD, the player has to correct "real time" any errors from little scratches etc, also the moving parts (drive) may cause distortions.

 if you rip to FLAC, the ripper (assuming you use a good one) will take all the time it needs to read and re-read - and re-read again - "difficult" areas on a CD, until it is sure it is bit-perfect. Only then it moves on. Therefore, the streamer can concentrate on playing back this perfect file and doesnt need to error-correct anything. On top, there are no moving parts in a streamer that may have an adverse impact on the sound."

This would explain why the flac files sound just that little bit better than the CD - at least to me they do. And I mean the actual CD, not a rip. Having said that, I also used a different player (VLC) so that may have enhanced the sound also over WMP.

Sounds a little fanciful really, i'm not an expert on digital technology, but it seems to  me that if a data CD can be read at a speed of 700MB in a few minutes without getting a single byte wrong (which they can, or else computer programs would not install from CD properly), a CD player should have no trouble reading the same amount of info in 70 minutes.

I got the FLAC from pledge anyway, but my ears are not good enough to tell if there was a difference anyway. Too many years of standing in front of speaker stacks at concerts no doubt.

[Ajax11]

Been listening to Blaster non-stop the last few days. Pretty solid overall, probably my favorite STP related release since Army of Anyone or Contraband.

I will say though, I felt a little weird going to Best Buy to purchase a CD. The once massive CD selections there is now only about 2 aisles long. It's been a while since I've gone to a store to specifically buy one CD, usually I peruse and grab something in the used section. So I did feel a little odd. I guess that's just the sign of what the music biz is in 2015.

A few random notes on Blaster:
-the opening riff for Modzilla just totally kicks it in, perfect intro song, really sets the tone
-the first 7 songs I really liked, the last 5 songs were sort of just OK
-I love the sort of bassy-modulated tone Jeremy has in some of the songs, sort of reminded me of cKy a little bit
-the lyrics right before the solo in Amethyst "Looking back at all the wasted time" gave me goosebumps, I could only think about Scott's substance abuse problems during that part
-very impressed with Scott's singing on White Lightning, and he really pulls it off live
-didn't care for Youth Quake at all, I literally cringed when I heard the chorus line "no one really cares if they bring the noize"
-didn't mind the cover of 20th Century Boy at all, and really liked Circles
-My top 3 songs would be Hotel Rio, Blue Eyes, Bleed Out
-I can see why some people think the songs get a little repetitive, especially Amethyst. Great song, but the chorus of "I can't SEEEEE...." really got old to me. Luckily the blistering guitar solo saved it for me

It's hard to rank where this album is in the entire STP catalog because frankly, I like all of the albums (except maybe Libertad). So instead I will give it an 8.5/10.

One final note, I was lucky/unlucky enough to see Jeremy's final show on the Friday before his death at the Hard Rock in Hollywood (sort of a secret show). I was standing on Tommy's side of the crowd and they only played 4 songs from Blaster, but Jeremy didn't really stand out to me. This may have been because I was focused mostly on Scott, and Joey Castillo (my favorite drummer) and Tommy cause he was right in front of me. But on the album Jeremy sounds amazing, his tone and crunch are great, and he has some awesome solo's. Too bad he left us before the peak of what the Wilabouts could become. Such a sad situation, but I guess that's how life works out sometimes. RIP Jeremy.

[Manxita]

I don't know if it was posted yet, but Jean Genie is available on itunes now:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-jean-genie-single/id980904794

I can't buy it because it's not available in my country though

[sonofthecastle]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-CwlYhMBnU


Set the speed in this movie to 2x and Modzilla sounds like a lost Guns N Roses song.

The Way She Moves becomes the Ramones.

[Five Star Edge]

finally received my signed CD today, and only Scott signed the album........the description stated the entire band would sign.....so I paid a 'premium' of $18 for Scott to scribble S. Weiland in the upper left corner......should have just bought it from Amazon.

[Five Star Edge]

I don't know if it was posted yet, but Jean Genie is available on itunes now:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-jean-genie-single/id980904794

I can't buy it because it's not available in my country though

try here:

https://www.hmvdigital.com/releases/4225045

[foou33]

does anyone know if the one being sold on itunes/hmv is actually a higher bitrate than the 160 on pledgemusic?

[TaylorCJ]

finally received my signed CD today, and only Scott signed the album........the description stated the entire band would sign.....so I paid a 'premium' of $18 for Scott to scribble S. Weiland in the upper left corner......should have just bought it from Amazon.

I contemplated writing the Pledge people to ask about the discrepancy between the description and what I got but figured it would probably be a waste of time.

[CagedTiger]

does anyone know if the one being sold on itunes/hmv is actually a higher bitrate than the 160 on pledgemusic?

I bought Jean Genie from ITunes, its a 256kbps M4A file which is the standard for all releases on ITunes now I believe.
So yes, higher quality than 160 MP3.

[andrew]

does anyone know if the one being sold on itunes/hmv is actually a higher bitrate than the 160 on pledgemusic?

I know that the flac files you purchased from pledgemusic at the same time you got the 160 kbps mp3s are a higher bit rate than the mp3 or m4a files you'd find on HMV/iTunes/Amazon or whatever. You can convert those flac files into multiple formats and multiple bit rates, whatever you desire!!!


The copy of The Jean Genie I purchased from Amazon is 270 kbps mp3s, so if your query means you're interested in continuing your support of Scott & his habits, then the answer to your question is yes, other sources are better quality than the 160 kbps mp3s provided by our friends at pledgemusic.com....