Hi everybody - lifetime fan, lurked a bit here, first post.
I'm kind of struggling with this new iteration of STP. Here's why
1) Tempo. Most of what I've heard seems to have the same tempo to it. The 3 full songs you can hear on YT and there's a new video I heard today with like 60 seconds of each song. This is just a nit pick though... a lot of 2010 was like that and I loved that album.
2) Lyrics. What really grabbed me and held me was how straight up weird Scott's lyrics were. I mean, they are out there and I don't really need to cite examples
. It had me wondering what they meant. There was a mystery, and intrigue that kept me trying to decipher whatever profound thoughts were going thru Scott's head. Not feeling that (yet) with Jeff.
3) Melody. I'm hearing melodies of course, but man, what I'm hearing has me clamoring for the melodies that got me on the past 6 albums.
4) Live. Not a knock on Jeff personally, and he may get there, but watching Jeff makes me realize how spoiled we've been watching the way Scott worked the stage over the years. Jeff has more of a Chester stage presence IMHO. Maybe he just needs to loosen up and come into his own.
Anyway, I'm sure I'll come around a bit. Just my early thinking. What do you guys think?