It 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 potent and prolific than ever before.
When Leonhardt was in the band, the tendencies were to try and give him "enough work," often making songs bigger and broader than they ever needed to be. This led into excessive solos and an inclination by Roe to overwrite the material. The new 77's, however, are a much leaner outfit, and Roe has finally learned the art of self-editing. The last six-plus years have seen the Sevens become tighter and tighter, and each album seems to signal a growth rarely seen in bands working and writing in their third decade.
A Golden Field of Radioactive Crows, their new record, plays like a more focused (albeit less risky) version of 1995's Tom Tom Blues, easily one of the Sevens' least appreciated records. The songs are immediate and immensely hooky, crafting snappy hooks to go with Roe's ever-present lyrical genius.
The highlights are plenty, from the hard-driving country-rock of "Leaving," to the love-lorn beauty "There Forever," to the epic closing tune "Begin." This is an aesthetically pleasing record, and that should give it some distinct identity down the road.
Lyrically, Roe is a bit more straightforward on Crows. He's always presented both emotional truth and humorous cynicism as well as anyone has, better really, but here he's shifting the focus a little. This is not to say that the token Roe wit has departed, for it is most present, and in top form.
...from "One More Time":
Tell me one more time
what you meant
when you said love is blind with open eyes"
In that tiny excerpt (that one phrase, really) one can see how powerfully Roe can wield his pen. His dedication to truth is inspiring, and his willingness to share his struggles or his joys with faith, continue to encourage and empower his fans. Roe is a man of God, but he is still just a man. The fact that Roe, himself, knows just that, is a wonderful thing indeed.
However, like all 77's records, there are the parts that don't work. The overly-ambitious or frightfully trite numbers that most certainly come from the best intentions, yet seem to get prematurely stuck in Roe's musical incubator. Past efforts like "Indian Winter," "Gravy Chain" and "The Rain Kept Falling in Love" come to mind.
On Crows the disasters are thankfully limited only to the hopelessly unhip "U R Trippin'" and "Mr. Magoo." These are just poorly written songs; it's really as simple as that. Roe is usually able to salvage his less-than-stellar compositions with phenomenally vulnerable and poetic lyrics, but one look at the titles of these two songs lets you know all you need to know about the material. These two mistakes are not vulnerable, nor poetic.
A Golden Field of Radioactive Crows is far from perfect. It's too soft and too easy. But that's okay, it is different; but not just for different's sake. It's growth, and change, and challenges, and all the things that keep a band great. The 77's are now in their sixteenth year, and what a joy it is to see them refusing to rest on their laurels. There is a perfect, amazing and life-changing record in them somewhere, and I have faith that one day soon they'll pull it off. Here's to the future . . .
3.5 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 Terry WandtkeThe 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…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…Similar sounding releases
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