It 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 their pop songs to their blues and rock material.
The 77s' last pop record was 1992's Pray Naked. Crows doesn't have much in common with that record, other than that lead singer Mike Roe balances out his Robert Plant/Billy Corgan growl with his Brian Wilson croon. Pray Naked was a definite winter record, with the big pop hooks in songs like "The Rain Kept Falling in Love" and "Look" drenching the record in cold air and melancholy. The logical progression from that, of course, was 1994's Drowning With Land in Sight, an album with all the pessimism of its predecessor but not half as many hooks.
So we come to A Golden Field of Radioactive Crows, bound to go down in history as "The 77s' summer album." 2001 finds Roe happier, though apparently in no fewer dysfunctional relationships than in years past ("You're the last blast baby in a long line / Of ones who tried to change me," he wails in "You Are Trippin'"). Indeed, Crows has a definite 1960s pop sheen to it, although many of its songs are filtered through the same 1970s screen that did a number on Tom Tom Blues.
"Mr. Magoo" appears here in the same form as it did on last summer's preview disc, although its companion piece, "Related" is changed drastically, with the album version incorporating various aspects of trendy production, including turntables and samples (I vastly prefer the versions on the single).
It is ironic that an album with so much musical sunshine would be so focused on death, but apparently the death of close friend Gene Eugene last year has left quite an impression on Roe. "Related" in particular finds Roe in grief, ululating in the chorus about not being able to "keep the box that we came in," then finding comfort in the next verse and understanding "the reason for the undertow." On "Genuine," meanwhile, he admonishes the listener to live life to the fullest, because "overnight, everything can be so undone."
Is this the 77s' best album? No. I've always found Roe's sad songs to be his best. It is, however, the happiest thing they've put out in years, and with Spring having arrived and Summer on its way, that's just what we need.
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 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…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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