honestly, i know what he\'s trying to get at. the local classic rock station down here is fairly open to playing new things. i figured i\'d pick a particular track, give it to a dj (who i\'ve talked music with before) at one of their meet n greet type things, and see if she would at least try to get it played. but there is no one song on there that is consistant enough to put on the radio for mass consumption (except score, but it has horns which is unrepresentative of the band\'s normal sound). sometimes too light and floaty, sometimes too \'sudden left hand turn\'-y, sometimes too long or atypical.
don\'t get me wrong, i love the songs and wouldn\'t change them, but for \'normal\' folks, its still a little too out there, a few too many changes, nothing really radio friendly, despite the title. certainly closer than they\'ve been in the past, but still not quite ready for crossover. (which shouldn\'t lead you to believe i want them in the mainstream or more \'normal\', i\'m just making a point)
i also don\'t think the album is particularly indicative of their live shows, which makes sense, as they were trying to put out a studio album and not a live in the studio album, but still. the album sounds much lighter and softer than the raging poundfest we all know and love.
reminds me of the buffalo creek show i saw a couple weeks ago. it seemed like they were trying to pull in the reins in order not to affront a room full of strangers, and it only went over so-so. once they cut that out and started being the pummeling machine known as the breakfast, everyone in the room got into it much more and the energy really cranked up. its like, in an attempt to come across with a broader appeal, they hinder themselves from what they do best.
and i think that\'s what the guy was trying to say. when those songs are being played live, the force of the band moves through those changes and contortions and they make plenty of sense, but on the album, they seem \'lite\'ened up and some of the changes seem somewhat contrived or simply like crammed-in extras. it surprises me that someone who presumably listens to bands like these that do interesting and intricate things with music wouldn\'t get it, but if he was giving a general review to not just jamband fans, then i understand.
now then, that being said, folks who are even a little knowledgeable of the breakfast should really like the album because of its clarity of tone (ron\'s bassline on gravity, for instance) and its superb musicianship (except for jeff pevar\'s slide part, which i don\'t think is up to snuff with the rest of the playing). i played it for some friends up in the mountains over breakfast last sunday, and by the end they were swearing by it! i almost gave them my copy, but decided not to so that they\'d have to make it down for a show and buy it themselves.
i think the main thing is that it is so well produced and has such an almost poppy sound, that your brain and ears expect the songs to be more \'typical\' so when there\'s a weird or unusual change, it takes you aback. if some of those changes were removed their might be a greater general appeal, but then the breakfast would be just anopther poppy band and that would suck! i say, keep the changes but next time try to make a harder hitting album and shut any and all naysayers right the fuck on up!
