Published on Mar 12, 2000
The way things usually work for me, a band gets into my heart on
one record and then they release a CD that positively sucks. Dokken
did that with the awful
Shadowlife. I was fearing/dreading the same thing would
happen with Pain’s follow-up to the stellar
Wonderful Beef. That CD lived in my player for months on
end, captivating me with the band’s stories about bottlerocket
wars, a 7-inch cowboy, and wanting to avoid outside activities when
the speaker would rather read a book. So I was quite apprehensive
when I put
Full Speed Ahead in. Was this going to be another ‘live in”
CD or a $50 night of passion?
Luckily for me, this CD is destined to be a life-long companion.
While I don’t like it at the same level as
Beef, I think I’m being overly critical. The CD is growing
on me and perhaps one day, I will prefer it to
Beef. I liken it to the Metallica fans I converse with that
say, ”
Kill ‘Em All was the first CD I ever heard by them and it
will always be my favorite.” Same thing:
Beef just blew me away and it will always be my
favorite.
That’s not saying that there aren’t appealing traits on
Full Speed Ahead. Quite the contrary. The CD starts with an
acoustic guitar strumming which collapses into a “Nah nah” vocal
pattern with an upbeat drumbeat. I thought, “Oh this is going to
really suck.” But by the time the intro, titled “Juice,” merges
into “Right On,” I knew things would be okay. Frontman Dan Lord is
back to leading the band and immediately I remember why
Wonderful Beef was so appealing to me. Lord must possess a
degree in English because only an English major could write such
elegant lyrics. To get the full idea of his lyrics, though, you
have to read the entire song and I’m not going to re-broadcast them
here. Let’s just say that Lord twists words into his own.
“Full Speed Ahead” and “Upright” continue the upward momentum.
“Who Took Botu’s Picture?” starts with what sounds like a mixture
of Big Band stomp music from the 30s and 40s before turning into a
90s punk/ska band. It’s an interesting twist and my favorite track.
“Futz Said Julie” is another beautiful lyrical landscape. “The
White Recluse” includes the brilliant lyrics “If I were a Negro/
all my friends would call me Brown Recluse . . .so go away/ don’t
bother me.” “Jonathan Fallow” is a character sketch of a
cartoonist.
The last track, “Beanbag,” talks about a person who is a “bean
bag with no beans inside you . . . he’s bored, thin, low on beans.”
It’s an interesting twist of words.
In all, then,
Full Speed Ahead demonstrates quite easily why this band has
a long road ahead of it. They have been gathering national
exposure, with non-stop touring and songs appearing on various
Cartoon Network projects. Pain is a band to watch for as the year
goes on. I predict by the end of the year, everyone will be writing
to me saying, “Thanks for writing that positive review of them on
‘The Daily Vault.’ I went out and got their CD and it kicks ass!
You were right!”