Detailed Reviews [The Bad Seeds - 2007 - "Return"]

Prolusion. THE BAD SEEDS are a band from Texas who enjoyed local success whilst active from 1966-’68, before first the Vietnam War and then life events separated them. Around the millennium the band members hooked up again and started rehearsing and playing live, and in 2007, 41 years after the band was formed, their debut album "Return" was made available as a downloadable album on iTunes.

Analysis. Listening to this release is a bit like taking a trip in a time machine, taking the listener back 40 years. The compositions are mainly of three types: some songs explore dark atmospheric keyboard dominated tunes in a style similar to The Doors, other songs are purely blues based, in a style quite similar to the music ZZ Top played on their first couple of albums, and the remainder combine these first two styles in a varying degree, resulting in blues-influenced tunes with some psychedelic tendencies. Keyboards are used to add a kaleidoscopic touch to the songs, providing dark atmospheric melodies or lighter melodic flavoring, with organ most often being the keyboard instrument of choice. Guitars are the second dominant instrument, with one guitar mainly conveying soloing with varying degrees of blues-influenced leanings, while the second guitar adds a more regular melody line. The bass guitar underscores the other instruments, providing a base melody the other instruments have a foundation for their explorations. The 16 compositions on this album are a mixed affair, with some tunes coming across as highly fascinating, while others sound quite dated.

Conclusion. If blues as well as music similar to The Doors in style is to your liking, this release warrants further investigation. Samples of the songs are available on the band's homepage if you want to check this one out more extensively before buying it.

OMB=Olav M Bjornsen: March 31, 2008