Epinions Recent Reviews for MattA75

Pearl Jam Strives to Start Over, Let Go, and Recapture What Was Lost

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:55:51 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - Warning: This is an insanely long review, even by my previous PJ standards. On their 2006 self titled album, Pearl Jam took a back to basics approach. Gone was the cold, distant feeling of 2002's Riot Act,...

No Matter How Cold The Winter, There's A Springtime Ahead

Sat, 5 Sep 2009 17:05:38 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - There's something to be said for a band that takes risks. Whether they work out or not is not always the point. Instead, the point is that the band was willing to take the risk in the first place.The Black Crowes have long been...

Ten Gets The Brendan O'Brien Re-Treatment

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:36:09 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - When one mentions rock albums of the 1990s, usually two answers come immediately to mind. The first is Nirvana's Nevermind, an overrated disc that isn't even that band's best of the decade. The second is the debut album from...

I'll Go Crazy If I Hear Bono Say Love One More Time

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:44:37 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - Expectations are a funny thing, especially with music. I think that the lead single for an album ultimately dictates how high expectations are set. Put out something that knocks people on their collective a*ses and expectations rise...

AC/DC's Rock N Roll Train Keeps Chugging Along

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:28:47 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - As I mentioned in my Razors Edge review a little over a week ago, the only reason to get excited for a new AC DC album at this point is for the tour that will follow it. The last pair of albums, 1995's Ballbreaker and 2000's...

Lord I'm Discouraged, No Matter How I Try to Stay Positive

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:08:49 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - No relatively new band has captured my heart in the past 5 years more than The Hold Steady. With albums like Separation Sunday and Boys and Girls in America, the band's mashing of bar band attitude and arena rock grandeur...

Fire Your Guns

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:19:24 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - At this point, the only reason to get excited for a new AC DC album isn't for the album itself, but for the tour that will follow it. So in honor of the band's new album Black Ice (which is actually pretty good, but is not listed on Eps...

Tired of Buckcherry? Then I Have Some Bad News...

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:54:50 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - There was no more unlikely success story over the past couple of years than the resurgence of Buckcherry. After realizing success with their 1999 self-titled debut, their 2001 effort Time Bomb bombed, and the band decided to break up...

Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay: Harold and Kumar Reprised: Who Knew Two Stoners Were Capable of Political Commentary This Good?

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 12:43:34 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - If the idea of President Bush smoking a joint with a pair of young stoners, proclaiming that Dick Cheney scares even him, is not your idea of humor, then perhaps the new film Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay is not for you. Despite...

Medium Rare - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones: The Devil Is Back, So Girls Dry Your Tears

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:50:39 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - In 2002, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones went on "hiatus," and very little was heard from them for the next five years. Then, in October of 2007, the band announced they were coming back to play a 10th Hometown Throwdown in Boston, MA in December of...

Hallejulah...New Black Crowes Music Finally Arrives

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:36:32 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - It's been seven long years since The Black Crowes released a new album. In that time, they've gone on a 3 year hiatus, released solo projects, regrouped with their "classic" line up (only to lose two members 18 months later), toured extensively...

Hey Man, I'm Just Talking About Ray Ray (ISYMIYSMY W/O)

Wed, 8 Aug 2007 19:34:13 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - This is my horribly late entry into the 7th annual I’ll Show You Mine If You’ll Show Me Yours write-off, made even more embarrassing that I am supposed to be the host of. To everyone who posted on time, thank you. To everyone who...

I Wish Reel Big Fish Would Make Me Cheer Up Like They Used To

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:26:56 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - To say this reviewer's expectations for the new Reel Big Fish album, Monkeys For Nothin' and the Chimps For Free, were low, would be an understatement. After releasing three albums of varying degrees of excellence, the band's last record,...

Well, It's Better Than Another Billy Corgan Solo Album...

Mon, 9 Jul 2007 20:50:30 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - When Billy Corgan took out an ad a couple of years back proclaiming that he "wanted his band back," I couldn't help but laugh. This was a guy who broke up his band (Smashing Pumpkins) because he felt he couldn't compete with the Britneys...

Velvet Revolver Unleashes Hell on Libertad

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 16:09:05 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - There is any one of a millions reasons you could've chosen to expect Velvet Revolver's sophomore effort to fail. After all, the first record, 2004's Contraband, was enjoyable, if generic. Lead singer Scott Weiland is probably still...

Identity Crisis? Buckcherry's Self Titled Debut Has All The Right Influences, Zero Heart

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 20:26:49 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - For some unknown reason, a lot of people fell in love with Buckcherry when their self titled debut hit in 1999. Maybe it was the fact that few (if any) new bands were mining the smutty rock and roll sound that the band offered. And I'll give...

Who2

Wed, 30 May 2007 22:27:05 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - 24 years is a long period of time. For many people, it's approximately 1/3 of their lifespan. If you're really lucky, it might be only 1/4 of your lifespan. In the music industry, 24 years is an eternity. Not many bands could wait 24 years in...

Fall Out Boy Returns, 14 Year Old Girls Rejoice Everywhere

Thu, 8 Feb 2007 20:42:08 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - "Growth" and "maturation" are the two most overused terms of this musical decade thus far. It's as if the success of artists like Britney Spears, N'Sync and the Backstreet Boys led anyone who scored a hit on a quest for critical...

Chris Daughtry: Is He The Next Chad Kroeger, Or Will He Actually Change and Grow?

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 20:49:35 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - If you don't know who Chris Daughtry is by now, you've most likely been living under a rock for the better part of a year. From his run on American Idol's fifth season (he finished 4th despite being heavily favored), to scoring a hit with his...

Not Without a Purpose: Street Dogs Explore the Fading American Dream

Sun, 7 Jan 2007 14:28:46 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - On 2005's Back to the World, Boston's Street Dogs created quite possibly the most enjoyable punk album since Rancid's 1995 masterpiece ...And Out Come the Wolves. But while teenagers...

The Hold Steady Hits a Home Run For Boys and Girls Everywhere

Tue, 12 Dec 2006 21:47:30 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - As excited as I was for this record, I must also admit I was nervous as hell about it. The Hold Steady burst out in 2004 with a critically acclaimed record called Almost Killed Me. In 2005, they followed it up with the even more acclaimed...

Who Knew a Reformed Buckcherry Would Be This Good?

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 09:47:24 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - Not many people seemed to notice or even care when Buckcherry announced they were going on hiatus in 2002. Despite the success of their debut single Lit Up (also known as the "I love your cocaine" song) and an opening slot on...

Hinder: The Worst Band in the World (And I'm Not Being Facetious)

Sun, 5 Nov 2006 12:50:01 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - Hinder could be forgiven if they were just bad. Hell, bad bands are littered across the country in every small town and in every major metropolis. But Hinder is not just bad. They are, without question, the worst band my ears...

Evanescence Suffers From The Sophomore Slump on The Open Door

Sun, 1 Oct 2006 18:59:42 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - Few bands have sparked such a personal connection amongst listeners in recent years as Evanescence did with their 2003 debut, Fallen. Led by singer Amy Lee's deeply personal lyrics and a pair of couldn't escape them if you tried hit...

Jet: Three Years Later, And Still the Worst Cover Band on Earth:

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 11:02:27 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author MattA75 - Amongst the many platinum selling headscratchers of the last few years (Fall Out Boy?, My Chemical Romance?), few have made me scratch my head more than Australian rockers Jet. I know we've always gone for the familiar in this...