Okay, where do I start ? I've been looking back over some of the reviews and thinking, "Is that really essential or not ?". Of course, there are so many albums out there which are cool, or personal favourites, or just records I have a soft spot for. Some are fabulous, others genius...some bands are cult fave's, others the coolest bands you never heard...so, where do The Tea Party stand ? Well, let's put it this way, for those of you who think Led Zeppelin are the greatest rock 'n' roll band on the planet...and believe me, many people do believe this, then The Tea Party are for you. For those of you who wish Zep had continued forever, there is no need to fear, because The Tea Party exist to fill that hole left by Plant and co.
This is pretty much genius. Canadian rock music that blows all the grunge scene out of the water, into the sky, and out of the universe. Beyond the dreams and visions of man, this is one band who truly deserved to be absolutely huge. Of course, they weren't, like many ultra-cool and inventive bands on this blog, but The Tea Party are living proof that when a band is this criminally underrated, nearly all other big, famous bands should be shot!
This is a ridiculously brilliant, innovative, diverse alterno-rock record. Everything, in its complexity and stunning variety of musical instruments, is effortless beyond description. From Jeff Martin's Jim Morrison rasp, which oozes sex and arrogance, to the Zeppish guitars from Heaven, and those majestic Eastern influences which soar on the wind like fairy dust. 'The Edges...' is a magical landscape created by these wonderfully talented musicians, who've constructed a truly monstrous record that if say, Queen, Zep, etc had recorded, we'd be masturbating over. However, this is far cooler...too bombastic and at ease with itself to be appreciated by millions, instead it swirls, writhes and cavorts like some beautiful behemoth. Way ahead of its time, yet borrowing from the likes of The Doors and Zep, this is a mish-mash of all that's great but even more...so much more. 'The Edges...' is a blissful record, one which sweeps you away, but always, just like Zep at their finest, keeps its groove on.
'Sister Shake' is monstrous, 'The Bazaar' an aching, uncoiling masterpiece, and 'Fire In The Head' gyrates with crystal hips. Wrapped in delightful production, blessed with a serene, dreamy tinge, and bathed in sonic light from Utopia, this is one of my most cherished albums, alongside Mother Love Bone's 'Apple', in that it breathes so easily amidst the myriad of noises. Like one enormous glass butterfly it soars, it's laced wings twinkling as its flutters shake the foundations of the Earth, the only downside being that the earthquake was not experienced by many people, because this record is proof that mid-'90s rock wasn't just about scraggly-haired grease balls.
Every rock fan should own this towering album. Laughably great....what more can I say ?
9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment