Album review: Kings of Leon - Because of the Times

It's rare that I listen to new albums, preferring instead to mine the Internet and the racks at the used CD store for all the great stuff I missed back in the day. This album was recommended by a friend of a friend, so I decided to check it out. I am glad I did!

First a couple of general notes, then we'll take it song-by-song. This album has a similar vibe to The Loon by Tapes 'n' Tapes (see previous post "Indie-Rock Gem" for that review), but this one has much heavier guitars. The other thing that jumps out at you is that singer Caleb Followill's voice can be annoying at times, fortunately he does the Billy Corgan thing and uses different shadings on different songs, so it's not annoying on every song. These guys' bio is very interesting, I picked up on a Southern vibe (being American by birth, Southern by the grace of God myself) when listening to the album. Turns out they are all named Followill, 3 brothers and a cousin. The brothers' dad was a Pentecostal minister, and they grew up traveling throughout the South (Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles, dance...) http://www.kingsofleon.com/biography
Amazon sez " the Kings Of Leon mix their own brand of Southern Rock with touches of Garage, Punk and Alternative swagger". Amen, brother.

Now for the tunes:

Knocked Up - Upon re-listening to this, I realized why it reminds me of Tapes ' n ' Tapes. It's minimalist (hold that thought, we'll get back to it later). In fact, I don't think there is a single overdub on the whole album, all of this could be played note for note live. Kewl. Coming to The Orange Peel in Asheville on June 2. http://www.kingsofleon.com/tour

But I digress, back to the song. Nice U2 chime-y guitar lick over...hmm, what is it? I know, Bruce Springsteen "I'm On Fire". And talk about a rock'n'roll lyric - "I don't care what nobody says, we're gonna have a bay-bee....taking off in a Coupe DeVille" etc. etc. which sounds like it could have come from a 1950s rock'n'roll song, albeit one that would have been banned. The juxtaposition of the rockabilly guitar in the left channel with the Edge's sound in the right is fascinating. Only complaint is that it clocks in at 7:10, WAY too long, the coolness wears off
after about 4 minutes or so.

Charmer - this one starts off with a Devo "Mongoloid" bass line, bangin' on a trash can drums, very catchy punk tune. Another theme throughout the album is that many of the songs were "made loud to be played loud", this is one of them. Major drawback is the nails on chalkboard scream every 2 measures or so, you have to be in the mood for it, or you will hit the fast-forward to the next tune real fast.

On Call - I think I mentioned Caleb uses different "voicings" (pun intended) this one starts with a Leon Russell drawl, which apparently he uses on their other albums. Once the guitars kick in, he switches to a more conventional rock voice. This is the first single, if you love rockin' guitars, and I know that you do, you'll dig this. These boys rock.

McFearless - Balls to the wall metal. Crank it up. 'Nuff Said.

Black Thumbnail - Not sure how to describe this one, except as a great rock'n'roll song. I could get used to this cool 2-guitar, one-in-each-speaker sound. If you only listen to one song on this album, this is probably the one. Already inching up on my all-time fave list.

My Party - Kind of a space-funk vibe, fuzzed-out bass, distorted vocals. Nine Inch Nails with soul. If none of your body parts move while listening to this song, I regret to inform you that you are dead. Kick-ass.

True Love Way - After the 4-song roll they've been on, this one is somewhat of a letdown, still has their unique sound, but more of an old-school vibe. Not a highlight.

Ragoo - U2 goes reggae. "I wanna play til they're kickin' down the doors" - there are some very fired-up lyrics on this album. Caleb's voice is starting to bother me by this time, even though the song is great. These guys could be even better if they switched off the vocals on some songs. That said, the incredible guitar playing will get you past any reservations about the vocals.

Fans - this time the left-hand guitar is acoustic. Caleb's voice has the Dave Matthews whine to it, which I guess is appropriate with the acoustic guitar. Once again, though, the guitars will pull you thru. Fans (pun not intended) of DMB will love this one. Nice guitars once again, but I'm not big on the whole DMB sound.

The Runner - the boys go mellow here, and do it well. Caleb sounds like Randy Newman here, singing "I talk to Jesus, Jesus says that I'm OK". All that preachin' they heard growing up sunk in. Nice, laid-back, syncopated drums.

Trunk - Chris Isaak guitars, reverb-drenched, as are the vocals. Lifted the guitar lick from Psych Furs "All of This And Nothing". Grand Funk "Survival" vocals. Obviously all of those styles mixed together gives you something unique. And very cool.......I dig this one.

Camaro - ROCK'N'ROLL! As I'm listening to this, though, it sounds incredibly familiar. I finally figure out what it is, and am dumbfounded.
Sure enough, it sounds remarkably like UFO's first album, which is nothing like their later, much more well known Michael Schenker phase. I think it's the vocals again. Phil Mogg of UFO was trying to sound "bluesy" back then, and he and Caleb Followill just seem to have the same timbre, it is spooky how much these vocals (and the guitars, too) sound alike, on albums released 37 years apart. Weird. If you go down this path, check out "Timothy" on the UFO album vs. this song. Spooky. Not quite so spooky when you consider that the UFO album is even more minimalist than the Kings of Leon, as it only has ONE guitar.

Arizona - the boys go old-school on this one, typical mid-tempo, guitar fade-out album closer. In spite of being stereotypical, it's very nice.

So there ya have it. Somewhere in there (it jumped out at me on the first listen, but not so much on the second) was a song that sounded very much like CAN, the greatest of the mighty Krautrock bands, but there again it's the minimalism. Bottom line? This is a superior album, indeed a classic.

Rock is dead? Not on your life. Granted, it's not ubiquitous like it was in my youth, but if you look for it, it's there. Great rock'n'roll music, like this album, is still out there, if you make the effort to find it, you will be richly rewarded.