Thanks love it
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Husband loves this
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Love this album
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Yodelling, calypso, jazz and songs about impotence... You would never believe they could make it sound this good... It seems easy to forget now but there was once a time - sometime before the musical atrocity that is Jet - when the concept of a group of long haired skinny white boys, dressed with thrift-store chic and recycling 70's riffs seemed like genuinely the most exciting thing since... well, since it happened the last time. And then came along The Strokes, swiftly followed by The White Stripes, The Vines, The Hives, BRMC... We got so carried away that even The Datsuns were hailed as the new, "saviours of rock'n'roll" for a day or two. Relative latecomers to the scene, Kings of Leon seemed to be just another band who rolled off the production line with clothes, hair, and a background story just a little too good to be for real. Whether the family Followill really are the offspring of an alcoholic preacher who spent their formative years travelling the south to spread word of the good lord, we'll probably never know. However, if there was ever any doubt about the honesty of their musical convictions, Aha Shake Heartbreak should help dispel it. First things first, this is no rock'n'roll party album in the vein of Youth and Young Manhood. As fine a record as that was, the Kings have progressed, and done it with great style and taste. Somehow the Kings have managed to return with an album that appears to be the difficult second album and post-fame downbeat comedown record rolled into one, but have defied all logic by making it sound compellingly brilliant. Opener 'Slow Night, So Long' sets the tone, introducing itself with chiming chords reminiscent of Joy Division with a Peter Hook-esque bassline to match. After building up to a climax that rocks like The Who it then fades out into a beautiful piano led calypso coda with Caleb singing: "Rise and shine all you gold-digging mothers." Truly this is one extraordinary and adventurous record. They are still capable of rocking like Lynyrd Skynyrd - 'Velvet Snow' is easily the match of 'Molly's Chambers'. But the tracks that really shine are the ones that sound completely removed from the old 'new rock revolution'. 'King of the Rodeo' has got a chorus that you wont be able to get out of your head for days; 'Day Old Blues' will make you seriously wonder why no-one has ever thought of mixing yodelling and rock'n'roll before and there will not be a song released this year with a more funky bassline than 'Razz'. In Aha Shake Heartbreak the Kings have managed to do what no one could have dared hope. Where The Strokes, The Vines and countless others have failed, the Followills have transcended the retrogressive scene that gave birth to them and developed into a truly special and unique band.Read full review
I brought this having heard the first cd, youth and young manhood, and I had been told this was better, so I hunted it down on ebay. Its good, but I dont think it is as good as youth and young manhood. Whichever Followill does the singing has a unique voice, and of course they are very hairy - which is always a plus in rock genres ....
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best-selling in CDs
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on CDs