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Synopsis
Amazon.com Music ReviewsThe Trees' third and best major-label album wasn't an easy one to make: the band felt compelled to scrap the first recording with producer Don Fleming and re-record the songs with George Drakoulias of Black Crowes and Tom Petty fame. But the creative malaise and personal chaos that reportedly plagued the follow-up to 1992's gold-selling Sweet Oblivion are nowhere in evidence in the finished grooves. Dust is a complex, layered effort that transcends the grunge tag so often hung on the band by emphasizing deep roots in psychedelia and folk-rock that have been obscured in the past by the fuzz and fury. As always, Mark Lanegan's smooth-as-bourbon vocals and Gary Lee Conner's thunderstorm guitars are two of the most distinctive instruments Seattle has produced. But what makes this album special is the ensemble playing and the dynamics: The band seems to have listened to Lanegan's call in "Make My Mind" to "Take a minute just to breathe." Sitars, tabla, harmonium, and Mellotron adorn moving midtempo rockers such as "All I Know" and "Dying Days," adding to a world-weary but overall optimistic vibe. Dust could be considered the combination of MTV Unplugged in New York and From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah that Nirvana was never able to realize--it's a mature, melodic album that doesn't sacrifice the energy of youthful rock & roll abandon. --Jim Derogatis
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CD Reviews
Actually the last reviewer was pretty "dead on".. Barnes and Noble Junkie | Barnes And Noble, Midlothian, Virginia | 09/16/2005 (4 out of 5 stars) "This is an awesome album BUT:
The first three songs on this album pretty much start off where Sweet Oblivion left off.. Start of with a rocker "Halo of Ashes", insert an absolute classic "All I know". throw in a ballad "Look at You" and you have the makings of another classic... Then...
The album just seems to bog down.. Don't get me wrong, this is an outstanding album, but it is not as diverse as Sweet Oblivion. Mark Lanegan never sounded as good as he did on Dust, and the quality of the musicianship is great, but the song writing isn't as good as Sweet Oblivion. You would think that after a four year hiatus (a hiatus that pretty much killed the band) there would be a more diverse collection of songs.
Probably the most striking song on the album is Dime Western. For anyone who has ever seen Jesus Christ Superstar, if you remember the part where Judas is running to hang himself, the guitar riff in this song sounds almost exactly like the music that is playing in the backround. Throw in an "Iron Butterly"esque melotron and it is freaky.. Then to go into a song called "Gospel Plow"...
Do I recommend this album? Heck yeah, it's just a shame that this was their swan song, they really had more to offer."
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