"I loved The Longest Barrel Ride. Acoustic Roots is the best live acoustic album I own. Everything You Need, however, was heavy on production effects, which I didn't enjoy as much as Barrel Ride. With Closer To The Sun these guys find a good middleground. The sound is polished and refined, and their use of effects is not as overwhelming as in Everything You Need. the songs are varied in sound and very enjoyable. Plus, the bonus disc has 4 interesting tracks on it, making this a pretty good buy. Pick it up..."
Slightly Stoopid - 'Closer To the Sun' (Artist Direct BMG)
Mike Reed | USA | 07/30/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Even though this genre isn't my cup of tea,I still found 'Closer...' to be a decent find.Sort of dug the way they fuse together old school reggae,funky blues,rock and punk.Some of the better cuts here include "Babylon Is Fallin'","See No Other Way",the disc's single "Somebody","This Joint" and "Zeplike"(nice acoustic guitar).Line-up:Miles-guitar&vocals,Kyle-bass&vocals,Tim Wu-sax,Ikey Owens-keyboards and Adam-drums.Might appeal to some fans of Sublime,Mighty Mighty Bosstones,Goldfinger,Bob Marley G.Love&Special Sauce."
Amazing
C. Scott | Los Angeles, CA USA | 06/27/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Slightly Stoopid does it again on "Closer to the Sun." This CD really highlights the entire group and is great for any first time Stoopid listeners. My favorite tracks are "Bandelero," "Closer to the Sun," "Zeplike," and "Somebody." But, the whole album is great to throw on for parties or when you are chillin' at the beach and let it play through!"
They outdid themselves!
Josh | Billings, MT | 06/23/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Slightly Stoopid has come out with another stellar album. This one, more so than the rest, seems to cover every aspect of the amazing groups talents. It combines the raw side of the acoustic album with the more refined sound that produced such songs as Callie man and Honey. Closer to the Sun, the albums title track is one of the most catchy songs the groups has produced. Not forgetting the bands roots, Bandelero keeps with the So Cal sound with great rasta lines like "ganja never hurt no one". Zeplike is a beautiful instrumental tune that has a similiar sound as the start of Closer to the Sun but will have a person driving down the street with the top down windows
open blasting the tune on a warm summer day. The song itself reminds a person of a nice summer day. Comb for my dome is a riot and is the most unsual song on the album but an instant and quick (playing time wise)classic. Open road is a perfect close to what has been the bands best album. That song will have a person craving to hear the album all over again.
I love it! I have played it non stop since I peeled away the wrapper. There is a song for everymood a person could be in! Closer to the Sun is an AMAZING song. Its so good it almost makes me forget this is a two part disk making it more of an amazing bargain. 20 tunes on one disk plus another disk with more songs that are absolutly stellar make it the best purchase I have made in a very long time!"
Great Followup to "Everything You Need"
S. Logan | Charleston, SC | 04/20/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have been a huge Slightly Stoopid for awhile now, and I was extremely excited in anticipation of their new album. "Everything You Need" was sooo good I was worried they might not be able to match that. However, I was wrong. They took their sound into much different areas, as well as remaining strong to their reggae/punk roots. This album is heavily acoustic, but not "Acoustic Roots" style; they mix in acoustic guitars with the full band and put it off very very well. Tracks such as "Closer to the Sun," "Zeplike" (which Jimmy Page would be very proud of), and "Somebody" are great examples of this. There is a lot of wide variety on this CD, from reggae to blues to punk to funk. So I highly reccomend this CD to anyone who has enjoyed Slightly Stoopid before, and with 20 tracks, its well worth the cash. Other highlighted tracks: "Babylon Is Falling," "Fat Spliffs," "Bandelero," "See it No Other way" (with Barrington Levy), "Older," "Till It Gets Wet" (guess what thats about)and the Cally Man-esque "Open Road""