Search - the John Butler Trio :: April Uprising

April Uprising Closer To A Downfall For JBT

Scott Piranian | Steeler Country, PA | 04/07/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard the lead single One Way Road a few months back and was surprised by how different of a sound it had, even compared to Grand National. When Grand National came out, fans began thinking that John Butler was getting too commercial and mainstream. While that may be the case, I saw Grand National as more of a progression of their everchanging sound, and although Im still not sure if I prefer it to either of the earlier albums, Grand National still holds it's own as a great album and remained true to JBT's sound and messages. I cant say the same for April Uprising.



What initially drew me to JBT and had them become one of my favorite current bands was the originality of the music, the inspirational lyrics, and the power of John Butler making you believe in the message of every song. On April Uprising, all of that is nearly non-existent. The musicianship is more simple & less unique than its ever been, the lyrics feel generic and uninspired, and on only a handful of songs does Butler's soul feel like it is attached to the music. That might sound odd, but that's how it feels when listening to all of his first 3 albums, and much of this album almost feels like JB singing other people's songs without that fire and passion. On To Look Like You, Butler says "Gonna sell right out to the great white dream 'cos I too want to be a beauty queen." Only JB knows if he actually sold out, but despite the mostly cliched content of this particular track, Butler has some of the best lyrics on the album with "just a teenage girl sitting in my room with the bullet for a mirror looking for a broom".



Although the foundations of the house that the John Butler Trio built are still apparent at times, this remodeled version - on multiple levels - is not as good as the original. Instead of Funky Tonight, there's Close To You. Instead of Peaches & Cream, it's A Star Is Born. There's no Treat Yo Mama, but there is One Way Road. Instead of What You Want, this album has Steal It. On this album, To Look Like You takes the place of Good Excuse. Instead of Hello, there's Johnny's Gone. JB has another ode to his wife with Fool For You, but it's certainly no Daniella. The themes of some songs on April Uprising we've heard before, but all of them have been done better previously. There's a reason I couldn't compare any songs from April Uprising to any on JBT's debut Three: it's because JB has become so lyrically removed from that album, they're incomparable. The human behaviors, environment, and politics that Butler has made a career singing about are rarely seen on April Uprising, and when they are, they usually dont ring as true.



For all the negatives Ive described about this album, they mostly come from the high standard JBT has set, so I still think April Uprising deserves 3/5 stars. Revolution seems like a better closing song than opener (especially since they cut what sounds like a mounting jam off at the end), but its still one of the best songs on the album and one of the few times Butler sings like he has personal interest in what he's saying. Like Revolution, it's not surprising the other highlights - Take Me, Ragged Mile, I'd Do Anything, Gonna Be A Long Time - are the songs where JB sings with passion and have that sound that is undeniably JBT. Despite sounding like the Red Hot Chili Peppers had a cameo track on the album, JBT pull off Dont Wanna See Your Face with ease and make you wish this album had more songs like it. However, outside of Johnny's Gone and One Way Road, the other 6-7 songs are disappointing, generic, and forgettable. The fact that none of JBT's previous albums had more than 1 song I didnt really like, yet on this one it's nearly half of the album, is quite alarming. If you have yet to get the album, I recommend getting it on iTunes because the 3 bonus tracks they offer - Gone, Only You, and Satisfy - are all better than the 6-7 forgettable songs on April Uprising, and make me wonder why they werent included on the actual album in the first place. Some have complained about the production of the album, but I think it sounds fine and would hardly call the album overproduced. I know some people will like this album more than me, but in no facet is April Uprising near as good as any of JBT's first 3 albums (Three, Sunrise Over Sea, and Grand National), and that is just the plain truth.



Like Ben Harper, another of my favorite musicians whose career until recently revolved around lap slide guitar, John Butler's classic slide guitar is noticeably missing on much of April Uprising. I think both artists are getting away from something that made them so special, unique, and separated them from the "musical pack" in the first place, but Harper has proved his last few albums that he can still make very good albums without much slide guitar, which is something I cant say John Butler accomplished on this album. If you asked me 5 years ago that on a day when a new John Butler Trio album was released it wouldnt be my favorite album, I would've called you crazy, but that happened on April 6th, 2010 because the other album I picked up (and highly recommend) was Dr. Dog's Shame, Shame. It's my favorite album so far in 2010, something I had hoped I could say, but sadly cant, about April Uprising.



"

A failed transition

B. Meyers | 04/22/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, I try my best to never compare someones new album to their old albums. I believe doing that gives the listener an initial negative opinion of the new album, which is unfair to the artist who changed up their sound. Artists need to change their sound to present their new creativity and ability, and it is not fair to judge their new material in terms of their old. But sometimes when an artists' transformation is so terrible, it is impossible not to look back and regret what an artist has become. Now after saying that, I hate April Uprising and it is very hard not to compare it to the impressive albums that he has made in the past. The creativity is missing, the progressions are identical to Third Eye Blind's hit singles (which is a embarrassing thing for John), and the lyrics are comical. Songs like One Way Road, C'Mon Now, Close To You, and To Look Like You lack emotion and are just overall terrible. They show many similarities with today's mainstream music and completely lack everything that drew me into John. There are a few highlights of the album, but they are somehow mixed in with the garbage. Revolution, I'd Do Anything, and Take Me are good songs, but they still lack the previous emotion and unique guitar playing that I loved about the Trio. The album lacks direction, a story line, and emotion and is not worth purchasing."

This Uprising still leaves me on the fence

M. C. Tolen | Tulsa, OK | 04/07/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Ever since Grand National (which I feel is flawless) I have been anticipating what JBT would do next. So far reactions to this album have been expectedly polarized with one camp loving the more pop friendly direction and others turned off by it. Both camps have valid points and personally this album leaves me (for the time being) somewhere in the middle. First the positives, although the first song "Revolution" doesn't quite get the album fired up the way I had hoped, the next several songs (2-8) do a great job of bringing the upbeat, funky vibe. I was concerned about the prominent pop sound of "One way Road" when it came out, but I quickly grew to dig it. "C'mon Now" is a blast, "Ragged Mile" harks back to early JBT with its celtic banjo sound and "Close to You" is a great rocker despite having a whiff of Blue Oyster Cults "Don't fear the Reaper" to it. Also "Don't Want to See Your Face" is funky and fun. Up to this point in the album I'd give it a thumbs up. Yes, it does have more pop hooks than any other JBT album, but what it seems to lack in substance it makes up for in style with its upbeat, funky rockin fun sound. The production is very clean but not overdone. The drums really sound great and keep that JBT tribal sound going. This doesn't sound quite like mainstream pop, but retains that rootsy sound of 3 guys playing together. However, I do sorely miss the warm upright bass in previous albums which seems to be replaced for the most part with a standard bass sounding metallic and fails to give it that heavy deep sounding bottom.

The Negatives become more apparent in the second half of the album (9-15). After being convinced of the new sound with the energy of the first half, the second half leaves you kinda high and dry. It's too heavy in midtempo rockers that aren't bad, but just aren't great. I read alot about how John Butler wanted "all killer-no filler" but with 15 tracks there seems to be more filler than ever and I gotta believe that trimming 2 or 3 of the latter songs would have made this a much tighter album. In contrast I believe Grand National truly had no filler and all the songs flowed seamlessly in style and tempo. It rocked, jammed and chilled in all the right places. Instead April Uprising stalls out in the end. "To look like You" is OK and "Gonna be a long time" attempts to recapture the reggae vibe done so well in previous albums but doesn't quite measure up here or bring back the energy of the first half. I had REALLY high hopes for this album. Maybe TOO high. I wanted to get that WOW feeling I had after Grand National. To me GN was the perfect bridge between the early jam/political sound and being pop friendly without selling out. JBT is never going to be the uncommercial piss and vinegar group they were in the very early days, you just can't keep playing that card to that degree. Many called GN a sellout and for some this album will confirm it but I still wouldn't go that far. This is more modern rock with a rootsy sound but most (though certainly not all) of the JBT sound is present. Overall April Uprising seems too top heavy with all the flash in the first half which can only cause the whole thing to topple over. I'm still hoping the later songs will grow on me and maybe I'll be able to connect more to the lyrics as I learn and understand them. But for now, its the seemingly inevitable let down which concerns me about JBT in the future. Afterall, first go the dread locks, the lineup changes, the upright bass is all but gone...but I still love JBT and I'm optimistic about letting these songs grow on me and especially hearing them live (which is the true JBT test)."