Search - Trip Shakespeare :: Are You Shakesperienced

Not their best, but better than the rest

Craig Payne | Ottumwa, Iowa United States | 10/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Trip Shakespeare was an amazing band. When you add up their talents, it seems they shouldn't "jell"--for example, power-pop drumming, the quirky intelligence of the lyrics, the pure fun of the funky melodies, the occasional acid-rock guitar solo, and the operatic, over-the-top vocals. But it worked so well. This is maybe not their best recording (probably that would be "Lulu"), but it's still better than bands of the same era that hit it "bigger." Plus, it has a few of my favorite songs: Reception (what a killer chorus); Toolmaster of Brainerd (although I have to admit the studio version pales beside the harder-to-find "live" 10-minute epic); and really, most of the others. I sing along to everything. Trip Shakespeare had a knack for singing even relatively silly lyrics as though everything depended on that particular song--for example, see if you can help singing along with "Oh northern with your eyes so bright, can you see the home breaking on the shore tonight?" This CD bears up under my only true "musical" test, the test of repeated listening. It still sounds fresh, and, like "Ron Klaus Wrecked His House" by Big Dipper, or "The Mayor of Simpleton" by XTC, it brings back a lot of fun memories."

Few People Know...

mark thingmaker | 04/11/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"That this band was the starting point for Semisonic. Dan Wilson and John Munson were 2 of the four members of this band along with Matt Wilson (Dan's brother), and Elaine Harris. This CD changed my life when I was in college, and it still has that fresh sound even today. PICK THIS CD UP...it won't be around much longer, and it would be a shame for you to miss this ode to alternative/pop music!"