Nic Oliver reviews Arena at music OMH and starts by stating "The question any reviewer must apply to a new Todd Rundgren album is simple: is this Good Todd or Bad Todd?" The answer in his 3 anh a half star review is GOOD, describing it as Todd continuing in "the rich vein of form that was evident on Liars". He comments on Todd's "best Bon Scott impression on the hard rocking Strike" - a track which can now be heard on the Todd Myspace site.
Whilst the Decemberists have been around for a number of years, and a friend of mine is a big fan, I have to confess - a few tunes aside - they have never really made much of a splash with me. With their fifth album - 'The Hazards of Love' - a 17-track concept album that sort of tells a story about a fair maiden ravished by a shape-shifting demon (no, really) - however, I am suddenly find myself surprisingly won over. On some levels - like most concept albums - it is utter tosh, but with its repeating musical motifs and reprises, making you quickly think that actually there are only about five actual songs on the album - a clever trick. Like with all good concept albums this makes listening on shuffle not the ideal way to digest this album - especially as their are short 'interlude' pieces joining all the songs too. Added to all this the fact that the band seem to have a love for early 70's British folk/prog/heavy metal and this walks right up my street - and will ...
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