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| REVIEWS |
Elliott
HD
The Worst That Could Happen
(self
released)
If you often get disillusioned, angry and generally pissed off
at the world, then maybe you should do yourself a favor and
listen to this album, because you’re not alone.
The Worst That Could Happen is the perfect therapy
for those down in the dumps type days. It’s an album for
anyone who feels like singing the blues while drowning yourself
in alcohol and endless cigarettes. It’s the sort of album
where you can clearly envision a man with his guitar sitting
on a stool in a small, grimy city bar with his cigarette dangling
from his mouth and a half-full glass of scotch on the table
near him. This album is full of wrath and arousing expression
from the beginning to the end. Elliott HD doesn’t add
any songs to pass the time as each and every tune holds its
own story.
This album is all about the reelase of emotion in an acoustic
rock type line of attack. Elliott HD neatly combines the melancholy
of classic blues with punk influences that are upbeat, and centered
on acoustic rock and roll. Now these elements of music may not
seem to fit, but he is skillful enough to somehow make it all
work. His guitar playing skills are easily noticed right from
the start of the album with the track “Terrible Girlfriend.”
Elliott HD really has a gift for playing the acoustic guitar
and his songs undoubtedly express it. The talent doesn’t
end with the guitar playing. It’s very rare that an artist
can just use his voice, excellent song writing skills and a
guitar and be so successful with a quality of shrewdness in
all aspects. The use of just an acoustic guitar with blues-like
vocals really helps get the point across because the music never
has a chance to dominate the words, which in this case is exactly
what the main focus here should be.
The songs on The Worst That Could Happen range from
possessing a classic blues dominated sound like “I Can’t
Believe” to more upbeat punk rock sounds like the song
“Emergency Emergency 911.” Then at times, all these
elements are combined like in the song “Beautiful Day.”
No matter what the style of the songs, you can feel everything
that he is singing about, or in this case bitching about. Elliott
HD pours out his anger, his passion, and every other emotion
inside in each and every song. The listener can feel drained
by the end of the album because of all the passion being thrown
at you.
This blues, punk, acoustic rock style of music might not be
your cup of tea and you might not enjoy the uniqueness of the
sound. For some, the music will need to become an acquired taste
because something like this is rare. Even if the sound isn’t
what you enjoy, one has to appreciate the song writing and lyrics
of The Worst That Could Happen. You simply can’t
ignore how deep and personal this album is; one that is jam
packed with feelings and acoustic rock with a twist.
Reviewed by
David Walter
September 17th, 2004 |
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