Grand National Music Cd

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Grand National      Artist : John Butler Trio      List Price : $13.98 USD        Your Price : $12.99 USD      ProductGroup: Music      Release Date : 2007-03-27      Studio : Atlantic / Wea      Label : Atlantic / Wea      Avg. Customer Rating : (23 reviews)

Reviews Customer Reviews for Grand National      Funkier than any jam band      Rating:      Honestly, the John Butler Trio has not gotten the stateside welcome that they deserve. In fact, "Sunrise Over Sea" was one of the best jam band releases to date. And it almost didn't get airplay in the United States. Thus, the John Butler Trio is back to jam again with their third album, "Grand National," which is a delightful funk/roots band masterpiece. With all the funk guitar riffs that John Butler pulls off, one can now officially call them the Red Hot Chili Peppers of the jam band scene. In fact, with the coolest banjo and electric guitar licks in the song "Gov Did Nothin'," John Butler is on fire. Even though this album is less raw than "Sunrise Over Sea," the band makes up for it by bringing in a horn section in "Gov Did Nothin'" and a string ensemble in "Caroline." John Butler also switches to playing smooth and quiet raggae in "Groovin' Slowly," with a banjo and Sharon Birchall playing a snazzy bass guitar line. The band is also playing with editing effects too. Probably the coolest sounds come in the introduction to "Devil Running," featuring guitar tracks played backwards before kicking the drums in. There's also moments in "Fire in the Sky" where the guitar sounds are bent out of tune and resonating with long echoes. Most of all, though, John Butler is showing a softer, intimate side of his persona in this album. Songs such as "Losing You" and "Caroline" are touching acoustic songs with almost no other instruments backing him up. And even though "Fire in the Sky" features some menacing electric guitar strums, most of the rest of the song has beautiful consonant guitar strums and riffs. This is a great album that shows more of the trio's persona, with both loud jams and some soft bluegrass songs. The loud songs in the first half of the album are complemented by some soft, peaceful jams. And while John Butler's lyrics are nowhere near as catchy as "You better treat yo' mama with respect" in the previous album, this is an album that shows that Butler can sound cool, even when he's not in a passionate mood.     Customer Reviews for Grand National Cd      Most Excellent      Rating:      This foot stomping, dance around the kitchen collection of tunes is lots of fun. Amazing what three guys can do! Don't miss the opportunity to see them in concert. Editorial Reviews for Grand National Audio Cd      Album Description      The pigeonholes that exist have long been a bad fit for John Butler anyway. Roots band, protest band, jam band, groove band . . . these labels may or may not have applied in the past, but the John Butler Trio of 2007 has come too far and seen too much to sit in anybody else's niche. "GRAND NATIONAL" is more about love than injustice, more about ass-shaking than finger-pointing, and more about maintaining the funk than any particular hairstyle. It's an album of sharp focus and wide variety that matches and surpasses monumental expectations.