Preface: Released three years after Make Believe, the boys return with yet another self titled "color" album with ten tracks. The goofy costumes seemed to give notice of a less image conscious band. Rick Rubin provided guidance again, but had a much smaller role.
1. Troublemaker – 6. The red album starts off promisingly enough with a pretty simple, tough talking tune. The lyrics are kinda silly, but what really sells the song is sheer exuberance in the delivery. Such energy has only peaked through on occasion post-Pinkerton (Dope Nose, for example).
2. The Greatest Man that Ever Lived – 7. Clearly inspired by Green Day’s recent forays into “A Quick One”-esque mini operas, Rivers set out to compose a song in a similar method centered on an old Shaker hymn. After a piano part introducing the melody, a siren signals the next song in “Beverly Hills”-esque rap. Luckily, it’s not terrible, a bit goofy really, and it is short-lived. From here on out, we are treated to a Prince-like falsetto verse, not one, but two distinct acapella (basically) sections, and a spoken word homage to that one Elvis song that has that weird spoken word part. In this case, the more challenging parts are over before they can wear out their welcome and we are left with a series of one to two minute long songs filled with those hooks Rivers seems to be able to toss off with minimal effort. The band really gels and it’s a very enjoyable listen.
3. Pork and Beans – 6. The big single from the album. This song features an almost “El Scorcho” like riff which is never unwelcome. The lyrics are modern day-personal Rivers which usually means death to the quality of a song. Fortunately, he turns the lyric about record company pressure into an oddly effective “you are fine the way you are” self help mantra which is more universal than his other “here is my meditation practice ritual” personal lyrics. I wish the hook had ever gotten stuck in my head because the song could have really been up there with their best.
4. Heart Songs – 1. I listened to this song once. And then I listened to it one more time to confirm that I wasn’t dreaming about how awful it was. Yes it is competently performed and arranged which should spare it from my lowest possible score. What manages to overcome what little isn’t horrible about this song is the god awful lyrics. Basically Rivers writes about how he grew up listening to songs and they mean a lot to him and now he’s happy because his songs mean a lot to other people. Just the worst shit ever. Supposedly the song was written off the cuff with the subject matter inspired by Rick Rubin’s suggestion. I don’t know who to blame for this wretched awfulness. Rivers even confuses Debbie Gibson with Tiffany.
5. Everybody Get Dangerous – 2. Another terrible tune. I have a feeling Pat endorsed this song for its “rocktastic riff” or whatever stupid shit he’s been on about lately. Dopey lyrics including “Boo-yah”, an uninteresting melody and arrangement, this one is another song I probably haven’t listened to more than three times.
6. Dreamin’ – 5. Earlier I mentioned Rivers’ ability to effortlessly create sweet sweet hooks and this is a mighty fine example. The song wastes no time by jumping directly into its strong point- the chorus. The verses are unmemorable with typically bad lyrics. Thankfully the verses are mercifully short before they return right back to the tasty chorus. Things get worse during the bridge which alternates between tolerable and sheer awful. Brian gets a solo vocal where he starts singing about some sort of nature crap. Rivers comes in and things pick up with a clever two-part vocal interplay. Once this ends, a guitar riff enters signaling a new rock section but then it stops for no reason and it goes back to the vocal part which slowly builds and builds returning to the great chorus slowed down not unlike the end of “Pink Triangle.” This is clearly the high point of the song- the stadium rockified chorus with the vocal harmony effectively entering half way through. The song gets ready for a triumphant ending that is completely ruined by a transition to an entirely different snippet of a song that is tuneless and stupid. Why oh why was that part included? It seems like this was a test run for “Greatest Man” with its non-sequitor parts and general sloppiness. That hook though.
7. Thought I Knew – 4. Rhythm guitarist Brian’s song. He has the most vocal experience of the rest of the band not named Rivers so his delivery is good. He also has done a decent amount with his own groups so he does have songwriting experience. The song isn’t bad. It isn’t good either. The chorus melody isn’t memorable although the verse is somewhat better.
8. Cold Dark World – 2. Bass player Scott’s song. He sings laughably tough with similarly laughably tough lyrics (written by Rivers, I believe). Nothing particularly redeeming about this one. It’s pretty poorly constructed and performed.
9. Automatic – 3. Pat’s song. Sure enough his voice isn’t terrible. This is the mid-tempo riff heavy stuff he seems to favor which also happens to be pretty mediocre. Like the previous songs, this one leaves me pretty empty. I can’t remember the melody or much at all actually.
10. The Angel and the One – 6. Standard ballad album closer. An interesting songwriting exercise for Rivers, this tune eschews a typical verse-chorus structure for an almost Roy Orbison-like arrangement with sparse instrumentation and a low register vocal slowly building up throughout its five minutes to a great climax and nice resolve (the “peace shalom” part). Some of the lyrics are clunky, but it is terrific vocal performance by Rivers showing off his range from soft and low to falsetto wails. Not saying much, but it is the best album closer since “Butterfly.”
Bonus Tracks:
1. Ms. Sweeney – 6. A rather odd tune and another successful songwriting experiment for Rivers. This tune is a one-sided discussion between boss man Rivers and his secretary discussing business matters. In the chorus, he reveals his desire for her, ebulliently. Rivers’ vocal delivery during the verses is terse and awkward, but it kinda works, especially in contrast to the more normal chorus. It’s not great, but it’s certainly enjoyable.
2. Pig – 6. A first person narrative of a young piglet playing with his friends, finding love, getting married, having more piglets, and ultimately dying, perhaps being slaughtered by the farmer he remembers fondly. Like many of the songs on this album, this is also a songwriting experiment. As with “The Angel and the One,” this song has no chorus, but the lyrics are simply a narrative. It also has a similar build in instrumentation that works well with the story arch. Everything falls apart and it returns to the first lines of the sparse verse. Unspectacular, but interesting and enjoyable.
3. The Spider -6. Airy synths and an acoustic guitar introduce the song. Rivers vocals are similarly reverb’d, giving everything a very ethereal feel. Additional synths come and go as does some occasional guitar feedback. Again, no verse/chorus structure and a slow build. An uncharacteristically atmospheric song and I’m surprised I like it as much as I do.
4. King – 4. Scott Shriner sings this one and the song in its entirety is much stronger than “Cold Dark World.” Still, it’s not particular good. So so melodies and nothing else to make up for it. Definitely the weakest of bonus tracks but not that bad.
Conclusion:
This was the first of series of albums that were more about songwriting experiments and branching out from the norm. There are some very strong moments throughout that are spoiled by the failed experiments. The obvious thing I like to do is trade out the awful tunes for the really enjoyable and equally experimental bonus tracks for a really good listen:
1. Troublemaker
2. Greatest Man
3. Pork & Beans
4. Ms. Sweeney
5. Pig
6. Dreamin’
7. Thought I knew
8. The Spider
9. King
10. The Angel and the One
The idea of letting other members write songs was (pretty much) done after this album.