Album Review: Favourite Sons - The Great Deal of Love

There's a certain element of luck when you find the perfect album to suit your mood, outlook and personality. 'The Great Deal of Love' is an album I can't stop listening to. I adore this album.




I got a little buzz a few weeks back when Favourite Son's singer and former singer with Rollerskate Skinny Ken Griffin contacted me with a link to his band's second album. Shoulder Voices from 1993 was as important to me in my teenage years as Nevermind or Ten was! Rollerskate Skinny even got to do the 1994 Lollapalooza tour. The band broke up around 1997 with Ken Griffin taking a musical hiatus until around 2004 when from a New York base he formed 'Favourite Sons'. The 2006 debut 'Down Beside Your Beauty' is a superb indie album.


Moving on five years and 'Favourite Sons' are booked to play the Cork X Southwest Festival and are about to release the album entitled 'The Great Deal of Love'. I've already said about that for me at this moment the album is perfect. It's a funny, quirky, catchy and engaging album which draws the listening into the depths of the songs.


Safe For All Seasons by FavouriteSons


The album kicks off with 'Safe for all Season' which is a solid opener. The ultra catchy 'Sweet Upon The Vine' follows with it's effective backing vocals, engaging lyrics and uplifting trumpet. The vocals from Ken Griffin are as good as I can remember from back in the early 90's and the lyrics are just as engaging. The Calexico-esque 'Pretty Young Blood' at only 98 seconds has to be one of the best short songs ever. While these tracks at the beginning of the album shine it's the tracks near the back end of the album which really impress!


The title track has all the best lines. The catchy chorus of 'I love. I love. I Love to watch you live your life the wrong way, expecting way too much out from the day' is both heartbreaking and thought-provoking. Ken's vocals draw you into the song and you're with him when he changes his outlook on his subject by encouraging her to 'live your whole life the wrong way'. This is followed by another wonderfully written track 'For Dear Life' with it's uplifting lyrics and similes. I also adore the lyrics of the track 'They Call Me Coco Rushdie'.


If Jack L became the front man of Calexico I'd imagine this to be the resulting album. Every song is quality on the album. Some of them trickle without much impact but those tracks which I discussed are so engaging and thought-provoking that I can't recommend this album enough.


Favourite Sons - The Great Deal of Love [12 out of 12]

Sweet Upon The Vine by FavouriteSons


Links: http://www.facebook.com/favouritesons
http://www.youtube.com/user/FavouriteSons



Comments

Anonymous said…
It's Rollerskate with an 'e'
Unknown said…
Thanks ....changed it now!
Anonymous said…
Really good. Got it today on Spotify. Vocals and lyrics remind me a lot of Smog/Bill Callahan.