Einsturzende Neubauten- Grundstuck (2005)

Einsturzende Neubauten is in my top 5 favorite all time bands, ever.  Mr. Chelmets introduced them to me, years ago, and I have loved them ever since.  Gene Cesspool & I once drove 10 hours to see them live, then directly after the show, turned around and drove the same 10 hours back.  (On a side note, that was the first, and only, time that I fell asleep driving; which is a really weird/scary feeling.  The trip was tons of fun, and the venue was awesome; even though it was horribly hot in Austin Texas that time of year.)

Grundstuck is an amazing album; and honestly it's hard to find an EN album that is not amazing. 10 tracks of the most amazing post-industrial/melodic/experimental/etc. releases.  If you are not familiar with E.N., you absolutely have to get familiar with them.  This is one of those bands that are historic, I personally have most of their albums, copies of some of the albums on vinyl, a few dvds, I pretty much get everything that I can that is E.N. related.  These guys are from Germany, and are so liked, they get to record in water towers, under the Autobahn, travel the world, and for the last few years have released their albums on their own.  (They have such a huge following that you can become a "member" and get the cd or dvd and the money goes to the completion of the album, the manufacturing, printing, etc.)  Grundstuck is just 1 of many examples of the possibility within music when played and composed by highly skilled highly intuitive musicians.

This album has quite a few changes, from song to song, so it doesn't grow old, even after the un-teenth listen.  Post-Industrial meets studio effects meets vocals that are working along home-made instruments that are all corralled in a symposium of sweet auditory bliss.  I wish that I could write a small periodical on what E.N. has done with music, with the amount of influence they have had on other musicians and the music scene as a whole.  Whenever I get into a conversation regarding music, I usually get asked who are my favorite bands; and when I say E.N., I always get this crazy weird look from whomever I am conversing with. 

This review might not be the most thorough of reviews, regarding the album itself; and I apologize.  But E.N. is one of those bands that will always be pioneers, and will always be revered as one of the all time bests by true music enthusiasts. 

Official score- 4.75/5
(If I ever do another E.N. review, it will always be 4.75/5.  It should be 5/5, but with a lot of people being music ignorant, I toned down the Official Score.)

Tom Waits- Franks Wild Years (1987)

If you haven't heard of Tom Waits, then there is something wrong with you.  Not only he is one of the best musicians in our lifetime, with a huge discography, but he has had multiple roles in films to boot.  Tom Waits has been making music, way before I was born, and the level of composition and musicianship is outstanding.  Long has Tom Waits been a quintessential listen for any and all music fan in the 20th/21st century.

Franks Wild Years was released in 1987, has 17 wonderful tracks that come right around an hours worth of music.  I have many Tom Waits albums, and whenever I meet someone who is not familiar with him, this is the album that I recommend.  This album touches on what makes Tom Waits a great composer: Great melodies that engulf his piano/guitar/drum playing all followed up by his unique voice which recites his enigmatic lyrics that bring all types of moods/emotions to the table.  Tom Waits as a whole, not just this album, is great for everyday listening as well as mood specific times.  I can't really say enough about him, in my opinion the only other musician that might be more prolific than Tom Waits, is Frank Zappa! (which if you know Zappa, then you understand the magnitude of that statement, if you don't know Zappa, then why the hell are you reading this blog?!)

This album is a must have, must listen, must everything; honestly this is the type of album that you want to copy off and give to friends so that they aren't left in the dark.  With a wide range of styles and genres being played on this album, there is something for everyone!  This should be bought; feel free to try and download it, but for the music lover/collector, you need this in your library, and in all honesty, you should already have it there.

Official score-4.25/5