Isaac James, Shut Up And Listen, CD Review
In the spring of 2011, St Louis based band Isaac James released their full-length debut, entitled “Shut Up And Listen”.
The CD’s opening song, “Save Tomorrow”, presents the listener with it’s powerful verses and a chorus that will ingrain it’s catchy title and melody in your head. Second track on the ablum is the rocker “L.I.E.R.”; it’s acronym is short for “Life In Eternal Review”. “Waiting” is a definite head-bobbing rocker and is a smart choice for a track three position. They slowed things down a bit with “All Again”, which seems to be about reliving certain experiences in life. “Dead Inside” speeds things up and has a dirty, gritty sound that just straight rocks through and through. “The Real Me” features some sweet slide work on the guitar during the introduction of the song. The beat on this one pounces and really gets the listener into it. There are interesting blues guitar riffs thrown in periodically during key changes, and the chorus and bridge surely appeal to commercial audiences. “Taste” followed suit, but with more of a head-bobbing sludge, speaking of things like jealousy. “The Rain” washes over the soul; it has acoustic elements from the beginning and progresses into more of an electric power ballad . “My Sin” picks the pace back up and has hooks to it. Also, it seems to speak of the weight of how the mistakes we make can seem unrepairable at times. “Lies And All” speaks of ignorance and holding onto lies of another. It has some killer syncopation between the rhythm section and the guitars.
The songs were recorded at Awestruck Studios, with the exception of “All Again”, which was recorded at 5 Minutes 1 Studios. Audio engineers credited on the release are Larry Gunn, Matthew Russo and Gil Cole. It was produced by Larry Gann, Matthew Russo and Isaac James. The mix was provided by Larry Gann and Matthew Russo, and it was mastered by Larry Gann. Photography/design of the compact disk package was done by Aaron DeMent.
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