Stay Positive

C'mon!!!!!! its a lyric music voice imitation of the bad seeds and Mr. Nick Cave! i hear a lot about this group the best album of the year stuff and all of that but... it was shocking! i buy the cd and i hear nick cave, i mean its a good album beacuse is a copy of a great band, im a nick cave fan for many years, i knew lyrics music and voice to the perfection and i already hear this in many albums of the seeds... well shame... sad nobody in this reviews know The bad seeds...

The Hold Steady have shown a lot of promise, and now they get it right: killer sound with lots of crunchy guitar, more confident vocals, great sing-alongs, lyrics that stick in your head like shards of glass ... this is their first fully realized recording. It's a monster. Everyone is talking about "Sequestered in Memphis," and it's a great song, but every song here has something special to offer -- especially the closer, "Slapped Actress." Don't wait to hear this Bruce Springsteen Meets Mott The Hoople rock n' roll Frankenstein; get it now!

"Sequestered in Memphis" is such a great song, and the album got such big hype, that I was expecting much more. The production of the album is poor from a sound quality standpoint. You can't really hear all the instruments, the sound is garbled, and the vocals are not easily understood. Pretty much a disappointment.

This CD just puts me in a good mood! It makes me want to drive a motorcycle down to the river and drink a cheap beer (and I don't even ride motorcycles or drink cheap beer). I really enjoy every song, but one of my favorites is "Lord I'm discouraged." Obviously, there are many comparisons to Bruce Springsteen, which are justified (especially in theme----"work at the mill" and "partied with townies"), but my husband doesn't like Springsteen (I know, shock) and he really likes this CD.

I enjoyed the record. The musicianship is good, the lyrics are interesting and provocative, and there's lots of variety in the tunes. However, some of the songs seem muddled, and the vocals can be muddled. I have enjoyed it, but it doesn't match "Boys & Girls in America."