Album Review - Glad All Over - The Wallflowers

I'm not a traditional Wallflowers fan. I don't own any other of their records in their entirety, just a few tracks here and there. I couldn't tell you the names of the band members without Googleing them. To steal a section from my post about Jakob Dylan's solo records: Sure, I liked the Wallflowers' songs One Headlight and 6th Ave. Heartache (which when I first heard it, I swore it was a Counting Crows song, I was partially correct, Adam Duritz does sing back up on the song.) Except now I find One Headlight somewhat difficult to listen to. It's the last verse that gets me. It reminds me of my Grandmother who passed away, it explains exactly how I feel about it:

"I'm so alone, and I feel just like somebody else
Man, I ain't changed, but I know I ain't the same
But somewhere here in between the city walls of dyin' dreams
I think her death it must be killin' me"

But as I am a Jakob Dylan fan, I was excited about the Wallflowers' first studio album in seven years:
Glad All Over.

After a successful solo career, a solo career that made me a Jakob Dylan fan, Dylan got his old band back together, Rami Jaffee (keyboards), Greg Richling (bass), Stuart Mathis (guitar) along with new drummer Jack Irons. Accompanying the band on a couple tracks, former Clash and Big Audio Dynamite singer/guitarist Mick Jones (Misfits and Lovers and Reboot the Mission)

Having been used to listening to Jakob Dylan's solo records, which are more roots folk, Glad All Over is a refreshing transition back to the roots rock the Wallflowers were known for in the mid 1990s. Though a couple tracks have a bit of a funk and/or punk vibe the them, which is quite different from the Wallflowers songs I'm used to, once we get on to the rest of the record we get back to that old Wallflowers sound we've missed over their seven year hiatus.

The record opens with the track Hospital for Sinners. As this track plays out we get thrust back into the rock & roll feel of the Wallflowers, the driving guitars and drum lines perfectly highlight Dylan's soft yet gritty vocals, reminiscent of, yet not as abrasive as his father's. Misfits and Lovers, one of the tracks featuring Mick Jones, and also my favorite song on the record, brings feeling of a throwback to '80s Brit Pop, with a slight punk feel. The chorus especially emphasizes this feeling. Digging deeper into the punk/funk genre, Reboot the Mission, also featuring Mick Jones, has a super funky back beat to it, with a spacey synthesizer track. The first time I heard this song, a couple months ago, I wasn't quite sure what to think about it. I liked it, but it was so different from the Wallflowers I was used to. But the more I listened to it, the more I started to dig it, the more excited I was to hear what the rest of the record had in store for me. Reboot the Mission is a bit of a "welcome back" song for the band. In the last verse, Dylan names the band members and announces the arrival of their new drummer:

"And welcome Jack, the new drummer
He jammed with the mighty Joe Strummer
I see Rami, Greg, Stuart,
I gotta say, J, we've got it coming
Eyes on the prize, reboot the mission"

In a sense, they are "rebooting the mission," rebooting the band, getting back to the sound we've come to know and love. The roots rock sound is infused throughout the whole record. The acoustic guitar line from the song Love is a Country, along with it's lyrics make it my other favorite song on the record. Not sure what it is about the song, I just really, really dig it. The tracks Have Mercy on Him Now, First One in the Car and Constellation Blues have an Springsteen-esque vibe to them, like 1980s Springsteen songs Glory Days, Brilliant Disguise, or Cover Me. The Devil's Waltz brings back a tiny hint of that funk beat, a punchy drum, bass and guitar track, but also incorporates a sound loop similar to that from the Beatles Tomorrow Never Knows. One Set of Wings and It Won't Be Long (Till We're Not Wrong Anymore) take me back to the Wallflowers' 1996 debut record Bringing Down the Horse, but at the same time the songs have a totally new feel to them, which I like because that's the only Wallflowers' studio record which I have songs from.

This record is a gift to all of us mid-90's music fans who just can't get enough of the fantastic music that was produced during that time. I really enjoy this record, I knew I would love it after only listening to the first three songs. It is quickly working it's way into my top 10 records of the year. Though a week ago, the label "Wallflowers fan" really wouldn't have applied to me, I am one now.

Check out the single Reboot the Mission, then meander over to your favorite music retailer and get your hands of this record, you will be "Glad All Over" that you did.