Search - Reigning Sound :: Too Much Guitar

Garage rock masterpiece

Jay F. Bolick | Rose Hill, NC USA | 09/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a kid I grew up listening to bands like the Seeds and the Blues Magoos. In high school it was Cream, Hendrix, etc., then later Roxy, the Dolls and later yet 77 punk that helped me thru this existential void we call the world. In the mid 80's it was the Psychedelic/Garage Rock revival that, although not quite as good as the original thing from the 60's, was the best thing around for a new music fix. If you love music, you feed on it like blood, and you need fresh blood all the time to mix in with the good old stuff. This is the best new garage rock album I've heard since the great Swedish band the Nomads released their brilliant "Where the Wolfbane Blooms" debut back in the mid-80's. Greg Cartwright can do no wrong. He is a modern master of rock and roll. This is a much rawer recording than "Time Bomb High School"...much more "garage"... and an even better album. To me this reaches the perfect balance between the ultra-savage Oblivians sound and the more mainstream production of the earlier Reigning Sound albums. Most importantly, Mr. Cartwright writes gret songs, and possesses the kind of big soulful voice that most white guys could only dream of."

Primitive peak!

G. Preston | Baltimore, MD United States | 07/26/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Largely devoid of the ballads and slower moments on their previous releases, TMG goes straight for the throat and does not let go. It seems Mr Cartwright has sorta come full circle to the intensity of his earlier band, the Oblivians; even though this work is more focused, it's equally devastating. We're talking killer garage rock here, with a healthy dose of Memphis soul thrown in. Hopefully this won't be overlooked during this current garage rock revival or whatever, because I can't imagine anybody playing this style of music with as much conviction and integrity today. Perhaps a little bit more of the diversity they previously displayed would have been nice, but with this much energy that's a minor complaint."

The only fully successful RS album.

Jose Jones | 03/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is beginning-to-end brilliant. Sort of like the Greg Oblivian of "Popular Favorites," only even more mature. It is pure rock 'n' roll heaven. And it's also by far the best Reigning Sound album. I find something about the other RS albums almost deliberately un-Oblivian-like. Even more so than Greg's Compulsive Gambler albums. I find "Home For Orphans" almost unlistenable. It's so mellow it verges on soporific. This CD, for lack of a better word, is really fun. There's no joy in the other RS CDs. And Greg would appear to agree, because he definitely kicks it up when he's playing live, often rocking out with most of these and the other few up-tempo songs he's written with this band.



It just doesn't make sense to me why if you can create music like this, which is so exuberant, why you would make music like what is found on "Home for Orphans" and "Break Up, Break Down," which is kind of weak and whiny. Anyway, if you're going to check out this band, start here. This is by far their best. And I hope they return to this type of sound soon."