Search - Amfibian :: Skip the Goodbyes

Song by Song reivew

Alexander the Not So Great | Northeast USA | 05/29/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Since buying by individual song download seems to be a popular option for many, I'll give my take on each song. These are more or less in order of my favorites.





Teresa is an amazing ballad with an exceptional presence produced by the light vocals with pretty harmonies, tasteful acoustic gutiar and a very appropos stand up bass, at times I believe, played with a bow. The little 50s-soutwestern style guitar solo is an especially nice part in this one.





Thunderclap is a very cool, late 60s throwback of a tune, which starts out with a dark and ominous Doors-y, James-Bond-theme like vibe to it before building up to a jammed out close to take you out. I think here the extra production elements (vocal distortion, dubbed in voices etc.) seem to work well on this one. This song sounds like it would be well placed in an Oliver Stone or Tarantino flick. I love to drive to this tune, it franking rocks!



Nothing New - Very interesting lyrically, and very funky musically. One could easily imagine/infer this song being a close observer's perspective on the challenges presented by one's battles with drug addiction. It's very clever lyrically in that context. Musically, it ROCKS.



Lonely and Low - This is one of those songs that grows on you with each listen. It has a cool Pink Floyd (Meddle) type vibe to it during the verses, with the soft electric guitar backing some really smooth vocals. As the song progresses toward to the bridge and into the chorus things get more energetic and edgy with a classic sort of Aerosmith type vibe that I find really appealing. This may be one of the best tunes vocally on the album and is pretty compelling musically as well.





Skip the Goodbye's - The title track is a good one, with acosutic easy going rhythm lending isteslf of singing-along. Trey Anastasio's lead electric guitar work adds some color to the tune and is a nice complement without being overbearing. Just a quality tune with good vocals and music.



Pieces is just a good song. Some nice work here by Marshall and the band on the vocals complemented by Krizan's strong guitar work.



Bystander, lyrically, also seems to be a take on how Marshall might have felt at times in watching some friends descend into periods of heavy drug use/addiction. It's a tough thing, to watch a friend go through that kind of thing, you don't want to be the one to call him out and be a party pooper, and risk being shunned, but if you don't he could get worse. In the end I guess this song is saying it's up to the individual to want to or, in some cases, have to get themselves well. True enough. Good groove to this one with some nice crunch-funk, southern rock type guitar playing by Amfibian shredmaster, Anthony Krizan, accented by some cool horns too.



See You in Sydney - A catchy tune with some solid rock-guitar driven music. Nice vocally and musically, this one's a winner.



Memory of Your Smile - Interesting song, with a Beatlesque vibe.



High Watermark - The vocal harmonies just kind of hit me wrong in the first part of the verses but things improve from there. This is a good song that will grow on ya. Love Krizan's solo breakdown.



Sheep - More Beatle influenced music by Amfibian, this time with poignant lyrics that seem to take a sarcastic shot at organzied religion (specifically christianity?), largely mocking them, which, I understand is consistent with Marshall's personal views. The song is interesting, but not really all that compelling musically for me.



Graffiti - Seems like it would be a good pop tune. Not necessarily my cup of tea, but not bad for what it is.



Skipping Stones - Not my favorite, seems just too teenie-pop like for my taste, but I'm sure some will like it. Still has some balls to it with Krizan's great guitarwork.



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This album has several excellent songs on it which make it absolutely worth buying. Like most albums, there are some tracks on it that probably won't appeal to everyone, myself included. At times the vocals shine at times they falter, some songs seemed overproduced while others maybe seemed to need a bit more work, but overall I am delighted with this effort and continue to be impressed with Tom Marshall and Amfibian's consistently good output.



It's obvious to me that Tom Marshall is much more than a lyricist. His appealing mix of influcences combined with strong musical sensibilities (and large cadre of good/great musicians) seem to be a consistent factor throughout the evolution of his band Amfibian and the largely underappreciated work he has done in co-writing songs for Phish over the years.



Skip the Goodbye's is a very good album. It's a shame not too many people will ever hear it. It's nice to be one of the few who have had the pleasure. Hopefully we'll hear more from Tom and his band in the future. In the mean time, get this CD or download the tunes and rock them out on your Ipod or jam it in your car for a week or two, you won't regret it."

Great Stuff!!!

A. Messerschmitt | Iowa | 02/07/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Thank God for XM radio, I heard "See You In Sydney" on the Jamband channel and had to check the rest out. This entire CD is some of the best new music I've heard in a long time. Not a bad song on it. So good it makes it hard to figure out what to play after it on a Friday night :0)

Highly recommended!!!"