Search - Jesus Lizard :: Blue

Going Out With A Bang

andy7 | Los Angeles, CA United States | 12/23/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I wish those "fans" whining about how this is a bad album would shut up....so there's synthesizer...you don't like synthesizer?...too bad...welcome to 2002, retro youth....this is still vintage Lizard...still great duane guitar...yow still screams like a madman...lyrics still cut like a blade..."and then the rain"..."i can learn"..."happy snakes"..."needles for teeth"...what a great record...i have no complaints...thanks guys, you were one of the best...you "fans" have no taste...shame on you for turning on your heroes."

Good, but not representative

cosmokane31 | San Francisco, CA United States | 05/25/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Jesus Lizard's final studio album finds their edges smoothed away. The rhythm section is still piledriving, and Duane Denison's guitar is incisive as always. But David Yow's famous howl is much subdued, and the verse-chorus song structures are (gasp) fairly conventional. Some songs feature uncharacteristic, albeit tasteful electronic textures. The slinky "Until It Stopped to Die" bears a marked resemblance to the Folk Implosion's "Natural One," while "And Then the Rain" is downright emotive (!). This is a good album, but a better introduction to the band would be earlier efforts like "Head" or "Liar.""

Calling it quits in a refined, yet CHAOTIC style...YES!

T.A. | South Florida | 06/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"FOR THE SAKE OF SPLITTING HAIRS...I had to write a review, since so many are giving this CD a sub-par evaluation. I have everything the Lizard has released...all of it. I love this album! First off, I have to say that post "Show" (1994) Lizard appeals to me slightly more than pre- "Show" Lizard. "Shot" is my favorite CD by these guys, but all of them get regular play on my system. When the guys released "Show," it was as if they were ready to take their sound a step further, and incorporate more into what they were recording--more melody, more effects, more sickening lyrics, more violent shifts...MORE. This is not to say that the music is different, it just became a little less raw and violent, and a little more contained and refined, yet still experimentally chaotic.



The Jesus Lizard EP, Shot and Blue all follow this same format--it's still Jesus Lizard, but it's mellower at times, ridiculously crazier at other points, and we hear a lot more going on in the background, whether it's synthesizers droning, or a strange combination of two notes lingering on from a guitar. They even use a drum machine on two tracks on this recording, which really pissed some fans off. Look, their career lasted 10+ years...the music is going to get a little polished over time, you know?



With that, I'll say this: Blue is as good as any of the other releases. If you only like Goat and Liar, you might not like any of the later Lizard recordings. Chances are, though, you like all of it. We are really splitting hairs here! JL is JL, whether it's 1991 or 1998. My girlfriend loves classic, hard rock, but hates these guys, and if I play "Head/Pure" one day, and then put on "Blue" a few days later, she knows they are the same group, and not just because of David Yow's wierd-o vocals. Duane Denison's guitar-work is easy to pick out, and is ingenius, relentless, innovative and now famous. He's done work with all kinds of bands, from Jazz to Indie, from Improv to Industrial (Revolting Cocks, Ministry). I think that this sound/style inspired their producer Steve Albini to start Shellac, a trio who curiously sound very much like a Jesus Lizard prototype.



You may not like this CD as much as some of their earlier stuff, but make no mistake--BLUE is no slouch. It is as hard and crazy as the early stuff (check out the first track "I Can Learn." It might be the craziest song they've ever written, similar to SHOT's "Thumbscrews" or DOWN's "Din"). They just include some mellower, darker, more perverse songs than before ( a la SHOT). If you like Jesus Lizard, you owe it to yourself to finish off the collection. I recently did by picking up BANG and BLUE, and I am glad I did. Musicians and fans all around America rave about these guys, especially those who caught them live. I'D DROWN IN SIX INCHES OF COLD WATER TIED TO A WHEELCHAIR TO SEE THEM PERFORM IN PERSON!"