| Good Music For Good People |
|
|
ROGER KLUG - More Help For Your Nerves |
Okay, I am prone to hyperbole. Guilty. True. Part of it is my job here, most if it, though, is the unabashed fact that I am a geek and I really, really get excited about finding great music that moves me. Roger Klug`s "More Help For Your Nerves" is not only one of the very, very best albums of 2009, it is one of the best albums of the last half of his decade for power pop fans. Go ahead. Sigh. Groan and be disbelieving but this project has been worked on for many years and it has been perfected. It is a pop genius at play, at work, at his very best delivering the goods. Stop reading - start listening. I put up 9 freaking, long soundbites to back it up. If you listen to them and do not agree, at least partially, I am not sure why you would be spending time hanging out here. Howz that for bluntness. Well, last thing I want you to do is spend any of your precious time, let alone money, on something that does not work for you. I filter out the crap out there and only want to bring to you the most awesome. That simple. So present to you, this amazing slab of pure pop. I will be talking about this album for years and I love that. Hope you do, too. Another perspective? Mike Baron, world famous comic book writer(for those of you in the know with these things), just wrote me this review of "More Help For Your Nerves" "Two years ago power pop aficionados were gob-smacked by Bryan Scary`s debut which displayed superb musicianship, terrific dynamics and strong songwriting. Last year it was Josh Fix. This year it is Roger Klug whose More Help For Your Nerves opens with "Tinnitus," an ear blast comparable to Greg Pope`s "Sky Burn Down." This disc is an embarrassment of riches clocking in at just under an hour with 17 tracks. None of them are throwaways. Klug`s mostly a one-man band with inspiration up to his ears. The second song, "Dump Me Hard," announces that this is an artist who has got it going on in every department. Every song is a stand-out although I would single out "For the Kids" for its uncharacteristic bittersweet poignancy. And it is not just verse verse chorus verse. Klug breaks it as in "About Time" which begins with furious drumming and segues from upbeat pop to exuberant bluegrass before falling back into a hard rock groove. Too many highlights to mention, a sure contender for Top Ten of the year." www.bloodyredbaron.com
More reviews will be coming as it just came out. Found this one: "combine his love of power pop from the Raspberries to Matthew Sweet with a equal affection for the heavy guitar sound of late 1960s British rock."Cincinnati.com. Yes, yes. I can not control myself: MASSIVELY Recommended.
 Song #1 - mp3
Song #2 - mp3
Song #3 - mp3
Song #4 - mp3
Song #5 - mp3
Song #6 - mp3
Song #7 - mp3
Song #8 - mp3
Song #9 - mp3 |
| Customer Reviews |  | |
| Roger Klug does it again! | |
| Reviewer: Daryll Collins | | Outstanding album, but from Klug how could you expect anything less. Do yourself a favor and pick this up along with all of his previous releases.
Great playing, clever, catchy songwriting. Mixes things up and also adds a sense of humor to the proceedings.
I like to call him Cincinnati`s Todd Rundgren. |
|
| | believe mr. bodeen | |
| Reviewer: edward higgins | | this is a truly an excellent cd of power pop. mr. klug drinks from the same waterhole as andy bopp; and that is high praise.
if you really love music with melody and a little quirkiness, ignoring this work of art and love would be a big mistake.
17 songs, one hour of bliss.
also check out clem comstock (aka roger klug) "where has the music gone."
also, an awesome piece of work.
please continue chugging them out, klug. |
|
| | |
| Unexpectedly deep, brilliant and awesome | |
| Reviewer: Mike Amend | | Knowing Roger for almost 30 years, I wanted to hear how his latest project would clue me into his life and the progression of his talents. Quite simply, my mind was blown. That may sound trite and a bit over-the-top, but I felt the same way when I first heard "Full Moon Fever," "Californication" and Utopia`s "Deface the Music." I knew there was always going to be a place in my 6 CD holder in my car for this body of work. From the first to the last song, every note has purpose and every verse can stand on it`s own.
I highly recommend this CD to anyone with a love for Rundgren, Ben Folds or any other artist who puts their wit and heart into lyrics coupled with catchy, yet sophisticated and powerful music. After one take, I was sold. Absolutely outstanding in his field. And yes, that is an old joke, but more pertinent than ever since it was also on the back of the "Deface the Music" album cover (circa 1980). I am not privy to what Roger did to get here, since I haven`t seen him in about 20 years, but Roger Klug has arrived. |
|
| | |
| Believe the hype. This is a great "hard pop" album. | |
| Reviewer: Dan Ostrov | | This album is indeed the best of Klug`s career. All of his albums (especially his two with the Willies in the early `90s) have much to recommend them, but this album, after a decade`s wait, is more complicated, more varied, and more successful than any of his others. Amazingly, there isn`t a single track that doesn`t recommend itself.
A dazzling array of styles are used: piano jazz vamps, gypsy jazz, arena rock, psychedelia, but mainly `60s and `70s hard Beatleseque pop a la Taxman with occasional passing quotes of everything from Joe Jackson to Led Zeppelin, Argent, Nirvana, and Tomorrow`s "My White Bicycle". Yet the album is as tuneful as Harry Nilsson with intelligent, honest lyrics that show a great sense of humor, sympathy and struggle to get through life as best as possible. The writing is full of complex, unexpected chords that are never random or done just to be different.
Finally, the musicianship is top notch. Klug plays essentially all the instruments on the album and, in particular, his guitar playing is often dazzling and layered while his bass lines are heavily melodic.
Great stuff! |
|
| | |
| Musical Alchemy | |
| Reviewer: chuck madden | | One of my favorite things in the world is listening to a new cd with someone who is to the very bone - a musician. As I get holder and harder to impress the pure fun of finding that joy is real life.. do yourself a favor buy his music and remember why we all fell in love with pop in the first place. Cincinnati is lucky to have this magician in its midst. |
|
| |
|
|
