I've Got This Energy

My current choice of popular beat combo is the Killers, specifically " Sam's Town" their latest offering.

I wasn't a big fan of this particular band, their drummer, an American by the name of Ronnie Vanucci, is revered as a young up and coming buck in the drum world and I must confess that I would agree. He comes up with some incredibly inventive parts that have a very different sound yet still feel correct for each song. And let's face it, a bloke with name like Ronnie Vanucci is hardly going to be from the South of England is he now? Unless you're thinking of the Ronnie Vanucci from Bournemouth, the ice cream man.

But, I had to learn "When you were young" for the new covers band, I did find myself singing along to the singles and thought I'd buy the album anyway, not that I ever need an excuse to buy an album at the best of times.

As is my usual habit immediately after I'd bought it I whacked it in the car CD player and listened to it at every opportunity. It didn't grab me at first, but I persevered, then bang, it had me hooked.

The first song, called Sam's Town, is a massive affair. Big production, lots of voices and many sections. It's got more complicated sections than some of the harder parts of Dark Side of the Moon and it makes me feel good. It opens with a big intro, all rolling keyboard lines and big cymbal crashes and rolls around Ronnie's drum kit and then it kicks in to a verse that's got about seventeen different drum grooves going on within it, none of which feel wrong.

It's a song that has to be played loud, then turned up a few notches to make sure. But, what captured me in this song is one line which I wish I'd written myself:

" I've got this energy beneath my feet,
like something underground's gonna come up and carry me"

Ok, two lines, but one sentence, albeit with a bit of slang thrown in. I was talking to a friend about the line. He said that he could visualise standing on the ground and watching buildings spring up around him. For me, I can hear the line and virtually feel as if I'm standing still but feeling so energised that my feet are vibrating and, well something's going to come up and carry me. Hardly imaginative but the best description I can think of to be honest.

The song continues to bombard the ears with a mixture of dynamics and clever lyrics then finishes with a nifty quiet bit where the atmosphere changes and goes all harmonious. The next song is an interesting piano and vocal number that serves as a nice bridge between the opener and the big single "When you were young".

But, after some serious listening to each song what has stuck in my mind is that they're clever songs, but not in an arsey way. It's as if each one is a little masterpiece in its own right. As if each one is a song in a musical and all the sections are carefully considered and thought out before being recorded. Usually when I hear an album with "big" production I end up thinking it's been overproduced and that someone has tried to do much. My main love in music is raw and simple things, like good old fashioned funk and Emerson Lake and Palmer.

This album is an exception. Massive production, massive voices, lots of instrumentation and some catchy tunes with it.

It's a keeper!