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Album Reviews
# of "Main" reviews: 359 (mean score: 8.5)
# of additional "User" reviews: 547
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http://www.kingsxonline.com/
Origin: USA
(Texas - Houston)
King's X is another one of those straight-forward rock bands (like the Galactic Cowboys) which you'll often see mentioned a in various progressive circles. I see King's X as a better-than-average power pop trio that puts together very catchy, guitar driven rock while using phrasings and song structures that still appeal to those seeking more complex music.
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Out of the Silent Planet (1988)
B+ 8.7
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The band's debut album and arguably their strongest, this 1988 release may not be completely infectious, but it certainly delivers a generous dose of friendly grooves and breezy, memorable vocal harmonies. Some of the band's finest creations appear on Out of the Silent Planet, with my personal favorite "Goldilox" hitting almost right away and helping to propel the album as the disc's second track. The sweeping beauty and infectious rhythm of that song is complemented nicely by utterly powerful and melodically punchy songs like "King", "What Is This?", "Far, Far Away", and "Shot of Love". Not all songs share the same success, unfortunately. A few of the tracks have a vibe that just seems a little muddy, when the vocals aren't dynamic enough to really separate from the fuzzy guitars and overall tonality of the songs. Some of these same songs also possess a moderately irritating repetitive quality. Musically, King's X is King's X ... not many amazing solos to drool over or any keyboard passages to get carried away with, but plenty of great riffs accented by consistently skintight rhythm performances. Vocals, of course, bring that trademark dichotomy that nicely balances searing, soulful fire with layered, angelic harmonies. Ultimately, my opinion is that “Goldilox” alone is worth the price of this album ... the handful of other very good tracks are a nice bonus. (3/24/2004)
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Gretchen Goes to Nebraska (1989)
B- 8.2
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Gretchen Goes to Nebraska is a respectable album, but also a very, very overrated one. I'm still not sure why this disc gets so much attention from the world of progressive music. I guess cool riffs, originality, and diversity are the three ingredients in the secret recipe -- nevermind how the recipe comes out. Not that Gretchen is offensive, but most of it's melodies sound tired and don't necessarily conjure up many thoughts of, "wow, this is a great song". The idea behind the album is neat and the lengthy story that appears in the liner notes is an ambitious try, however I never really felt that the songs did much to crystallize the tale's very abstract concepts of adventure and discovery. Maybe I'm missing something. In sum, worth your time (and probably your dollar) for "Over My Head", "Summerland", "Send a Message", and "The Burning Down" -- all of which are fantastic songs -- but if your tastes are anything like mine, you'll find the album to be far from a consistent knockout. (11/21/1999)
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Dogman (1994)
C 7.6
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This album gave birth to two rock-radio hits with "Dogman" and "Big Parade." Overall, I found this album to be a little disappointing -- without much deviation and lacking interesting arrangements. A few of the songs (like the two mentioned above, or the remake of "Manic Depression") are good for being basic rock songs, but this album really doesn't offer much else. (8/1/1999)
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Ear Candy (1996)
B 8.5
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Ear Candy is a much better release than Dogman, although it's not without a few missteps of its own. The album seems more introspective than usual from the band, with song subjects exploring issues of family, relationships, and indecision. Sometimes this seems a little forced and even phony, but other times it works. Memorable songs like "A Box", "Mississippe Moon", "Looking for Love", and "Lies in the Sand" will stand up to the best King's X songs out there. Other songs range from good, solid tracks to "filler". (8/1/1999)
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Please Come Home...Mr. Bulbous (2000)
B 8.4
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Considering that this is a band that is normally one of the most "accessible" of the prog genres, things did not bode well for ...Mr. Bulbous after the first couple of listens. Luckily, this album proved to be a grower. While it may not exactly make my list of the best albums of 2000, there's a lot to love about the album's beautiful vocal harmonies and generally intriguing songs. I still feel as though listening to the album is a bit of an adventure, forcing the listener to forge past some regrettable tracks ("Fish Bowl Man", "Marsh Mellow Field", "Smudge"), endure an insufferably long outro ("Move Me"), and put up with several annoying spoken word clips in foreign languages. As the listener meanders through all of this, however, there are some rich rewards. "Bitter Sweet" is the greatest song of the modern era to clock in under two and a half minutes (2:10), with a simple yet romantic and artistic loveliness that isn't seen very often. Other tracks like "Julia", "She's Gone Away", and "When You're Scared" delight by matching catchy harmonies with a powerful crunch, often lulling the listener to a false sense of comfort, first. It's an effective mix. The moody, poppy number "Charlie Sheen" is another winner, however the biggest gem on the album is probably the emotional plea of faith called "Move Me". While I could do without this song's ridiculous outro mentioned above, the song itself is as melodically captivating as it is heartfelt. However, while there is some great stuff on the album, the content is more instantly gratifying than it is forever memorable. Also, the disc's length deserves at least a mention. Getting barely 40 minutes of actual music may disappoint some -- it didn't thrill me. (11/4/2005)
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Manic Moonlight (2001)
C 7.5
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Ever come across one of those albums that you instantly fall in love with, only to find your feelings less and less intense with each repeated listen? Initially, I was ready to proclaim Manic Moonlight as one of the year's best albums, but its value to me depreciated considerably after multiple listens. There's a good amount of variety here, but songs that seemed fresh and different the first few times through became downright annoying the more I heard them. Songs that brought a smile to my face for their originality simply lost their luster and, in time, even started to become very "skippable" tracks. Not one of King's X's better releases. (6/10/2002)
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Ogre Tones (2005)
B+ 8.8
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To say the least, the band rebounds unexpectedly with this 2005 outing. While Ogre Tones may not necessarily stand the test of time as an important musical accomplishment, and may hold up worse than Gretchen, FHL, or Silent Planet in the long run, it's difficult to ignore the wall-to-wall greatness of this album. Whether it's soft ballads, supercharged rockers, or the prototypical "tweeners" King's X is known for, the Houston boys are in rare form throughout this 14-track disc. Harmonies are as beautiful as ever while the music is as interesting as it is varied ... with my one request being a little more Tabor time where solos are concerned. I'm actually kind of amazed that at this stage in their career, these guys can come out and sound this good. They haven't lost a thing. Lyrically, I feel like the band tries noticeably hard to be philosophically, spiritually, and socially relevant -- any song that literally asks God where he goes to escape the craziness of mankind is bound roll my eyes -- but honestly, with melodies being this good, the reach is pretty easily accepted. Seriously, there are just no letdowns here. There's even a "reprise" of personal favorite, "Goldilox", which stays relatively true to the original (ie, awesome) with a slower pace. Song-for-song, this probably the best King's X release I've yet heard. (2/12/2007)
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