[.ca] Midnight Radio

Really a Great album. But......:
First-rate tunes played by an incredibly tight & talented band. This is what it sounds like when guys are playing because they love it, and not just to fill out another set or another cd. One of my favorite discs, but it's hard to listen to because of that ONE OUT-OF-TUNE GUITAR STRING! ALL THROUGH THE ALBUM! Please, these guys are just too good for someone not to have noticed and fixed it! OK, maybe a string breaks just before the show and the new one goes flat during the first song - happens all the time. FIX IT. If Todd doesn't notice, the bass player walks over and says something between tunes, right? Or the drummer, or the sound man, or the manager, or the bartender. SOMEBODY GET HIS ATTENTION AND TAP YOUR EAR!! There's no excuse to play out of tune the whole night. Drives me NUTS! Or maybe I'm just too sensitive. Otherwise, I loved it!

One of my favorite albums ever:
Thirteen years later, I still love this album. It's still my favorite album by Big Head Todd & the Monsters - and that's not for lack of them releasing great music both before and after this. In fact, Midnight Radio one of my favorite albums period. My old tape wore out a few years ago so I bought it again on CD.

Midnight Radio:
A classic. Album has a really vast feel to it- think of the mood of The Joshua Tree, then apply it to the midwest/plains region. 'Bittersweet' is an incredible song; the title track is one of my all time favorites. Also check out their really solid album Stratagem (bonus: better cover art on that one!).

If you can only own one BHTM album...:
...then this is the one to get. I was at one of the Boulder Theater shows they recorded part of this album at and, while it's impossible to do justice to Todd & co. live in their prime, this recording comes awfull close. The version of "Bittersweet" here is a reminder to any true fan that their subsequent album,'Sister Sweetly' was ruined by over-production. "Monument in Green," while some might consider it sappy, never ceases to give me goosebumps. A beautiful record from the first note to the final fade-out. I might just have to have the CD burried with me.

Great Album:
Before Big Head Todd and the Monsters hit the major label, they were just a little band with big tone, lead by Todd Park Mohr on guitar. His playing is a mix of rhythm and melody making the band sound larger than it is, and his monster sound and tone make this band stand out. "Midnight Radio" is mostly a live effort, recorded without overdubs making this album raw and powerful. It is still one of my favorites from the Monsters. Mohr's fast rhythm playing and brief solos fill the album. The album opens with the solo piece "Vincent of Jersey" with Mohr almost talking and providing just a touch of acoustic guitar to fill the spaces between his verses. "Dinner with Ivan" is full of Mohr's rhythm and almost whiny vocals. The original "Bittersweet" appears here before the extra tracks were added for the "Sister Sweetly" album. Much more raw, and much more fun. The best track on the album is the slow title track, "Midnight Radio". The song's words, backed by Mohr's guitar paint the picture of long winding roads through the night. The volume swell notes add depth and flavor, and the fast paced solo at the end of the song is built over the rhythm. Mohr's voice is powerful and soulful. "Midnight Radio" the song and the album are hard to beat. This album is different from where the Monsters are today. Live and raw of a band trying to cut its teeth into a tough business. Soon after this album they would vault into stardom outside of Boulder, Colorado and become a national act. Still, I return to this album often, and with "Another Mayberry" find these as my favorite.

• Vincent of Jersey
• Leaving Song
• Dinner With Ivan
• Bittersweet
• Moose Song
• Cold Blooded
• Soul Children
• Love Betsy
• Midnight Radio
• City on Fire
• Monument in Green
• Ann Arbor Grandfather
• Elvis