[.ca] Welcome to the Western Lodge

an abomination:
After the stunning, brilliantly crafted Sunrise on the Sufferbus, Masters of Reality released this over the top mess of an album. Where as Sunrise... was a beautiful album of terse, postmodern, deconstructed blues, a Cream-derivative grounded by drummer Ginger Baker, and aided by the clean, cool production of lead Master Chris Goss, Welcome is so 70's medieval rock bombastic that it borders on camp. Actually, scratch that, it crosses waaaay over the line of camp and pretty much establishes itself as the cheesiest metal album this side of Spinal Tap. Imagine Dio, Spinal Tap, and every other horrific 70's arena rock band combined into one awful album, and you've come close to the atrocity that is Welcome... I'm simply shocked and quite disappointed, since Sunrise is one of the most beautiful albums I've ever heard, an amazingly concise and gorgeous record. Avoid this album at all costs, but do check out Sunrise on the Sufferbus. I'd rank that as one of the best albums the 90's produced, a work of art along side anything that Mitchell Froom or Jon Brion produced.

The first track says it all...:
I can almost hear lots of nice sonic textures on this album. If only there were some actual songs to hang them on. MOR mastermind Chris Goss sort of plods through this record without managing to even spark the tiniest bit of energy. What you are left with is a bunch of somewhat competent, yet generally mediocre-sounding psychadelia, performed with no distinctive craft. The muffled production values don't help matters any either. It sounds like the whole thing was processed underwater. These factors combined with its short length album (38 minutes) only assures _Welcome To The Western Lodge_ will breeze by you faster than it took you to pop it into the CD player. Well, not entirely true - the obnoxious "Calling Dr. Carrion" will most definitely remain with you, like a virus; one of those songs that plagues you and makes you want to beat your head against a post because you can't get it out of your head. Ultimately - as paradoxical as this sounds as Goss is a figurehead in stoner rock - this sounds like a less-competent and charismatic ripoff of the last Queens Of The Stone Age album.

why do people hate this so?:
as far as masters of reality go, i have their first cd and this latest one. perhaps their second cd "sunrise on the sufferbus" is a work of genius. i wouldn't know. so why all of the flak and bad reviews for this disc? i realize that this is a chris goss solo album masquerading as a masters of reality disc, but is "sufferbus" really THAT great? some people just seem to be so disappointed by this disc. what i hear on this cd reminds me of the goss produced queens of the stoneage's "r" cd, both production and songwise. namely, cool sound effects and chromatic chord changes. a little like what the melvins did on their "stag" disc. these songs stick in my mind and i have no problem with the production. i don't understand why there's so much negativity tword this cd. i think it's a very good listen and the only problem that i have with it is that the running time is a little short at 38 mins. i think that fans of the queens of the stoneage and "stag" style melvins will really like what they hear. fans of cream, robin trower, mahogany rush, etc., etc., may not be so pleased.

Not for wimpy types:
So how do you start with reviewing this album? Well, it helps a little I suppose to put it in perspective with their self-titled 1st album, which fans came to call "Blue Garden" because that's the title of the painting on the cover. It was straight ahead blues-rock at its finest. To Chris Goss's credit (and let's face it, he IS Masters of Reality), it sounded like it could have been recorded in 1970 (albeit with improved recording technology), though it was released in 1988. Just after New Wave died and just before grunge. This album was a kick-ass and refreshing stand-out-in-the-crowd album that unfortunately got lost in the Sea of Overproduced Hair Bands. You can still spot used copies on the original Def Jam label, though they are pricey. It's been re-released a couple times in the U.S. and reissues are easier to come by. The 2nd album, released in 1993, was Goss's shining moment to many fans. "Sunrise On The Sufferbus" (MoR's first on a "respected" label -- and I use that word respected very loosely) actually got some radio airplay for a few weeks with the song "She Got Me When She Got Her Dress On." The album sounded like it could have been recorded by Cream. Goss wrote and produced songs to achieve this effect, even emulating Jack Bruce a bit in his vocal delivery on the album. In the ultimate coup, he hired Ginger Baker as part of the band, who laid down some mighty drum tracks the way only Baker could. After the album tanked, Chris Goss and Chrysalis Records had a parting of the ways. Goss would eventually have to sue Chrysalis for control of his music so Sunrise could be re-released. He finally won, and it's widely available now. Now on to this album, "Welcome To The Western Lodge." I read something once that described the sound on this album. The term used was "metaldelic." A cross between metal and psychedelic. It perfectly describes this album. Once again, Goss hits his mark! He decided to put out an album of this "new" sound (that's actually developed a larger following in Europe) to his fans and I, for one, think it's great. It's dreamy and spacy, yet heavy. The mix is decidedly thick, but then it's supposed to be. I must admit, it didn't grab me right away. I was a big fan of the first two albums. But by the third or fourth listen, I fell in love with his marriage of sweet/sour and soft/hard. His melodious vocal delivery on top of ominous guitar chords that hint of dissonance and command a "heaviness" not heard since Toni Iommi make for a very adventurous, yet listenable ROCK album. This album is not slick. It's not overproduced. It's just produced. It's Chris playing his heart out. It's what he believes in. If you want something "different" in your collection that defies the norm (there's no "label" for Chris's music), then this is it. This will give you the change you've been looking for. Then, after you fall in love with this album (and you have of course bought the first two albums), go buy "Deep In The Hole." For my money, I gotta tell ya, I'll buy anything Masters of Reality puts out!

Like all MOR albums, this one is completely different.:
OK, originally I hated this album. Hated it. It's really more like a Chris Goss solo album, since no other original Master is on it (besides a minimal contribution by Googe). The songs irritated me at first. I heard no hooks. It didn't grab me immediately like Sunrise or their first album (IMHO their best) did. I put it away for over a year. Then I listened to it again, and I was quite surprised what happened. This album ended up in my CD changer on heavy rotation. How did "Calling Dr. Carrion", which originally grated on my ears, suddenly become one of my favorites? I have no explanation. Chris Goss apparently knows which secret buttons to push deep in the channels of your mind, because this album is addictive. Now, if only a studio version of Jindalee Jindalie was on this disc...

• It's Shit
• Moriah
• Great Spelunker
• Time to Burn
• Take a Shot at the Clown
• Baby Mae
• Why the Fly?
• Ember Day
• Annihilation of the Spirit
• Call Dr. Carrion
• Boymilk Walz
• Lover's Sky
• Also Ran Song