EDUCATED HORSES
I've been listening to ROB ZOMBIE's latest solo effort,
Educated Horses,
for about a week now, and I am a little torn as to how to review it. I
mean, I respect the guy as an artist and a horror film director (he
cranked out
House of 1000 Corpses and
The Devil's Rejects
back-to-back and still managed to tour a bit, and write a new record. Part of me
thinks that this workaholic routine has Zombie spreading himself
too thin, and the first casualty of this breakneck pace might be
Educated Horses.
However, how many times can the guy rely on those WHITE ZOMBIE-era
industrial sounds? He's entitled to try new things, right? Of course,
so it stands to reason that he might go a little minimalist with his
latest effort.
Educated Horses
is a tip of the hat to 1970's rockers like ALICE COOPER and T-REX, and
less of a freight train assault on the senses, which some fans are
going to find refreshing.
Now, this IS a Rob Zombie release, so purists and die-hards will
not be disappointed, there are plenty of throwbacks to old school spook
films, grizzled vocals, and superb production values. However, if
you're looking for the 2006 version of "Dragula" or "Superbeast",
you're only going to find a handful of examples on this disc. The
closest things
to brain-bashers are "American Witch" "Let it All Bleed Out", and that
is enough to
remind you that Zombie still knows how to cater to his core
audience...some will argue he's not doing it enough, but again, he
might not be able to rely on that signature White Zombie sound that
made him famous for too much longer. Musical trends die off, and when
artists don't adapt, they wind up playing to smaller crowds.
As far as musicians go, he's got John Lowery (aka
JOHN FIVE) playing guitar and co-writing the bulk of
Educated Horses,
and personally, I think he's totally under-utilized on these songs.
John is a monster player, and you can barely tell he's in here.
Returning on bass is Rob "Blasko" Nicholson and drummer Tommy Clufetos
has joined the fold as well. The performances on this disc are
excellent, and definitely present a more live feel. I am more partial
to the faster songs, but regardless of tempo, this crew is tight.
I'm still a little torn as to how to rate this one, because I
definitely think Rob Zombie is an amazingly talented
guy, but if he could pick ONE project at a time, instead of trying to
accomplish ten things at once, he might be able to deliver a more
well-rounded product... On the other hand, he's made a bold move by
stripping down the production and going for a live sound with a new
group of musicians on hand, which might ultimately pay off for him... I
like it. You will too... I really have to get off the fence here...
getting serious crotch burn.
