One Beat (S/D tracks C/D status)

They're the ones that make me feel good...

If you can get past the hysterical singing voice of Corin Tucker, some dynamic & smart rocknroll. Best songs: Oh! and Sympathy.

Dud. It seems more generic new wave, like the girls sold their Television record and bought the first Feelies LP (no offense to the Feelies). One of the songs that I can remember, I didn't like at all. All of that 'wow, interlocking guitars' stuff we've already heard. Also, the voice thing. Though there could be some surprises on the second half, I just couldn't keep listening.

Classic: The guitars, the lyrics.

Dud: The voice, the incessant pimping via the Usual Suspects i.e. Greil an' the Dean-o (you thought YHF-mania was bad? Brace yerselves kiddies, it's about to get MUCH WORSE).

I have trouble understanding how one could like an S-K record and NOT think both of their voices were fantastic and super important to what they're doing.

It's absolutely lovely, though it's not as rocking as the older discs (not much of a complain, really). And correct me if I'm wrong, but Carrie's doing a lot more lead vox this time 'round, yes?

Their best record, I think, mostly because they decided to become CCR. This is a very good thing. And I love "Oh!" and "Step Aside."

carrie, more vox yes i think so, and she seems very self assured. (not necessarily that she wasn't before). impact of this album is lessened for me because i've heard these songs from a ways back at shows. but i like it a lot!

This thread is starting to prematurely stall, so two items:

1. Even though I love this record, I don't know if it'll attain classic status vis a vis the SK corpus -- Dig Me Out is just so much more viscerally passionate, and it's become the stick against which I measure every record ever made.

2. Carrie, on the back cover of the liner notes, is way hot.

when i first heard s-k, i really disliked corin's singing. i'm not sure why exactly it works for me now. she has better control of it, i think - instead of a permanent waver, she uses it for accents. listening to 'sympathy', it's the most like the old style corin. i could be wrong about this, i got rid of my call the doctor and i've never heard the s/t one, just going off memories and first impressions.

i was really worried about some of the songs after reading interviews a while back. not looking forward to 9/11 lyrics, mainly - but "far away" is a great song. i like the instrumental sections a lot.

the first time i heard 'funeral song' was live, just carrie. i'm not so sure about that theremin? they've got on the LP there. 'prisstina' is my least fave (who else was saying this? i think it was sage). the synth sounds all wrong. i want to like the production flourishes floating around on the record, but there is too much space around the guitars/drums for them to be absorbed fully into the songs. some are working fine, like in the chorus of 'oh!' (di said it sounds like the Cars).

for me, prisstina is the only clinker. i'm diggin this!

...and I love Corin's pronunciation of "Rah-sh-snayssss" on Sympathy...