April 10, 2021

Solomon Grundy - Solomon Grundy (1990) ☠

*A photo of the disc is included in the RAR file.
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Grunge
Label Number: NAR CD 049
☠: Selected by Lass
© 1990 New Alliance Records
AllMusic Review by Richard Foss
The sole album by Solomon Grundy was originally called Stone Soup and Other Stories, and the name survives on the original LP: side one is called Stone Soup, side two Other Stories. It seems likely that the two sides were cut at different recording sessions or at a different time, since the Other Stories tracks have a slightly different character than their predecessors. The first six tracks are lively proto-grunge, musically interesting but constrained by Van Conner's limitations as a vocalist. The thundering bass and guitar over pounding drums are invigorating and the snappy time changes come just often enough to make it work as hard rock with a pop edge, but Conner is just not a powerful singer. He is best when his bandmates fill in with primitive harmonies, as in "Quiet Sea" and "Simplify." The songs on side two are somewhat more inventive, have a greater stylistic variation, and show greater promise. If Solomon Grundy had stayed together and toured behind this record, they could have broken through in a way that Screaming Trees never did; "My Mind" could have been a hard rock hit and the odd, ragged punk-folk "One Day" must have sounded great in concert. There are plenty of hints on this album that Solomon Grundy might have been a chart-topper rather than a footnote in Seattle scene history.

tags: solomon grundy, solomon grundy album, 1990, flac,

1 comment:

Comments as "Anonymous" have been restored. Please keep the comments civilized. We do not accept requests.