Classic Rock Bottom

 

As promised, the journey continues with Zebra and this week we have the sophomore release "No Tellin' Lies" which was released in 1984.

Most reviews state that this is a step down from their first album which, in a way, is. However it's not a huge step down since there are quite a few quality songs contained within. C'mon, "Who's Behind The Door" from the first disc is a hell of a great song and it would be hard to top that. 

Forget the reviews. Pretend you've never heard the first album. Just wipe it out of your head. Listen to it with a clean mind.

For those that didn't like the first album, well, you probably won't like this one either.

Nothing else to say. Just listen.

 

No Tellin' Lies

1. Wait Until The Summers Gone
2. I Don't Like It
3. Bears
4. I Don't Care
5. Lullaby
6. No Tellin' Lies
7. Takin' A Stance
8. But No More
9. Little Things
10. Drive Me Crazy

 

Availability: OOP. There was a CD released in 2001 with both "No Tellin' Lies" and "3.V" and it's priced at $70+ now. Vinyl is a different story though....

 

 

 

Views: 169

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Crap!  I was gonna listen to this but my computer or either my internet connection is screwed.  I guess this will have to wait until Monday.  But guess what?  I just found this on vinyl this morning downtown for a buck.  It's in really good shape too. 

Sweet!

So after two Zebra albums, I'm quickly forming the following opinion regarding the band:  While they are talented musically with a decent vocalist and although I don't hear much of anything unpleasant, I have yet to find why everybody thinks they were the next big thing that somehow missed the boat.

Below are a few observations on this album:

  • The first track was pretty good, while the second track was possibly filler.
  • The third track was pretty good too.  There is a nice geetar solo here, and the keyboards almost sound like a string arrangement at times.
  • Track four is pretty bad.  The high vocals are quite irritating and the horns blow...literally.
  • Track five is the best one here.  I thought it was a cover of Rocket Man at first.
  • The vocalist sounds A LOT like Mark Slaughter on track 7.
  • The last two songs are text book filler.

I do have a question.  Does this band have multiple vocalists or does the one vocalist just sing really, really, really high at times?

They all sing, but the lead is Randy Jackson and he does sing really, really, really high at times.

So after two Zebra albums, I'm quickly forming the following opinion regarding the band: "eh..."

I'm not getting the likability of the high pitch vocals, its more distracting than anything.  And RJ's right, track two is pure filler.  Track three is OK, but lyrically this gets really silly.  "The only sound in the forest is the sound of snow CRASHING to the ground"...  hmmm....

 

I am thankful for 80's bands that break into cool geetar solos.  These guys are really solid musicians, but that's where it kind of stops being positive.

 

So heres my final statement on Zebra...

 

I'm Takin' A Stance, I Don't Care.  No Tellin' Lies,  I Don't Like It.

Too bad there's MORE!

Did you see what I did with the song titles?  Did ya?  Pretty creative!!

Keep your pen handy. You'll have about 50 more to go thru, so you'll be able to write a novella!

So y'all had me listening to zebras first album today and I will be listening to no tellin lies tomorrow. I like this album, but like many second albums its not quite as good as the first...wait until the summers gone is a great opening track with the hard guitar and pounding drums..I have always liked bears, nice little change...lullaby was dedicated to John Lennon and I like the flow of the song...no tellin lies is a nice title track. Go back and listen again to but no more...I really like that one..agree that the last two are fillers...I remember waiting for this album to come out and I thought the zebra chess piece was cool ( hey it was 1984 ). To me, a good solid album..but the next album. 3.v was really good to me

Well, at least there's two of us with class here!  3.V is coming up later this week!

Hey Jon..can't wait for 3.v...listened to it today for the first time in a while and it was as good as I remember...I also listened to the live album!

RSS

Question Of The Week

CRB Features (Click photo to visit)

Birthdays

There are no birthdays today

CRB Staff Members

 

In Memory Of

Norma Jean Fox
(11/30/1945-9/7/2010)

Photos

  • Add Photos
  • View All

Videos

  • Add Videos
  • View All

Badge

Loading…

© 2024   Created by RJhog (Admin).   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service