Review Summary: The Barn Sessions is an alternate take album by State Radio which only contains two previously unreleased songs. However, it's definitley worth a listen.
State Radio released the Barn Sessions in April of 2007. The album contains only two previously unreleased songs [Olli Olli & Give You All My Time to Save]. The other eight tracks are alternate takes of songs off their debut album, Us Against the Crown.
State Radio is:
Chad Stokes Urmston - Lead vocals/guitar
Chuck Fay - Backup vocals/bass
Mike "Mad Dog" Najarian - Drum kit/backup vocals
*Note : Brian Sayers was the drummer for this album
**Note : Nikki Glaspie is the drummer on Olli Olli
Although most people who ahve heard this album have heard Us Against the Crown already, The Barn Sessions definitley deserves a listen. Most of the alternate takes sound very different, including Right Me Up, Camilo, and Black Cab Motorcade, while all of the songs definitley still have the same great effect on the listener. If many of the alternate takes had been on Us Against the Crown, they would still sound just as good.
State I&I - The album begins with this slow, skippy reggae tune which morphs into a rock song near the end. This song is very catchy with nice vocals and great flow. I could listen to this song over and over. 4/5
Black Cab Motorcade - Comparing this song to the Us Against the Crown version, they sound almost completely different save the lyrics. This starts out with an almost hip-hop drum beat, some weird sounding guitars, and a rolling bass line. The tempo picks up at the chorus. This song sounds very 'different', but that doesn't mean it isn't good. 3/5
People to People - People to People starts out with a clean electric guitar intro, then the rest of the band joins in. The lyrics are very political and meaningful. It doesn't really have the same effect on me as the Us Against the Crown version, but I like it because of the sweet acoustic/electric multi-guitar outro. 3.5/5
Olli Olli - Finally, a song we haven't heard before! The drums in this song are constantly pounding and the chorus is extremely catchy. This song is definitley worth a listen and I'm suprised it wasn't released on Us Against the Crown. 4/5
Calvado's Chopper - The quality of this song is not as good as the others, but it still sounds good. This song may not be easy on the ear the first time you've heard it, but it definitley grows on you. After a couple of listens this song may turn out to be one of your favorites! The outro, with Chad singing "Reelect Crook District Attorney" sounds great. 3.5/5
Right Me Up - Wow. Listen to this version and compare it to the Us Against the Crown version. I loved the Us Against the Crown version, but that was until I heard this one. This song will blow you away. This is the way State Radio has played the song live, and it should have been the version on Us Against the Crown. This reggae tune will have you singing along in no time. Pure excellence. 5/5
Rushian - Rushian is a good tune. With a fun chorus and the constant shouting of "hey" over and over again, it sounds even better live. The only problem with this song is that it is so similar to the Us Against the Crown version. 2/5
Camilo - Another wow. I wish this was the version on Us Against the Crown. This version of Camilo has an added intro, added guitar parts, and added lyrics. It all blends together perfectly. It sounds almost...epic. 5/5
The Diner Song - Wow, three State Radio releases in a row with The Diner Song on it. This song gets old after a while, though the lyrics are very entertaining. However, between the live versions, the Peace Between Nations version, the Us Against the Crown version, and this one; this version of the Diner Song is definitley the weakest. 2/5
Give You All My Time to Save - The only other new song on this album, and it's a beauty. It reminds me a lot of Nirvana, though I can't tell you why. It is just Chad singing, accompanied only by a distorted electric guitar. He reaches some extremeley high notes in this album, which may make you question his manhood, but definitley not his singing ability. This song is just more perfection by State Radio. 5/5
All in all, the album gets a 3.5/5
That's all folks, please read & comment.
