**Big Whiskey and The GrooGrux King**

[RunsWithBuffalo]

Ok, after about 6 times through, I like this a lot. I have a few qualms about the production but these are a great group of pretty tight songs. There are spots where the lyrics are a little rough, but not too many.

It seems like this is the first musical step forward this band has taken in a while. This sounds innovative to me, like a band exploring their talents again.

[Blake]

Is their separate cover art?

I just added them as tracks 14-18 on the end of the actual disc.

The sleeve of the bonus disc is titled "Little Red Bird" and has nice little drawing of (believe it or not) a little red bird

found it...

thanks!!

[Martini]

I'd like to see the bonus artwork, anyone know if it's been shown online yet?

[Coldchillin]

The big prints? They're literaly just large copies of the booklet, the ones with the lyrics. Everything else bonus-wise is actual photographs.

[Martini]

oh ok, thank ya

[GSR]

Ok, after about 6 times through, I like this a lot. I have a few qualms about the production but these are a great group of pretty tight songs. There are spots where the lyrics are a little rough, but not too many.

It seems like this is the first musical step forward this band has taken in a while. This sounds innovative to me, like a band exploring their talents again.

Agreed on all counts.

[onid41]

i love shake me like a monkey and you and me

[Grachi]

The big prints? They're literaly just large copies of the booklet, the ones with the lyrics. Everything else bonus-wise is actual photographs.

yea, I just got the deluxe box set or whatever today. Pretty cool. The printouts with the lyrics, they are perfect for like hanging up on the wall or something, and a lot easier to read the lyrics then the little booklet in the CD sleeve IMO.

The book of photos is the best part. Really high quality photos of the band from like the early 90s until now just all mixed together really. I think i've only seen one or two in there before the rest is like behind the scenes stuff that I don't think anyone has seen.

Haven't watched the DVD yet, and about to sit down and go through the album for the first time in a few minutes here.

[Grachi]

might as well just make a new post. By the way I don't know if the bonus disk, little red bird counts in the reviewing but I'll do it anyway.

grux: great way to start it out, made me miss leroi... 5/5

Shake Me like a Monkey: fun song, although it probably isn't a good thing that I forgot how the song went after I just got done listening to the album at first... Musically it was alright but the melody and the electronic stuff with dave's voice just turned me off to this 3 / 5 stars

FTWII: I think I said how I thought it was pretty good before, but I didn't like the chorus... Since we all had this studio version before the album, my decision stands... 3 / 5

Lying In The Hands of God: One of the only songs I got chills on, and made me think about things outside of the song that applies to my own life... If a song can do that, it is something special to me... I loved every part of the lyrics, loved the song instrumentally, I have no problem believing this could have been an earlier DMB song in my opinion. 5/5

Why I Am: I know it isn't that popular here, but I like this song! It had me tapping my feet and smiling, it sort of gave me the same happy feeling when I go see this band every summer. I mean it's not the best song, but it's not bad either. This is bold, I think, but I'll give it 4/5

Dive In: Didn't really feel this song on any sort of level, I almost wanted to turn it off actually half way through. I mean I think it is great to sing about something important like the environment but something bothered me about the way Dave went about it, like it was being too preachy. 2/5

Spaceman: Just average to me on most levels, I least liked the whole almost sort of rapping, fast singing or whatever you want to call it that was going on in this song. I liked this more when I couldn't actually hear the lyrics in that early live version we recieved. Still average though, it doesn't warrant a skip on the iPod like Dive In does, so bumped up to 3 stars from 2 for that. I really like Dave's guitar on this though, so that also helps reinforce the bump to 3 stars.

Squirm: Great, really original never really heard anything like this before and pretty well written. My favorite part was the last verse especially. Another song I could have seen being written back in the day. 5/5

Alligator Pie: It's like Bayou version 2 I guess, but I think it is constructed a lot better and although bayou is fun, this song is fun but also an actual good song, in my opinion. Again, not the best thing lyrically but I like the feel of this song. 4/5

Seven: Still don't like it, like most of you said it's better then the live stuff we heard but that doesn't help it out much... 2/5

Time Bomb: I was really liking the idea behind this song, I sort of wish it didn't get all rock-ish at the very end... Or actually, I take that back, I really like the fact that they went along with the whole time bomb thing, like the song starts out slower and then as the bomb is about to go off everything gets all crazy and loud and everything. So the idea was cool, I guess I just thought it could have been a little better how they went about doing it. 3/5

Baby Blue: Modified Sister, I guess. Pretty nice song very relaxing. It was pretty good lyrically and musically, I like what they did with it and I think the song just flows very nicely. 4/5

You And Me: The couples song, I guess. I really didn't like the part about "Oh and when the kids are old enough". Just seemed out of place, and it seemed like that line was actually an after thought when dave was writing the lyrics to this one. still pretty good though. I feel like 3/5 is unfair so I'll give it 3.5/5

Bonus Disk:

#27 Perfectly translated into the studio, I already liked this song before and would listen to it with frequency. Great stuff. 5/5
Beach Ball: Should have been on the album, great song I really like the melody in this and the instrumentals a lot. 5/5
Write A Song: Not a bad song, but I just wasn't feeling it. I don't know something about it just seemed tired or like I heard it somewhere else before. 3/5
Little Red Bird: Great great song. I really liked what was going on here on all levels. This is beyond me why this wasn't on the album. 5/5

So that is that. Not including the bonus disk, which is not technically part of the album I suppose, I believe it averages out to 3.6/5 rounded. I'd say that's about right. It's definitely above average, and way beyond a lot of what Stand Up had to offer, but it's not really great either... After listening to the whole thing I was pretty satisfied, and although technically 3.6 out of 5 stars would be just above average, like C+, I'd like to include the bonus disk songs, or at least the ones that didn't exist (to our knowledge) a few months ago, which would mean beach ball, write a song, and little red bird get included, and in that case I'd like to give this album an overall B-.

This will definitely be an album that I listen to again, and only 2 or 3 songs are on there that I will skip on my iPod when they come up in the shuffle. Can't wait till the 20th so I can hopefully see some of this stuff translated live.

[bassman462]

I liked alligator pie a lot more when I found out what it's about, haha. I really loved it for all the build ups that just explode back down to calmer parts, I just like that style of writing I guess, makes it feel more like a jam that they're building and to continue they just need to drop it. It actually reminds me a lot of Jimi Thing when jammed out at the Central Park concert.

[bense27]

This is such a weird album. I mean, its actually pretty well put together and only a few songs are bad. It just doesn't sound like the band, which is why I don't know what to think about it.

[onid41]

i didnt get a bonus disk?

[RunsWithBuffalo]

Yeah i missed the boat on the bonus disk, can anyone help?

[Coldchillin]

Did you preorder?

Not that I won't send info at some point any way.

[Beauford33]

Im really not a fan of seven...but I have the verse guitar part and chorus vocal melodies stuck in my head. Lyrics...ya they arent ery good, but there are still parts in the song I enjoy.