Still Partying with Andrew W.K.
Fans of Andrew W.K. rejoice, for in just a few weeks time the singer-songwriter and all around party animal bursts back onto the music charts with a new double album release. “Close Calls with Brick Walls” and “Mother of Mankind” together combine for 39 tracks and approximately 2 hours of music. Is this too much Andrew W.K. for one person to handle? Let’s find out.
First, let’s start off with “Mother of Mankind.” This album contains 21 previously un-released tracks composed over Andrew W.K.’s career. While many of the songs reiterate Andrew’s love of partying, there are several nice rock ballads and some well composed instrumentals peppered into the mix. This album balances out the good and bad aspects of Andrew W.K.’s music. On the one hand, the instrumentals and ballads show off his talent for song writing and musical composition. On the other hand, Andrew continues to throw in overly repetitive songs about partying, which only seem to annoy me.
Songs like “We Party (You Shout)” and “Let’s Go On A Date” are the kind of tracks that make me want to punch my stereo. While they have a nice hard rock riff, the repetitive and simple lyrics kill off any entertainment value the song has. Yes, you like to party, but do you really need 5 other songs on the same album that send the same message? I don’t think so. Before we come to any conclusions, though, let’s pop in album number two of this double release.
“Close Calls with Brick Walls” was originally recorded as Andrew W.K.’s third album way back in 2006. For whatever reasons this album was only released in certain Asian markets, only available in the U.S. as a limited release on vinyl. While I was hoping for something different the very first song on the album dashed my hopes.
I understand, now, why they were released together. It’s because they are pretty much the same album. That same talent for music is there, but I can’t get past the repetitive songs. There were a few songs that did stand out, though. “Las Vegas, Nevada”, “Mark My Grace,” and “The Background” were all well written and not monotonous. I felt most of this album could be mixed into one long track using the same riff, but these were the only three tracks that stood out from the rest.
Not being a fan of his music to begin with, I have only really been exposed to his radio singles (those annoying party songs again). While I am no stranger to repetitive music (I am a Manowar fan) I can’t stand to listen to what is essentially the same song over and over. While there were a few diamonds in the rough, with little variation on theme and originality I’m going to have to pass on these two albums. Going back to my earlier question: are 39 tracks and two hours of Andrew W.K. too much? The answer is yes, in my opinion. Taking the best songs from each album I could have narrowed it down to a regular 10-13 track album making it much more tolerable.
I have no doubt, however, that true fans of Andrew W.K. will most certainly enjoy what these albums have to offer. And it will very likely be those true fans that will flock to the stores to purchase their own copies come their release on March 29, 2010.
Want MORE ANDREW W.K.?!??!?!
- ANDREW W.K. OFFICIAL TWITTER
- ANDREW W.K. OFFICIAL MYSPACE
- ANDREW W.K. OFFICIAL FACEBOOK
- ANDREW W.K. OFFICIAL HOMEPAGE
- DESTROY BUILD DESTROY – nothing to do with music. It’s a show where ANDREW W.K. makes people destroy and then build and then destroy stuff
