Whoa, where did this come from? I didn't hear anything about this album dropping. Their last album was three years ago and was a weird assemblage of collaborations with pop artists. The one before that was 2012's Suzie Cracks the Whip which had its moments, but sounded like Blues Traveler was caught between trying to find radio success and following their roots. This new album that I randomly stumbled upon doing one of my iTunes browses is entitled Hurry Up and Hang Around and sounds like their best work since 1997's Straight On Till Morning.
First of all, this music is much more mellow than the things that normally are the subject of my blog posts. However, I love me some blues rock, John Popper plays the hell out of the harmonica, and I'm sure some of my readers like this kind of music too. I saw Blues Traveler only once in Montclair in 2011 and they were phenomenal. These days John is much healthier than when he first had breakout success with "Runaround" and "Hook" in 1994. The Princeton High School graduate and his bandmates are still putting out some great stuff. Okay, here's my first take on the new tracks:
1. Accelerated Nation - as the name alludes to, this is the fastest song on the album and it's about the fast paced lifestyle of most Americans these days. This song should have mass appeal despite it not sounding like most stuff on the radio.
2. She Becomes My Way - If Billy Joel and Keith Urban had a baby, and that baby possessed John Popper's voice and musicianship, it would make this song. Just listen. It's a romantic song.
3. The Touch She Has - This song has funky keyboard and bass reminiscent of 60's & 70's soul rock. It also follows a classic story of a smitten kitten.
4. When You Fall Down - A fun, finger-snapping song about partying.
5. The Wolf is Bumpin' - a bluesy rock diddy with funky bass lines, some organ accents and harmonica. It's about knocking boots, or at least trying to.
6. Daddy Went a Giggin - Based around the rhythm of "Froggy Went a Courtin" this is a fun song about fishing, slaying dragons, and other heroic daddy stuff. It's mostly mellow except for faster tempo harmonica solos.
7. Tangle of Our Dreaming - a more straightforward pop-rock track that sounds like it is about a crush/love, but the lyrics are fairly open to interpretation as they are purposely vague.
8. More Than Truth - a slow jam driven by simple bass lines. This sounds like it is about learning from a past relationship as John sings "In the end I see; lonelier than I had to be; much more than truth will set you free."
9. Prayer Upon the Wind - a faster tempo than the previous two songs, but with a very light singing style over a quickly strummed acoustic guitar. I think this one is about moving on from a lost love.
10. Miss Olympus - a jazzy blues song about trying to tempt a woman who may be unattainable because she is in a relationship.
11. Phone Call From Leavenworth - a mid-tempo keyboard-centric song. The most famous Leavenworth is in Kentucky where there is an army base, but there is also a Leavenworth in Indiana, Minnesota, and Washington.
12. Ode from the Aspect - this is a slower ballad, but one with power and drama (and some musical progressions) reminiscent of Adele's Someone Like You. It's an interesting track and a unique one for Blues Traveler. It marks the opposing pillar from the first track, bookending nicely.
The demise of Blues Traveler has been greatly exaggerated.
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