The Radiators

This is a great band's weakest record:
I have all of the radiator's music. They have been one of my all time favorite groups for 15 years now. I have seen them live countless times, and I highly recomend that you all do so as well. As for their latest recording, it is poor. The song writing is weak. Don't write new songs just for the sake of releasing an album. I would rather see them release another live album with updated versions of their old standards, and more of the covers that they perform so well such as: Sympathy for the Devil, Born on the Bayou, Goin' Down the Road, Juke Joint Jump, Up on Cripple Creek, to name only a few. There are so many more that they have done over the years. The Radiators can be one of the hottest live acts on the road, but very little of their talent is revealed in their latest album.

Deep In My Voodoo - and at a deal too good to pass up!:
I've never seen the Radiators (not yet at least!), so I can't compare these songs to the performances they must be capable of, but I've gone wild over their latest (1/2004) live recording - Earth vs the Radiators. Quickly I bought some of the recommended studio releases (all at cheap prices, but this one for only pennies, an amazing deal!). And while none of the studio work comes close to showing the virtuostic playing and playful energy of the live recording, this one has grown to be my favorite (Law of the Fishes (1987) is okay, solid 80's pop/rock songs, but not indispensable, New Dark Ages (1995) is good, but this self titled one (2001) has a few really good songs - Deep in My Voodoo, I Don't Speak Love, Salty Jane, Crazy Mona - as well as a strong showing of mostly ordinary, if slighty twisted, finely crafted pop songs. Like a mix of Little Feat and Springsteen these guys have an all American sound. Having been around for 25 years it seems they just keep getting better (bigger, richer, fuller sound).

The Radiators:
I have seen this band live many times, and own a number of their records. I love this album. The Radiators continue to grow as musicians and artists.

Solid outing from New Orleans' legends:
These guys have been at it for over two decades and may have the most extensive active repertoire of any touring band. Their trademark sound is evident here, with a little extra studio polish. If you need a frame of reference, think Little Feat/Meters rhythm section, Professor Longhair/Dr. John keyboards, Allman Bros/ZZ Top guitars and lots of New Orleans gumbo. Check it out, and don't miss them live.

Disappointing:
I love the cover art, but found the disc disappointing. Maybe, I've outgrown the Rads, I don't know. I used to go see them and loved them back in the "Law of the Fish/Zigzagging" era, but the songs here just seemed silly. Fortunately I paid less than a dollar for it, so no great loss. A previous recent review I wrote led me to purchase this CD as I wondered what they were up to recently. I'm sure they are still good live, but I wouldn't bother with this particular disc. The art would make a great T-shirt however, and I'm not sure why the Rads don't offer one.