Uncle Green
Book Of Bad Thoughts
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Uncle Green
Book Of Bad Thoughts
Atlantic, 1992
RiYL: Brad, Matthew Sweet's Altered Beast, 3 lb. Thrill |
Uncle Green had honed its skills writing clever, guitar-based pop songs over the course of four previous independent records and earned a reputation in Atlanta's club scene for playing scorching live shows. Book Of Bad Thoughts was to be their coming-out party. The album cuts no corners, finally allowing Uncle Green to turn up the volume knobs and revel in the force of well-recorded rock. Somehow, the raw beauty of the record was lost on the general public, swamped over in the press by power-pop revivalist brothers like Sweet, the Posies, the Jayhawks, and their ilk.
But the documents are preserved, and this one still has the power to impress. From the album's opening crunch, the gritty swagger of "I Know All About You," to the double-edged ballad "Bellingham," Uncle Green exhibits masterful execution. The latter track alternates between somber, organ-textured verses and the whip-smart funk of the instrumental choruses.
Lyrically, Book Of Bad Thoughts finds songwriters Matt Brown and Jeff Jensen less concerned with turning a cute, ironic phrase (an addiction that pops up too often on earlier releases) than fully exploring the experience of love/hate relationships. The album is roughly a concept record about cheating lovers. "She's Storing It Up" is the harrowing tale of a cheat whose spouse knows what he's doing but doesn't show it. "He Woke Up Naked" uses grotesque imagery to paint the picture of the morning after an unplanned affair. "The Blue Light" finds a cheated soul consoling himself and trying to live through the pain.
Two songs from Experiment are included on the album, partly as an effort to present the group's best material to wider audiences, and partly because the two ("I Don't Wanna Know About It" and "I Always Knew You'd Come To Me") fit very well with Book Of Bad Thoughts' theme.
Book Of Bad Thoughts is a little-heard gem -- a '90s rock record of the highest order that turned out to be Uncle Green's last album proper. However, in a mysterious turn, the full four-piece band would resurface in 1995 under the name of 3 lb. Thrill and release one more album.
TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.