In 2006 The Killers released their second CD, the platinum "Sam's Town." Their next LP, "Day and Age," was voted the "Readers' Best Album of 2008" by Rolling Stone magazine. What did the group do in '07? There's no way they could've had time to do much in the time sandwiched between those two mega-hits, right? Wrong. They released another CD--a damn good one at that.
"Sawdust," a collection of B-sides, covers and more emerged rather quietly on November 13, 2007. There wasn't much hoopla surrounding this release, most likely because of its EP status. But you'd be a fool to have low expectations of this CD. They are The Killers after all--that Las Vegas group with the Mormon lead singer who dons a eagle-feathered jacket, the lead guitarist who's saving up for the first commercial trip to outer space and on top of it all, immense amounts of imagination. And those ideas are displayed more on "Sawdust" than any of their CDs so far (and yes, I am including "Day and Age" which consists of steel drums, saxophones and a teaspoon of insanity).
The disc kicks off with the unique "Tranquilize," a spooky, yet catchy, track that features a demented children's choir and Lou Reed, former frontman of the infinitely influential The Velvet Underground.
Later comes a piano-led live version of "Sam's Town" from Abbey Road and a eight-minute remix of "Mr. Brightside" by Jacques Lu Cont (a.k.a. Stuart Price), producer of "Day and Age."
I'm not going to critique this CD track by track, but I easily could. There is not a bad song on the disc. In fact, even when The Killers cover "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town," a country (no, that's not a typo) song by Kenny Rogers, they manage to make it tolerable and--dare I say it?--likable. Whether it's the techno-laced "Shadowplay," the Queen-esque rocker "Leave the Bourbon On the Shelf" or, my personal favorite, the beautiful "Romeo and Juliet" (a Dire Straits cover), The Killers make every song beg to at the top of your playlist.
CD I'M LISTENING TO: (see above)
CD I NEED TO GET: "Queen: Greatest Hits"
CD I WANT TO GET: "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand"
CD I'M INTERESTED IN: "Troubadour" - K'naan
Well done. CD I... is really nice. K'naan?
ReplyDeleteYeah. He's a rapper, i guess, but his new CD features the lead singer from Maroon 5 on one song, the guitarist from Metallica on another song and Mos Def on another. Its just very intriguing.
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