BOC: Sorry, Theo :(

[Nick English]

Before I say this, I just want it to be known that I
respect Theo and enjoy his posts more than probably
anyone else's on this list.  That said. . .

I think you were way off the mark, Theo, in labeling
CotHM "Flat Out 2".  Don't misunderstand me, there's no
anger or vitriol of any kind in this post.  I'm just
offering a dissenting view.

I say Curse is totally a BOC disc, and I think it's a
great one.  Sure, in some ways it's adjusted to the
march of time, but I love it.  It's got all the
hallmarks of a great BOC album. . . most importantly,
it throws you for a total loop on some songs.

I can only think back on songs like "Monsters", "Sinful
Love" and "Debbie Denise", and how bizarre I thought
they were when I first heard them.  I suppose that if I
were a BOC fan from 1972-1975, "Reaper" would also fit
into this category.  This was a band that took amazing
musical risks throughout its career, and the tone of
Curse is a return to that carefree style.

Even the "Buckpop" tunes are closer to BOC than to solo
Dharma if you ask me. . . with the possible exception
of Here Comes That Feeling.

I hope we can all agree on at least one thing:  This
album is damn good.  Although I'm worried that maybe
part of the reason I like it so much is because my
expectations were lowered by Heaven Forbid.
Shamefully, I was just not expecting much in the way of
vitality from these guys anymore.  On HF, with the
exception of SYIB and HM, I had to kind of search
through all the songs to find what I liked about them.
But on the new album, every single song sought ME out.

--Nick