American Heartbreak - Self Titled
Released Through Liquor & Poker Records in 2006
THE BAND:
Lance Boone - lead vocals
Billy Rowe - lead, rhythm, slide & acoustic guitars, plus bass & backing vocals
Casey Crenshaw - rhythm & lead guitars, backing vocals
Michael Butler - bass guitar & backing vocals
Paul Scavuzzo - drums
TRACK FRAGMENTS:
1.) "Somebody" - The musical arrangement of this intro
consisted of two rhythm guitars parts playing a very simple rhythm. In doing this
Billy & Casey were able to give the guitar rhythm a very heavy sound. Over
the top of the two rhythm guitars there is a small minor lead guitar solo that
connects the intro to the verse. Trailing off the end of the minor lead
guitar solo there is a second lead guitar overdub. So for those keeping
count that is four guitars parts in total. There is a small rhythm guitar
change for the verse, making the verse a little less dynamic and heavy.
Not only is there a second rhythm guitar change for the pre-chorus but also a
minor lead guitar solo that runs underneath the lead vocal lines. The
backing harmonies of the choruses are very tight and fit perfectly with the
existing arrangement. The bass lines written for the song follow right
along with the rhythm guitar. The musical arrangement connecting the first
chorus to the second pre-verse, builds with a certain power that's very
difficult to put into words. It's very difficult to tell but, during the
second verse there is a small vocal line that sounded just a little different
than the rest. This could be a Lance overdub, or, one of the other members
backing harmony. With the way production studio's are set up these days it
is very possible that since the lead vocals were recorded on one channel that
the producer tweaked that one lyric line. Underneath the musical chorus
you can hear a hint of an acoustic guitar. For the third chorus the band
drastically changes the musical arrangement of the chorus by dropping all the
electric guitars and adding a acoustic rhythm. This song does not have a
guitar solo per-say, what it does have are little minor lead guitar riffs that
are scattered out underneath the choruses.
2.) "Sick N' Tired" - This track opens with a seventies AC/DC feel.
The band keep the same rhythm arrangement for the verse as the intro section.
Much like the previous track the bass line does not kick in until the
pre-chorus. For the pre-chorus the band change the rhythm guitar
arrangements to give it a little bit of a different feel. The choruses of
this track is very tight with an eighties feel. The channel the bass was
on was turned up too were you can hear the bass line on this song. Though
the bass line had a very simple feel, it does however give the song a lot of
depth. The guitar solo was placed after the second chorus. There is
a huge classic rock influence attached to the guitar solo. There is a
small breakdown section after the lead guitar solo. The vocal line over
the breakdown section was done with to vocalist.
3.) "Love Your Abuse" - The rhythm guitar riffs of this intro gives
the song a seventies rock feel. The bass is the main instrument through
the first verse. In a lot of way the band set the lyrics up kind of
reminds you of a punk style arrangement. The choruses of this song are
about as simple as they get. There really isn't too much you can say about
this track and it comparison to the first two, it is a little too simple for my
taste. But that's not saying it is a bad song, because it's not.
4.) "Things Are Looking Up" - This track opens with a pre-verse.
The rhythm guitar arrangement underneath the vocal line has a very simple feel
too it. The vocal lines have a very smooth feel to them. For the
chorus the band adds a second rhythm guitar, this changes the sound of the
rhythm track. The is an underling acoustic guitar arrangement underneath
the chorus. The bass line change for the second verse changes the dynamics
of the song just enough to keep you interested in the song. Sometime it
pays to keep musical arrangements very simple. There is no guitar solo for
this song.
5.) "Raise Up Your Hands" - This track opens with a very simple
musical arrangement. The rhythm guitar arrangement of the verse is very
laid back letting the vocal line carry the song. There really isn't any
backing harmonies for the chorus. There is a very cool rhythm guitar riff
that follows the vocal line after the breakdown section. Once again just a
very simple but great track
6.) "The Girl Who Knows Nothing At All" - The small twin lead guitar
lick of this small intro section had an Eagles feel. For the verse the
only instrument underneath the vocal line is the rhythm guitar. The band
kicks the song in for the chorus. The drums and bass are the driving force
behind the songs arrangement. In several way this song reminds me of
something Enuff z Nuff would record. Vocally, the vocal lines of this
track really shows Lance's vocal ability. The musical arrangement
underneath the vocal lines have a very subtle feel too them. For the
second chorus the band incorporate a very small orchestrated musical piece.
Though this is used to fill in some of the songs emptiness, it really highlights
Lance's vocals. The simple sounding guitar solo suited this song
perfectly.
7.) "The Last Of The Superheroes (of the 1970's)" - This track opens
with a rhythm guitar riff. The pre-verse consisted of only rhythm guitar
and vocals. There is a very cool bass line that connects the verse to the
chorus. The band kept the chorus very simple, which is what the song
needed. All in all this track is one that you would call a b-side, but
still very cool.
8.) "Unhappily Ever After" -The intro to this song opened with a bass
line and drum rhythm. The bass line for this intro has a very cool sound.
Connecting the intro section to the verse there is a small minor twin guitar
solo. The verses to this song are almost too short. In the way the
guys set the vocal lines up against the rhythm guitar tracks were very cool.
About the only thing you can really say about this track was that it was very
simply written.
9.) "21 & Easy (simple things like rock n' roll)" - The rhythm
guitar riffs of this intro have a very simple feel to them. There is a
simple rhythm change along with a lead guitar riff underneath the chorus.
All in all this is a very cool yet very simple song.
10.) "Crawling" - The pre-intro of this track was done with an
acoustic guitar. The main intro of the song kicks in with an AC/DC feel.
The main instrumentation for the verse is the bass line. The rhythm guitar
tracks kind of build up to the chorus. The backing harmonies of this song
are very tight with a great sound.
11.) "Fallen Angels" -Over the top of this intro section there is a
minor lead guitar solo. The bass line and drum arrangement of the
pre-verse makes this track. The band wrote the choruses in an almost
breakdown fashion. There is a guitar solo after the second chorus.
The breakdown for this song is about what I would expect.
12.) "Isolation" - This track opens with an acoustic guitar
arrangement. For the pre-verse the band added a vocal effect to the lead
vocal lines. I really liked the backing vocals on this song in a lot of
way they reminded me of seventies classic rock.
13.) "BITCH"- All in all this made a great closing track.
American Heartbreak's self-titled release is one of those
albums that has made Rock 'n' Roll fun again. Ever since the dawning of
MTV rock music has become more about a certain look then sound or statement.
An this was never more evident then the late eighties. Heavy Metal is
suppose to have a forbidden feel to it, an that is exactly what American
Heartbreak has accomplished. Songs like the opening tack, 'Somebody' just
blew me away. Absolutely do not let the simplicity of the songs fool you,
this is one hell of a release! If you are into bands such as AC/DC then
you really need to check this band out!