 |  | Actually I'd add half a star |  |
This sounds like Cracker trying to lose the nasally sound to thier music. Thier album "Kerosine Hat" had a nasal sound to vocals, and hearing "Low" on the radio was about as annoying as fingernails on the board. The first song I heard off this album was "Nothing To Believe In". It was also on the most unusual of places the Dave Letterman show, and by far it was more wonderful hearing it on the show than on here. The vocals were so manly on the show I had to record it on blank cassette tape to play over and over again as it sounded so angry it was beautiful. The album version wasn't too bad, but if there was anyway possible to get the David Letterman show episode from Friday June 21st, 1996 I would pay for it. The other song I've heard was "Sweet Thistle Pie" which to me was horrible. They kill it with both nasal vocal and harmonica. The rest is all over the place. I have heard better alternative, and this is almost above average fare, but just misses the mark by not much. We need to get the group to sound manly, and go from there.
September 9, 2006 | | Their weakest, but hey, this is Cracker | |
This is the weakest of Cracker's albums to date, but it still contains incredible gems such as "Big Dipper" and "How Can I Live Without You" which are as good as it gets with these guys. Rupe never quite fit, but his pedestrian bass playing is strangely appropriate - maybe Dave and Johnny wrote with his limitations in mind.
July 8, 2005 | | Strong effort from Cracker | |
Fans of Kerosene Hat, Crackers Most popular album, should be pleased with The Golden Age. Its starts off with the hard rocking "I Hate My Generation", sort of Gen. X version of My Generation. The difference being Cracker is not as pleased with his as Daltrey was with his peers. After the opening tune Cracker tones it down a bit with some of the best country-rock songs that David Lowery has ever put out. Over all, this is Cracker most satisfying disc. This one come highly reccommended
November 10, 2003| | | The most underrated band in America | |
What can I say about Cracker's "The Golden Age"? I have had this tremendous album for years and it is still fresh to me to this day. It is easily one of my favorite albums, and I have a lot of music. The album is awesome, consistent yet not generic. It hits you hard with bone-crunching guitar powered anthems (Sweet Thistle Pie, Nothing to Believe In, 100 Flower Power Maximum), then loosens up with catchy Crackeresque sarcastic songs (How Can I Live Without You, Useless Stuff) and then blows your mind with blissfully mellow thought-provoking tunes that sound out of a western ghost town (Bicycle Spaniard, Big Dipper). The core of Cracker was and always will be David Lowery and Jon Hickman - other members have come and gone - yet not missed that much. The Golden Age saw Cracker at an all time high when coming off their stupendous predecessor album, the platinum "Kerosene Hat," which featured the hits "Low" and "Eurotrash Girl." Some may feel that this album does not live up to Kerosene's greatness, yet others like myself, find this album even better and more consistent. This is a true great American band that has never quite gotten their due, and they should be recognized for bringing back fond memories of classic-rock bands like the Heartbreakers, the Byrds, the Eagles, Led Zeppelin, and even the great Neil Young with their tunes. If you have not heard The Golden Age, or Cracker for that matter, you are missing out - so what are you waiting for?. There have been so many flash in the pan bands as well as the other drek that fills our radio airwaves lately. A band like Cracker is truly a breath of fresh air and originality to the true "music" fan, not just some sampled, generic, over-the-hill, bubble gum, or boy band shlock that makes me want to puke. The opening track, I Hate My Generation, speaks volumes to me about what is going on in the music industry these days: corporate greed. This album, The Golden Age, in the words of Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel, truly goes to 11. Five stars out of five - a classic.
September 9, 2003One would have thought that the addition of former Silos bassist Bob Rupe to David Lowery and company prior to the recording of "The Golden Age" would have jump started the band's creativity. Alas, it was not to be. Lowery in particular seems to be suffering from fatigue, as shown on the openeing anthem "I Hate My Generation." Rather than a biting satire like "Eurotrash Girl" from the previous album, it just sounds unpleasantly cranky. After that, the songs for the most part just aren't as catchy as on previous Cracker records.
It is not until the absolute gem, "How Can I Live Without You" at track 11 that Lowery regains his musical berings. The song deftly pokes fun at a couch potato who's worried that his mate will walk out and force him to, oh the horror, get a job! Now this is Cracker at its best--witty and tuneful. Elsewhere, the rather lightweight "Useless Stuff" and the title track serve as mini-highlights.
Overall, an up-and-down third album from modern rock's best band of country-rockers. March 2, 2003
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