By Alex Orr
Contributing Reviewer
See if this sounds familiar: A Virginia band writes slightly off-kilter, funky pop songs. The band is anchored by a phenomenal drummer, fronted by a singer/guitarist and features a saxophone as one of their chief lead instruments. The band tours relentlessly and develops a strong club following in the southeast. Fans rave about the intensity and excitement of their live shows.
After releasing material on their own record label for a while, the band is picked up by a major label. Dave Matthews Band? Not in this case. The scenario previously presented for the reader's pleasure is the abridged biography of Richmond, Va.'s own Agents of Good Roots. Proving that hard work and back-breaking touring can still generate success in the one-hit alternative universe of the '90s, the Agents recently signed with RCA records for the release of its third album, One By One.
Very often the move to a major label creates changes in a band's sound that can be either positive or negative. In the case of One By One, the results are mixed. The album starts off on an aggressive note with a trio of songs that instantly reveals that the Agents has a heavier side than many of the tour-heavy hippie bands that it will no doubt be lumped with. The opening track and first single, "Come On," will fit nicely on commercial alternative stations sandwiched between Marcy Playground and Matchbox 20.
The guitars are grungeified, the sax virtually inaudible and the vocals are monotone and raspy; in short a carbon copy of what everything else on the radio sounds like. Sadly most of the uptempo rockers on the album begin to sound like the same song very quickly. Certain tracks do stand out however.
"Two Bucks in Cash" flat out rocks with a monster guitar riff and Brian Jones' funky drum work. "Miss America" continues the funk vibe with a great tempo change in the chorus that sticks in the listener's head like super glue.
The slower songs also produce mixed results. "Upspin" and "Hoping, Waiting, Longing" both have excellent pop melodies but suffer from Andrew Winn's vocals which are much better suited to the uptempo funk numbers.
In "Upspin" the addition of the gospel/soul back-up singers misfires as their sound simply doesn't mix with Winn's voice or the song's style. In short, the song is a perfect example of when overproduction goes too far, a typical problem many bands suffer from on a major label debut.
The insertion of the keyboards and the solos from saxophonist J.C. Kuhl are standout elements on both tracks, however, and reveal that there are more diverse elements to the Agents' sound than they choose to emphasize on One By One.
Several of the songs on the new album have appeared on the Agents' two previous albums. The results of re-recording "The Ballad of Hobby and the Piano" and "Shortchange" again reveal the apparent effects of the Agents' move to RCA. Both tracks are slicker and shine with studio gloss and an apparent attempt to make the songs more mainstream sounding. In the case of "The Ballad of Hobby and the Piano" the re-recording yields fantastic results. The band sounds tighter, the vocals are more charged and the result is one of the strongest tracks on the album (killer sax work too). The updated version of "Shortchange" however is far inferior to the live version on Straightaround, as it sorely misses the extended jam that lifts the song up.
One of the curses that a great live band faces is trying to reproduce on an album all the elements that make them so good live. On One by One the Agents seem to be less interested in reproducing what they do on stage and more concerned about creating an album that will garner radio play. The result is an album with several stand-out songs that nonetheless begin to sound repetitive very quickly.
Agents of Good Roots will perform with Big Head Todd and the Monsters at 2 p.m. April 25. Tickets are sold in Benson 335 and are $10 in advance and $15 at the gate.