New thing to debate: Frank Turner live show > TGA live show. This should in no way disrespect Gaslight. I’ve had INCREDIBLE times seeing them and am literally losing my mind waiting for DC next week, but Frank Turner fucking owns a live show.
Yeah, I'll chime back in with 2 things. 1) When I say Fallon is consistent, I am including all TGA albums AND his solo stuff 2) Both TGA and BF solo are a GREAT time live, but a live Frank show blows them out of the water, I agree. Partly because his setlist don't include the duds that his albums do. His setlists tend to be incredible and he's just so energetic and fun live. If somebody came to an FT show and didn't know a single song and was standing in the back, Frank would reach that guy or gal, bring them in, and win them over. By the end of the show they'd be a fan. And that is a BIG statement, and I think, very hard to do. Frank is a beast live.
Here's what he played last time I saw him. Tell me where the pee break is in this set ??? Setlist SHARE SETLIST Get Better Play Video Try This at Home Play Video Plain Sailing Weather Play Video Losing Days Play Video The Next Storm Play Video Out of Breath Play Video Recovery Play Video Long Live the Queen Play Video The Way I Tend to Be Play Video Be More Kind Play Video The Ballad of Me and My Friends Play Video The Opening Act of Spring Play Video The Road Play Video I Am Disappeared Play Video 1933 Play Video If Ever I Stray Play Video Photosynthesis Play Video I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous Play Video I Still Believe Play Video Four Simple Words
Frank is undoubtedly more fun and energetic live but there's little i love more on this earth than Brian and Alex riffing around all over the place between songs at a Gaslight show, the whole band performs incredibly tight.
So we've established that Shrek and SpyKi can play "swords" in the urinal during The Road. I still stand by my overall point...... :)
The Road got me into Frank but now I do agree it's a weaker track now Have only seen him once and it was 7 years ago so I can't abide by his live show at all but am super excited to see him next month Edit: Not a weak track but weak among his hits. I still think its good
I've seen him 3 times - 2 solo and 1 supporting Blink. Every time he has been fantastic. Really puts on a great show and knows how to craft a setlist. The Road is fine for what it is. Gets the crowd going and is good fun. What's not to love?
I hate even typing this, but after spending a bit of time with this album, for me it is a huge disappointment. I am actually a big fan of the production and sound of the album, and I love a lot of the little touches he brought into the songs, but the songs themselves are just not very good. There are only a couple of songs on here that I like enough to even return to. Aside from 1933, the entire thing lacks energy. I think the song 1933 kills the whole album for me on two levels. On one level, the song itself is just so great and the energy and passion is there, and it leaves the entire rest of the album seeming very lackluster. On another level, it is the type of song I want from Frank when he is tackling some of these subjects here. It makes me wish he did a pleasant little album about being in love, and then made a separate, pissed-off album that went after a lot of the problems he sees in the world today. (The latter album preferably produced by Butch Walker.) I still love the sentiment behind MAGA, but I just can't abide a song like that playing so soft with the issues he's going after.
I'm still really enjoying this album, but I had also never listened to anything by Frank Turner before and was kind of looking for something soft and folk-y going into it anyway. So, the album pretty much suited what I was looking for at this particular time
i actually feel like the softer and sweeter vibes work for the subject matter, and ditching the anger/vitriol/division for compassion/tolerance/open-mindedness is a massive theme of the record. so it makes sense the music would reflect that. the problem for me is lyrics. they just feel like a scroll of platitudes -- which isn't the worst thing and actually work sometimes, but need grounding in personal stories or characters or images. i guess that's the lyrical style he was going for, but in doing so he removed most of the potential weight from these songs imo. still enjoy it for what it is tho, it's a chill listen
I'm a huge fan of Frank's, so I'd much rather see the majority of people liking anything that he does. This one's just not for me.
I will posit a theory here. Most albums by an artist sound like that artist. Therefore most artists' albums "sound the same". :shocked face:
This record is definitely a bit different for him, but I don't think the songwriting is up to his usual standard for the most part. I guess I just don't find him to be as strong a songwriter of light, breezy songs with electronic flourishes as I do of folk-punk songs... I'm still really hoping to hear a few B-sides from these recordings because Frank always has amazing B-sides, and they spent a long time recording this album.
Apparently it was the b-side to the Blackout single that was only released as part of the box set, so YouTube seems to the be the only place for now.