English Oceans At Six Months

[JJAllin]

DBT's might not intentionally put "filler" on their records (Hood or Cooley or a "majority vote" from band members...or just however they chose to do these things) were probably all in agreement that from front to back, each song stood up on it's own merit(s) - BUT - I'd bet looking back with that good 'ole 20/20 hindsight that there are more than a few songs they would go back and either re-arrange or re-do entirely or simply have left off. "Fat" as I believe someone else referred to it as, which I think probably IS the best descriptor for what it is I am talking about.

None of this BS "well, we wrote our 2 or 3 "hopeful-hot-billboard-singles" for the record so lets quickly hammer-out another 10 to 12 songs to surround those 2 or 3 with (which REALLY seemed to up it's particular ante w/a LOT of artists/bands when the CD era really began ushering in and suddenly, albums went from an avg. of about 30 to 40 min. in length and 10 - 12 songs to 65 to 70+ min. in length and 16 to 20 songs & of course, price per unit went up quite a bit when compared w/the cassette/LP era on the consumers end of things (despite all that "extra" music rarely EVER being worth anything much more than creating a nuisance via creating more "skip points" ). At one point, I can remember the major retailers began charging $18 and upwards per disc which was ridiculous, especially once a great portion of us discovered, at least per our opinion(s), just how crap CDs truly were/are.

So, no, I HIGHLY doubt that the DBT's ever pulled any such stunt, despite having some LONG albums. BTCD with a whopping 19 tracks. DD and TDS (combined & released just barely more than a year apart) coming in at just under 30 tracks total (29)-(Oh, as a side note, I think I agree w/whomever it was that mentioned that they don't much care for the "John Henry" song [I don't either], but I differ in that I DO really like the Buford Pusser trio).. Of course, SRO an even 20. When AB&AC came out, I remember thinking "wow, they have not released one this short since "Gangstabilly"! But again, following that, you had the aforementioned BTCD clocking in at just over 75 min. and within 3 more yrs., you had another 2 releases that, combined, were nearly 30 tracks (TBTD taking a WHILE to grow on me, but I loved GGB from first play on. It took getting TBTD on vinyl for me to really sit down, properly digest it and ultimately "get it", I think - but for a time, I absolutely felt that it had a lot of "fat" on it).

Of course, unlike a lot of bands, DBTs have had periods of time in which they have had THREE pretty damn brilliant songwriters. It's not NEARLY as difficult when you have a lineup containing such talents as Hood/Cooley/Isbell to come up with 15 SOLID songs, front to back, vs. when you're a Kurt Cobain or an Elliott Smith (or just whomever) and you have the burden or CHOSE to have the burden of being, for all intents and purposes, the ONLY writer in the group. (I say CHOSE because by the time "In Utero" was released, there were a couple of credits for Grohl and the others - problem is - I felt THOSE particular tracks mostly stunk ) - I've always suspected that Kurt actually also had a very heavy hand in the writing of Hole's "Live Through This" LP (which I personally, on a song per song basis, find to be a stronger record than "Nevermind"). When it came time to follow it up? Kurt was dead and long gone and Courtney proved she sure as SHIT couldn't write an album on her own, so she got Billy Corgan to do the heavy lifting for her and the album sounded COMPLETELY different vs. "Live Through This"). But, post-Nirvana, I certainly learned that Grohl WAS indeed VERY capable of writing great songs on his own. Love the Foo Fighters or hate 'em (I think their records contain a good deal of "fat" as well, but damn, when Dave hits it out of the park, he hits it WAY out IMO...something a la "Everlong", "hit" or not? It is just songwriting greatness IMO & he has several of those).

Even since it has just been Hood/Cooley (well, and Shonna too, prior to EO), that's STILL 2 GREAT songwriters and by throwing Shonna a couple bones per record or so (as I'm personally just not a huge fan of her songs - it's nothing personal and I WISH that I DID like them - but I just mostly do not), it's not TOO difficult to come up with 10 to 15 songs in a year or year and a half's time (unless everyone develops a really nasty case of writer's block simultaneously).

I always did wish that I could find MY own Hood/Cooley/Isbell/Grohl (you get the gist). Someone that could write every bit as well as I can, hell, if not even BETTER (believe me - my ego COULD take it...quite easily as a matter of fact ) - but I just never have been able to (while I'm on this topic, I also wish that, just LIKE the 4 that I mentioned, I could find another "singer" that I could split those duties with as well....another good example of that would be Husker Du. I get SO sick of having the burden of singing all of the material but it is SO damn hard to find someone with an original vocal that is neither "technically" great (which is usually NOT my thing AT ALL - MOST vocalists that *I* like? They would NEVER "make it" on any of those shitty "American Idol" type shows). But there again, you HAVE to be able to AT LEAST hold a tune to a degree. There are some great songwriters in my general area, but they don't write what I personally like nor would I EVER put MY name on any of their particular style(s) (unless it were to make myself wealthy - I'd totally "sell out" for the right bottom line). But on the side? I'd be hammering out records that I actually DID like/enjoy writing - put them out under a pseudonym if I had to contractually. Most of the "good" (if you want to call it that) "singers" around here are doing that new "bro-country" crap - it sounds sorta like a mixture of REALLY shitty 2000's-era "nu-country" combined with REALLY shitty "post-grunge" garbage, a la Creed. In fact? THAT'S EXACTLY what a lot of the bands I hear playing the bar scene around here sound JUST FUCKING LIKE. This shit is SO fucking terrible, I'm having trouble finding the right words ....yet, they can fill these shitty local bars and the soccer mom's fucking flock to this crap. It's un-fucking-believable. (It reminds me of a line from the Dead Kennedy's song "MTV Get Off The Air" which says:

"Tin eared, graph-paper brained accountants, instead of music fans
Call all the shots at giant record companies now
The lowest-common-denominator rules...

Forget honesty, forget creativity
The dumbest buy the mostest, that's the name of the game"

Damn do those lyrics still hold ever so true, even here nearly 30 full years later. Though, today, I think it's not so much "tin-eared, graph-paper-brained accountants" as it is large corporations (from beer companies to automobile companies and on it goes) that are playing a large role in the major label's coffers. Some times, I (not by MY choice, usually, this happens while in someone else's company and/or on THEIR time as I would NEVER listen to this shit willingly)...but some times, I will hear one of these new "bro-country" songs and I swear to god, it sounds like some Budweiser executive hooked up in a conference room with some Chevy (et al.) executive and they invited some of their "underlings" into the room with them, cracked open a few cold ones and had everyone pull out a sheet or two of paper and went around the table and had everyone come up with some crappy "company lines" that rhymed. Seriously, if any of you ever find yourselves subjected to the torture of having to hear one of these types of songs? Just listen to the words and see if you don't agree.

^^^(speaking of those last 2 lines, anyone remember from FEB. of last year when Baltimore's "City Paper" published a fairly negative review of a Jason Aldean concert, only to retract said review after roughly a week or so, after being bullied by certain advertisers, informing them that they [the paper] would forever lose their advertising $$$'s if they did not retract it? The paper's editor-in-chief (who was NOT the author of the review) was reluctant to remove the review and held out for 2 days, but was threatened with the loss of HIS job if he did not retract said review - so - I'm sure you can guess what happened. It mainly boiled down, according to the EIC, to TWO particular (and very large/powerful/wealthy) advertisers. If you missed all of that bullshit the first time around, here is but one of several articles I read about the issue:

https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2014/02/2 ... -a-review/

So after all of that rambling...what was the thread about again? Oh yeah....EO at 6 months?

Well, it's not my favorite DBT's album and it's probably not my least favorite, though honestly, it ranks in the lower tier for me personally. Just speaking for myself, there's a certain "fire" missing somewhere in there (not sure if that's a great descriptor or not...it's honestly a bit difficult to put my finger on just what it actually is that causes me to feel as though "something" is "missing" here and there on this album). "Grand Canyon" would be a great example. I HATE to admit it: but that song just pretty much bores me. Great, great meaning that it has and all. But, at nearly 8 min. long? I'm usually tapping out by the halfway point if I get that far. I know some of you LOVE that song, so that's the thing. What one fan may consider as "fat" - another may consider as "fantastic". For years, on various online forums concerning music, a thread would pop up several times per year via someone wanting to know "if you could take Guns N' Roses "Use Your Illusion" I & II albums and strip them to a single album, what songs would you remove/keep?" Invariably, and after said topic coming up from the 90's and fairly regularly up until around the time they/Axl finally put out that "Chinese Democracy" album (so dozens upon dozens of times), almost EVERYONE had a different list. I do think that it is a lot like that with the DBTs as well.

If I had to rank the albums....damn, I'm not even sure I could right off....maybe something along these lines:

TDS
DD
BTCD
GGB
SRO
AB&AC
PD
TBTD
EO
GB

The above list could change tomorrow or be completely revamped a year from now. Also, for what it's worth? I prefer the songs from EO live. When I saw them @ Buster's in Lexington, June of last year? What they played from EO sounded wonderful live (shit, everything they played that night sounded wonderful to me) - though I will admit to GTFO about 3 or 4 min. into closer "Grand Canyon" so I could beat the forthcoming melee of people and get the hell on outta there before everything became a big, congested mess (as I had had to park up the road a bit). But I am looking forward to these new live releases Hood has mentioned. I might come to like the songs much more once I get a copy of those (I think he mentioned a box set, which is probably what I'll go ahead and get so long as it's on vinyl).

[Bill in CT]

I love English Oceans and put it right behind the trilogy...it's hard to beat Southern Rock Opera, Decoration Day, & The Dirty South.

I agree with this. My top 5 DBT album list looks like this:

SRO
DD
TDS
EO
BTCD

[Duke Silver]

Some rambling thoughts...

It's almost June and I don't think I've reached for English Oceans yet this year. If I did, it was probably to put a few of the Cooley songs on a playlist.

I was pretty high on it when it first came out (which is typical; I tend to overreact), but if I had to rank it now I'd probably put it near the bottom of their catalog -- which yes, does it really need to be said at this point, would be near the top of anyone else's etc etc etc -- somewhere in the Gangstabilly, Go-Go Boots range.

It's hard to put a finger on what exactly stops me from coming back to it. I like 8-9 of the songs a lot, which in most cases is more than enough to keep me coming back to an album.

One issue is the sequencing. I like to be able to just put an album on and let it play all the way through. "Shit Shots" storms out of the gate, but then is followed by the plodding, workmanlike, DBT-by-numbers "When He's Gone." For me, that's where the album grinds to a halt and never full recovers any kind of momentum. The album is begging for a full throttle rocker in the #2 spot. We know the band isn't above reaching way, way back for tunes when they need one...wouldn't a studio version of "Don't Be in Love Around Me" have sounded good here?

The songs I don't like, I really don't like. "Hanging On" is nice, but sounds like it belongs on a Patterson solo album -- where's Cooley?? I know "Walter" is a 3DD favorite, but for me it's just a variation on a theme the band has beaten into the ground by now. "The Part of Him" is like the Poli Sci 101 to "Made Up English Oceans'" master class.

That said, there's still a lot to love: the abundance of Cooley songs...Grand Canyon is a grand slam...Jay's leads are very nice--melodic when they need to be, fractured and atonal when they don't...I'm in the majority who can't hear the tape noise, so I love the production...I guess I just wish the sequencing flowed better and that the Patterson songs were more "of a piece" with Cooley's, musically.

[Iowan]

I haven't really listened to any DBT albums all the way through in 2015 to be honest. I think I spun SRO and Decoration Day on a road trip, but that would be about it.

It would be interesting to go back through them all over a day or two, and re-evaluate things. I liked "English Oceans" a lot for the first few months before I wore it out, and still think there's about 4-5 top tier DBT songs on it (which is more than the several previous albums). I don't skip much other than "When He's Gone" or "Hanging On" (again, more than previous works).

Since this always devolves into album ranking (but is there a better way to evaluate a body of work?) I'll fire my ranking based on current mental impression and revisit this soon.

DD
SRO
TDS
ABAAC
PD
EO
GB
BTCD
TBTD
GGB

[John A Arkansawyer]

wouldn't a studio version of "Don't Be in Love Around Me" have sounded good here?

I kind of expected it somewhere on here, as much as they'd been playing it in concert.

"Hanging On" is nice, but sounds like it belongs on a Patterson solo album

To me, that's the weakest song on the record. I didn't love it when I heard Patterson play it solo and I don't love it on the record. And there's some song it reminds me of which I can't quite put my finger on.

I still think this is a real good record and remain surprised it didn't reach out to a different audience. Or maybe it did and I haven't seen the results yet.

[Tequila Cowboy]

I have a ranking problem. When it changes so often it's meaningless and mine, particularly DBT and anything after the first two of my all time list, change very, very often. That said DD, SRO, EO, GGB and BTCD are the albums I listen to most but I don't think they're necessarily my top five. Most of my DBT listening is from live shows anyway. The common thread of those records though is that they all aimed for something and succeeded wildly.

[John A Arkansawyer]

I have a ranking problem. When it changes so often it's meaningless and mine, particularly DBT and anything after the first two of my all time list, change very, very often. That said DD, SRO, EO, GGB and BTCD are the albums I listen to most but I don't think they're necessarily my top five. Most of my DBT listening is from live shows anyway. The common thread of those records though is that they all aimed for something and succeeded wildly.

I hear you! Nothing succeeds like excess.

[Iowan]

I have a ranking problem. When it changes so often it's meaningless and mine, particularly DBT and anything after the first two of my all time list, change very, very often. That said DD, SRO, EO, GGB and BTCD are the albums I listen to most but I don't think they're necessarily my top five. Most of my DBT listening is from live shows anyway. The common thread of those records though is that they all aimed for something and succeeded wildly.

I don't think mine change too drastically, at least in regards to an artist's work. But that's why I like to do it. To see what changed, and figure out why I warmed up to something or cooled on something else.

[Cubfan06]

I haven't really listened to any DBT albums all the way through in 2015 to be honest. I think I spun SRO and Decoration Day on a road trip, but that would be about it.

It would be interesting to go back through them all over a day or two, and re-evaluate things. I liked "English Oceans" a lot for the first few months before I wore it out, and still think there's about 4-5 top tier DBT songs on it (which is more than the several previous albums). I don't skip much other than "When He's Gone" or "Hanging On" (again, more than previous works).

Since this always devolves into album ranking (but is there a better way to evaluate a body of work?) I'll fire my ranking based on current mental impression and revisit this soon.

DD
SRO
TDS
ABAAC
PD
EO
GB
BTCD
TBTD
GGB

I don't want to interject any wisdom to this discussion, yet instead give credit where credit is due. When Three Dimes Down was Nine Bullets long ago, however seemed like just yesterday, the Iowan has long been heralding ABAAC as an underrated dark horse album for the DBT's. I always disagreed and sometimes even poked fun at him for it (as well as his appreciation for the 21st century RHCP records) I listened to ABAAC once every day this weekend. And I'm not sure if that the profound effect was because I hadn't picked up the album in a long time. Or if I was in a jovial mood over the long weekend. Or just the simple fact that many of the songs on the albums are less frequently exposed on the live DBT shows that I listen to....But after all of those 9 years of figuratively slobbing that album's knob, Iowan, you were right and I was wrong. It will never be a top three album in the band's catalog in my view, but it will never again rank at the bottom of the pack as it had done before. It has stood the test of time as fantastic Dark Horse album for the band and I've enjoyed revisiting that one.

[Zip City]

Walls of text, walls of text everywhere

[Iowan]

I haven't really listened to any DBT albums all the way through in 2015 to be honest. I think I spun SRO and Decoration Day on a road trip, but that would be about it.

It would be interesting to go back through them all over a day or two, and re-evaluate things. I liked "English Oceans" a lot for the first few months before I wore it out, and still think there's about 4-5 top tier DBT songs on it (which is more than the several previous albums). I don't skip much other than "When He's Gone" or "Hanging On" (again, more than previous works).

Since this always devolves into album ranking (but is there a better way to evaluate a body of work?) I'll fire my ranking based on current mental impression and revisit this soon.

DD
SRO
TDS
ABAAC
PD
EO
GB
BTCD
TBTD
GGB

I don't want to interject any wisdom to this discussion, yet instead give credit where credit is due. When Three Dimes Down was Nine Bullets long ago, however seemed like just yesterday, the Iowan has long been heralding ABAAC as an underrated dark horse album for the DBT's. I always disagreed and sometimes even poked fun at him for it (as well as his appreciation for the 21st century RHCP records) I listened to ABAAC once every day this weekend. And I'm not sure if that the profound effect was because I hadn't picked up the album in a long time. Or if I was in a jovial mood over the long weekend. Or just the simple fact that many of the songs on the albums are less frequently exposed on the live DBT shows that I listen to....But after all of those 9 years of figuratively slobbing that album's knob, Iowan, you were right and I was wrong. It will never be a top three album in the band's catalog in my view, but it will never again rank at the bottom of the pack as it had done before. It has stood the test of time as fantastic Dark Horse album for the band and I've enjoyed revisiting that one.

Right on! I still firmly believe it will someday get its due with the majority of the DBT fanbase, and is closer in quality to the Big 3 than it is to the rest of the catalog.

My love for this album only increased after The Secret to a Happy Ending.

[Clams]

I haven't really listened to any DBT albums all the way through in 2015 to be honest. I think I spun SRO and Decoration Day on a road trip, but that would be about it.

It would be interesting to go back through them all over a day or two, and re-evaluate things. I liked "English Oceans" a lot for the first few months before I wore it out, and still think there's about 4-5 top tier DBT songs on it (which is more than the several previous albums). I don't skip much other than "When He's Gone" or "Hanging On" (again, more than previous works).

Since this always devolves into album ranking (but is there a better way to evaluate a body of work?) I'll fire my ranking based on current mental impression and revisit this soon.

DD
SRO
TDS
ABAAC
PD
EO
GB
BTCD
TBTD
GGB

I don't want to interject any wisdom to this discussion, yet instead give credit where credit is due. When Three Dimes Down was Nine Bullets long ago, however seemed like just yesterday, the Iowan has long been heralding ABAAC as an underrated dark horse album for the DBT's. I always disagreed and sometimes even poked fun at him for it (as well as his appreciation for the 21st century RHCP records) I listened to ABAAC once every day this weekend. And I'm not sure if that the profound effect was because I hadn't picked up the album in a long time. Or if I was in a jovial mood over the long weekend. Or just the simple fact that many of the songs on the albums are less frequently exposed on the live DBT shows that I listen to....But after all of those 9 years of figuratively slobbing that album's knob, Iowan, you were right and I was wrong. It will never be a top three album in the band's catalog in my view, but it will never again rank at the bottom of the pack as it had done before. It has stood the test of time as fantastic Dark Horse album for the band and I've enjoyed revisiting that one.

I agree with a lot of that Cubfan. It kills me to give Iowan the credit, but ABAAC has grown on me probably more over the years than any record in DBT's catalogue. The thing about it though, is that the songs are either awesome or they suck, there is no in-between with this record. The suckers, for me, are the two Isbell tracks and the title track. Everything else is top shelf DBT and extremely underrated.

As far as EO goes, I'll put it squarely in the second tier. For me, the upper DBT tier is SRO, DD, TDS and BTCD. The second tier is everything else.

[Tequila Cowboy]

I'll add some praise for ABAAC as well. I hate the Isbell tracks but they are what they are. I love almost everything else on the record. Wednesday has become one of my very, very favorites and I never thought I'd say that. Still chasing Goodbye...

[Cubfan06]

I'll add some praise for ABAAC as well. I hate the Isbell tracks but they are what they are. I love almost everything else on the record. Wednesday has become one of my very, very favorites and I never thought I'd say that. Still chasing Goodbye...

We haven't heard Goodbye at any of the Chi-town or Wisco shows?! Wow. I've missed out on that one too. Wish that is one they would bring back.

The Isbell tracks are brutal. Imagine if they would have replaced those tracks with Try and Dress Blues or anything else off SOTD that isn't named Brand New Kind of Actress.

[schlanky]

Still chasing Goodbye...

Me too. Goodbye is far and away the song I've never seen live that I'd most want to see.

[schlanky]

Oops. Not sure how I double posted.

[Iowan]

I still don't get the hate for the Isbell tracks. There were better ones left on the cutting room floor, but they aren't anywhere close to bad. I like them better than probably half the songs on any of his solo albums, save for Sirens.

[Zip City]

Goodbye is the undisputed champion in the "most underrated/biggest sleeper DBT track of all time" contest

[Duke Silver]

I still don't get the hate for the Isbell tracks. There were better ones left on the cutting room floor, but they aren't anywhere close to bad. I like them better than probably half the songs on any of his solo albums, save for Sirens.

Same. I can't imagine ABAAC without Daylight or Easy On Yourself.

[brett27295]

Same. I can't imagine ABAAC without Daylight or Easy On Yourself.

Easy On Yourself is one of my favorite songs on ABAAC

[Iowan]

I still don't get the hate for the Isbell tracks. There were better ones left on the cutting room floor, but they aren't anywhere close to bad. I like them better than probably half the songs on any of his solo albums, save for Sirens.

Same. I can't imagine ABAAC without Daylight or Easy On Yourself.

I would have been fine with an ABAAC that included Crystal Clear and When the Well Runs Dry, but the hate for the Isbell tracks probably baffles me more than anything on this board. Mild dislike? I could get that. It's the passionate hatred and claims that they nearly ruin the album that just catch me off guard. They aren't my favorite DBT songs or even Isbell songs, but I could find 5 songs from each of Cooley, Hood, and Isbell that are (considerably) weaker than those two.

[Clams]

Goodbye is the undisputed champion in the "most underrated/biggest sleeper DBT track of all time" contest

Possibly true

[Clams]

I still don't get the hate for the Isbell tracks. There were better ones left on the cutting room floor, but they aren't anywhere close to bad. I like them better than probably half the songs on any of his solo albums, save for Sirens.

Same. I can't imagine ABAAC without Daylight or Easy On Yourself.

I would have been fine with an ABAAC that included Crystal Clear and When the Well Runs Dry, but the hate for the Isbell tracks probably baffles me more than anything on this board. Mild dislike? I could get that. It's the passionate hatred and claims that they nearly ruin the album that just catch me off guard. They aren't my favorite DBT songs or even Isbell songs, but I could find 5 songs from each of Cooley, Hood, and Isbell that are (considerably) weaker than those two.

Given Jason's songs on the previous DBT records (Danko/Manuel, Outfit, Decoration Day, etc), and the ones that in hindsight were in the can when ABAAC came out (TVA, Well Runs Dry, Dress Blues etc), the ones that made it onto the album just pale in comparison. That's it in a nutshell for me.

[Cole Younger]

I've always stood in solidarity with Iowan on ABAAC. I don't think it's as good as the top three but I don't put a long way behind them either. Something else that he and I agree on is that it seems to have something to do with both of us having gotten into the band around the time that record was released and in my case having heard it before any of the other records. I was surprised when I joined this board and found out how far down the list it is for a lot of people. Patterson himself has made the statement that they were going for a very different type of record and that sometimes he doesn't like it when he hears it. Again, it may be because when I heard the record for the first time I had no preconceived notions about what the band was supposed to sound like and that has stuck with me somehow but I don't hear any huge difference when I listen to this record. It sounds like DBT.

I also can not understand the hatred of the Jason songs. I like them both a lot. And the first few times I heard the record Easy On Yourself was one of my favorite two or three songs on it. Some days I still feel like that. I agree that he had other unreleased songs at the time that were better but I still don't get the dislike for those two songs. I've come around on When The Well Runs Dry. I used not understand all the fuss. I like it pretty well now but still like the two songs that made it onto the record just as well. Goodbye is a terribly underrated song. I actually like the title track a lot. Lyrically its nothing to write home about but musically its awsome. And it don't get any better than Aftermath for me.

As far as EO. I feel now the way I did when it came out. It's definitely really good. I rank in that second bunch of records with BTCD, ABAAC, and Gangstabilly.

[beantownbubba]

I probably wrote something similar in the ABAAC thread, but I'm too lazy to check. ABAAC was the first new DBT album to be released after I had become a fan. I had already seen them live a couple of times and was still absorbing the earlier records, although I was familiar w/ them. I, too, was really surprised by all the negative reaction. When you add up all the really good songs on that album there are, well, a heck of a lot of them. I do think it's less cohesive than a number of other DBT albums and I do think it has a couple of less than stellar tracks including Daylight (but at least to these ears not Easy on Yourself) so I definitely don't see it as belonging at the top of the band's list. OTOH, Aftermath is one of the band's very best straight ahead rockers and Gravity's Gone both rocks and has endlessly quotable lyrics including my long time sig line. Throw in the totally amazing Space City, World of Hurt (better live, but still...) and several other solid numbers and it's hard to be too negative about the album. All one can really criticize is that it's not DD or TDS. As I've said before, we should appreciate that that's our standard, not knock the band for not always living up to it.

[Zip City]

ABAAC has some of my favorite AND least favorite DBT tracks. It's polarizing in that way

[njMark]

I also love ABaAC, always have. EO is not a fav, a few songs I like but I haven't listened to it in at least 6 months or so. Seeing ABaAC get its overdue love tells me that maybe I'm not wrong about TBTD being one of the best albums they've done. But then again I never got all of the love for BTCD. Not going to rank them all but my top 5 are
1.DD
2.TDS
3. TBTD
4.ABaAC
5.SRO

Not saying this is the definitive list, I know most are going to say I'm nuts and don't know what I'm talking about but these albums speak to me, I could give a shit about balance, mixing or any of that. Do they make me feel something, give you chills, maybe a tear when the songs hit close to home. That makes an album great to me.

[John A Arkansawyer]

Patterson himself has made the statement that they were going for a very different type of record and that sometimes he doesn't like it when he hears it.

I heard it for the "first" time--I heard the three Isbell records after SRO but before seeing DBT live and they didn't connect with me till after that, though the songs from them on the earlier ACL performance a friend slipped me did, so I count my first time from first hearing them rather than first listening to them--with that in mind, and while I got what he was saying, I still felt like you when you say "It sounds like DBT."

Do they make me feel something, give you chills, maybe a tear when the songs hit close to home. That makes an album great to me.

Same here. Don't forget fist-pumping, dancing, and yowling, though.

[maxjkugel]

I haven't listened to English Oceans front to back in quite a while. Like others, Hanging On never did much for me. I'm sure I'll get shit for this, but I never really cared for Hearing Jimmy Loud or Til He's Dead either. The former has some great lyrics, but the music never caught my attention and I'm not sure what is going on with that solo. Solid record at any rate. That said, if I had to rank my top five right now it would be:

DD
TDS
BTCD
SRO
PD

I put BTCD above SRO only because I find myself listening to it more as of late. As with most people, this could easily change on a day-to-day basis, although I think DD has been in that top spot for quite some time.

[Iowan]

My main conclusion after the past couple of days having gone through the whole catalog is that the TBTD holds up better after a few years than I thought it would about a year after it's release. I think I enjoy it, top to bottom, more than Gangstabilly. Especially when I replace Wallendas and Eyes Like Glue with GWS and Strutter. TDS vs. SRO is an "any given day thing" too. TDS might be the more consistent of the two, with SRO hitting higher highs.

DD
SRO
TDS
ABAAC
PD
EO
TBTD
GB
BTCD
GGB

Flip TBTD and GGB, basically