Re: Review from someone who heard the new album
I think the Hello Again documentary pointed out something we all know, but perhaps don't recongnize the importance of. Namely, that Leroi was always the leader of the band in terms of song structure and organization. Just as a non-musician may never fully realize the greatness of Dave (his ability to play guitar AND sing at the same time), the true greatness of Roi may never be fully realized because a lot of his contribution came in a less public way (of course in addition to his brilliant playing).
Now by all accounts, Rashawn has taken over the position of chief composer. Yes Dave or Stefan come up with the guitar riffs, etc....but now Rashawn, just as Leroi did for all those years, is the main person constructing the songs, putting everything together.
For that reason, I think the quality of the album will rise or fall on how much you like Rashawn's taste in music and his ear for putting songs together. As opposed to Big Whiskey, I think he has been with the band long enough now that he has fully embraced this role and thus this album will be a true relfection (see what I did there?) of how this band will sound going forward with Rashawn as the leader.
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