Laurel Aitken – The Story So Far…
welcome back to the Skaject folks! this week, we’re listening to The Story So Far…, Laurel Aitken’s return to the skaject!
The Story So Far… is a fun collection of songs – many of these are covers or performances of older songs, like the version of Sally Brown and the twist on Message to You Rudy in Rudy’s Getting Married.
the band’s doing some really solid work here – through the whole album the instrumentals sounded good, and even the background vocals were used pretty well.
i think Laurel Aitken’s voice still sounds pretty good here, but there are a few places where the either the mix does him a disservice or it doesnt quite land for him, and unfortunately i feel like the opener Roll Jordan Roll, a performance of an older spiritual, is one of those tracks – the mix buries his voice, and it sounds a bit muted and flat. on the flipside, he sounds fantastic in Bartender, with an excellent wry performance by Aitken that sells the track, and then follows it up with It’s Too Late, where he also sounds really good!
i think one of the things that dampens my enjoyment here is that some of the tracks run for like, and extra chorus or two at the end too long – It’s Too Late and Mad About You both, despite being otherwise pretty good tracks, both do this. there are a lotta good reasons for tracks to be designed like this, but here i think its a little weaker than it couod otherwise be. i feel pretty mixed on Sahara – there’s a really good core to this song but it doesnt offer a ton of movement or change over the course of the track and feels a bit stale, even for the bits i like quite a bit.
faves – Bartender, Sally Brown
dislikes –
The Story So Far… – 6/10
next week, we’ll be looking at No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom.
previous: Lockjaw | next: Tragic Kingdom
previous Laurel Aitken release: Floyd Lloyd & the Potato 5 Meet Laurel Aitken | next: The Clash of the Ska Titans
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