From my experience with music lovers, jam bands always seem to provoke a strong emotion. Some people either love them or hate them. Those who love them, follow them around the country. I have friends who have followed The Grateful Dead, Phish and Wide Spread Panic around the world.
moe. fits this music category. They are a classic jam band that would be heard on a satellite radio station like, Jam On. They also play music festivals around the country, including the infamous Bonnaroo. In addition, they have their own festivals including: snow.down (Vermont), Summercamp (Illinois) and moe.down (New York).
moe. was formed in Buffalo, NY in the late 1980’s. The band consists of excellent musicians, including: Rob Derhak (bass, Vocals), Al Schnier (guitar, Vocals, keyboard), Chuck Garvey (guitar, Vocals), Vinnie Amico (drums), and Jim Loughlin (percussion).
Their new album, “Smash Hits Volume One,” takes their top songs from their 14 other albums and combines it into one. Produced by Fatboy Label, this anthology of work spans from the last 20 years of moe.’s music. It is a great introduction to the band. If you already love moe. then this compilation album takes all of moe.’s top songs and brings it to one place.
Interestingly, Smash Hits Volume One is not an album in which songs were pulled and mixed together from previous albums. The band got together in a studio and played their tunes so that all of the songs had the same consistency and sound quality.
moe. encompasses the real “rock and roll” sound. They use electric guitars, heavy drums and utilize repetitive music. There seems to be few words and mostly musical interludes. But when Derhak, Schnier and Garvey sing, they have a harmonious sound.
The second song on the album, “Yodelittle,” is one of the band’s first songs recorded. It has a catchy tune and makes you want to bop your head. My favorite song though, is “St. Augustine.” I’m sure this song gets everyone up and dancing at any of their festivals.
Most of their songs put me into a musical trance. When I listen to their music, I can’t think of anything else besides the way the music flows together and makes me feel.
I’ll be honest with you, I have heard of moe. before, but never really listened to their music and have never been to one of their concerts. So, you can call me a “first timer.” Although, I love punk, new wave, alternative and classic rock, I really enjoyed Smash Hits Volume One.
Every time I listened to the album, it put me in a relaxed and good mood. That’s what I expect when I listen to music. So Smash Hits Volume One met and even exceeded my expectations.
This article was first published at Blogcritics by Hilary JM Topper.
