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How Does Your Garden Grow?

Better Than Ezra - How Does Your Garden Grow? Audio CD

A fair review of the Better Than Ezra "How Does Your Garden Grow?" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Better Than Ezra reviews here, or go back to the Better Than Ezra tabs.

Band: Better Than Ezra
Title: How Does Your Garden Grow?
Rating:

Release Date: 2008-01-13
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Je Ne M'En Souviens Pas 2: One More Murder 3: At the Stars 4: Like It Like That 5: Allison Foley 6: Under You 7: Live Again 8: Happy Day M�m� 9: Pull 10: Particle 11: Beautiful Mistake 12: Everything in 2's 13: New Kind of Low: Low/Coma 14: Waxing or Waning?

The Most Experimental and Enjoyable BTE Record Yet. . .
" With that single syllable song, Better Than Ezra firmly established themselves as one of the premier alt-rock bands alongside such illustrious contemporaries as Blind Melon, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Dishwalla, Gin Blossoms, and Collective Soul. "Good. Debut Deluxe was a surprise hit and spawed at least two other successful singles.

From there, Better Than Ezra crafted an equally grand sophomore record. The release of Friction, Baby saw newfound fans across the globe embracing one of the most reliably crowd-pleasing songs in Better Than Ezra's catalogue: "Desperately Wanting". However, despite the success, no new ground was broken because the band opted to utilize the exact same mold they'd used for their debut.

The debate between releasing a roster of straight rock records and experimenting with a style a bit deeper than the average alternative album has torn apart lesser acts. Granted, it is a crucial decision that can make or break a band.

Do you cater to the greatest common denominator and give the people what they theoretically want - another piece of the same rock record? Or do you alter your present style to something less mainstream yet still have the album solidly land within the field of pop music?

Better Than Ezra's conceptualization of third album How Does Your Garden Grow set about to regenerate the dormant creativity long-time fans knew they were capable of. It begins with quirky opener "Je Ne M'en Souviens Pas", which essentially establishes this will not be BTE Rock Record #3.

The record really kicks off with "One More Murder", which adroitly highlights the senselessness of random killings. "At the Stars" recalls late nights that seemed as if they could last forever. "Under You" unfolds beautifully as a love paean, while adjacent track "Live Again" suggests a more complex relationship replete with worries and woes.

"Beautiful Mistake" is nudged near the end of the album when many bands are tacking on filler songs and half-hearted tracks. Concerning a father who has abandoned his family, the track was immediately seized upon by fans who understood the pain of loss. For years it could be found next to Everclear's "Father of Mine" on oft-pressed melancholy mix discs.

Though Better Than Ezra has released at least two albums since Garden, with some notable high points, they have yet to reach the creative heights they scaled so seemingly effortlessly in 1998.

BTE Can Do No Wrong!

A must. This CD has a great mix of melodies and as always the songwriting is superb.

In retrospect..
Kevin Griffin's opus, BTE's genius. This might just be one of the very best albums of the 1990's.

My fav's:

At The Stars. One of my FAVORITE BTE songs of alltime. Just a great melody and excellent lyrics that place you into the song.

Beautiful Mistake. Excellent song about lost love that has been found, but with the ever present BTE exception. The song is real, and it sticks with you. I ignored it, even after buyinng this as a cassette on the Tuesday it was realeased until seeing it live last November. My mistake.

One more Murder. Good song. It really made a lot of sense in 1997 when New Orleans was the murder capital of the US. Good social comment without being preachy.

Waxing or Waning. This is an absolute gem of a song. It is an emotion that you sing along with. Excellent track, one of Kevin's best ever. I never get tired of it.

The rest of the tracks to varying degrees are good to very good. The key is they all fit and ANY of them could be released TODAY and sound just like they belong on the radio in 2006.

You can always tell if you meet an idiot by asking them their opion on this album. If they say "I didnt get it", then they are an idiot. Plain and simple, this one's for the thinking crowd.

By far my favorite album I own.
I now have a huge void in my life. Only I am gonna have to buy it again because someone stole it from me. This album is definately comparable to Dark Side of The Moon, for the fact that every song is so different and every song is phenomenal. This has to be IN MY BOOK, the most underrated albums of all time. A true gem. And just to let you know, it might take a few listens to grow, but I guarantee it will grow on you. .

A different type of album from BTE
When I first heard it, I hated it with the exception of a few tracks. This CD is one you have to grow into. Compared to BTE's earlier works (Deluxe; Friction, Baby), this is a radically different CD. Instead of the normal rock 'n roll BTE fans were accustomed to, this album incorporated many synthesized effects. Each track had a very different sound. I put this CD on the rack in favour of "Friction, Baby".

A few months later, I gravitated back to this CD and thought, "Hey, what the heck?" and gave it another listen. All the sudden, I really liked it. I found myself thinking how catchy and unique this was, and wondering why I didn't like it in the first place. This CD is proggressive rock, even veering toward an artsy type of rock. Some people love this stuff right away; others don't. I think you just have to listen to it enough to really get a good feel for it. If you find yourself not liking it, come back to it later. You might surprise yourself and end up liking it.

TRACKS

1. Je ne m'en souviens pas - Literally, I think the title means something along the lines of 'I don't remember'. This track has a very atmospheric feel, with less emphasis on the lyrics and more on the music and mood it creates. It includes extensive use of synthesizers, but it sounds really good.

2. One More Murder - This is completely different from the stuff you'd find on other BTE albums. There isn't much emphasis on guitars; again, more synthesizer use. It has a catchy tune and good lyrics (a BTE standard in my opinion).

3. At the Stars - If don't like anything on the album, this will be the exception. It's a beautiful song with great lyrics. My friends have called this the only 'normal' track on the CD - in other words, less synth stuff, more emphasis on the guitar and vocals. This is a great song, even better if you get a chance to hear it live.

4. Like It Like That - This song is absolute fun. There's kind of a samba beat going on. It's one of those songs that makes you want to get up and dance.

5. Allison Foley - I've heard people call this song 'anti-folk' - kind of an odd way to categorise it. It starts of with a twangy guitar, and eventually ends up in your average rock 'n roll distorted guitars. I love the lyrics and the guitar work in this one.

6. Under You - This is the first 'ballad' of the album. It's soft, with a great chorus. The vocals are the highlight of this one.

7. Live Again - This is one of the best slow songs on the disc. There's some cool guitar effects happening the intro, and the melody line is great. It's a catchy song that will stick in your head for days (and you'll still love it!!). It's a very pretty song.

8. Happy Day MaMa - This is another fun song, like "Like It Like That". The lyrics are pretty amusing, the song is dancable, it's fun to sing along with. An all-around good song.

9. Pull - This is hard rock. It's completely different from everything else in the album. This is your classic rock with distorted guitars, lyrics bordering sleazy, loud and catchy. It's got everything. For me to fully appreciate this song though, I had to see it live. Still, it's a great track to listen to if you're in an I-don't-care mood.

10. Particle - This brings an atmospheric feel again at points. It's a bit of a combination of tracks 1 and 2 of this disc. I really like some of the vocal work in this.

11. Beautiful Mistake - This is a very pretty song. The lyrics are well-written and the music fits in perfectly. It creates a very unique mood - one that's a bit sombre, yet still has hope.

12. Everything in 2's - A good love song. It has some acoustic guitar work and some synthesized things in it. It all fits together well.

13. New Kind of Low - a) Low: This part is the rocking part. It's loud. . . and, well, loud. I really like it, but some people think it's a bit weird.
b) Coma: This is the soft part. There's some keyboard/synth stuff going on, with lyrics continuing from part a of the track. It's very mellow and relaxing, a big change from part a.

14. Waxing or Waning? - I really like this track. It has a New Orleans feel to it. It's all acoustic guitar, with a bit of trumpet playing in it. The lyrics are really good, as are the vocals.

This is a great album. For me, this was a turning point for exploring more music with different sounds that just plain rock. It incorporates many things, and I find that it is very unique. It's probably one of the best discs in my collection.

You can see a complete list of all Better Than Ezra discography, or go back to the Better Than Ezra tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.