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Blues Traveler - Travelers & Thieves Audio CD

A fair review of the Blues Traveler "Travelers & Thieves" 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 Blues Traveler reviews here, or go back to the Blues Traveler tabs.

Blues Traveler Band: Blues Traveler
Title: Travelers & Thieves
Rating:
Release Date: 1991-09-03
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Tiding 2: Onslaught 3: Ivory Tusk 4: What's for Breakfast 5: I Have My Moments 6: Optimistic Thought 7: Best Part 8: Sweet Pain 9: All in the Groove 10: Support Your Local Emperor 11: Bagheera 12: Mountain Cry

Classic BT Release
Whereas "Blues Traveler" featured the band's ability to jam freely and with ease, "Travelers and Thieves" highlights John Popper's craftmanship with free flowing lyrics and a more cohesive sound from the band, particularly Bobby Sheehan on bass. For long-standing fans of Blues Traveler, this album serves as an excellent follow-up to their self titled debut. Bobby would never, in my opinion, sound better than he did on "Emperor" and "Bagheera". As a whole, this album flows well, mixing the more frantic tracks (Breakfast, Onslaught) with more somber moods (Sweet Pain, The Best Part). This album will always be my favorite BT record if only because it was my first (after hearing "All In The Groove" on the radio), but it has stood the test of time, and survived when it seemed the band might not. A must have for fans of the band, and an excellent introduction to those who have been missing out.


Brilliant and Sad
i. I have to say that this was one of the 5 Blues Traveler classics before the untimely death of the late Bobby Sheehan (r. p). Every song is pure brilliance on this disk. I still can't get over the awesome bassline on Support Your Local Emperor( Bob at one of his finests). I just wish they played that song live when I saw them. Sweat Pain always brings a sad feeling when I hear it, even tho it is happy also. Recommend buying along with Save His Soul. Peace Out.


A Big Letdown
Great jams fueled by some catchy songs such as Gina, But Anyway, Warmer Days, and Sweet Talkin' Hippie. The debut Blues Traveler CD was truly fascinating.

This follow up Travelers and Thieves CD has many good jams but many unmemorable tunes. As talented as the instrumentalists might be, after a while the endless noodling gets a little boring if a good melody is not present. All In The Groove is possibly the only piece with a noteworthy melody. Mountain Cry is not bad in the background with some good vocal interplay between John Popper and guest, Greg Allman. In time I could appreciate it a bit more. Onslaught is semi-memorable if a bit chaotic.

However, the overall impression is that of boredom. The tunes all seem to blend together with little in the terms of variety and even originality. Even Popper's harmonica blasts get wearisome midway through this CD.

The discriminating fan will choose the first CD, Four, and Straight Until Morning and pass on this mess. .


Great bookends, but too weak in the middle
I have enjoyed their evolution over the years, and I think that each phase of their career is enjoyable for different (and some of the same) reasons. I am a big Blues Traveler fan. Having said that, Travelers & Thieves is and has always been my least favorite BT album. For years I had a difficult time pinpointing exactly what it was about the album that troubled me, but eventually I hit upon it:

Too much hi-hat.

It's more than that actually. But that's a big part of it. It sounds trivial (and I suppose it is), but many of the songs suffer from an overly-polished rhythm section. The drum lines are all very intricate, but they are often too fast and lack the drive and guts of the songs from the (brilliant) "Save His Soul" album and even "Straight On Till Morning".

This is most evident in "Optimistic Thought", "I Have My Moments", "Support Your Local Emperor", "All In The Groove" & "Bagheera". There is just not enough kick behind these songs and they rely too much on a rhythm section that is far too hi-hat heavy and not strong enough to carry them.

Other songs misuse the harmonica. John Popper is at his best when he is attacking the harmonica on songs like "Can't See Why", "Sweet Talking Hippie" and "Stand". On too many of the songs on Travelers & Thieves (especially Bagheera & Emperor), the harmonica almost sounds like a flute.

Another problem is the mix. The entire album sounds like it was recorded in a large, empty room with no acoustic walls. There is way too much echo and it makes the lyrics very difficult to understand. "What's For Breakfast" sounds much better live than it does on this album for that reason.

Still, the album has some very strong points, and I need to mention them. "The Tiding / Onslaught" is very good, if a little musically dichotomous (although I believe that is intentional and consistent with the lyrics). And the epic "Mountain Cry" is in many ways one of the best BT songs ever written. But in between those two classics which open and close the album, there is a little too much fluff . . . and hi-hat. Two and a half stars -- round up to three.


No weak links on this one
No such problems on Travelers & Thieves. There always seems a point in every Blues Traveler album where the flow is broken and perhaps one or two songs make the cut that probably should not have. This album gets lost in the shuffle when looking at their work as a whole, but many of BT's most cherished songs make their appearance here. John Popper hits his stride as a songwriter on Sweet Pain, Optimistic Thought, The Best Part, and Bagheera.

Although BT made its mark through a absurdly extensive touring schedule in its early years, it was in T&T that the songwriting and musical talent that culminated in the wildly successful Four truly shines for the first time.

The choice of All in the Groove as the initial single release was puzzling, but BT always seems to mess that up on every album. Don't let the lack of sales pre-Four allow you to dismiss this album, if you like BT you need this one.


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

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