Main menu
Fretplay home Submit tabs

Great White
Great White tabs Great White discography

Channels
Guitar channel Bass channel Guitar videos Reviews

Message Forum
Guitar forum Bass forum Bands and artists Promote your band Recent discussions All categories

Fretplay.com

Great White guitar tabs

CD reviews

Can't Get There from Here

Great White - Can't Get There from Here Audio CD

A fair review of the Great White "Can't Get There from Here" 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 Great White reviews here, or go back to the Great White tabs.

Band: Great White
Title: Can't Get There from Here
Rating:

Release Date: 1999-07-06
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Rollin' Stoned 2: Ain't No Shame 3: Silent Night 4: Saint Lorraine 5: In the Tradition 6: Freedom Song 7: Gone to the Dogs 8: Wooden Jesus 9: Sister Mary 10: Loveless Age 11: Psychedelic Hurricane 12: Hey Mister

The epitome of hidden jewel
They were the start, and after that I started to track down other bands, that for good or bad, were included in the LA Hard Rock 80's movement (even GN'R who obviously, didn't fit in the glam scene). I have been a hard rock fan since I listened to GN'R. I went from Poison to Cinderella (another band of the pack that was not even from LA), Slaughter, M�tley Cr�e, Faster Pussycat, Firehouse, Skid Row, Enuff Z'Nuff, Bang Tango, Pretty Boy Floyd. . . you name it! However, I never listened to Great White until I read a couple of rave reviews of "Can't Get There From Here". A few months later I found this CD at a good price and decided I would give it a try. What a discovery. . .

This CD just rocks!! It has plenty of rockers and also slower numbers that can satisfy all tastes as long as you like to rock and roll. It has blues, it has hard rock, it has american classic rock, it has metal riffs, it has everything! And on top of everything, it has great songs performed by a solid band. And that, my friends, is what makes this CD timeless. "Rollin' Stoned" is a great opener which you can't stop moving your feet to. Pure rock and roll, period. After that, the songs start to flow with no stop until you reach the end. That's how good this album is. My personal favorites are "In the Tradition" (great, sad ballad with an amazing acoustic guitar sound and Jack Russell's vocals at its best), "Freedom Song" (an instant classic in a better world), "Gone to the Dogs" (metal riff-o-rama that kicks you in the teeth), "Silent Night" or "Sister Mary". Every song on this album has soul. Has something to say.

Since then I have checked earlier Great White stuff and I also like it a lot, but nothing compares to this 1999 album. Some might say that I have a conditioned view of Great White because I started with this album and that I am not getting what Great White really is. I could agree, but I'm fine with that. "Can't Get There From Here" is simply a great rock and roll record that I will bring with me to my grave (along with a handful more!).

Not the top 100, but...
This one is probably around 101. I recently came up with my own list of what I believe are to be the greatest 100 albums in rock history. When I bought this upon it's release in 1999, I couldn't stop listening to it. Rollin' Stoned was a great pick me up tune and the rest of the record just seemed to flow so well together. 2006. . . It is so hard to write a review of this album. It has great songs, great writing, great singing and great musicianship. I think what I miss on this record that always seems to be a big part of every Great White CD is that big song with the over the top bass line. (Mista Bone on Twice Shy, Hand on the Trigger on Let it Rock or Lady Red Light on Once Bitten) Gone to the dogs could have been that song here, but the band din't pull that off. Silent Night seems like a classic that has poor lyrics.

I would have loved to included this in my top 100 albums of all time, but the few flaw that i brought up made me place it just below that. Now this is a must have for any fan of Great White, but for starters I'd go with Twice Shy, Hooked or Let it Rock
.

Doesn't make for good listening... at all

But with the release of this album, 2 of those 3 are nowhere to be found and Russell's voice can't carry the whole load alone. Great White have always had 3 advantages over their 80s era contemporaries: a continued love of blues-based rock, Micheal Lardie's writing and Jack Russell's voice- one of the strongest, and most underrated in rock.

The music is bar-room rock-by-numbers and Lardie's usual deft touch has deserted him for cringe-worthy cliche:

"Every now and then I like to pick up the phone/ and make a call down memory lane"

"let the world be still tonight/let the fire be the only light"

There's no sense of irony and just a empty feeling of going through the motions with the entire album. I'm astonished to see its 5 star average and so many fans calling it the band's best work: I can only attribute this to loyalty and sentimentality following the band's troubles of several years past. If you want to hear Great White's best recent work, don't go past "Psycho City" for its balls out rock and several examples of Lardie's best power ballads, or "Great Zeppelin" for Russell's astonising vocals as the band play tribute to Led Zeppelin. But avoid this album at all costs. .

A WELL WRITTEN AND INTELLIGENT ROCK ALBUM
The songs are mature and well written, both musically and lyrically. This Album is a great testimonial to the overall talent,style,and magic that GREAT WHITE brought to rock music fans all over the world. I don't understand why this excellent album did not receive more support and publicity from the music industry, and from the so-called Rock Radio stations around the world. This is music that will reach into your mind, heart, and soul. I strongly encourage all Great White Fans to purchase this Album, and listen to it with an open mind. As for GREAT WHITE Band Members, I think you should restart the band with the same players that appeared on the "HOOKED" Album. I know that the Rhode Island incident will always haunt you, and cause a lot of self-doubt, but real fans of Rock&Roll music would really like to have you guys back with a new Album! Nobody in their "right mind" really blames the band members for what happened on that ill-fated night. I know that I would eagerly show up for any future "reunion" show that features the band's original players. So when-ever you can "face the day" of playing the music that only GREAT WHITE can deliver, all of your fans will be waiting! Good luck to the band members and all of their family and friends! We who love you will never forget you! If Tony Montana(Bass) and Mark Kendal(guitar) read this---"you can come back baby, 'cause Rock&Roll never forgets"!!!.

Just didn't bring me back to the old days.
When this album came out, I was going through some major withdrawls after the disppointment of Sail Away. I have been a huge Great White fan since I saw them live in 1990. I gave it a spin and yea, the opening track was that same old Great White, but the rest of the album let me down. Russell's vocals seemed strained and really showed his age. In my opinion, their last great album was Psycho City. It's a shame they're gone now, but maybe they will reform and play the great old stuff again.

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