1st Mariner Arena, Baltimore 06-08-07

For me, Tool is something of an experience. Sure, the atmospherics and mystical content are retarded at first glance, but there is much more depth in Tool’s music than most credit. I’m mostly talking about writers over at Pitchfork and Stylus who leap at the opportunity to cut an hour of writing time by pasting failing grades on the band’s albums and not much else. I can understand not liking modern metal, but reading verbose jargon about how Tool is somehow the epitome of shit because they aren’t an Englishman with crooked teeth and a Rickenbacker is particularly grating. Tool is a lesser Led Zeppelin, not only because of the mystique and lyrical content, but because Tool is a band of four musical virtuosos. Adam Jones is a modern hero of the rock guitar, pulling more effects out of limited pedals than magician’s tricks out of a hat. Danny Carey can pound drums like a Ben Hur slave-driver on speed. Justin Chancellor can make his bass sound like a screaming guitar, synth funk machine, or metal factory at the turn of a beat. And Maynard James Keenan can bellow out so much disgust, loathing, and incendiary blast furnace rage that he could make it an Olympic event.

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Rating:  7.0

The inimitable British folk singer, Nick Drake, produced three stellar records almost forty years ago and then fell into an abyss of depression before he faded away in a suspected suicide in 1974. After his death, he was virtually unknown for at least one decade, maybe even two or three, before his popularity sharply began to rise. There have been at least three different bootlegs produced in the past that have included some rare, pre- Five Leaves Left home recordings. Family Tree sees the first official release of these tracks, most of which are covers and traditional tracks that have been floating around for years. Although it is a good collection, there is not much new material included, and some key tracks are missing along with some unnecessary additions thrown in there as well.

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