I saw Oneida Friday night and realized I'd failed to write a review of their album. I've failed to write a lot of reviews lately to be honest, but given how many times I've seen Oneida, I should at least say a few things about the new album.
So in case you haven't heard, it's a tripple album. Sort of. It's not a tripple album in the way that Sandinista was a triple album. This one really could fit on just two records. It clocks in just under 2 hours, and none of the three discs are longer than 40 minutes. But given that I only had to pay $15 dollars for it, I can't really complain. And once I finally listened, it was clear why this was a tripple album: each disc is totally different.
And the first disc is really the big shocker. Instead of opening with pulsing keyboards and shredding guitars, opener "Brownout in Lagos" is a mess of noise and programmed beats. And the vocals? That's a guest singer. And things just keep getting weirder from there. "What's up Jackal" features official Oneida member Hanoi Jane on vocals, but his vocals are so distorted that you really can't tell whose singing (I just know it's him because he sings it live. I could be wrong though. For all I know, someone else sang it on the album.)
Basically nothing on disc one sounds like Oneida. This can be enjoyable and interesting. But it can also be tedious and annoying. "10:30 at the Oasis" is a dozen minutes of electronics that makes for good background music, but really doesn't give me any of the thrills that I go to Oneida for. And "The Human Factor" is just awful. I have a firm policy of never skipping tracks on albums. I sometimes have to break that rule with this one. It's 10 minutes long, and while the first half is horribly boring (droning noise and unispired drumming), it's the final half that is excruciating. Basically, it's just a bunch of yelling. I can't make out any words, and I don't really care to even try. I usually just turn it down. This is by far the single worst track that Oneida has ever recorded and released. I took a moment to think that over. Yes. It is.
Disc 2 is what I had been waiting for. Not every unreleased song I've heardt hem play over the past two years is on there, but the four best ones are. And they're right up there at the front. Beginning the disc, frequent set starter "The River" quickly dispels any fears that the studio versions of these songs wouldn't live up to the live version. "I Will Haunt You", "Life You Preferred" and "Ghost in the Room" are also equal to their live versions. Which is to say, they rock harder than just about anything else out these days.
The remaining three tracks have not been live staples. In fact, I think I've only heard "Saturday" maybe once or twice. They're all pretty good, but after 4 solid winners, I find myself drifting. "It Was a Wall" is especially weak, but thankfully it's the shortest track on the disc. Compared with the first four tracks, the final three sound like Oneida running out of ideas. Listening to it, I feel like disc two is deliberately winding down to prepare us for disc 3.
Disc 3 provides something I knew I'd hear but hadn't heard performed live: new long jams. There are really just two on here, but that's enough to satisfy me. The Disc opens with "O" which is a pleasant 13 minute jam featuring lots of sitar heavy in the mix. "End of Time" is basically a three minute drone that gets you ready for the finally, "Folk Wisdom." Unfortunately, this jam just doesn't measure up to my favorite 10+ minute Oneida tracks (it does manage to be the longest though at just over 20 minutes). "Changes in the City" had more direction, "Sheets of Easter" was a bolder statement, and "Double Lock Your Mind" just rocked harder. This doesn't mean that "Folk Wisdom" isn't a lot of fun. And it's one of the few Oneida jams that falls off the rails completely halfway through and then manages to pick itself back up completely.
In the end I don't think Rated O will be the milestone achievement for Oneida that they might have hoped for. To be sure, it's a fantastic rock album, but other than the first four songs on disc two, it doesn't offer anything that they haven't already done better. This isn't much in the way of criticism given how good this group's previous efforts have been. And it's the second album in a row where they've managed to surprise a fan whose caught nearly every New York show since 2006. That's not an insignificant accomplishment.
And the show on Friday? Great as usual. The setlist was short, but they squeezed in 3 more songs after they "finished". Setlist as I remember:
Jackal
Ghost in the Room
Saturday
New Jam that I don't know
I will Haunt You
River
Up with People
