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Those who were at their recent live show would have witnessed a truly amazing performance, for everyone else there is this brilliant CD release. This is one of the most hyped releases to come out of this country in 2007, and I’m talking amongst all genres. The hype I refer to comes from the ability of The Hoods to cross fan bases with ease, meaning radio stations and magazines across the country have featured it, giving the Hoods brilliant exposure but also creating pressure to deliver. They have.
Most know the story by now, but for those who don’t here’s a brief history; performing at the 2006 ARIA awards, the Hoods were offered the backing of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO). They jumped at the chance and loved the results so much they took a quartet on their tour for the rest of the year. From this the idea of the album grew, the Hoods handing their baby to Jamie Messenger of the ASO. He planned the brilliant arrangements that have lifted the album to another level.
Each and every track on ‘The Hard Road’ benefits from the added depth of sound, whilst the more emotive numbers become brilliant and all the more powerful. Take ‘Stopping All Stations’, the brilliant strings drag you into the tale, with the addition of a new Suffa verse and a role reversal for the track’s fictitious star, you are almost cheering along by tracks end. ‘Breathe’, ‘Monsters Ball’ and ‘An Audience With The Devil’ all grab new life and emotional power.
The album’s stronger tracks from the first release do not suffer in the slightest. Any doubts I had about whether this concept would work were gone by Pressure’s verse in new opener ‘The Hard Road’. As the vocal of Pressure is faded in and out in volume, and the strings take control, you know the concept will be fantastic in practice. The best track from the original, ‘Recapturing The Vibe’, just about takes the title here again. I cannot wait to see the film clip due to drop soon.
Other changes from the original include Omni being substituted for LA freestyle king Okwerdz on ‘Conversations From A Speakeasy’, an ode to drinking from Pressure as he takes the closing verse on ‘What A Great Night’, and a new hook for ‘Obese Lowlifes’. The change that will have most people excited, though, will be the addition of all new track ‘Roll On Up’, a tribute to the Australian hip-hop scene. It is vintage Hoods.
One thing that, although it didn’t annoy me personally, I know has gotten to a lot of people, is the removal of swearing from the album. The original didn’t feature that much swearing in my opinion, so the occasional spun backwards word is a small price to pay for the overall improvement in sound. Believe it or not, an orchestra has made a brilliant album even better.
SparklingSam says...
Absolutely agree. Couldn't wait to get my hands on this and it's been stuck in the cd player ever since. Love the revision of "Stopping All Stations" - yay for the old digger coming through this time!!
Lismister says...
I absolutely LOVE hilltop hoods so i can't wait to get this album!! i couldn't see how they could possibly get better but they have so it's going to be a brilliant album!!!