Gavin Rossdale - Wanderlust Review
Posted by Ben Czajkowski on 06.20.2008
This highly anticipated solo release finally hit the shelves earlier this month. Can Gavin Rossdale rekindle his Bush-like fame and achieve the same level of success as his wife, Gwen Stefani? Or should we kiss the chemicals between us goodbye? Get your machinehead over here and read this review!
Opening Comments
Well, I’ve been waiting several weeks for this album to come in for me to review, and it finally has. The envelope is destroyed. The jewel case is cracked. The papers included are shredded. However, the CD remains in playable condition; I pop it into my DVD drive and my computer sounds like it’s about to take off.
Into a journey of Wanderlust.
Welcome, reader. In this CD review, I explore what the former Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale have for us several years since the mainstream flop of the band Institute. Does Rossdale use his demonic powers from “Constantine” to force the listener into submission? If only. Drool.
Liner Notes
The Track Listing
01. Can’t Stop The World
02. Frontline
03. Forever May You Run
04. The Skin I’m In
05. Drive
06. Future World
07. Love Remains The Same
08. If You’re Not With Us You Are Against Us
09. This Is Happiness
10. Another Night In The Hills
11. The Trouble I’m In
12. Beauty In The Beast
13. The Place Is On Fire
The Band
Gavin Rossdale
Chris Traynor
Jamie Muhoberac
Paul Bushnell
Josh Freese
Featuring
Shirley Manson
Katy Perry
Toiya Barnes
Esther Austin
Angie Fisher
For nearly fifteen years, Gavin Rossdale has been part of pop/culture in various forms and fashions. His work has been spoofed on “The Simpsons,” been included in numerous movies and video games, and covered by Apocalyptica. Rossdale is married to the pop-goddess, Gwen Stefani. He now lives, comfortably, in her shadow with their baby. However, Rossdale still strives to capture that grunge disposition, amalgamating it with a pop side that Bush never explored and can’t ignore.
Of course, Rossdale began his illustrious career with the band Bush, and with their debut effort Sixteen Stone, Bush captured the audience of the post-grunge era. Stone went on to sell millions of copies, turning platinum 6 times. Bush brought us the classics “Everything’s Zen”, “Little Things,” “Machinehead”, “The Chemicals Between Us”, and, of course, the timeless song that radios still love to ravage: “Glycerine.”
Bush never replicated the success that Stone brought the band, and finally, they disbanded in 2002 after the miserable sales of Golden State and little support from Atlantic Records.
Rossdale put out the successful hit “Adrenaline” for the movie “xXx”, starring Vin Diesel. In 2004, he head-manned the hard-edged band Institute; their one album, Distort Yourself did not enjoy any real commercial success despite opening for U2. However, it did turn out solid melodies like “Bullet Proof Skin” and “Ambulances”.
After dropping off the face of the planet for a while to become a dad and do small-bit movie roles, Gavin Rossdale finally emerged from his silence.
The Artwork
Wanderlust first broke to me, visually, several months ago with the release of the trailer for the song “Love Remains The Same”. It was a beautifully put-together piece of work that reminded me of the lyrical-wonderland imagination that Rossdale commands from his listener.
As for what’s in the booklet with the CD, the pictures invoked the memory of the stunning imagery used by Rob Dougan on his Furious Angels CD mingled with the sexy poise of Justin Timberlake. Makes sense, of course. Rossedale is the playboy husband of No Doubt singer Stefani.
You can check out the images, as they’re the backgrounds over at Rossdale’s website.
Musical Notes
Nevertheless, attractive artwork cannot make up for the mediocre atrocity this album becomes. Whether Rossdale forgot how to pen a Bush-like hit, or he’s trying to break into a more mainstream audience, leaving behind the grunge of the 90s, he simply can’t quite rupture through. What I found from reading through the credits is that Rossdale wrote less than half of the tracks on his own, those being the most interesting. The rest were collaborated with Bob Rock and Linda Perry.
Rock and company have overproduced this album, with crappy electronic work and studio musicians: highly-respected drummer Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle), former Bush guitarist Chris Traynor (also of Helmet), and keyboardist Jamie Muhoberac (keyboardist recognized for working with Fleetwood Mac and Avenged Sevenfold).
Wanderlust was originally slated to be the Bush reunion album. After former guitarist Nigel Pulsford opted out because of touring, Rossdale decided to make this project as personal as he could: he launched a highly anticipated solo career. Is this going to be in the vein of Sting/Peter Gabriel or more like Billy Corgan/Zach De La Rocha? Definitely the latter.
The first words that comes to mind with Wanderlust: harmonious disappointment.
Probably about a year ago, for what seemed like forever, I found myself listening to the demo “Can’t Stop The World” on the MySpace site “One Second Bush Music”. The hype built in my mind from this song, and the various other tracks there. Rossdale has such a memorable, haunting, textured voice that I breathlessly awaited Wanderlust.
This album is fodder for the pop culture of today, poorly mixed with remnants of Bush in there. It’s like a warm chocolate chip cookie, only made with Splenda and little chocolate. Some of what is on Wanderlust made Rossdale the icon that he is; but on this album it is few and far between. I can see where the album goes right, but I see more of where it goes wrong.
First of all, all of the energy is at the end of the CD. With songs like “If You’re Not With Us, You Are Against Us” and “Another Night In The Hills” plunked in the latter half of the tracking, most of the former part of the CD is left with placid, picturesque tracks, one after another.
Secondly, the choice of the first single, “Love Remains The Same”, was a poor selection. “Can’t Stop The World”, “Future World”, or “Another Night In The Hills” would have been better to bring this disc to public eye. “Love Remains The Same”, while good on its own accord, is one of those tracks that blends right in with the sound of your noise box and does little to really captivate the same imagination as what we’re used to from Rossdale’s lyrics and styling. However, I do like the song; it reminds me of “Letting The Cables Sleep”.
Some of the tracks manifest as…forgettable. “Drive” would be the first of those. It absolutely destroys whatever momentum the beginning of the album managed to dredge up. “Beauty In The Beast” is another that just loses my attention because it is almost an exact copy of the first half of the disc, in feeling and tone. It is just another power ballad. Absolutely nothing special.
The closing track “This Place Is On Fire” is an electronic waste of a time. It would have served best as a lead-in track to the CD, not as the closing piece. This track is icing on the cake and the nail in the coffin (I love clichés) as proof that Rossdale has traded in his aggressive guitar work for much, much simpler scales and weak lyrics.
When all is said and done, the biggest problem is that Rossdale finds himself teetering on the edge of that grunge era and a pop career, and he never falls in one direction or the other. He’s still stuck in 1990s fads that never seem to fade away. Rossdale sums it up himself on the first track, saying “I’ve been gone too long.”
This extends to the identity of Rossdale’s voice, throughout the album. Part of what made this great Brit rocker so special is the fact that his voice is raw and growling. In “Love Remains the Same”, there are vocals layered on top of vocals on top of vocals. It sounds all artificial, studio Gavin Rossdale. I don't think Rossdale was meant to sound pretty and well-produced. He was meant to sound…, well, grungy. It’s a guy with a harsh voice singing love songs; it’s just not right. The polished vocals: Rossdale was not meant to be enjoyed that way. It’s the harshness that made him (and Bush) so appealing.
However, Wanderlust blends the flavors of Bush with an extremely personal outcropping from Rossdale. With the second song on the disc, “Frontline”, he intones from the point of view of a soldier, “I miss my wife and family/they move heaven and earth for me/I hold on to what I miss the most.” This juxtaposes with the next track and poetic, Bush-like lines from the bridge of “Forever May You Run”: “Didn’t make it to the disco/the president’s in bed/they’re trying to find the king/Buddha he was busy/Jesus wasn’t in.”
With “Can’t Stop The World”, this song begs to be played on the radio. It is something that Bush fans and casual listeners can really enjoy. I would agree with Rossdale when he sings, “I don’t know what I was thinking/I’ve been gone too long”. This is a great track, but the CD shows how out of touch he really is.
“Forever May You Run” may bring back that sexy voice, reminding me of Rossdale’s cover of “Mind Games.” The lyrics are beautiful, and we get our first glimpse of the Bush-writing abilities. “The silent sounds of yesterday/the ghost of you/dancing in the hallway/lunar to base/let’s get this on/the kids have gone mad/they’ve been insane all along.” However, the chorus is so out of place that it’s like a Bush and No Doubt had a musical baby.
As a side note, while I understand that Bob Rock is a famous producer and mixer, I think he really botched this one up. I would let Rossdale run free and fabricate less. Here’s how I would have mixed the CD up:
01. The Place Is On Fire
02. If You’re Not With Us You Are Against Us
03. Future World
04. Can’t Stop The World
05. The Trouble I’m In
06. Another Night In The Hills
07. Love Remains The Same
08. The Skin I’m In
09. Frontline
10. Beauty In The Beast
11. Forever May You Run
12. This Is Happiness
B-side: “Drive”
Maybe it would have flowed better; maybe I would have felt better about this CD. However, it doesn’t flow, and I don’t feel highly about it.
As a closing note, after discussing this album with a friend, he says to me, “I think that if Kurt Cobain had lived to continue making music, he eventually would have written a Wanderlust, simply because bands that grew up in the grunge simply cannot escape it. That’s exactly where Rossdale finds himself. He had a chance to really redefine his musical edge with Institute and just failed miserably. Now he has to suffer in the silhouette of his wife.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
With collaboration from Marshall Slayton.
The 411: Wanderlust is Gavin Rossdale’s first attempt at a solo career in the shadow of being a father and being married to popstar Gwen Stefani. This effort from Rossdale is mediocre in almost every aspect and doesn’t allow him any real creative freedoms, as he should. With the work and manufacturing of mega-producer Bob Rock, most of the tracks are just so rigid and vacant. This release isn't going to succeed, nor will anyone remember it a few years down the line.
