I don’t exactly keep my love for 311 a secret. I’ve seen them in concert ten times, own all their albums, DVD’s, and I always spread the positive vibes the band lays down in their music. 2005 was the last time we saw 311 release an album; four years being their longest break of their careers from releasing anything but they continued to tour and build a feverous following that they’ve become known for. While 2005’s Don’t Tread on Me was not well loved by the die-hard fans, it’s hard to deny that the 311 base has been eager as ever for some new tunes. Uplifter is looking to show all of the naysayers wrong by providing some positive music with a more mature well-thought out spin on their style. A change in producers from their prior three albums, 311 chose to work with the famed Bob Rock to lend a heavier interpretation of the band’s sound; but it’s safe to say that the lighter moments are intact here, and more beautiful than ever.
Opening with the radio sensation: Hey You, the band gives you a fairly representative taste on what’s in store for the rest of the album: an “uplifting” sound that moves into various changes of styles with a rocking chorus, reggae-inspired verses, and a dreamy bridge that will enthrall anyone who’s listening. It’s clear what kind of sound the band was looking for when making this song their lead single and lead-off track for the album.
As SA’s first verse in the song indicates:
“I've got one wish for this music to be an uplift
And I need an uplift to deal”
The band wants you to forget all those negative news stories we’ve been bogged down with over the last few years, and the negativist society we live in to simply enjoy a musical voyage. This is an excellent choice for an opening song of an album with a similar message.
The following track, It’s Alright has the potential to build on Hey You’s success as it combines a mellower 311 sound with a classic rocking chorus. The song moves along very well to a catchy beat, and the bridge to this one is another one to cherish. Bassist P-Nut has a funky breakdown in the bridge and only lends itself to a calypso verse from Nick and SA’s vocals. Let’s just say that: “One song could end a war” will be my new favorite lyric for a while.
This album has some of 311’s heavy tunes on it as well. India Ink certainly has hard hip-hop inspired verses with an unbelievably catchy and melodic chorus (and it has a sitar in the bridge…that automatically qualifies the song as awesome). Jackpot is another song that was almost certainly built for the 311’s live show; I simply cannot wait to hear this one live. These two songs are enough reason to make me believe that 311 has not moved away from their harder roots, or to think that their younger, more hard attitude is gone because that’s simply not true. Not to mention Neverending Summer which is a song about the band touring and how great it is really exemplifies the energy that can be found at a 311 show, more specifically in the summer. I consider these two three to be amongst the best of the higher-energy 311 songs in their catalogue. While these are certainly highlights on Uplifter, one other hard track Something Out of Nothing seems to miss the mark for me although I’m sure I’ll never hear the end of it from some 311 fans. This is not to say that it’s a bad song; the chorus lacked a good hook in my opinion. I also feel that it was lost in a sea of amazing songs in this package and it’s very easy to overlook this track.
But some of the albums most amazing moments will be found on the softer side of the band’s sound. A trio of song s that I have loved after several listens include: Too Much Too Fast, Two Drops in the Ocean and finally the closing track to the album (for the standard edition anyway) is entitled: My Heart Sings. Let’s start with Too Much Too Fast; a track with an influence from The Smiths in the way that the song moves along with its smooth rhythm. Two Drops in the Ocean is simply a beautiful song. This track really highlights 311’s ability to take their listeners to different places each and every album. It’s a song that if I had seen it on another album, it wouldn’t have been in this wonderful of a form. I feel that the sounds found in all layers of this song are beautiful. From the “ooooh” in the background during the verses, to the angelic voice SA can have in a softer song like this, I find myself loving this song more and more each time I hear it. Tim Mahoney’s guitar sings during the breakdown and leads well into Nick’s final verse. There are always one or two songs on each 311 album that prove the band is capable of creating simply amazing music. This would be one of those examples. Golden Sunlight also shines as a beautiful departure that exemplifies the range this band has to deliver a beautiful rock song.
And finally for the closing track: My Heart Sings. Since 311 has chosen to put a slower song as the closing track for the previous two albums, I was a bit disappointed that it would be three in a row as My Heart Sings doesn’t exactly sound like a song that would get the pit going at a concert. After I got over my hang-up about what kind of song should close an album, I take solace in the acoustic guitar under Nick’s vocals in the opening verse and reggae rhythm throughout. It works as a perfect closer to the album. One member on the 311 Bulletin Board compared this song as what 2001’s Amber could have been. I certainly see it being embraced as such if enough people give it a listen though it does not have the radio appeal that the former song did. Being that as it may, it’s more mature than Amber and really sounds like the band wrote it eight years later with that much more experience behind them.
Now to justify the title of my review: If you go back and listen to The Clash’s London Calling, you may not hear Uplifter, but it’s so clear to me that at this point in 311’s career. This is their London Calling so to speak. While their previous albums have had different sounds that ranged from the heaviest to the softest songs, I feel that you have their most eclectic, inspired and in some ways (not all) musically mature album to date. London Calling was sonically the biggest album The Clash ever recorded, it was filled with so many different styles of music that all worked in a single package. They go from Jimmy Jazz, to Hateful and back to Lover’s Rock within the same 19 song collection. 311 takes us on a similar voyage with It’s Alright to India Ink to more beautiful songs like Two Drops in the Ocean and My Heart Sings. This is a wonderful collection of songs. While 311 has always been known to change it up several times in a single album, Uplifter has a consistency to it that creates its own overall tone. I realize it’s a controversial opinion but I feel that this has the opportunity to be a true classic. Time will tell if it holds up; this is the true test of any album of course. Check back here in a year or two as I may revise my opinion to see if this collection of songs still keeps me hooked as it does today.
The Deluxe Edition comes with a documentary of the 3-11 Day 2008 concert in New Orleans as well as two bonus tracks that both work as tacked on songs at the end, but they don’t fit the flow of the album. As with many b-sides by 311, fans are scratching their heads as to why they were not kept in the album. I Like The Way and Get Down are two prime examples of this. I happen to really like both of these songs and find them to be great additions to what Uplifter was trying to achieve. I also feel that if they were shoehorned in between tracks 1-12 of this album, it would have disrupted the flow of the cohesive sound the band was going for. For what they are though, they’re very good tracks indeed.
All in all, 311 has another winner in my book. I look forward to hearing some of these songs on tour this summer and as always I look to how 311’s sound could evolve even further with their next release.
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