The Kings Of Leon are back with their third album "Because of The Times" released in the United Kingdom on April 2nd 2007. The southern-rock band from Tennessee named the album with reference to an annual preachers' conference that the three brothers, Caleb, Jared and Nathan attended as younsters.
The thirteen enchanting tracks of the album had me amazed from the start, the fantastic baselines, alluring melodies and most of all the awesome vocal talent (of lead-singer Caleb Followill) combined to produce an unbelieveably good album. Having listened to the first two albums "Youth and Young Manhood (2003)" and "Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004)" they had some flaws and were not as finely tuned and polished as this effort.
Recording for the album began in March 2006 with guitarist Matthew Followill stating "Man, we're sitting on a bunch of songs right now that we wish we could let the world hear!" in rock magazine NME who then ran an article a few months later showing that Matthew was not lying stating that the album "cements Kings of Leon as one of the great American bands of our times." Because of the Times greatly increased the 'Kings' fanbase and also had music critics the world over sitting up and taking notice of the up and coming band.
I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending this to you, the album is enthralling from Track 1 "Knocked Up" to the final track "Arizona".
Individual Track summaries:
Track 1: "Knocked Up" - A 7-minute anthem that made a great start to the album, showcasing Caleb's vocal ability. 8/10
Track 2: "Charmer" - A frantic, original baseline accompanied by utterly compelling lyrics featuring an almost insane "waaooooo" 9/10
Track 3 "On Call" - Song of selfless devotion which features yet more excellence 8/10
Track 4 "McFearless" Comparisons with U2 most-definitely drawn here as Jared's bass is heavily distorted throughout 8/10
Track 5 "Black Thumbnail" The lesser of an amazing bunch, still a cracking tune. 8/10
Track 6 "My Party" I had a party listening to this one! 9/10
Track 7 "True Love Way" Another anthem with the thought-provoking lyric "...happy alone" 9/10
Track 8 "Ragoo" A personal favourite, possibly the best on the album 10/10
Track 9 "Fans" Yet another amazing song, often played with an acoustic guitar - brilliant 10/10
Track 10 "The Runner" Song about balancing faith and hell-raising 8/10
Track 11 "Trunk" 3 minutes 57 seconds of amazing guitar and vocals 9/10
Track 12 "Camaro" Another personal favourite, unbelievable 9.5/10
Track 13 "Arizona" A festival anthem that is an excellent end to an excellent album 9/10
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Aha Shake Heartbreakmay have blown open the doors of fame for Kings of Leon, but their ... more
third full-length album (named for a United Pentecostal Church ministers' conference) could well usher the Nashville foursome directly to rock and roll's zenith. The...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Aha Shake Heartbreak may have blown open the doors of fame for Kings of Leon, but their ... more
third full-length album (named for a United Pentecostal Church ministers' conference) could well usher the Nashville foursome directly to rock and roll's zenith. Th...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: High Octane album packed with explosive and fantastic guitar riffs Disadvantages: Lead singer Followhill's sometimes garbled lyrics are hard to understand
Jun 2nd, 2009
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