The Afghan Whigs | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Evolving from a garage punk band in the vein of the Replacements, Dinosaur Jr., and Mudhoney to a literate, moody, soul-inflected post-punk quartet, the Afghan Whigs were one of the most critically acclaimed alternative bands of the early 90s. Although the band never broke into the mainstream, it developed a dedicated cult following, primarily because of lead singer/songwriter Greg Dullis tortured, angst-ridden tales of broken relationships and self-loathing. The Afghan Whigs were one of the few alternative bands around in the late 90s to acknowledge R&B;, attempting to create a fusion of soul and post-punk. The Afghan Whigs were formed when the members -- vocalist/rhythm guitarist Greg Dulli, bassist John Curley, lead guitarist Rick McCollum, and drummer Steve Earle -- were attending the University of Cincinnati. Dulli, who was raised in Hamilton, Ohio, was studying film at the university, where he met fellow students McCollum and Earle. Unlike the rest of the band, Curley didnt attend the University of Cincinnati. He arrived in the city to intern as a photographer at The Cincinnati Enquirer, which his father -- who published USA Today -- arranged for him; for the next few years, Curley continued to shoot pictures for the paper, quitting only when the bands schedule became too busy for him to work both jobs. Dulli happened to meet Curley when visiting a friends apartment building. Eventually, the pair formed the Afghan Whigs in 1986, along with McCollum and Earle. In 1988, the Afghan Whigs released their debut album, Big Top Halloween, on their independent record label, Ultrasuede. The album received good word-of-mouth in underground music publications and college radio. A copy of the record worked its way to the influential Seattle-based independent record label Sub Pop, and the label arranged for the Whigs to release a one-off single. The single led to a full-blown record contract with Sub Pop. Up in It, their first Sub Pop album, was released in 1990. For the next two years, the Afghan Whigs toured America consistently, occasionally heading over to Europe and England. In 1992, their third album, Congregation, was released to very positive reviews. After its release, the band was courted by a number of major labels. The band released one more record on Sub Pop, an EP of soul and R&B; covers called Uptown Avondale, and signed to Elektra Records. Gentlemen, the bands major-label debut, was released to considerable critical acclaim in the fall of 1993. "Debonair," the first single pulled from the album, received major play from MTV, and all of the reviews were positive. Nevertheless, the band wasnt able to ascend past cult status and all the critical praise even engendered a backlash, most notably in the form of an anti-Whigs fanzine called Fat Greg Dulli. In the summer of 1994, the Whigs released the What Jail Is Like EP to coincide with their American tour. Upon the completion of their international tour in the fall of 1994, the Whigs took an extended break. Steve Earle left the band in the spring of 1995; he was replaced by Paul Buchignani, just before the group entered the studio to record its fifth album. Black Love, the Whigs second album for Elektra, was released in the spring of 1996. Again, the album received positive reviews but the band failed to break out of its cult status. 1965, their first effort for new label Columbia, followed two years later. However, with the bandmembers living in different states, it would prove to be their last; in February of 2001, the band called it quits, citing geographical separation. In 2006, the band reunited for a brief recording session for the release of the best-of compilation Unbreakable: A Retrospective 1990-2006, which featured two newly recorded tracks: "Im a Soldier" and "Magazine." With the members going their separate ways once again, the future of the Whigs was once again put on hold until 2011. In a surprise announcement from British festival organizers All Tomorrows Parties, it was revealed that the band would headline ATPs Ill Be Your Mirror festival at Londons Alexandra Palace in May 2012. Kicking off a world tour that would span 2012 and 2013, the original lineup -- minus drummer Steve Earle -- returned with gusto. At the beginning of 2014 the group members announced that they had recorded their first album in some 16 years and had returned to the label that had originally launched them, Sub Pop. Do to the Beast was slated for an April 2014 release, and featured a new lineup of the band. Greg Dulli and John Curley were the only original members to return for Do to the Beast, while their accompanists included guitarist Dave Rosser (the Twilight Singers, the Gutter Twins), multi-instrumentalist Mark McGuire (Emeralds), bassist Jon Skibic (Gigolo Aunts, the Twilight Singers), drummer Cully Symington (Okkervil River, Shearwater), and string player Rick Nelson (St. Vincent, Polyphonic Spree). A subsequent concert tour took the new Whigs to major venues in the United States and Europe, including a major spot at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival. In October 2014, the band capped off the year with a deluxe reissue of Gentlemen, expanded to a two-disc set with the addition of B-sides, unreleased demos, and live tracks. The year 2016 found the Afghan Whigs once again revisiting their back catalog with an expanded two-disc edition of Black Love, featuring outtakes and alternate mixes along with a remastered version of the original album. Greg Dulli announced that the Afghan Whigs would play two shows in conjunction with the Black Love reissue, one in New Orleans and the other in Los Angeles. Both shows were benefits for latter-day Whigs guitarist Dave Rosser, who was diagnosed with inoperable colon cancer earlier in the year. Despite Rossers health problems, he appeared on 2017s In Spades, a studio album Dulli described as "spooky," going on to say, "To me its about memory -- in particular, how quickly life and memory can blur together." | ||
 | Album: 1 of 18 Title: Big Top Halloween Released: 1988 Tracks: 12 Duration: 39:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Here Comes Jesus (03:36) 2 In My Town (02:58) 3 Priscillas Wedding Day (04:03) 4 Push (03:04) 5 Scream (03:22) 6 But Listen (05:23) 7 Big Top Halloween (03:33) 8 Life in a Day (02:13) 9 Sammy (03:16) 10 Doughball (02:15) 11 Back O the Line (02:51) 12 Greek Is Extra (02:54) |
| Big Top Halloween : Allmusic album Review : Too often, Midwestern rock bands cannot escape being labeled Replacements clones, but the Afghan Whigs, although vocalist Greg Dulli was originally called a rougher Paul Westerberg, show on their extremely rare debut release that Midwestern rock doesnt necessarily have to overwhelm with its country influences. Although Big Top Halloween is sometimes too cluttered in its mix, the album delivers bits of beauty and evidence of the bands future brilliance. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 18 Title: Up in It Released: 1990 Tracks: 9 Duration: 27:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Retarded (03:25) 2 White Trash Party (03:04) 3 Hated (03:36) 4 Southpaw (03:20) 5 Amphetamines and Coffee (01:54) 6 Now We Can Begin (?) 7 You My Flower (03:48) 8 Son of the South (04:11) 9 I Know Your Little Secret (04:22) |
| Up in It : Allmusic album Review : Though the Afghan Whigs were still about a year away from hitting the peak of their powers in the studio, their second album, 1990s Up in It, was a major improvement over their self-released debut, and it was their first recording to suggest that they would mature into one of the best American rock bands of the 1990s. As a songwriter, Greg Dulli was starting to really get in touch with his self-loathing, and "Retarded," "White Trash Party," and "I Know Your Little Secret" offer a powerful and sometimes disturbing look into one mans obsessions. Just as importantly, the band had finally learned to make the most of their musical muscle; Greg Dullis nicotine-laced growl merged "heavy-alternative" bellow with a soul mans sense of phrasing, while the guitars of Dulli and Rick McCollum and the rhythm section of John Curley and Steve Earle managed to combine bruising power with a remarkable sense of drama and dynamics. While lots of bands riding the "grunge"/"alternative" bandwagon at the time owed an obvious debt to Led Zeppelin, the Afghan Whigs were one of the few that fully grasped not just their pomp and heaviness, but their precision, their timing, and their understanding of R&B.; While it pales in comparison to what the Whigs would achieve on Congregation and Gentlemen, Up in It made it clear the Afghan Whigs had truly arrived, and would not be ignored. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 18 Title: Congregation Released: 1992-02-10 Tracks: 12 Duration: 44:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Her Against Me (00:47) 2 I’m Her Slave (02:59) 3 Turn on the Water (04:18) 4 Conjure Me (04:03) 5 Kiss the Floor (04:00) 6 Congregation (04:27) 7 This Is My Confession (03:13) 8 Dedicate It (03:22) 9 The Temple (04:06) 10 Let Me Lie to You (04:36) 11 Tonight (03:42) 12 Miles Iz Ded (05:06) |
| Congregation : Allmusic album Review : The grunge eras most overlooked masterpiece, Congregation was the Afghan Whigs breakthrough album, an incendiary and insidious set which bridges the gap between the noisy aggression of the bands early releases and the soulful swagger of their later work. Slipping with ominous ease into the sinister, self-obsessed Lothario guise which would serve him so well from here on out, Greg Dulli announces his arrival as a truly magnetic presence -- by turns predator ("Tonight") and prey ("Im Her Slave"), hes the guy your parents always warned you about, delivering each syllable of his remarkable lyrics with equal measures of innuendo and venom. Equally startling is the Whigs musical growth -- while still unmistakably a member of the Sub Pop stable, theres a greater maturity and depth to their sinewy sound, with a newfound grasp of mood and nuance on tracks like the opening "Her Against Me" and "Let Me Lie to You" -- the wah-wah guitar which dominates "Turn On the Water," meanwhile, offers the first taste of the funk ambitions to follow. It was hardly a surprise when the Whigs jumped to Elektra soon after -- Congregation was clearly their ticket to the big leagues. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 18 Title: Uptown Avondale Released: 1992-10 Tracks: 5 Duration: 21:09 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Band of Gold (03:27) 2 True Love Travels on a Gravel Road (03:29) 3 Come See About Me (03:46) 4 Beware (04:27) 5 Rebirth of the Cool (05:58) |
 | Album: 5 of 18 Title: Gentlemen Released: 1993-10-01 Tracks: 28 Duration: 2:05:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 If I Were Going (03:05) 2 Gentlemen (03:53) 3 Be Sweet (03:36) 4 Debonair (04:14) 5 When We Two Parted (05:47) 6 Fountain and Fairfax (04:21) 7 What Jail Is Like (03:30) 8 My Curse (05:46) 9 Now You Know (04:10) 10 I Keep Coming Back (04:51) 11 Brother Woodrow / Closing Prayer (05:39) 1 If I Were Going (demo) (03:17) 2 Gentlemen (demo) (03:53) 3 Be Sweet (demo) (03:35) 4 Debonair (demo) (04:13) 5 When We Two Parted (demo) (05:03) 6 Fountain and Fairfax (demo) (04:00) 7 What Jail Is Like (demo) (03:29) 8 My Curse (demo) (06:03) 9 Now You Know (instrumental rough mix) (04:39) 10 Brother Woodrow (instrumental rough mix) (05:15) 11 Little Girl Blue (04:36) 12 Ready (03:17) 13 Mr. Superlove (06:05) 14 The Dark End of the Street (04:03) 15 What Jail Is Like (04:05) 16 Now You Know (04:07) 17 My World Is Empty Without You / I Hear a Symphony (06:59) |
| Gentlemen : Allmusic album Review : The Afghan Whigs sound was growing larger by the release during the days on Sub Pop, so the fact that Gentlemen turned out the way it did wasnt all that surprising as a result ("cinematic" was certainly the word the band was aiming for, what with credits describing the recording process as being "shot on location" at Ardent Studios). While Gentlemen is no monolith, it is very much of a piece at the start. While "If I Were Going" opens things on a slightly moodier tip, its the crunch of "Gentlemen," "Be Sweet," and "Debonair" that really stands out, each of which features a tightly wound R&B; punch that rocks out as much as it grooves, if not more so. Greg Dullis lyrics immediately set about the task of emotional self-evisceration at the same time, with lines like "Ladies, let me tell you about myself -- I got a dick for a brain" being among the calmer points. The album truly comes into its own with "When We Two Parted," though, as sad countryish guitars chime over a slow crawling rhythm and Dullis quiet-then-anguished detailing of an exploding relationship. From there on in, things surge from strength to greater strength, sometimes due to the subtlest of touches -- the string arrangement on "Fountain and Fairfax" or the unexpected, resigned lead vocal from Scrawls Marcy Mays on "My Curse," for instance. Other times, its all the much more upfront, as "What Jail Is Like," with its heartbroken-and-fierce combination of piano, feedback, and drive building to an explosive chorus. Dullis blend of utter abnegation and masculine swagger may be a crutch, but when everything connects, as it does more often than not on Gentlemen, both he and his band are unstoppable. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 18 Title: What Jail Is Like Released: 1994-08-15 Tracks: 7 Duration: 33:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 What Jail Is Like (03:30) 2 Mr. Superlove (06:05) 3 The Dark End of the Street (04:03) 4 Little Girl Blue (04:36) 5 What Jail Is Like (04:05) 6 Now You Know (04:07) 7 My World Is Empty Without You / I Hear a Symphony (06:59) |
 | Album: 7 of 18 Title: Honkys Ladder Released: 1996-02-19 Tracks: 5 Duration: 20:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Honkys Ladder (radio edit) (03:19) 2 Blame, Etc. (04:11) 3 If I Only Had a Heart (04:59) 4 Creep (03:39) 5 Honky’s Ladder (04:16) |
 | Album: 8 of 18 Title: Black Love Released: 1996-03-08 Tracks: 11 Duration: 51:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Crime Scene, Part One (05:59) 2 My Enemy (03:10) 3 Double Day (04:39) 4 Blame, Etc. (04:11) 5 Step Into the Light (03:39) 6 Going to Town (03:16) 7 Honky’s Ladder (04:16) 8 Night by Candlelight (03:41) 9 Bulletproof (06:36) 10 Summer’s Kiss (03:55) 11 Faded (08:25) |
| Black Love : Allmusic album Review : The Afghan Whigs hit a high-water mark with 1993s Gentlemen, an album that upped their game musically and plumbed the depth of Greg Dullis self-loathing with its tales of a ladies man whose attitude toward women (and himself) borders on the malignant. It was the bands finest and most most ambitious work, and the band was faced with the challenge of trying to top it. The Afghan Whigs follow-up, 1996s Black Love, ultimately missed the mark, though not for a lack of trying. The performances were every bit as strong as those on Gentlemen, as Rick McCollums mix of hard rock riffing and wailing slide guitar grew even stronger and the rhythm section laid down a beat that hit hard but retained a bit of their more graceful R&B; influences. And vintage soul and funk were a significantly bigger part of the bands formula this time out, with the keyboards on "Bulletproof," the strings and percussion on "Blame, Etc.," and the hip-hop-influenced percussion on "Going to Town" serving as key signifiers. While the band was in great form on Black Love, Greg Dullis songwriting wasnt as impressive; Black Love lacks the thematic unity and power of Gentlemen, the melodies just arent as compelling, and while songs like "My Enemy," "Honkys Ladder," and "Night by Candlelight" are striking and well crafted, their strength points to the fact many of the other songs dont quite click. And as a lyricist, here Dulli was reworking the themes hed explored in depth on Gentlemen and Congregation, and by this time hed just about run out of juice. The Afghan Whigs were just too good a band to make an album that wasnt worth hearing, and the musicians blaze hard on Black Love, but the closer one scrutinizes the work, the more this record feels like a misstep after the excellence of Gentlemen and Congregation. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 18 Title: Going to Town Released: 1996-07-29 Tracks: 5 Duration: 19:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Going to Town (03:16) 2 Going to Town (live) (04:14) 3 You’ve Changed (04:23) 4 I Want to Go to Sleep (03:25) 5 Moon River (03:47) |
 | Album: 10 of 18 Title: 1965 Released: 1998-10-27 Tracks: 11 Duration: 41:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Somethin’ Hot (02:58) 2 Crazy (04:04) 3 Uptown Again (03:11) 4 Sweet Son of a Bitch (00:23) 5 66 (03:23) 6 Citi Soleil (05:05) 7 John the Baptist (05:34) 8 The Slide Song (03:54) 9 Neglekted (04:01) 10 Omerta (05:40) 11 The Vampire Lanois (03:22) |
| 1965 : Allmusic album Review : With 1965, the Afghan Whigs finally made the gritty soul record just always out of their reach -- seamlessly integrating the R&B aspirations which have textured the bands sound since the beginning, the music simmers with raw energy, its deep, dark grooves not so much white-boy as simply white-hot. Recorded in New Orleans, the album is plainly the product of its environment -- sultry, sleazy, and more than a little menacing; here more than ever, Greg Dulli is the frontman you love to hate, strutting and swaggering his way through standout tracks like "Something Hot," "Uptown Again," and "John the Baptist" with predatory aggression. (Who else would deliver a lyric like "I got the devil in me, girl" as though it were a pickup line?) Still, for all its cocksure arrogance, 1965 is nevertheless a sincere tribute to the classic music recalled by the albums title -- lyrics aside, even if Dulli did sell his soul, hes somehow managed to get it all back. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 18 Title: Unbreakable: A Retrospective 1990–2006 Released: 2007-06-05 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:16:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Retarded (03:25) 2 Crazy (04:04) 3 Turn on the Water (04:18) 4 Debonair (04:14) 5 I’m a Soldier (04:21) 6 66 (03:23) 7 Be Sweet (03:36) 8 Come See About Me (03:46) 9 Uptown Again (03:11) 10 What Jail Is Like (03:30) 11 Magazine (03:20) 12 I’m Her Slave (02:59) 13 Going to Town (03:16) 14 Gentleman (04:09) 15 Let Me Lie to You (04:36) 16 John the Baptist (05:34) 17 Crime Scene, Part One (05:59) 18 Faded (08:25) |
| Unbreakable: A Retrospective 1990–2006 : Allmusic album Review : Unbreakables track list looks much like a latter-day Afghan Whigs set list, albeit one without valiant attempts at covering the Rolling Stones or Stevie Wonder. Plenty enough is provided to ensure satisfaction, but like a Whigs live set, several songs are missing in action, lost to time constraints -- and, of course, since there are no visuals, youre not going to get the odd juxtaposition of pent-up Dulli-ites moshing to ballads involving devilishly delivered lines like "Cause she wants love, and I still wanna f*ck," not to mention on-stage antics suited for a DVD titled Ex-Altar Boys Gone Wild. Whats just as deserving of placement on this disc? A wide assortment of anthology-worthy material that, as effectively as the content included, contains a wicked mixture of desire, lust, lechery, hate, and regret. Among the missing and worthy are "You My Flower," "Band of Gold," "My Enemy," "Honkys Ladder," "Somethin Hot," and all the unincluded songs from Congregation and Gentlemen; any 80 random minutes from Up in It through 1965 are likely to pull up a set thats every bit as pleasurable as this one, despite the wrongness that comes with breaking up two front-to-back works of genius. Two inclusions were recorded by a briefly reunited 1965-era lineup: "Im a Soldier," despite its uncharacteristic subject matter, sounds characteristically sleazy, while "Magazine" slinks and pulses along without reaching true lift-off. The non-chronological sequencing works to the bands advantage, covering up a gradual development of overambitiousness and increased reliance on trite come-ons. ("Come on and taste me/Come on and take me" is no "If I stepped it off, walked outside your trance/Crawled inside your mind and got my hand inside your pants.") Hopefully Rhino -- or Rhinos Handmade division -- will eventually make a box containing all the albums, (mostly excellent) EP and single tracks, and (often graphically extreme) videos. This bands catalog is filled with blackhearted soul carrying a swashbuckling swagger that no other band -- including Dullis Twilight Singers -- could possibly touch, and all of it should be left to circulate as much as possible. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 18 Title: 2012-05-23: Live in New York City: Bowery Ballroom, New York City, New York, US Released: 2012-05-23 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:12:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 [intro] (02:04) 2 Crime Scene Part One (05:50) 3 Im Her Slave (02:46) 4 Uptown Again (03:42) 5 What Jail Is Like (04:02) 6 Going to Town (03:24) 7 When We Two Parted / Dead Body (08:31) 8 Gentlemen (03:54) 9 66 (04:25) 10 Conjure Me (03:48) 11 Crazy (03:53) 12 My Enemy (03:03) 13 Debonair (03:55) 14 Bulletproof (06:25) 15 Summers Kiss (04:02) 16 Faded (08:53) |
 | Album: 13 of 18 Title: Do to the Beast Released: 2014-04-14 Tracks: 10 Duration: 40:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Parked Outside (04:37) 2 Matamoros (02:43) 3 It Kills (03:33) 4 Algiers (04:03) 5 Lost in the Woods (04:54) 6 The Lottery (04:05) 7 Can Rova (03:44) 8 Royal Cream (04:33) 9 I Am Fire (02:51) 10 These Sticks (05:46) |
| Do to the Beast : Allmusic album Review : Of the bands that came from the "heavy alternative" scene typified by the Sub Pop roster in the late 80s to early 90s, the Afghan Whigs were one of the very best, and also one of the least likely to connect with a mass audience -- their music was strong and powerful, the songs were outstanding soul-inflected hard rock, and Greg Dullis nicotine-bathed voice was the perfect fit for their musical approach, but they were willing to dig deeper into the dark spaces of self-loathing and needy emotional manipulation than anyone else in rock, and as a consequence their finest and most compelling album, 1993s Gentlemen, was often hard to hear for all its grim fascination with the ugly side of the male psyche. It seemed the band couldnt go any deeper, and they didnt on their final two albums, 1996s Black Love and 1998s 1965, but after a heroically received reunion tour in 2012, the Afghan Whigs returned to the recording studio and have offered up a work nearly as dark and unsettling as Gentlemen, 2014s Do to the Beast. It sounds a good bit different than their previous work: vocalist and songwriter Dulli and bassist/multi-instrumentalist John Curley are the only original members of the band on board, and the sheets of electric guitar generated by Rick McCollum are particularly missed, replaced with a larger ensemble (including lots of keys, occasional strings, and busy percussion) that boasts a broader dramatic scope than the classic Whigs sound but fails to connect with the same ferocity. Dullis phrasing and sense of drama are as solid as ever, but his instrument is significantly grainier than it has been in the past, and he has a bit of trouble making this material signify (the fact that his vocals are frequently deep in the mix doesnt help much). And Do to the Beast chronicles a relationship just as damaged as youd expect from Dulli, but the songs dont quite cohere into a larger statement with the grace of his best work, even if the performances and arrangements manage to be something more than the sum of their parts. Do to the Beast is an ambitious attempt to re-create the feeling of the Afghan Whigs while retooling their sonic fingerprint; the final product is intelligent and often fascinating, but it doesnt deliver like the Afghan Whigs do at their best, and ultimately comes off as a brave but somewhat unsatisfying experiment. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 18 Title: 2014-05-22: Recorded Live at the Audio Club: The Audio Club, São Paulo, Brazil Released: 2015 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:19:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Intro (01:16) 2 Parked Outside (04:16) 3 Matamoros (03:08) 4 The Lottery (03:56) 5 Debonair (03:55) 6 When We Two Parted (08:54) 7 Turn on the Water (07:51) 8 Uptown Again (03:08) 9 Royal Cream (04:20) 10 I Am Fire (06:22) 11 Gentlemen (04:40) 12 It Kills (03:13) 13 Going to Town (03:17) 14 My Enemy (03:45) 15 Bulletproof (06:37) 16 Summers Kiss (03:30) 17 Faded (07:38) |
 | Album: 15 of 18 Title: Live in Nottingham Released: 2017 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:14:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Birdland (03:44) 2 Arabian Heights (04:12) 3 Matamoros (03:03) 4 Somethin Hot (02:49) 5 Light as a Feather (03:05) 6 You Want Love (04:33) 7 Honkys Ladder (03:19) 8 Oriole (03:54) 9 Toy Automatic (02:34) 10 Can Rova / Last Goodbye (07:39) 11 Algiers (04:05) 12 Going to Town (Slight Return) (05:41) 13 Demon in Profile (03:10) 14 It Kills (03:20) 15 My Enemy (03:49) 16 Son of the South (04:22) 17 Into the Floor (06:19) 18 Parked Outside (04:25) |
 | Album: 16 of 18 Title: 2017-10-13: Live in Hollywood: The Fonda Theatre, Hollywood, CA, US Released: 2017 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:08:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Birdland (02:35) 2 Arabian Heights (04:05) 3 Matamoros (03:11) 4 Debonair (03:48) 5 Light as a Feather (03:00) 6 My Enemy (04:28) 7 Oriole (03:43) 8 Toy Automatic (05:49) 9 Can Rova (06:08) 10 My Curse (06:00) 11 What Jail Is Like (03:24) 12 Teenage Wristband (03:21) 13 Demon in Profile (03:40) 14 John the Baptist (06:06) 15 Somethin Hot (02:41) 16 Into the Floor (06:49) |
 | Album: 17 of 18 Title: In Spades Released: 2017-05-05 Tracks: 10 Duration: 36:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Birdland (02:49) 2 Arabian Heights (05:07) 3 Demon in Profile (03:23) 4 Toy Automatic (02:56) 5 Oriole (04:05) 6 Copernicus (03:29) 7 The Spell (03:46) 8 Light as a Feather (03:10) 9 I Got Lost (03:20) 10 Into the Floor (04:17) |
| In Spades : Allmusic album Review : With their second album since reuniting in 2012, its clear that Afghan Whigs leader Greg Dulli has decided to give the bands sound an overhaul thats likely to be permanent. One of the more puzzling things about the Whigs 2014 comeback LP, Do to the Beast, was that it didnt sound an awful lot like the bands best-known work, and thats once again the case with 2017s follow-up In Spades, though both albums have Dulli and his obsessions written all over them. The songs still dwell on the dark side of the human psyche and the ugly aspects of romantic relationships (a theme Dulli couldnt abandon if he tried), but musically Dulli has taken his fusion of R&B; and indie rock and retooled it. The proportions feel the same, but the ingredients are fundamentally different, with less emphasis on guitar-based grit, and keyboards and strings taking their place. In short, Do to the Beast and In Spades sound more like Dullis work with his side project the Twilight Singers than the Afghan Whigs, and its worth noting bassist John Curley is once again the only other Whigs veteran in the lineup (and the absence of guitarist Rick McCollum is a reminder of how fundamental he was to the groups sound in their heyday). That said, In Spades is a much better Twilight Singers album than the relative misfire of Do to the Beast, generating a greater amount of power and evoking a sinister atmosphere that was decidedly overcooked on the previous album. "Arabian Heights," "Demon in Profile," and "Copernicus" diverge from the sound of Afghan Whigs masterpieces like Congregation and Gentlemen, but the songs connect in the way Dullis best stuff does, and if hes chosen to bury his own vocals in the mix, the odd production choice works in this context. In Spades confirms Greg Dulli is still a talent worth following, and if this strays from the template of the classic Afghan Whigs sound, its not like that group was ever a democracy in the truest sense. Its Dullis band, and what hes delivered here honestly satisfies. | ||
 | Album: 18 of 18 Title: 2017-06-15: Live At Ancienne Belgique Brussels: Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, BE Released: 2018 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:02:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Birdland (02:35) 2 Arabian Heights (04:05) 3 Matamoros (02:54) 4 Honkys Ladder (04:25) 5 Light as a Feather (02:55) 6 Debonair (04:13) 7 Oriole (03:40) 8 Toy Automatic (03:11) 9 Can Rova (04:58) 10 Algiers (03:44) 11 Going to Town (03:36) 12 Demon in Profile (02:53) 13 It Kills (03:00) 14 Fountain and Fairfax (04:00) 15 John the Baptist (04:44) 16 Somethin Hot (02:39) 17 Into the Floor (05:06) |