Joshua P. Simon - The Accidental Author

Unlike the last AIC release with William Duvall (which turned out to be my second favorite AIC album behind Dirt), this one took a little longer to grow on me, partially because I think the beginning of the album is weaker than the middle and ending. That being said, it is still another solid release with some great songs that only improve with each listen.

I do have a few gripes though, most notably is that Duvall’s vocals are again too low in the mix. Don’t get me wrong, I like Cantrell’s voice, but Duvall is capable of belting these songs out and rather than doing so is stuck doing background work or accompanying Jerry on most tracks. Not cool. Give the man his due and push him up to the front.

I also felt like this album came across like a Jerry Cantrell solo album (not a bad thing), rather than a AIC album. The title track (The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here), is the only AIC song I’ve ever skipped and is my least favorite by the band. Just don’t care for the music, vocal melody, or lyrics.

Below are my four favorite tracks right now. A strong sign of how good these songs are is the fact that writing up this blog post is making me want to put the album on again. Enjoy!

Voices

Scalpel


Phantom Limb (one of the heaviest riffs Cantrell has written)


Choke