It's been a long long LONG seven years since The Wallflowers last album, which was the excellent but ultimately ineffectual Rebel, Sweetheart (2005), so this might be a longer review! And while it's true that Jakob Dylan put out a couple of great solo albums over this period, it's important to note that Dylan isn't The Wallflowers. The solo material wasn't that of a band, regardless of the same songwriter. It's certainly true that Dylan stayed on the scene with these albums, but the music was surprisingly miles away from the rock band that is The Wallflowers, and nowhere is that more apparent than with the band's triumphant 2012 return. May I present to you: Glad All Over.
But before I dive into the new album, I have a bit more exposition. Following Sweetheart and its lackluster commercial reception, The Wallflowers took a hiatus. As previously stated, Dylan spent the break mining a solo career with two excellent releases. Both the bare-bones Seeing Things (2008) and the austere Women + Country (2010) ended up doing surprisingly well considering the songwriting came from the same source as the under-performing Sweetheart. While it was certainly nice to see Dylan "remain in light," it was also a bit disconcerting in terms of the future of The Wallflowers and whether it was worth it for Dylan to return to the band. And although Sweetheart was a great album, it felt like they had reached a point where they had said all they needed to; it actually felt like a break was in order. So really there's no surprise that they went on hiatus, but the years started to pile up, and despite a brief reformation over the 2009 compilation Collected: 1996-2005, the prospect of a new release from the band seemed forever delayed. Of course, that all changed at the beginning of 2012!
Fast forward a bit to July, and we have "Reboot the Mission," the most radical thing the band has ever presented. Whether or not this was an accurate indication of what the entire album would sound like, one thing was clear, and that was that The Wallflowers were game for letting loose. And now that we're finally at the album's release, what is the definitive statement on if the band took a left turn or not? Well... yes and to a lesser extent no. While "Reboot the Mission" is certainly the furthest the band ventures from their signature Petty-esque template on Glad All Over, the album does (thankfully) possess an altogether different direction, and one that is nothing short of invigorating.
The last time the band tried something different was a decade ago with Red Letter Days (2002), but the results were mixed. While it's true that the album produced some of the band's finest songs, the surprisingly clean production arguably undermined the album as a whole and didn't help the lesser songs (keep in mind that the production for Red Letter Days is still miles away from the pop-gloss of what bands like Train and Matchbox 20 are doing now). That's why the subsequent Sweetheart was so back-to-basics, but there's no reason why they couldn't try something different again; indeed, the band has certainly used its hiatus to regroup and re-energize, and yet they feel both compelled and confident to experiment and burn brighter than they ever have before. Glad All Over is without a doubt the hardest charging album in the band's catalog, and it never really lets up. Even the powerful and energetic Sweetheart stopped every now and then to deliver a moody ballad or a gentle mid-tempo number; but not here. The album opens with the blistering "Hospital For Sinners" and doesn't let up until the end. Even the slower tracks like "First One in the Car" or "The Devil's Waltz" retain an edge of urgency that eventually erupt into bursts of fiery passion, only to be followed by faster, heavier tracks. "Misfits and Lovers" is propelled by a rhythm ala The Clash, while "Have Mercy on Him Now" rollicks with an almost Motown feel. Interestingly enough, there isn't much Tom Petty to be found on Glad All Over, but it actually serves more as a breath of fresh air as opposed to a disappointment. The band is clearly having fun, and not concerning itself with embracing the pop tendencies of some of their peers. But what's great is that they are still able to deliver something excellent, as is perfectly evident on the shimmering "Love Is a Country," a heartbreaking open road offering that is so genius in its elegant simplicity that it is probably the band's finest song to date, and that's a huge accomplishment considering The Wallflowers have always managed to produce songs that transcend. Even if Glad All Over is not the best Wallflowers album, it's certainly their most engaging.
All in all, Glad All Over is a fun, free, and radiant experience, and proof that the band is still a relevant presence and that Jakob Dylan needs to be in a band. And while the album might not and probably won't make much of a difference in the pop world at large, Glad All Over is a sterling reminder that The Wallflowers are ultimately the best post-Tom Petty craftsmen in the roots-rock genre today; I just hope that it won't be another seven years for the next reminder.
McS
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