Off the Rails & Opinions on Big Boi and Alejandro Escovedo

Off the Rails: Jim and Greg call out some of rock's great artists who took terrible career turns. Then Jim and Greg review albums by Big Boi and Alejandro Escovedo.

Off the Rails
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Off the Rails

Sound Opinions is a show that celebrates music. But, once in a while we have to get a little negative and call out artists that disappoint us. In particular, there's a crop of singers and musicians who began as great talents with promising careers, but ended up breaking our hearts by going "Off the Rails." Think of it as the musical answer to "Jump the Shark." Jim and Greg think these career wrong-turns are too big to ignore.

Jim:

  • Rod Stewart
    • On the Path: Never a Dull Moment
    • Off the Rails: Stardust
  • Sex Pistols
    • On the Path: Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols
    • Off the Rails: Filthy Lucre Live
  • Ice Cube
    • On the Path: AmeriKKKas Most Wanted
    • Off the Rails: Lethal Injection
  • Liz Phair
    • On the Path: Exile in Guyville
    • Off the Rails: Somebody’s Miracle

Greg

  • Lauryn Hill
    • On the Path: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
    • Off the Rails: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0
  • Chris Cornell
    • On the Path: Superunknown
    • Off the Rails: Carry On
  • Eric Clapton
    • On the Path: Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton
    • Off the Rails: Me and Mr. Johnson
  • Metallica
    • On the Path: Master of Puppets
    • Off the Rails: Load

Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty Big Boi

Sir Lucious Left Foot... The Son of Chico Dusty (Deluxe Edition)

Outkast  rapper  Big Boi has released his first solo album called...wait for it... Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty. Big Boi is often thought of as the more down to earth of the two Atlanta  hip hop artists, but both Jim and Greg think the record is very inventive and ambitious. Greg does miss Andre 3000's presence, and thinks the two make each other better. But overall, Sir Lucious Left Foot is full of great beats and oddball touches and gets a Buy It rating. Jim agrees and was pleasantly surprised to hear these tracks, especially after all the torture that went into making it. It has a tad too many vulgar and juvenile lyrics, but he still thinks listeners should Buy It.

Street Songs of Love Alejandro Escovedo

Street Songs of Love (Bonus Track Version)

Alejandro Escovedo has been making music since the 1970's, but this past decade has brought him his highest profile to date. The Texas-based rocker's new record is Street Songs of Love, a concept album about rock's favorite topic: love. But, Jim feels like he's heard these songs before, particularly the mid-tempo classic groove. This is not Escovedo at his best, according to Jim, who gives it a Burn It. Greg thinks it's easy to be let down because Escovedo is such a smart lyricist, but the more he listened, the more he liked it. Greg thinks the singer/songwriter is that rare artist who has gotten better with age and gives Street Songs of Love a Buy It.

Dear Listeners,

For more than 15 years, Sound Opinions was a production of WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station. Now that the show is independent, we're inviting you to join the band and lend a hand! We need your support more than ever because now we have to do all the behind-the-scenes work that WBEZ handled before (like buying insurance and paying for podcast hosting, ugh). Plus, we have some exciting ideas we'd like to try now that there's no one to tell us no!

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