Ah yes Bush, just another grunge band only this time they were from England. Keeping a low profile in their native country, they somehow hit the mainstream in America within a very short time period. Going from playing in lonely London night clubs to Arena sized venues in America seemed like a dream come true for the guys from Shepherd’s Bush. Their debut album was ‘Sixteen Stone’ which after being re-released on a major label eventually sold 6 million copies in America alone.
Opener
Everything Zen which served as a launching platform for their other more successful singles is a very good start. The guitars here are very catchy with a lot of memorable riffs. Gavin Rossdale delivers some pretty rough vocals that fit the song perfectly. An awesome breakdown with only drum beats in the background before exploding into the final chorus. Easily one of their best songs, ever.
Little Things uses the same formula, starting off quite promising only the final result isn’t as spectacular. The drumming is really consistent on this track however the vocals and guitars seemed to messed up for my liking.
Comedown was another one of their popular songs. A slow and steady drum beat starts things off which pretty much drives the whole song. Gavin’s voice is quite raspy on this track. The chorus “..I don’t want to come back down from this cloud” is likely to be stuck in your head for a while. The other single,
Machinehead is another enjoyable track. The drumming is really solid here carrying the song the whole way. Some pretty catchy guitar hooks and weird vocal effects compliment the song well.
We all know the ballad
Glycerine which received a lot of airplay back in the day. Gavin takes centre stage here, delivering a flawless (in my opinion) vocal performance over some mildly distorted guitars. He knows what he’s capable of and sticks within his vocal range, ensuring his voice doesn’t crack like many other vocalists from the grunge era. His moaned vocals during the chorus and the accompanying orchestral instruments give the song a very ‘epic’ feel.
They definitely picked the right songs for the singles. However, there is also quite a bit of filler.
Bomb and the closing track,
X-Girlfriend add nothing but disrupt the flow on an otherwise excellent album. Another often criticized aspect of Bush are the lyrics, which range from odd (“Everything Zen”)
“raindogs howl for the century, a million dollars a steak, as you search for your demi-god,
and you fake with a saint,
there's no sex in your violence, there's no sex in your violence”
to just plain ridiculous and stupid (“Testosterone”)
“I’m real straight, you wanna see my peccadillos, hot dog 7:30 every morning,
and I’m big into war big into war, big into war
I am a whore, I am a whore”
Sixteen Stone is often overlooked and dismissed as a Nirvana rip-off when it should not. Along with Collective Soul, Foo Fighters, Live, Everclear, Weezer and Creed (to some extent), Bush were quite influential in how modern rock and the post-grunge era shaped out to be. This is easily their best album and unfortunately they took a turn for the worse soon after. Get this album for a good taste of 90s post-grunge.
