Galactic Cowboys - "Long Way Back To The Moon"

Galactic Cowboys - Long Way Back to the Moon
2017, Mascot

1. In the Clouds
2. Internal Masquerade
3. Blood In My Eyes
4. Next Joke
5. Zombies
6. Drama
7. Amisarewas
8. Hate Me
9. Losing Ourselves
10. Agenda
11. Long Way Back to the Moon
Bonus Tracks:
12. Believing the Hype
13. Say Goodbye To Utopia

I was pretty excited when Galactic Cowboys said they were going to reunite with the original lineup and do a new album. It wasn't long after they announced it that the album itself was released. I am pleased to say that it's awesome. It really is... and a great way to end they year. This new releases eschews the alternative rock sounds of the band's later era to focus on a sound that would comfortably fit between Space In Your Face and Machine Fish. It has a lot of the harmonies that characterized the first two albums with a bit more of the song structure of Machine Fish. "In the Clouds" was the first song the Cowboys ever wrote and it definitely sounds like something that would have been on the debut. "Next Joke" has the sickest breakdown in the middle - one of my favorite breakdowns of all time (right up next to the one in Deliverance's cover of "After Forever"). "Zombies" has become a favorite of both my daughters (which is no mean feat with the older one!). And the title track is epic and spacey - just like you would expect and want from the band. In fact, it's amazing how much this just sounds like the Galactic Cowboys of old. They didn't reinvent their sound or anything but.... it's so good! In my review for Alice Cooper's Paranormal how it didn't break any new ground but was still so good and that's kind of the case here. Long Way Back to the Moon is kind of a "by the numbers" Cowboys album but.... it's sooooo good! Comfortable and new at the same time. Honestly, it's the kind of thing I needed after kind of a crappy year (in general, not necessarily in music). It's not lost on me that the band commented on this exact phenomenon in "Believing the Hype" a hilariously meta-tune about getting the band back together. I really hope this isn't just a one-off reunion for the guys because I could go for a couple more of these.

Useless Fact: The band signed to Mascot for this album (making them label mates with Ayeron). In an interview they said they'd rather have a label do things for them instead of having to do everything themselves with crowdfunding. Hey, in this case I can't argue with the results.

Galactic Cowboys - "At the End of the Day"

Galactic Cowboys - At the End of the Day
1998, Metal Blade

1. Nothing to Say
2. Ants
3. Just Like Me
4. a. Where Do I Say?
5. b. Bright Horizons
6. c. Puppet Show
7. d. Mr. Magnet
8. e. Never Understand
9. f. Ranch On Mars, Part 2 (Set Me Free)
10. g. How Does it Feel?
11. Young Man's Dream
12. Shine
13. The Shape
14. It's Not Over
15. Through
16. At the End of the Day

So what should I find in my CD collection but Galactic Cowboy's At the End of the Day! I didn't even know I still HAD a copy of this album. I found it looking for something different to listen to. Unfortunately, after putting it on my ipod and giving it a spin I found out why I forgot about it. It's not that great. The things I always loved about the Cowboys were a) Ben Huggins' vocals b) great harmonies and c) cool thrash riffs. By this time though Ben was singing lead on fewer and fewer of the songs and the cool metal stuff had fallen by the wayside (for the most part). As a result I don't think their later albums were as original or distinctive as the Sam Taylor era (and Machine Fish) albums and that includes this one. There are a few cool tunes on here, like "Nothing to Say" and "Young Man's Dream" but most of it just slides off my brain like slime on a wall. Sam Taylor may have been a total jackalope, but he did know how to produce a great record.

Useless Fact: Tracks 4-10 are called "The Machine Fish Suite" and detail the band's feelings about their experiences in the music business.

Galactic Cowboys - "Machine Fish"

Galactic Cowboys - Machine Fish

1996, Metal Blade

1. Feel the Rage

2. Struggle

3. Fear Not

4. Stress

5. Psychotic Companion

6. In This Life

7. Easy to Love

8. Red Sun

9. Idle Minds

10. The Lens

11. Pattin' Yourself On the Back

12. In a Lonely Room

13. 9th of June

14. Arrows

Machine Fish heralds a host of new changes for the band. New record label, new producer, new guitarist Wally Farkas (replacing Dane Sonnier). Their sound changes a little as well. There's not as much an emphasis on harmonies and progressive song writing. The focus here is on riffs and writing tighter songs, I think. There are songs like "Pattin' Yourself on the Back" and "Feel the Rage" that are probably some of the heaviest songs they've done. Unfortunately, I don't really like this one as much as the first two. I can't quite put my finger on why I don't dig this as much but I tend to shy away from it when I want my Cowboys fix. In fact, I have to say this is the last Cowboys record I really liked. After this they got farther and farther away from the metal aspect of their sounds and the riffs I liked so much in favor of a more alternative sound I think. Love "Arrows" though... it's a nice morose piano song.

Useless Fact: I found out about this album because Metal Blade somehow got my address and sent me a little card with an add for it.

Galactic Cowboys - "Space in Your Face"

Galactic Cowboys - Space In Your Face
1992, Geffin

1. Space In Your Face
2. You Make Me Smile
3. I Do What I Do
4. Circles in the Fields
5. If I Were a Killer
6. Blind
7. No Problems
8. About Mrs. Leslie
9. Where Are You Now?
10. Ranch On Mars
11. Still Life of Peace

Well lookee here, the Cowboys can actually write songs less than six minutes long! Space In Your Face is every bit as good as the debut. "Circles in the Fields" is a song about crop circles and "If I Were A Killer" is a pretty caustic anti-abortion song. I think the voice over in "Where Are You Now?" is funny.

Useless Fact: "Ranch On Mars" and "Still Life of Peace" were only available on the CD version of this album as unlisted tracks. "Ranch On Mars" is buried between tracks and "Still Life of Peace" was track 32 on the CD. The record company only wanted 9 songs... idiots! After this release I think the band crammed as many songs on their albums as they could out of spite.

Galactic Cowboys - "Galactic Cowboys"

Galactic Cowboys - Galactic Cowboys

1991, Geffin

1. I'm Not Amused

2. My School

3. Why Can't You Believe In Me?

4. Kaptain Krude

5. Someone For Everyone

6. Sea of Tranquility

7. Kill Floor

8. Pump Up the Space Suit

9. Ranch on Mars (reprise)

10. Speak to Me

The Galactic Cowboys hail from the same area as King's X and started out with a similar sound. I think the Cowboys are a good deal heavier. The distortion on their guitar is fat and thick - it almost sounds like a jet engine taking off. They've also got a little bit of a "spacey" vibe going on. They've got great harmonies too, especially on "Why Can't You Believe In Me?" and "Someone For Everyone." Love this album! Though I haven't ever made it through the ten-minute epic "Speak to Me" all the way through.

Useless Fact: The band made a video for "I'm Not Amused." I know this because I saw it when it first premiered on MTV. It was on this segment called "Crank it or Spank It" and I don't remember what the verdict was. I never saw the video after this so it must have been "spank it" which is no surprise because MTV never knows what is good.