A Poet's Life

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  • Artist: Tim Armstrong
  • Rating: StarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: May 22, 2007
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album, Enhanced CD-ROM
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Anyone looking for the punk rock sound of Rancid on Tim Armstrong's first solo album, A Poet's Life, might be left wondering where the loud guitars and charging tempos have gone. Instead with able backing from L.A. reggae revivalists the Aggrolites, Armstrong has crafted a grooving, fun-filled modern reggae album, influenced by ska, rock steady, roots reggae, and dancehall and filtered through a modern pop-punk attitude. The sound of the record (nimble, jumped-up, and retro but fully modern) impresses instantly, but as the record goes on, Armstrong's voice emerges as the star. His raspy croon, staccato toasting, and ragged shout fit the reggae sound surprisingly well. Sure, Rancid always had a huge Jamaican influence, but erasing all traces of punk from the sound is a risk. The first four songs will erase any doubts about that risk paying off and just might have you thinking the record's going to be a no-holds-barred classic. "Wake Up" is a rollicking, dubby warning to a friend to shape up, "Hold On" rides a wobbly organ line and a huge hook, "Into Action" is a slamming ska-pop song featuring vocals from teen pop punkette Skye Sweetnam of all people, and the rock steady ballad "Translator" is a sick-hearted but determined ode to perseverance with a brilliant Armstrong vocal. The second half fades a bit as the lyrical clunkers add up; Armstrong falls into cliché on "Take This City" and dives headlong into inanity on "Oh No," where he professes his love of L.A., nightlife, and rock & roll. Still, tunes like the silly but sweet love song "Lady Demeter" and the righteous "Inner City Violence" (which brings some necessary blood and fire to the proceedings) make up for the minor stumbles, and the whole record ends up being quite enjoyable. Armstrong may not exactly be a poet, but anyone who's heard any Rancid knows he makes great records. Now we know he can do it on his own. ~ Tim Sendra, Rovi

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A Poet's Life
Studio album & DVD by Tim Armstrong
Released May 21, 2007 (UK)
May 22, 2007 (US)
Recorded 2006-2007
Genre Reggae, Ska
Length 33:44
Label Hellcat Records
Producer Tim Armstrong
John Morrical
Rachel Tejada
Professional reviews

The reviews parameter has been deprecated. Please move reviews into the “Reception” section of the article. See Moving reviews into article space.

A Poet's Life is the first solo album by Tim Armstrong, made in collaboration with Hellcat-signed reggae band The Aggrolites. It was released on May 22, 2007 on Armstrong's own label, Hellcat Records.

The album was initially announced to be released for free as downloads on the internet. Later it was announced that it would be a physical product as well. The album comes with a DVD featuring a video for every song on the album.[1]

Contents

History

On August 29, 2006, Armstrong sent out a bulletin over MySpace, the text of which later appeared on Epitaph Records' site (Hellcat Records is a subsidiary of Epitaph) that explained his decision to release a solo LP. Unlike most albums, Armstrong said that it would be free and downloadable over the internet, with one song being released at a time. That same day, the first track, "Hold On", appeared as an MP3 and music video on Epitaph's site. Almost two months later, on October 11, 2006, the second track, "Wake Up", was released in the same manner. No more tracks have been released in this manner, but in March 2007, "Into Action" was played on KROQ-FM.

At some point, Epitaph's site listed a release date of February 6, 2007 but it was later changed to June 7. When KROQ started playing the single Into Action the release date was pushed up to May 22.[2] Despite little promotion Into Action peaked on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks at number 39 and stayed on the chart for 2 weeks.[3]

In Epitaph's last newsletter, it was said that they will be releasing the last eight tracks of the album (including the video to the track) in the coming weeks before it is released. However, they also mentioned that, they won't be telling listeners where. Those wishing to download the album have to find the songs on various websites. The currently available songs are linked in the Track Listing section below.

Track listing

Links point to download sources for currently available songs.

  1. Wake Up – 3:52
  2. Hold On – 2:59
  3. Into Action (featuring Skye Sweetnam) – 3:39
  4. Translator – 4:11
  5. Take This City – 3:14
  6. Inner City Violence – 3:48
  7. Oh No – 3:07
  8. Lady Demeter – 2:24
  9. Among The Dead – 3:32
  10. Cold Blooded – 2:45

All Songs written by Tim Armstrong

Videos from the DVD are also available for viewing at Hellcat's Youtube page.

Variations

The Japanese release includes a remix of "Into Action" as track 11.

The following tracks were once listed to be on the album, but were removed or renamed for the final release.

  • "The Dark" – No word on whether this is a song left off the album or if it had its name changed
  • "Girl, I Only Want What's Best For You" – Now called "Translator"
  • "Burning Angel" – Now called "Lady Demeter"

Personnel

  • Tim Armstrong – lead vocals, guitar, video director, video editor, artwork, photography, mixing, engineer, producer
  • Rachel Tejada – artwork, photography, video editor, video director, producer
  • John Morrical – guitar, piano, harmonica, mixing, engineer, producer
  • Jesse Wagner – guitar, backing vocals
  • Brian Dixon – guitar, engineer
  • Bibi McGill – guitar
  • Hunter Perrin – guitar
  • J. Bonner – bass guitar
  • Roger Rivas – organ
  • Korey Horn – drums
  • Scott Abels – drums
  • Saliva Cano – percussion
  • Jubal Jones – saxophone
  • Ethan Avineri – trumpet
  • Tom Cook – trombone
  • DJ Odi – DJ
  • Skye Sweetnam – vocals on track 3
  • Daphna Dove – backing vocals
  • Ritchie Stites – backing vocals
  • Gene Grimaldi – mastering
  • Tom D. Klime – layout design
  • Chris Lasalle – A&R
  • Camden Lock – wardrobe
  • Chelsea Rebelle – wardrobe

References

External links


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Mentioned in

Richard B. Sewall (literature)
Harriet Monroe (American critic, editor & poet)
Illuminations (ballet)