Buckethead

Bermuda Triangle is a good album but don't get your hopes up. It's part of Bucket's electronic period and is an oddity. There's some great stuff on there, but don't make the same mistake as me and expect something that conjures images of the actual Bermuda Triangle.

Anyway, maybe I'd bump up my rating of Bucketheadland to a 6. I found a lot of his early albums were half interesting and half filler. There's a lot of stuff on here that is unlike anything he's done since, so it has its place for that. I'm listening to Giant Robot theme now, a hidden gem! There are also songs that were redone several times (I Love My Parents) and songs that still get played live (they did a huge jam around Hook and Pole Gang when I saw Bucket live).

Production has its own charm. It works for this album.

CriedWhenBrucieLeft said:
Mosh is of the opinion (I think) that Buckethead's production has generally got better with time. I kind of agree, but some recent material (i.e. some of the Pikes) is mixed, how shall we say, oddly. I'm sure it's intentional, but it doesn't always work.
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Yea, Pikes can be inconsistent but they're good enough. Every now and then there will be a Pike with awful production, but it's pretty obviously intentional.
 
Mosh said:
Bermuda Triangle is a good album but don't get your hopes up. It's part of Bucket's electronic period and is an oddity. There's some great stuff on there, but don't make the same mistake as me and expect something that conjures images of the actual Bermuda Triangle.
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Don't worry, I've seen the reviews. I'll go in expecting little and hopefully got something out of it.

Also, out of curiosity, where would you and Cried rank Buckethead among your favorite artists?
 
I’ve long given up on trying to rank my favorite artists, but Buckethead is up there. But he’s also in a unique position where I don’t think much of his songwriting but the variety and expression in his playing makes him one of my favorite players.
 
Diesel 11 said:
Also, out of curiosity, where would you and Cried rank Buckethead among your favorite artists?
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Favourite? At the top.
Mosh said:
I’ve long given up on trying to rank my favorite artists, but Buckethead is up there. But he’s also in a unique position where I don’t think much of his songwriting but the variety and expression in his playing makes him one of my favorite players.
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I totally understand what you mean by this. In terms of constructing & arranging stuff he's pretty hopeless sometimes. But there are many aspects to his playing (mood, atmosphere, beauty, melancholy, playfulness, etc) that I just don't find in such abundance with other guitarists. Also, I still find his soloing exciting to listen to.
 
Yea I feel the same way. Buckethead has inspired me to check out more guitar driven instrumental rock but so far nothing has given the same amount of satisfaction as a Buckethead slab. Very few guitarists have the same amount of musical personality, Frank Zappa is the only one I can immediately think of.

Btw Halloween is in a week so hopefully the new album ships in the next few days.
 
Mosh said:
Btw Halloween is in a week so hopefully the new album ships in the next few days.
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Doubt it, everything is behind schedule. There's footage of the Halloween show to look forward to though.

Have been listening to my "Ambient/Noise" playlist (inc. highlights from the Halloween Pikes)...
 
CriedWhenBrucieLeft said:
Favourite? At the top.
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So even more than Maiden? The blasphemy intensifies. ;)

Mosh said:
Buckethead has inspired me to check out more guitar driven instrumental rock but so far nothing has given the same amount of satisfaction as a Buckethead slab.
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I've only listened to two albums (Giant Robot review coming up soon), and it's all been very enjoyable. As I've already said, I'm the kind of person who likes some lyrics, and yet these albums are surprisingly captivating. Possibly those little soundbits he throws in, but I'm not sure.
 
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The idea of a theme park was fleshed out already on his debut, but here he goes beyond even that. I don't think "Giant Robot" would be a fitting name for this album, but oh well. Anyways, production-wise, much better. While the previous album was shorter (I didn't listen to the 16 minute second disc), it dragged a bit here and there. This was longer and yet I was surprised at how it flew by. Buckethead really makes some interesting albums. Some highlights were that person who did the "they were up at the slaughterhouse - nosin'" on the last album (here I think it was something to the effect of, "Buckethead, stop playing, it's dead"), the bits of the "Buckethead legend" so to speak, and of course the actual music. Despite sending off some hair metal vibes, Binge and Grab was an okay but underwhelming song, and Welcome to Buckethead is actually worse than the original Park Theme. I Love My Parents (one of the wussiest songs ever? ;) ) in four minutes is better though. Overall, a good album and a bit better than the original, mainly because this flew by like Eddie on the Icarus cover.

Rating: 7/10

I should probably note that my Buckethead ratings are different than my Maiden ratings. A seven Maiden-wise means it's a meh-ish song, whereas for Buckethead, even a five means it's decent. If you think it's confusing, how do you think I feel?
 
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A very samey album with no real direction or interesting aspects. Well, regarding direction, there is some, but it really comes across as Buckethead experimenting with stuff out of curiosity, not out of trying to make an album. And regarding interesting aspects, alright, there are some, but they're few and far between, and, hell I can't even remember any off the top of my head. It does have a plus though - it's only 43 minutes. Any longer and it'd really drag. As it was, I'd probably have been bored had I not been listening to it in the background of my internet shenanigans.

Rating: 3.3/10
 
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This album appears to be an early fan favorite, and I can tell that it's a really emotional album, but............................. okay, maybe I'll have to give it a re-listen in the future, but my first impressions aren't gonna be the most positive you'll ever see. This thing drags longer than the previous album, it's just so slow. Tracks with drumming on them don't sound mixed well. And yeah, the style really isn't my cup of tea. However, here and there I detected some Ahab-type moments, which is a definite positive. And the album starts to redeem itself towards the back end. I found myself getting lost in "Watching the Boats with My Dad", which is probably one of my favorite individual songs by him thus far, and that I'd give somewhere between 9/10 or 10/10. But as for the entire album....

Rating: 7/10
 
I also gave Giant Robot a 7/10. It was my introduction to Buckethead and still a good place to start. Listening to the new version of Welcome To Bucketheadland you can already tell things have greatly improved both in the production and playing. Would be curious to know why you don't like this version of the song btw. Binge and Grab is another great track that used to have lyrics (read up on Deli Creeps).

Anyway, it feels like a more worthy exploration of Bucketheadland than the actual Bucketheadland album and I often get the two albums confused for that reason. The first 5 tracks are essential Buckethead and after that it drops off a bit with some more great moments scattered in (most notably Binge & Grab, Star Wars, I Love My Parents). There are also some hidden gems, like Chamber of Horrors and Last Train To Bucketheadland. I could do without the weird orchestral stuff, but it contributes to the album's quirkiness at least. Overall still one of his best albums.

Diesel 11 said:
were that person who did the "they were up at the slaughterhouse - nosin'" on the last album
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Pretty sure that's actually Buckethead.
 
Mosh said:
Would be curious to know why you don't like this version of the song btw.
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I dunno... maybe it's the production changes? Not really sure. Actually, I think I'll go listen to both together to see which I really prefer and why. (After Monsters and Robots, which I just started listening to.) At any rate, I don't dislike it, I just find Park Theme better. Or at least... I'll get back to you on this. ;)

Mosh said:
Binge and Grab is another great track that used to have lyrics (read up on Deli Creeps).
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Already have. :ok:

Mosh said:
Last Train To Bucketheadland
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A good definition of a "hidden gem". I agree.

Mosh said:
Overall still one of his best albums.
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And yet only a 7/10? ;)

Mosh said:
Pretty sure that's actually Buckethead.
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Whoever it is gets 11/10 stars.
 
Yea maybe I'd bump it up to an 8, would have to relisten.
 
And one more tonight, making 4 today and 5 total.

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This thing starts out really strong. I mean really strong. The problem is that starting with The Shape Vs Buckethead, the album gets kind of old kind of fast, with Shape being the last song I really enjoyed. I'd give Stun Operator through Remote Viewer #13 a collective 5/10. Everything before that would make for a near perfect album, somewhere around a 9/10. Sadly, that's not the case, but I will say this: there's really not a single misstep on here. Yes, even tracks 10-13 are at least interesting, and the others are all great, great songs. So with this in mind - Monsters and Robots is my favorite Buckethead album yet, and would be rated much higher if 10-13 were axed or placed somewhere else.

Rating: 7.7/10
 
Day Of the Robot has a killer opener, the rest might as well be the same song 4 times in a row.

Colma is a classic, dunno what to tell you. Bucket is at his best when doing more reserved things. Love the textures on that album. Listening to it now.

Monsters and Robots is very good as well and also one of his few truly collaborative albums. It's also the last before a string of very weak albums.
 
Just for you, I'm off to compare Park Theme with Welcome To Bucketheadland. Stay tuned...
 
Alright, so, I'm retracting the original statement. I like both versions about equally:

Park Theme
- The main riff (I guess?) is heavier, tighter, and better performed.
- Drums are eh, but if fits the album.
- Outro solo is meh.

Welcome To Bucketheadland
- The main riff is weaker, likely do to production.
- Drums are better.
- Outro solo is better.
- Production is great, kinda reminds me of Powerslave Maiden production.

So about equally. Both fit their albums, the reason I said Park Theme is better is that the riff is a lot better on it. At any rate, doesn't matter which version, it's one of my favorite songs in his discography I've heard yet.
 
Aaaaaaaaaaand went and listened to Jordan because apparently it's not on a regular album. At first I wasn't sure if I was impressed or not, but as the song progressed, yeah, that was good. Not Soothsayer-good, but still good.
 
Sounds like Welcome To Bucketheadland is better even by your description. :p I find the main riff in Park Theme to be fairly sloppy with a bad guitar sound.

Jordan is awesome. We might play it in my school Rock band. Way better than Soothsayer imo, which is kind of overrated. Both songs come from what many (including the man himself apparently) would consider Bucket's "golden age".
 
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