The album they released in 2002 charted highly and got mostly positive reviews, for obvously good reasons. A club tour of their own led into late autumn, when The Thorns hooked up with junior-league jangler John Mayer for a few dates of his arena tour. A promotional acoustic tour followed, as did dates with the Jayhawks. The self-titled LP appeared from Sony in May 2003, and was immediately heralded as a return to the sunny, harmonious sound of groups like CSN and even Fleetwood Mac. Sweet (no pun intended) harmonies and an array of guitars were out front, while veteran drummer Jim Keltner held down the rhythm. Summer 2002 found the trio writing up material by autumn they'd gelled, and started laying it down in an Atlanta studio with longtime producing pal Brendan O'Brien. Even so, the musicians' batch of shared influences - Beach Boys, Joni Mitchell, Gram Parsons, Simon & Garfunkel - suggested that the union might work, even if they hadn't worked together before.
All three singer/songwriters had made their names as solo artists, so to suddenly become a band took a bit of work. The Thorns was a reverse side project of sorts for its principals, Matthew Sweet, Pete Droge, and Shawn Mullins. Surely, I musnt jest, oh no, for I have only began.īecause the Sputnik scrogs appear to be most uncleanness from The Thorns, let me begin. Certain tracks are reminiscent to the soothing and charming acoustic ballads of Shawn Mullins, while others sound like lost Alice In Chains gloom-and-doomers. Known for their usually laid back and lean soft rock, the three got together to create The Thorns, which is surprisingly heavier in certain aspects.
Whether it be the "everything's gonna be alright, rockabye" chorus from Shawn Mullins, or the song Matthew Sweet song "Girlfriend" which reached number 7 on the American rock charts in 1991 and was made popular again in the hit video game Guitar Hero 2, or maybe from Pete Droge, who preformed and wrote most of the original material in the Academy award nominated music film Almost Famous, it'd be a titanic stretch to say these three frat rockers haven't crossed the average lenient man's eardrums.
I fail to believe that many of you, the supposed musical critics and those who eat, breathe, drink, dream, and defecate all forms of music, to have not heard of this lovely gem from 2002.Ĭombining three radio rockers from the late 90's, The Thorns consists of Matthew Sweet, Shawn Mullins, and Pete Droge, all of whom had at least one rock radio hit that the average caucasian father would know instantly. The second band I search for after I get an account on this marvelous (take away a few users) musical website is not here. Of the vast digital library that is under the Sputnikmusic realm of online diploracy, thousands and thousands upon thousands of bands and discographical achievements, I have to go along and add one of the most critically acclaimed rock albums of the early two-oughts myself. This is the epitome of a supergroup release. Review Summary: With entrancing harmonies and fantastically written ballads, The Thorns have a warm and inviting sound that stretches even on the hard rock and grunge ballads.