I wish I had known about them in '88. I came on board with Faith Hope Love. I can imagine it was something to experience that with no prior knowledge of the group. I did a similar thing with FHL; read a write-up about them that said they were a bridge between the Beatles and Rush -- two of my favorites! It intrigued me so I bought it on cassette and the 30 year ride began...
I only saw them once, in Philly '91 at the Trocadero. Got my recording to prove it too lol. Wasn't all that keen on the material from the 3rd album but seeing them was well worth it.
Ty Tabor: "I wrote ['In the New Age'] with my friend Marty Warren. That was one of those songs of the zillion of songs we wrote ... It was completely written by Marty and me, and [the band] basically learned it and added our own flair to it ... Lyrically, the song is about the bombardment of all the different types of new age-movement stuff that was going on at the time." (From King's X, An Oral History)
I feel like I've taken over your thread @Jeff Kent ... Hope you don't mind but it's just nice to share the passion.
love the chord voicings at around the 3:25 mark - and then the groovy breakdown immediately after (first time I've heard this song - KX's debut is the only album that I don't own by them)
I discovered them with the first album but stopped following their new stuff after Ear Candy until I stumbled upon Ogre Tones which I really liked and the follow up even more. Happy to see the Metal Blade records releases reissued now so I plan to pick those up too. I wonder when the new album finally will be released.
I was living in England in the mid-eighties and i bought a copy of Kerrang! and there was a review of the band's first album. It was very glowing and it mentioned a bit of a Queen influence, do i rushed down the road to the record shop and bought the cd. I really liked it! I subsequently bought all their albums as they were released. If i were to play one KX album for someone who'd never heard them before it would be Faith, Hope, Love. Imo, that record sums them up. I don't love the whole of Gretchen Goes To Nebraska, even though i'd guess that it's probably their most favoured album by fans. Although it has 4 tracks i really love, and it also has my equal most favourite KX song from their career, The Burning Down. My other Number One song of theirs is, Black The Sky. Actually i read that The Burning Down made a huge impression on Devin Townsend when he heard it for the first time too. He loves the way it drones on and on til the end, keeps repeating. That is something i love when KX do that type of thing. Devin does that too on some of his songs. I also love the way they'll sometimes end a song on one big note and it just fades away very, very, slowly. That's a King's X thing that they often did. The band simply got better each album, until Manic Moonlight, imo. What a fantastic run of albums though, for eight albums they got better and better. I love the heaviness of the Dogman album. The sound of the bass on that record is enormous and i wish they always sounded that way tbh. I really love Please Come Home... Mr Bulbous too. I hate the speaking section in Fishbowl Man, so i rarely play it, or if i do i avoid that part. I wasn't so keen on Tapehead at first but now love most of the songs. That album also has a great bass sound too. Ear Candy is great as well. Love the song Black Like Sunday, but not much else from that album. Ogre tones was the beginning of the end, for me anyway. XV, as above. Like all artists they started repeating themselves. I'll listen to their new one when it comes out and i hope i really like it. Along with Slade, Queen, Thin Lizzy, King's X were among the bands that meant so much to me, they were above all others. [not the Beatles of course!] I was always SO excited to buy a new release from them, it was an event to me! I have a question that i've asked elsewhere but never got an answer so hopefully a KX fan on this forum may have it? I used to have a song of their and i can't recall the name. It wasn't on any of their albums, and i can't remember how i got hold of it, maybe it was a B-side? I had it on my mp3 player and i accidently deleted it years ago. I THINK it's called Anger. The only lyric i can recall for sure is 'You've got that anger.'[that phrase get's repeated thru' the song. It's so frustrating, i can hear parts of the music in my head but not anymore of the words. One more line MAY be something like, 'They say that you're a disgrace,' but it might not be. A few years back i did a search on Youtube but with no joy. I even sent an email to Dug Pinnick, but he never replied. Anyway, King's X were my favourite band for many years. I think they were incredible. I personally have always believed one reason they weren't more well known was the whole Christian Rock Band thing. Favourite songs: Black the Sky, The Burning Down, Human Behaviour, Life Going By, Jenna, The Train, Far, Far, Away, Groove Machine, Higher Than God, Black Like Sunday, The Big Picture, Talk To Me, We Were Born To Be Loved, and many, many, many more. P.S. Really like the first Galactic Cowboys album, very KX of course.
Even though it's a mixed bag I would defintely suggest picking up Please Come Home ... Mr. Bulbous. Quirky but closer to their earlier material than some of their other latter day records. As for the new album I believe the delay in release is a combination of things, some related to Covid, others related to their record company Golden Robot. I really hope we get it soon. Its been basically a year now of waiting.
Goldilox One of three singles issued from their debut album, "Goldilox" has become a King's X standard and one of their most beloved songs. I suppose it could be defined as a "power ballad", with a soaring chorus and achingly soulful lead vocals by Doug Pinnick. The song was penned by Ty Tabor. "Goldilox" is a highlight of every King's X show; the crowds -- the "King's X choir" -- typically sing while the band simply backs them up. It encapsulates the relationship and connection they established with their audience over the years and demonstrates how King's X were a band one had to experience live to fully appreciate. The single seemed like a surefire hit, but flopped on release. I seem to recall reading in the Oral History that the band wanted to issue "Goldilox" as their debut single but manager/producer Sam Taylor nixed it, claiming that if it became their first hit they would be labeled a "ballads" band. I'll have to find the exact quote. The band have, in hindsight, stated that this was just one of many mistakes Taylor would make in his marketing of the group. At the behest of producer Michael Wagener, the band re-recorded "Goldilox" for their 2005 album Ogre Tones. Ty Tabor: "I was at a club in Houston with my friends Marty [Warren] and Dale [Richardson]. We were going out to a place called Cardi's in Houston, which is where we actually used to see Pantera play all the time ... And one night there was this beautiful girl with long, curly, gold hair, a couple of tables in front of me. But I was too chicken to bother her. "I went home, and I had this music in my head, and I couldn't get it out of my head. I didn't even really have anything to write about, so I took the incident and turned it into this whole big deal, which, to be honest with you, wasn't as big as the song makes it seem." Doug Pinnick: "I don't like the way I sang it. I had a hard time singing it because it was such a tender song, and when Ty sings it he has a way of singing it from the heart ... I'm a totally different singer. So when I went in to do it, I tried to do it my way, and he didn't like it. I tried to do it his way the best I could, and everyone seemed to be happy with it ... I don't feel like I did a good job on it. I felt like I was just doing what I was told and didn't get a chance to 'own it'."
That song has to be this one (WE WERE BORN TO BE LOVED): I go crazy when they do that song. I airdrum along with all the stops/starts which if you know the song you can play along with Jerry and it is quite exhilarating.
I wish they would STOP having the audience sing the whole friggin' song. At least let Doug sing one or two verses/choruses if they are going to do that. It was cool the first time I heard them do it like that, letting the audience sing the whole thing but I have grown tired of hearing a bunch of out of tune crooners (myself included) singing a song that really shines when a real singer (Doug) lets it rip. They didn't use to do it that way either btw, at least not for years at the gigs I went to.
Yea I suppose after several times it would get old. But the first time you get to be a part of that it's pretty goose-bump inducing. Even though Doug criticizes himself I think his vocals are great.
Wow, I totally forgot that they rerecorded it for O.T.! The first album version is still my fave though (just gave OT version a relisten). They also did a version of it - or at least a song based on almost the same chords for the verses on Ear Candy: Hey, when you hit on a such a wonderful tune/melody can't have too much of it!
It is indeed called 'Anger' and it's on the Japanese version of dUg's first Poundhound album. You can also find it on his unofficial demo comp called Evolution of a Groove Vol. 3. You should be able to find a download link somewhere without too much trouble. dUg regularly sent these files out to fans. @ 7:17
It does seem like a thing people would come to expect. If they stopped someone would complain I'm sure. It never bothered me but again, hearing Doug sing is great too.
I'm not sure. One band I do remember seeing open for them at Jaxx (IIRC) was Podunk. I thought they were really good. Wonder whatever happened to them....hmm...just checked my CD collection, I have their album that I bought that night at the gig (Throwin' Bones) and the CD has a scrap of paper with one of the guys' email address. Been like 20 years so I don't recall what that was about, if we corresponded about something or other. Think I may have seen them a couple times actually, probably caught multiple shows on that KX tour. Gonna have to give that CD another spin, investigate if Podunk are still around, what other albums they have etc.
Podunk was great, they keep threatening to get back together, but I don't think they ever did. Let me look around and see what I can dig up. KX almost always toured with great opening bands (save for Zug Island.)
