Was I foolish to expect more than this? After all, the last two Bush albums were such dizzying letdowns, with 2001′s Golden State all but unlistenable. Still, alt. rock pinup Gavin Rossdale’s post-Bush career contained the delightfully brutish, Page Hamilton-produced Institute project featuring Chris Traynor of Orange 9mm. After his subsequent safe-for-soon-canceled-FOX-shows WANDERlust (again featuring Traynor), a new Bush record seemed like an opportunity to return to his roots and cement the band’s rock legacy.

Here’s the rub, though: The Sea Of Memories isn’t so much a reunion album as another Rossdale solo effort, simply and strategically renamed. For starters, lead guitarist Nigel Pulsford and bassist Dave Parsons–half of the band’s original membership–opted not to sign up for another go-round, thus supplanted by Rossdale solo players Traynor and Corey Britz, respectively. Clearly someone’s been talking to Hamilton, who has made swift work flushing Helmet’s credibility down the toilet in recent years. And yes, drummer Robin Goodridge has returned, giving it more credibility than, say, Hole’s 2010 “reunion” album. However, like cash, majority rules, and this is Rossdale’s parliament, now more than ever.

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Tonight, Gavin Rossdale will be playing New York’s Gramercy Theatre as part of a May/June U.S. tour supporting his 2008 solo effort Wanderlust. Those of you familiar with this record or its corresponding singles know that the former Bush frontman has departed significantly from the raucous yet melodic post-grunge of his old band, opting for a softer, essentially adult contemporary sound not entirely dissimilar to Chris Cornell’s post-Audioslave offering Carry On. While this description likely wont appeal to you metal maniacs (I sure as hell didn’t buy it), here are a few reasons why you should load up on alcohol and catch one of the upcoming dates.
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Though recently convicted of murder, Phil Spector is regarded as one of the greatest music impresarios of the 20th century. His “Wall Of Sound” production style made him stand out from the pack, though the final results were not always met with appreciation by the artists with which he worked–perhaps the most noteworthy of these dissatisfied parties being The Beatles. Paul McCartney in particular loathed Spector’s approach on Let It Be, and a very different version of the album appeared in 2003. Whether or not such a revision will occur with Chris Cornell’s Timbaland-produced Scream remains to be seen, but an undeniably rock-centric version of his latest single certainly raises the question.

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