Redwood Revolution – Over Time (Album Review) Live

Over Time is the new live album by California band Redwood Revolution. A while ago, I reviewed another live album from the band in which they performed around a dozen cover songs. However, this album includes all original material primarily written by the band’s leader, Beth Isbell.

I was intrigued to hear this band again despite my low-rated review on the last album. However, I have listened to some of Beth’s solo work, which showed me that she is more than capable of good songwriting. So, let’s see what Redwood Revolution has been able to cook up for this live performance.

I want to start off with something that I believe is very important, and that is the recording quality. I understand that this is a raw performance and that there wasn’t as much effort to getting a great sound than there was into making a great song. Some critics may overlook this, but not me. I wouldn’t call myself an audiophile, but I do like to hear the little intricacies of the music that makes it great, which I can’t get in most raw recordings. That being said, this is a slight improvement, and I believe the music itself makes up for the quality, but I will still count it against the band.

The album starts off with “Welcome to the Show”. There’s some cool stuff going on here, especially with Spencer Kennedy’s guitar work. I have to say that Spencer is an absolute beast throughout the whole record, which was the case even in the last album. Overall, I do like this opener; it may sound a bit too much like an intro you would hear in a 70’s rock song, but it’s still a lot of fun.

“Kief” follows after, which I find to have a very catchy riff, though I can’t say much else. I think the melody is okay at best, but at least the song doesn’t overstay its welcome. The opposite is true for “Hey Humboldt!”, which does overstay its welcome, being longer than it should be, as well as just not being interesting. However, I do really like “32”, which is a song that really rocks and has some of the best guitar work on the album.

I could say that “All I Can Do” is a tinge bit boring, but I do love the smooth guitar playing and the drum work by Ed Mitchell, who I think is consistently good throughout the record. “Bleed” has a nice, catchy riff, though I find the lyrics to be cringe worthy and a bit self-deprecating. I don’t usually count lyricism when I review music, but I will point out tacky lyricism when I hear it.

However, the real stinker on this record has to be “Old Man River”, which I find to be generic in almost every sense, from the melody to the chorus to the overall rhythm. “Liars, Judges, and Thieves”, is similar, though much better by comparison, though that is thanks to Spencer’s guitar work once again.

Also, just as I critiqued on the last album, I have to mention that the vocals are still a miss throughout a huge part of this album. However, I do think that there are improvements, mostly when Beth sings in a range that I believe suits her best, like in “Hey Humboldt! and “Witchy Witchy Woman”. However, it would’ve helped if a more soothed singer sang in songs like “Slow”, which I actually hold to be the best song on the entire record, fitted with more fantastic guitar work and a nice atmospheric vibe.

Here are my scores for each song on a scale of 0-4:

1. Welcome to the Show! – 3
2. Kief – 2
3. “32” – 3
4. Hey Humboldt! – 2
5. Bleed – 2
6. All I Can Do – 2
7. Old Man River – 1
8. Witch Witchy Woman – 2
9. Slow – 3
10. Liars, Judges, and Thieves – 2

SCORE/Mediocre: As I implied earlier, this record is an improvement over the last. Beth is able to write some good tunes, so I do see great potential in her. However, I do have to reiterate that she is not a good singer. So my advice remains the same – get someone who can actually sing in your band, and I guarantee that it would give your songs more life and more love. The hero of this record is still Spencer Kennedy, who is really talented on the guitar and has given us the best moments out of the whole experience. Actually, I would say that the musicianship was good in general, with everyone playing their part. But again, I believe the vocals really do hold this band back. Sure, Beth may be better than Bob Dylan, but that also isn’t saying much. Solve that, and I believe we can really get something going.

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