their new album comes out tomorrow (6/24/03).

has anyone heard it yet? are there any reviews out already?

I loved their three previous albums (Parachute, Goldfly, & Lost and Gone Forever), so I'm really looking forward to something new.

I am very excited about this release. If you are lucky enough to be able to access the Apple Music Store, they have had the entire album available for download for the past two weeks. Every song has a 30 second preview. Everything sounds very good. A little different from their previous efforts, but it seems much more polished and studio-driven.

Hope that helps!

-eeyoreed

That's funny. I was listening to Lost and Gone Forever today at work and was wondering when the new CD is coming out. Thanks for the heads-up.

Really looking forward to picking this up tomorrow. I've seen a few songs live and have heard the four or so tracks on their website. I like it a lot so far. A definite evolution in terms of sound (then again, all of their albums have had a different sound to them), but I think it's going to be a great CD...

EDIT: The only disappointment so far from the album is its title. It was originally called Come Downstairs and Say Hello, which is a much cooler title than Keep It Together.

I've been a fan of Guster for quite awhile. Around the beginning of the summer I got to wondering when they'd have a new album...also wondering about Jump Little Children.

The lead singer for JLC just got done doing a solo tour with an amazing peformer, Marc Broussard.

No info here, but do you have their DVD? It's a really fine performance. Great purchase.

And to not totally hi-jack the thread, I was going to ask what the difference between the regular and limited edition of Keep It Together was, but found out it's only a 32 page booklet.

Best Buy's website lists the regular edition for $9.99. Smells like a purchase to me.

the Limited Edition comes in a carpeted case, with postcards, and an enhanced cd for the road jounal.

If you preordered the LE from the guster website, they autographed it.

I got mine in today. Excellent cd, much better than I thought because I wasn't fond of the live versions I heard.

But this now, not Guster's best, but worthy.

Yeah, at the last concert I went to a few months ago, the Thunder God played almost exclusively on the regular drum set (with sticks! ) for any new songs.

I read this as "I already have arthritis so can we write songs for drum sticks." It's no less disappointing because that's one of the reasons their sound was so unique... their new songs just sounded so ordinary... like they could have come from any college band trying to make the Top 40. With the exception of Ramona (which I love) - I couldn't get into the new stuff as easily... but I'm sure their album will still be great... just not as great.

So far it's a pretty good album, althought I'll have to listen to it a few more times to really get into it.

Never heard of Jump, Little Children until this thread, so I also picked up Vertigo. Wow, what a great CD.

Oh wow, I didn't realize that about "Thunder God"!!!
That sucks.
I haven't listened to the new stuff yet, or haven't caught them on any recent tour.

Last time I saw them it was great I had front row dead center tickets and got to see the "Peace Soldiers" open up for them!
I recorded that show as well.

Peace Soldiers: were ofcourse Guster in disguise dressed up as redneck hicks and playing cover/goofy songs.
It was pretty funny.

I've heard one song on the radio. The regular drums definitely took away the uniqueness of the Guster sound.

Is it regular drums on the whole disc?

(I don't really know if the Thunder God has arthritis, I was only hypothesizing. I can't imagine it's good for the hands to bang that hard on bongos with as much as they tour.)

That said, I haven't heard a new song without regular drums. After their last concert and a listen to half of their new CD (just picked it up at lunch), that would seem to be the case.

...still good songs... just not really the reason we all love Guster...

I really wish I could have seen that show with the "Peace Soldiers." Sure would have beat John Mayer .

I left about 10 minutes into Mayer's set when Guster co-headlined with him last year. I've listened to about 2/3 of the new album. I like it, but I don't love it. Hoping that comes with a few more listens. They're still a great band, but not as unique without hand percussion...then again, playing bongos is really destroying Brian's hands.

Yeah, I've seen Guster with John Mayer twice. The first time he opened, I didn't even pay attention... all I could hear were screaming women. He just played his guitar, smiled and left.

The second time, they co-headlined and Guster played first. The concert was full of 15-year old girls who talked all through Guster, then squealed in orgasmic delight for what I can assume to be the entirety of Mayer's show. I wouldn't know because I left when the fruitcake ran onstage and danced along with some 80's hair band metal I didn't recognize before starting his set. I have to say I missed the guy that just stood there with his acoustic guitar and didn't try to be any sort of impish pop-icon.

Ugh.


Anyway, after a thorough listen to the new Guster CD (back on thread now), I have to say that I'm disappointed. Aside from three or four songs, they were just bland and uninteresting. It pains me to say this because Guster has been my favorite active band since Toad the Wet Sprocket broke up. It almost feels like they hired a new producer specializing in Top 40 radio. Ramona, Come Downstairs and Say Hello were the only true standouts. Perhaps I'll discover more gems after a few more listens... anyway, I sure hope I do.

Mayer came onstage to "Pusherman" when I saw him with Guster. There were pictures of him projected all over the club, "Pusherman" started. He ran out and did a strip tease while teen girls all around me shrieked. At least Guster seemed to get a fairly positive reaction.

About Keep It Together...it's alright for a pop/rock album. There's a few great tracks, particularly "Amsterdam," "Ramona," and "Come Downstairs and Say Hello." Unfortunately, it seems that "generic" may have been their ambition with this release...

Surprisingly, Guster is my brother's favorite band, and he thinks it's their best album...

Wow, I'd rate this album even below their very first one that nobody's even heard.

Further thoughts:

After another listen-through, I still completely agree that overall the album sounds very "generic", however I would consider "Ramona" and "Come Downstairs and Say Hello" to be... perhaps their most sophisticated (not sure if that's the most appropriate word) Guster tracks to date... I might even go as far to say that "Come Downstairs" is a beautiful song. This is one of the few tracks that also features the bongo set... in a much more reserved capacity.

...I also consider the title track, "Keep It Together," to be absolute bland, boring fodder that epitomizes how the band erred with this CD. I skip it every time through.

I'd give it a 6/10 with a wide spectrum of praise and condemnation scattered throughout. Definitely worth owning for the aforementioned tracks but be prepared to use your skip track button.

...and I think that's finally all I have to say on the matter.

Hey everyone,

Just picked up the limited edition of the new album. Has anyone gotten the extras enhanced CD stuff to work? When I click on the link in the application, it just opens my browser and goes to the Guster homepage. Anyone had any success in getting the link to work?

Thanks for the help!

-eeyoreed

Jdpatri - I agree. "Come Downstairs" is an amazing song. One of the best they've ever recorded. It demonstrates an evolution to their sound that none of the other tracks come close to approaching. "Ramona" is a great song as well, but I knew that already. I'd already seen it live twice. I've also got to admit an increasing love for "Amsterdam." It's not original, it is generic pop, but it's still a great single.

Eeyoreed - The enhanced material works fine on my computer. I just popped the cd in, and the enhanced menu came up. Some great stuff on there. A full live show in mp3, a full live show in streaming video, videos for two songs (Amsterdam and Sunshine) and a bunch of remixes. I haven't got through it all yet, but it's got better enhanced material than any other cd I own.

Several of the tracks are forgettable but overall I still love this album. It seems with each album they have one song that is better than any other song that's currently available.

the more I listen to this album, the more I love it.