I have always been a fan of going to concerts to hear music played live. But more than that I love hearing the stores behind some of the songs. I remember back when VH-1 and M-TV use to play music videos. And when VH-1 had a show called Storytellers. This was back before the major explosion of channels expanding and splitting off. Now there is like 14 different M-TVs and 10 different VH-1s. I use to watch the Storytellers mini-concerts, it did not matter who the artist was. I just like hearing the stories of what inspired them to write their hits.
I will also admit that I have been a fan of the group Blue October for many years. Back before their mainstream hit "Hate Me." I always thought that whoever wrote their songs, Justin Furstenfeld who is Blue October's lead vocalist, always had a connection to my conscience thoughts. I recently picked up the band's live concert albums 'Argue with a Tree' and 'Ugly Side' and it was like listening to an audio version of Storytellers. Last year, back in May of last year to be exact, I ordered an autographed copy of the book 'Crazy Making' which detailed some of the thoughts behind all the songs on all their albums, along with the lyrics to the albums. This included up to their penultimate album 'Any Man in America.' But recently I have read that Justin Furstenfeld was coming out with an acoustic album called 'Songs from an Open Book' in which he would play select songs and tell stories about them.
About three weeks ago I picked up the album. I quickly started to listen to it and dug the sound. It reminded me of Blue October's album 'The Ugly Side' but with more heart. It was one of those albums you have to listen to it multiple times to get the full feel of the album. I eagerly listened to it three or four times the first day. I honestly could not get enough. This is an album that makes me remember the days when I would watch Storytellers and laugh at some of the anecdotes that the artists would say. This album is uncut, unplugged, and raw, it is what most modern artists are missing in their music. I know this is just my opinion on the matter, but this album is probably the best money I have spent in a while. I know different people will like different styles and tastes of music. But I strongly believe that 'Songs from an Open Book' has a little bit of everything for everyone.
I will also admit that I have been a fan of the group Blue October for many years. Back before their mainstream hit "Hate Me." I always thought that whoever wrote their songs, Justin Furstenfeld who is Blue October's lead vocalist, always had a connection to my conscience thoughts. I recently picked up the band's live concert albums 'Argue with a Tree' and 'Ugly Side' and it was like listening to an audio version of Storytellers. Last year, back in May of last year to be exact, I ordered an autographed copy of the book 'Crazy Making' which detailed some of the thoughts behind all the songs on all their albums, along with the lyrics to the albums. This included up to their penultimate album 'Any Man in America.' But recently I have read that Justin Furstenfeld was coming out with an acoustic album called 'Songs from an Open Book' in which he would play select songs and tell stories about them.
About three weeks ago I picked up the album. I quickly started to listen to it and dug the sound. It reminded me of Blue October's album 'The Ugly Side' but with more heart. It was one of those albums you have to listen to it multiple times to get the full feel of the album. I eagerly listened to it three or four times the first day. I honestly could not get enough. This is an album that makes me remember the days when I would watch Storytellers and laugh at some of the anecdotes that the artists would say. This album is uncut, unplugged, and raw, it is what most modern artists are missing in their music. I know this is just my opinion on the matter, but this album is probably the best money I have spent in a while. I know different people will like different styles and tastes of music. But I strongly believe that 'Songs from an Open Book' has a little bit of everything for everyone.