2007
I was a huge Toad the Wet Sprocket fan and was depressed when I realized there would be no more Toad albums to look forward to. I kept up with the various members as they moved on and downloaded everything I could find from Glen Phillips and the band Lapdog which consisted Todd, Randy and even Dean for a while. Both entities put out some great music but I eventually lost track of them.I happened upon "Winter Pays for Summer" and snapped it up. After spending a month or so listening to this album I have to say - it's GREAT! "Duck and Cover" "Finally Fading Out" and "Thankful" are very strong. Phillips lyrics are very good and the richness of the instrumental accompaniment proves that this is no lightweight effort.
I am less infatuated with the slow, moody songs - but then I never liked TTWS slow, moody songs either. The pop song "Falling" is a decent tune but here the lyrics seem lacking. The only song I dislike is "Gather".
Do I think this album is better than TTWS as some have suggested? No, but then is Phil Collins better than Genesis? Nope, not even close. Is Paul McCartney better than the Beatles? Ahem. Is Ozzy Osbourne better than Sabbath? Come on... All kidding aside, there was a rawness about TTWS that I loved; an intangible that is only achieved by the group effort. You can sort of hear it in Lapdog's early releases where most of the old group was still together. All that was missing was the heart - Glen Phillips.
4 of 5 stars
CW
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