Update, and I Over-Analyze

Loved by most fans, not so much by critics. That's what I get from Under the Blacklight.

A lot of this album, on first impression, does offer quite a bit of disconnect. I guess that is what happens with the collective input of multiple producers. But after listening to the album a few times (a few, as in on the way to work and on the way home every day this week), the album comes together with more cohesion.

I can admit to taking a few sips of the Hatorade once I first bought the cd and heard a few tracks. Some of it seemed overproduced (why the critics hate it) and a step in an entirely different musical direction (why some fans hate it).

Of course, I, being the over-analytical type who can't let anything alone, decided to see where this album fit in compared to the others.

I rated all the tracks from all four albums on a sliding scale - 3 through 5. I added up each numbered category and produced a sub-total for each album. I then divided that sub-total by the number of tracks to get an average rating per song, per album. That, hopefully, would more or less tell me, by my own rating, how the albums compared to each other.

As expected, More Adventurous came out first with an average of 3.72. It has two songs with a rating of "5".

The Execution of All Things (3.64) came in second, Under the Blacklight (3.55) third (only one "5" rating) , and Take-Offs and Landings (3.31) came in fourth.

At a close third, how come then, is this album being panned?

First, because it's on the heels of Jenny's phenomenal solo album (which, by the way, would have taken them all to school with a 3.82 (3 "5" ratings)) and RK's well marketed, and thus successful, breakout album.

Second, it's because people don't like change. Since I enjoy disruptions, but not interruptions, I don't mind sudden shifts in music. I always laugh when I listen to people who base much of their viewing or listening habits on reviews. In 1969, the critics hated The Soft Parade. Too jazzy, too overproduced, too much a departure from their previous music, they wrote; it's also happens to be my favorite Doors album.

I'll leave just a few reasons why people should give this album a chance, if they've given previous RK albums the same courtesy.

Jenny's voice is as silky as ever and her metaphors runneth just as deep. With clever wording about communications technology and relationship impossibilities, Greek mythology, and alchemy, the lyrics offer more than enough to keep you thinking.

So much for putting Under the Blacklight under the blacklight.