1994 was such a great year for music. So many amazing albums were released. Nine Inch Nails- The Downward Spiral, Soundgarden- Superunkown, Alice In Chains -Jar Of Flies, Failure- Magnified, Sunny Day Real Estate- Diary, Stone Temple Pilots- Purple, Pearl Jam- Vitalogy just to name a few. There was another album that was released at this time as well by a group of lads from England called Bush. In late 1994 their debut album Sixteen Stone was released. Despite the criticism of critics, and the constant comparisons to Nirvana, Bush were able to carve out their own piece of the pie. Sixteen Stone had great songs and not just the singles. Leading off the album is “Everything Zen” a track full of loud guitars and memorable hooks. Following was “Swim” and “Bomb” both of these songs blend melodies with loud distortion making them 2 of the best deep cuts on the album. “Little Things” and the very successful “Comedown” had the loud, melody, and then some. The song “Body” has a sweet opening that ventures into the blues territory then bursts into what Bush does so well. Next is the great “Machine Head.” The riff for that is extremely memorable as is the sing along. “Testosterone” and “Monkey” are good songs but definitely not part of the stand out nature of the album, though “Monkey” has a great guitar outro. “Glycerine” however is a stand out. This vulnerable songs strips the band down to make all take notice. The use of strings on the song as well really help to embrace the purity of the song. Closing out the album is “Alien” a truly overlooked track on an album full of great songs. I’ve always stopped the album there and never really bothered to listen to “X-girlfriend,” though its a short little diddy, it just never interested me that much.

Gavin Rossdale has the ability to write really interesting and thought provoking songs. Sometimes his lyrics are a bit out there but it gets the job done. Nigel Pulsford brought a nice tone to the group guitar wise but was always the more boring of them when you’d watch them live. Dave Parsons brought intensity to his bass playing and had a strong way of cutting through the distortion. Robin Goodridge played the drums like he was on a mission to really hammer home the beat. Sixteen Stone still holds up to this day. A couple years back Bush reconvened with Gavin and Robin and two others Chris Traynor (who previously played with the band when Nigel couldn’t tour) and Corey Britz, and released a new album The Sea Of Memories. Their latest release was a solid album that found Gavin and company ready to capture what was once theirs.

By: Brian Lacy