The Sights - Got What We Want - 2002

Got What We Want is a melodically complex and accomplished album, and ample evidence that this young band from Detroit have a tacit understanding of what made primal '60s garage rock and early-'70s power pop so exhilarating and memorable in the first place. Not only do the Sights seem like they've educated themselves with repeated listenings to albums from a Rock History 101 syllabus, but they have an audible confidence and forcefulness that one usually only finds in bands who've been playing together for many years. Indeed, they have: Eddie Baranek (vocals/guitars/keyboards) and Mark Leahey (bass/vocals) have been making music together since 1995, when both were classmates at De LaSalle Collegiate High in Detroit. In October 2001 -- a few short months before they were to enter Ghetto Recorders to record this sophomore effort for L.A.'s Fall of Rome -- Baranek and Leahey made the decision to replace longtime bandmate Eugene Strobe (now playing with the Witches and the Alphabet) with a new drummer, Dave Shettler (ex-Moods For Moderns). This last-minute switch-out might have slowed the band's momentum, but now seems to have renewed their resolve to successfully accomplish the task at hand. Consequently, Got What We Want is a concentrated and well-produced group effort with strong and varied songs. The super-charged power pop numbers -- "Don't Want You Back," "Be Like Normal," "Sweet Little Woman" -- are rife with crunchy guitars, catchy percussive elements, and memorable hooks. Meanwhile, the title song, "Got What We Want," and the last track, "Nobody," recall the bombastic heaviosity of Mott the Hoople, Humble Pie, and Led Zeppelin at their most glorious. The main bass riff from the blues-soaked "Nobody," in fact, plays like an homage to Zeppelin's "How Many More Times?" (the song -- with lyrics purloined from Albert King's "The Hunter" -- may have also provided the Sights with their moniker). There's also an enjoyable assortment of keyboards on the album; drummer Dave Shettler contributed Hammond organ, while the swirling Mellotron was provided by organist Nate Cavalieri, who was added to the lineup in March 2002. The fathoms-deep Got What We Want should provide the Sights with a promising and (hopefully) propitious future once the world discovers its many treasures. -AMG



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