Dr. Dog We All Belong  Label: Park The Van Records Release Date:02/27/07

We All Belong opens with the track Old News, a song that sounds as if it fell from the liner notes of The Beatles Help! album. It is only around 2 minutes long, but sets the mood for this magnificent album perfectly vowing that “It’s So Easy To Dream… But So Hard, To Say Goodnight.” Dr. Dog hails from Philadelphia PA and is determined to put that city on the map for (good) alternative rock.

Things only pick up from here as the songs become more diverse and refreshing at the same time. From a production aspect, We All Belong accomplishes the sound that the band was going for with ease. Every track on this album could pass for a late 60’s early 70’s pop rock song and it could not sound better. I do not know if it was recorded analog, but the timeless feel that carries throughout the record sure makes it sound that way.

Songs like “My Old Ways” and “Ain’t It Strange” are sure to be fan favorites and sing along’s that really display the Beach Boys-esque harmonies that Dr Dog is capable of. While the intelligent yet catchy lyrics will serve as a reference point for listeners to hold on to. The centerpiece of We All Belong and in my opinion the strongest track on this venture is “The Girl”. Starting with disjointed drum beats and background banter, it makes you wonder where they are taking the song, when before you know it, you are thrust into a guitar part with a tone so distorted you’ll swear someone’s amp is broken but never want them to fix it. All the while a steady piano part carries you through three and a half minutes of brilliant song and lyrics only to leave you wondering how the album could get any better. I say this is the strongest track on the album for many reasons, my primary one being that i feel it is the most unique track on the album.

Closing this great record is the longest song in Dr. Dog’s modern repertoire, which also serves as the title track. The song “We All Belong” mixes every emotion and style covered throughout the album thus far while managing to take the record to the next level right before they call it a night.

We All Belong has already become one of my favorite albums of the year and will always be in constant rotation. Dr. Dog is for fans of Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Frisco in the 70’s, Vintage Guitars & Amps, and overall great tunes to sit on a porch and drink beer to.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 28th, 2007 at 5:31 pm and is filed under CD/LP. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.