Pain Of Salvation - Road Salt 1 & 2

[Zappyesque]

I couldn't find a thread on this topic so here I go:
I still have yet to get over how great I find the two Road Salt Albums by Pain of Salvation.
The Reasons (if not self-evident):
- The level of detail in production and arrangement
- The incredible amount of memorable and special melodies
- the variety of styles in general
- the fusion of 60s70s sound, production and composing with something very modern and unique to PoS
- Daniel's vocal delivery
- The lyrics (Daniel's lyrics are incredibly sensual and yes, sexual, but in a very deliberately provocative way that gives you a sense of our perverted reality. yup, I know, going out on a limb...)
- the jazzy drumming (Every verse gets a different pattern or new fills etc.)
--> There's just so much to love imo!

What a' y'all think? (of course I'm aware of how exaggerated I'm sounding but I've been listening to these albums since their days of release and I truly don't grow tired of them. Really hit the spot for me)

[Crawford Glissadevil]

I like the POS Salt period more than most progheads. Although "Linoleum" in not prog, I don't care because it rocks.

[jlneudorf]

I really dig both discs.
The fact they are less 'progressive' than their previous stuff is irrelevant to me as long as i enjoy the music.
Jon

[doh]

Yeah, labels don't matter. It also doesn't matter if Road Salt sounds like previous or more recent PoS. It is great music that blesses repeated listens.

[infandous]

I've never heard either. I loved Remedy Lane and Be, and even like a few tracks on Scarsick, though that one didn't hold my interest long. Which is probably why I stopped getting their albums after that. I'm wondering if I should give these a try. Are they on Spotify? Guess I could find them on YouTube as well. I'd want to hear them before I buy them in this case.

[jlneudorf]

Not sure if they are spotify.

They have a definite '70s vibe. Many have pigeonholed the Road Salt discs into the 'retro rock' category. I love '70s rock music so i can easily appreciate these albums for what they are. Certainly not as progressive as albums like Remedy Lane, which i also love.

By the way their latest is really good as well.

Jon

[SRS]

I should give these another go. I didn't care too much for them at the time although if I remember right I liked RS2 better than RS1. Quite a departure from PoS and I do think Daniel should have released them as solo albums instead of under his band name to avoid confusion. In the liner notes Daniel did say something about that the songs won't come easy for the listener. Maybe I didn't give it enough chances.

[Zappyesque]

I don't agree with the solo album notion. PoS has pretty much always been a Gildenlöw Solo venture. He constantly alternates in style, often from album to album (Remedy Lane -> Be -> scarsick -> RS 1+2). Also I find the Road Salt albums too sound more like a band effort then any of the albums I just mentioned. Due to the constant interplay between the instruments and short jam sequences (thinking of the funky middle section on "eleven") there's a certain spontaneity.

[iguana]

hideously talented fellow, monster vocalist. not my cuppa, though.

[Silantyev]

As much as I like "Remedy Lane" and "Be", the "Road Salt" albums brought an entirely new dimension to the group. Love both albums. I don't care that it's not prog, the music is just great. This song, for example, always gives me shiver down my spine.

[mnprogger]

they're okay, but more in that so many of their other albums are so good, they fall to the bottom of my PoS favorite albums.

Road Salt 2 though, if I had to pick, I like more than Road Salt 1.

By the way, there's a nice documentary series about the band and Daniel at that time.

http://mapenzifilm.se/

[Klonk]

They lost me with Be (although 'Iter Impius' may be my favorite PoS tune)

[jlneudorf]

The thing is every album is quite different so if they put out a clunker in someone's eyes (i need to give Be more time) the next album just might be a revelation. I really appreciate that aspect of POS.

Jon

[Zappyesque]

they're okay, but more in that so many of their other albums are so good, they fall to the bottom of my PoS favorite albums.

Road Salt 2 though, if I had to pick, I like more than Road Salt 1.

By the way, there's a nice documentary series about the band and Daniel at that time.

http://mapenzifilm.se/

Watched the first season and plan on continuing to watch this gradually. thanks! Much insight to a very emotional personality. Makes perfect sense considering the very emotional music and lyrics.