#9 - Crippled Black Pheonix - I, Vigilante
I was born in 1985, so in the grand scheme of things I've seen very little of music history with my own eyes. I've thought of what it would be like to live in the 70's and see how culture responded to Pink Floyd and King Crimson and of course Led Zeppelin, but all I can do is listen to their music, listen to the music they influenced, and speculate. These artists represent something special in my mind, they represent music that was intelligent, emotionally charged, yet accessible enough to appeal to anyone. Very few bands can claim to embody those qualities these days but a few are trying as hard as they possibly can, which leads me to my #9 spot, I, Vigilante by Crippled Black Pheonix.
Previous efforts by CBP have left me unsatisfied, as if they were still trying to figure out who they were or who they wanted to be, but I knew it was just a matter of time before they figured it out. I, Vigilante represents a turning point for the band; the time when they figured out how to let their obvious talent for writing catchy hooks unfold into a few of the most ambitious compositions I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. There are only five tracks on this album plus one hidden track so we're talking length here; length, without an ounce of filler. Each track has such a strong identity I can easily picture them being released as a series of 5 EP's but when combined these songs make for an emotional journey. I, Vigilante reminds us that you can write beautifully intelligent music and still maintain humility, modesty, and patience, that invariably appeals to the human spirit and ultimately reveals itself as timeless in the grand scheme.
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