"Actions speak louder than words," says vocalist Steve Ewing in the first line of "Liar, Liar," one of the most intriguing songs on Too Much Stereo, the latest and by far the most accomplished album from eclectic St. Louis rock crew the Urge. This admonition is precisely the case with the 11 new original songs found on Too Much Stereo, a hard-hitting and diverse yet altogether focused collection of cutting-edge rock that fulfills this skilled bandΓÇÖs abundant musical and lyrical potential.
The new album--the UrgeΓÇÖs third to be released through Immortal Records and its first under ImmortalΓÇÖs partnership with Virgin Records--was produced by Clif Magness and was recorded in Southern California over four very productive weeks during December 1999. The guitar, bass, and drum tracks were first laid down at Royaltone Studios in North Hollywood, Calif., while vocals, horns, keyboards, organ, and other instruments were subsequently captured at ClifΓÇÖs home studio in nearby Santa Monica.
"In some ways this album was actually less of a challenge to make than our previous albums because we had so much material to begin with, before we even started recording," says Steve. "By the time we got in the studio to record, everything had been pretty much hashed out between us as a band. A couple of tweaks here and there and boom. We didnΓÇÖt even rehearse, we just went in on adrenaline and recorded. It was pretty painless, and it was the most relaxing record weΓÇÖve ever made."
Much of the credit for the ease of recording this time, according to the band, is owed to producer Clif Magness. Magness (Quincy Jones, Glen Ballard, Hanson), a seasoned studio veteran, Grammy Award-winner, and accomplished songwriter, had never worked with the Urge before they recorded Too Much Stereo. It was unquestionably a good sign when he and the band composed two songs together on the very first day they met.
"Clif was very, very good at hearing things, like chord structures and arrangements, on those occasions where we were stuck," says Steve. "He really had some good ideas and he really helped to spark everyoneΓÇÖs creativity. Never did we run into something where immediately there wasnΓÇÖt a dead-on suggestion on his part." The Urge first gained national attention in 1996 when Immortal reissued the groupΓÇÖs independently released album Receiving The Gift Of Flavor, a party-ready collection of hard-rock riffs and reggae-influenced grooves. Too Much Stereo is the ambitious follow-up to the UrgeΓÇÖs 1998 GG Garth-produced album Master Of Styles, which includes the modern-rock radio staple "Jump Right In." Steve says the band members took a clean-slate approach when it came time for this new project, putting aside thoughts of previous recordings and accomplishments.
"We had no expectations going into the making of the album," says Steve. "I think we needed to do that in order to be objective. We wanted to make the whole project a learning process for us, leave ourselves open to learn and perform new things. The vibe was really loose and there was no stress at all, so we tried a lot of things, and we experimented. When thereΓÇÖs nothing set in stone, and when you can experiment, strange and wonderful things begin to happen."
"We tried all kinds of stuff on this record," adds bassist Karl Grable. "We went to some crazy extremes when we were writing songs as a way to pull fresh ideas out of everyone." All six members of the Urge delivered their finest musical performances for Too Much Stereo, resulting in the bandΓÇÖs trademark unpredictable mix of sounds and styles. While undeniably pleased with the bandΓÇÖs musicianship, Steve says heΓÇÖs actually most proud of the songwriting strides that he and his band mates have made. "I always feel that IΓÇÖm growing and maturing as a vocalist, and that weΓÇÖre developing musically as a band," says Steve. "But more than anything weΓÇÖre growing as writers, which you can clearly hear in the melodies in our new songs. We did put a bit less emphasis this time on all the different styles that we do, and we put more of our effort into the songs."
"The goal, as always, was to expand our music and to become somewhat of a different band," says Karl. "We always want to change, from album to album, and not just re-create ourselves."
The albumΓÇÖs title song, "Too Much Stereo," is an immediately infectious number whose thoughtful lyrics are an indication of the great strides the band has made over the past couple of years. "That song is about people and their unwillingness to budge in difficult situations," comments Steve. "ItΓÇÖs kind of a childish attitude that almost everyone has at one time or another. In relationships thereΓÇÖs often too much stereo, where two stubborn people are apart and they need to come together. Each person needs to budge a little bit. The song explains how each of us can be selfish sometimes."
The July 2000 release of Too Much Stereo will also mark a welcome beginning to a year and a half of international touring for the Urge, a band whose die-hard core fanbase was earned one spectacular live show at a time. "I would have to say the most gratifying part of playing in this band is still actually performing our songs," says Steve. "In the past, we relied only on being a live band, and all we did was tour, and we never spent that much time writing the material. This time, we had some time off from the last record, and we used to it reinvent ourselves musically, and we learned as much as we could. Everybody blew out the cobwebs and started experimenting, and this is what we created."
