Guster Keep It Together CD

Live Recording



This is an Enhanced CD which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
Contains 2 untitled hidden tracks following "I Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today".
Guster: Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller (vocals, guitar); Brian Rosenworcel (drums).
Additional personnel: Ben Kweller (guitar, piano, background vocals).
Producers: Roger Moutenot, David Henry, Ron Aniello.
This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
If there were any justice, Guster's underappreciated masterpiece, Lost and Gone Forever, would have elevated the band to superstar status, and the follow-up, Keep It Together, would have been one of the most hyped releases of 2003. But while the Boston trio has built up one of the most formidable grassroots followings in music through constant touring, powerful live performances, and a level of interaction with its fans that rivals any band in the biz, Keep It Together has the goods to finally make Guster a household name. While their two previous releases flourished through an almost bipolar combination of dark rockers and upbeat pop melodies married to biting lyrics, Keep It Together takes a different path for the most part, focusing on even-keeled love songs. From the album's low-key opener, "Diane," to the sunny shuffle of "Ramona," Guster displays its formerly hidden well-adjusted side. Guest musician Joe Pisapia embellishes the group's already flawless harmonies on the immediately memorable "Careful," and contributes vocals and banjo to the rootsy "Jesus on the Radio," which he also co-wrote. Ben Kweller shows up on the album's official closer, the surprisingly reserved "I Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today." Fans of the band's quirkier moments aren't left behind either, with "Red Oyster Cult" featuring prog rock guitar, ELO harmonies, jingle bells, and a whistled solo worthy of the Scorpions. But there's no arguing that the high point of this album is the impossibly catchy "Amsterdam." Breaking all of Guster's self-made rules (as it does throughout the album) by adding bass and a drum kit to the mix, the band combines a radio-ready yet experimental production style with power chords, layers of vocals, and screaming slide guitar for three and a half minutes of the finest pop/rock you're ever likely to hear. Keep It Together may not feature the emotional dynamics or track-by-track genius of Lost and Gone Forever, but it has something that its predecessor didn't: an unabashed pop anthem that dares you to sit still. Whether the members of Guster do in fact become international rock superstars remains to be seen, but so long as they continue to make great albums like this one, their ever-expanding group of fans should be more than happy. ~ Mark Vanderhoff
Boston-based Guster, who rose to fame the hard way through grass-roots audience-building, survived the jump to the majors with their sunny, low-key pop sound charmingly intact. Their first album of the 21st century, KEEP IT TOGETHER delivers more of the nice-guy-next-door acoustic rock that fans have come to love. As always, the melodic pop framework is set slightly askew by quirky lyrics (if you can get to the inner meaning of "Red Oyster Cult," you're ahead of the game). The production is slightly smoother and more fleshed out than on the group's earliest efforts, and the aforementioned quirkiness is played down a little in favor of pure pop appeal, but in the end KEEP IT TOGETHER is hardly a major break with Guster's cult-group past.Rolling Stone (9/4/03, p.138) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Besides adding bass and a drum kit to the mix, KEEP IT TOGETHER also shows off the band's facility with hushed, minimal arrangements...and expert harmonies buoy just about every tune..."