Daniel Amos

Darn Floor - Big Bite [Deluxe Edition 2CD]

Darn Floor - Big Bite [Deluxe Edition 2CD]
Frontline Records 1987

SJANGER ♦ new wave/alternativ rock

This is the ARRCO 2008 released 20th Anniversary Re-mastered Deluxe Edition. Enhanced CD features: Live tracks, Demos, Remixes, Video content, and a brand new 22 minute interview with Terry Taylor.

"This is Daniel Amos' most creative album, spotlighting Terry Taylor's lyrical genius and the musical ingenuity of the entire group. «Return of the Beat Menace» opens the disc with strange chords and catchy, rhythmic multi-layered guitars, and moves into a biting (almost threatening) rebuttal to the attacks of televangelists on popular music and culture. The title track correlates the sign-language speaking gorilla's description of an earthquake ("darn floor, big bite") with humanity's description of God ("you are twilight, dark and bright"), all to a tune that is both barbaric and tonally non-traditional...From beginning to end, this disc is a lyrical and musical masterpiece that improves as it ages." 4.5/5 [AMG]

"Darn Floor, Big Bite is an exercise in discovery a moody, magnificent album which defies easy description. Each listening brings new insights, impressions building up like the coats of lacquer on a Japanese jewel-box. Maybe this shouldn't even be called a 'review.' A review is after the fact, past-tense a summation. I'll be frank - I'm still in the process of absorbing Da's newest record. Chalk it up to the weakness of language, I guess...Greg Flesch continues to amaze as Da's resident mad scientist of Guitar and Attendant Technology. His innovative, angular guitar effects complement Terry Taylor's provocative lyrics. Tim Chandlers dissonant bass lines crawl like big lizards through the underbrush of engineer Doug Doyle's mixes. Ed McTaggart again contributes excellent artwork and of course, Big Drums." 5/5 [Rock Syndicate]

"The music on Darn Floor - Big Bite is spacious, jagged, energetic, and unfailingly melodic. The album covers a lot of ground in its 10 tracks. There are the straight pop songs, like «Strange Animals» and «The Unattainable Earth», but then there is the groove-laden powerhouse of the title track, which sees Tim Chandler providing the foundation for Greg Flesch's towers of sound. «Safety Net» is built around a merciless electronic drum beat and an odd 7/4 time signature, but it rocks like a house on fire, Terry Taylor's vocals sounding ragged and worn by the end. «Half Light, Epoch and Phase» gives Flesch a chance to whip out his surf guitar chops over a constantly shifting backdrop, and «Earth Household» is strikingly beautiful, its circular bass line leading into the perfect chorus...There are only a handful of bass players in the world as good as Tim Chandler, and on Darn Floor, you can really hear how terrific he is. On the album's opener, «Return of the Beat Menace», Chandler is as reserved as he's ever been, laying down bedrock-solid accents. But jump ahead to the almost jazzy arrangement of «Pictures of the Gone World», and you'll hear a dissonant master at work. Chandler gets away with incredibly bizarre bass parts in otherwise simple songs - man, just listen to what he plays during the chorus - but they work. Then there's Greg Flesch, who doesn't as much play the guitar on this album as conduct it. You will very rarely hear a strum or a simple chord from Flesch - he complements Chandler's improvisations with his own dissonant lines. Often, neither one is playing what you'd think of as "the song," but with Ed McTaggart's rock-solid drumming, they hold it together, and Terry Taylor's vocals are always to the point, tempering his bandmates' flights of fancy...Darn Floor - Big Bite is the most beautifully odd record Daniel Amos ever made. Even now, after two decades, it remains one of the most insightful examinations of faith, doubt and the inability of language (both spoken and played) to encapsulate either one. It also remains a challenging, incredibly rewarding work of musical art by four men at the top of their game." [tm3am.com]

"This is probably the most sought after album in the Daniel Amos catalog. It's been out of print so long an entire generation has grown up in this album's wake. Over the years a certain mythology has grown around this album that has generated enough of a groundswell to get the attention of the folks at The Arena Rock Recording Company. The result is a reissue that delivers the goodies in a big way. This is how it should have sounded back in '87 and it's a real treat to hear this in all it's sonic glory... Terry Taylor and the guys managed to strike an almost perfect balance between art and imagery. This is one of the most wildly creative and engaging album I've ever come across. It is THAT good...It's always a dicey thing for bands to reissue their back catalog - the band's fans tend to have the product, and remastering and the promise of a more pristine listening experience are not often enough to get people to belly up for another copy of something they already have. Unlike other reissues I've seen (and not picked up) that include an old live track, or studio out take DFBB really and truly is a Deluxe Edition. The liner notes are great, and the art work is well done. What really seals the deal is the second disc featuring remixes and a series of interviews interspersed with demos. These are not flashy demo recordings, these are audio storyboard and guide tracks - that sonically more often than not sound like shit - but they're a wondrous lens into the band's creative process and give a behind the scenes tour on how this album came to be. While it may be something you'd think would only appeal to the hard core fan, it's akin to getting a director's commentary for the album with some cool deleted scenes. While it may not get may repeated listenings it's worth having." [Banophernalia]

"Terry Taylor mostly wrote his lyrics to music beds created by guitarist Greg Flesch and bassist Tim Chandler. This made Darn Floor, Big Bite Daniel Amos' most collaborative effort to day. Chandler's booming bass is best showcased during the title track, whereas Flesch's out-of-this-world electric guitar explorations are all over the place. It's the sort of album where, even if you don't dig - or even want to dig - the themes, you can enjoy it simply for the way it rocks. To paraphrase Taylor from one of the CD interview, Darn Floor, Big Bite is probably the one Daniel Amos that cannot be easily linked to any particular musical era. It's not New Wave, as were earlier efforts, nor is it as Beatle-esque as much of the group's succeeding recordings. It stands alone, timeless. Darn Floor, Big Bite is the sound of a great American rock band biting off more than it can chew - and loving it." 10/10 [Dan MacIntosh]