Cody Chestnutt - The Headphone Masterpiece

MINE

Funny, I thoiught this was a good album when I heard it before.  I guess that's because I wasn't really listening - it was just background.  And now I've listened to it, I can tell you I don't think it's very good at all.

While the tunes are OK, this man is NOT a lyricist.  Banal, misogynistic and full of that niggaz-n-hoes stuff that makes me shudder.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

YOURZ

Okay, so I bought this long-winded double album for one song - Look Good In Leather - mainly because the accompanying video looked so much fun.  The song is a piece of lo-fi perfection.  However, a lot of The Headphone Masterpiece falls short of the promise of this song and the rather over-bearing album title.

However, as you wade through a lot of the crap, there are a few promising gems: Eric Burdon, Daylight, Upstarts In A Blowout, The Seed (famously covered by The Roots) and No One Will.  There probably are a few more but when stretched for time, I just couldn't be bothered listening to both discs in one go.

The biggest problem I have with the whole thing is the inconsistency of recording.  It pans back and forth, instruments drop out and there's an unnerving clunk at the start of each song.  Obviously, he couldn't afford to have this mastered.  And while I know Cody spent a lot of time in his loungeroom with four track recording a whole bunch of diverse tracks, I really think should have picked the best and released an EP.  Or maybe an extended single.

As for the title, well it's nothing if not ambitious because a masterpiece this certainly ain't.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

For more information: http://www.myspace.com/codychesnuttmusic