Chevelle is the kind of mainstream hard rock band that rarely gets critical attention. But they've won my respect over the years with great rock radio staples like "Send The Pain Below" and "Jars," and since my wife is a fan, I've gotten to hear and enjoy their albums a bit as well. With their 8th album The North Corridor out today, I thought I'd look at their back catalog.

Chevelle Deep Album Cuts (Spotify playlist):

1. Fell Into Your Shoes
2. Comfortable Liar
3. Get Some
4. Clones
5. Twinge
6. Prove To You
7. Paint The Seconds
8. Forfeit
9. Sleep Apnea
10. Breach Birth
11. An Evening With El Diablo
12. Brainiac
13. The Meddler
14. Another Know It All
15. Straight Jacket Fashion
16. Black Boys On Mopeds
17. Roswell's Spell
18. Arise
19. Jawbreaker

Track 6 from Point #1 (1999)
Tracks 2, 8 and 11 from Wonder What's Next (2002)
Track 16 from Wonder What's Next: Deluxe Edition (2003)
Tracks 3, 10 and 14 from This Type Of Thinking (Could Do Us In) (2004)
Tracks 7, 12 and 15 from Vena Sera (2007)
Tracks 1, 9 and 17 from Sci-Fi Crimes (2009)
Tracks 4, 13 and 18 from Hats Off To The Bull (2011)
Tracks 5 and 19 from La Gargola (2014)

When Chevelle started out in the late '90s, they were just another heavy Chicago band with an independent album engineered by Steve Albini. But even that album had enough hooks that the title track charted nationally and got them signed to a major label, the next album was a huge platinum success, and they've had a ton more hits since then. The band started out with the three Loeffler brothers, although bassist Joe left (or was kicked out, depending who you believe) in 2005, resulting in one of the odder sibling rivalries in recent rock history. I wonder Thanksgiving is like for that family.

The band's sound hasn't changed much since their second album, but there have been interesting little wrinkles over time, like the sudden turn into more fantastical lyrical subject matter on the aptly named Sci-Fi Crimes. I tried to highlight unusual, texturally rich songs like "The Twinge," and outliers like their excellent cover of Sinead O'Connor's "Black Boys On Mopeds." "Sleep Apnea" and "The Meddler" are album tracks that appeared on their compilation Stray Arrows: A Collection Of Favorites.

I like to joke that Chevelle streamlined pop version of Tool and the Deftones, with more concise and less abrasive songs, but I really think Pete Loeffler has a great voice and a sharp ear for hooks. I almost wasn't mad that when I took my wife to see the band a few years ago, he sang along with a pre-recorded vocal track to bolster how good he sounded live -- still I have to admit that disappointed me a little. It was subtle enough that I don't think most of the audience even noticed.

Previous playlists in the Deep Album Cuts series:
Vol. 1: Brandy
Vol. 2: Whitney Houston
Vol. 3: Madonna
Vol. 4: My Chemical Romance
Vol. 5: Brad Paisley
Vol. 6: George Jones
Vol. 7: The Doors
Vol. 8: Jay-Z
Vol. 9: Robin Thicke
Vol. 10: R. Kelly
Vol. 11: Fall Out Boy
Vol. 12: TLC
Vol. 13: Pink
Vol. 14: Queen
Vol. 15: Steely Dan
Vol. 16: Trick Daddy
Vol. 17: Paramore
Vol. 18: Elton John
Vol. 19: Missy Elliott
Vol. 20: Mariah Carey
Vol. 21: The Pretenders
Vol. 22: "Weird Al" Yankovic
Vol. 23: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Vol. 24: Foo Fighters
Vol. 25: Counting Crows
Vol. 26: T.I.
Vol. 27: Jackson Browne
Vol. 28: Usher
Vol. 29: Mary J. Blige
Vol. 30: The Black Crowes
Vol. 31: Ne-Yo
Vol. 32: Blink-182
Vol. 33: One Direction
Vol. 34: Kelly Clarkson
Vol. 35: The B-52's
Vol. 36: Ludacris
Vol. 37: They Might Be Giants
Vol. 38: T-Pain
Vol. 39: Snoop Dogg
Vol. 40: Ciara
Vol. 41: Creedence Clearwater Revival
Vol. 42: Dwight Yoakam
Vol. 43: Demi Lovato
Vol. 44: Prince
Vol. 45: Duran Duran
Vol. 46: Rihanna
Vol. 47: Janet Jackson
Vol. 48: Sara Bareilles
Vol. 49: Motley Crue
Vol. 50: The Who
Vol. 51: Coldplay
Vol. 52: Alicia Keys
Vol. 53: Stone Temple Pilots
Vol. 54: David Bowie
Vol. 55: The Eagles
Vol. 56: The Beatles
Vol. 57: Beyonce
Vol. 58: Beanie Sigel
Vol. 59: A Tribe Called Quest
Vol. 60: Cheap Trick
Vol. 61: Guns N' Roses
Vol. 62: The Posies
Vol. 63: The Time
Vol. 64: Gucci Mane
Vol. 65: Violent Femmes
Vol. 66: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Vol. 67: Maxwell
Vol. 68: Parliament-Funkadelic

This entry was posted on Friday, July 08, 2016 at 12:40 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.