Charged (Reissue)

Nebula

You coming at me with another so called "Power Trio"? Dude, just remember I was […]
By Mike "Bitchin" Bourgeois
February 20, 2019
Nebula - Charged (Reissue) album cover

You coming at me with another so called "Power Trio"? Dude, just remember I was weened on the ULTIMATE POWER TRIO! You won't need the talent, just make me feel good. Or angry. Or sad. Just make me enjoy the experience and be better than Hanson. Just a tiny prayer I mutter for my cats every time a trio comes my way. Seemed to work too the second I heard the polka beat come into my headphones followed by that beautiful fuzzbox guitar sound and raw bass  backing the point. "Do  It Now"!

My first impression of Eddie Glass and his vocal style was Iggy Pop had an influence somewhere in his past. His guitar sound is morphing constantly, but actually helps the music move forward, as shown in "Giant". I almost felt a touch of country influence in the well layered "Travelin' Man Blues". The solo transition was surprising, especially how easily that clean guitar cut through and made it's presence know without distracting from the solo.

"Shaker" illustrates Ruben Romano's skill at keeping what normally would be a simple beat and make it very interesting. I was impressed by the nine plus minute "All The Way". Taking on a project that long is never easy, but with well placed transitions, tempo and style changes, it kept me interested throughout its entirety. Bonus track "Cosmic Egg" was fun, psychedelic and very Pink.

I waited till my conclusion to mention bassist Mark Abshire . Playing bass in a trio is a complex feat, and when someone like Mark fills the role, he actually is filling two roles, bass and rhythm guitar. Most trios who push their genre have a great bottom end, and the role here is well done.

My final thoughts are it's enjoyable, well written and performed, but even after being remastered it lacked some sonic clarity, losing some definition through the generous use of fuzz throughout the entire album. some parts would have been better served using basic overdrive. Enjoyable, but by the end of the cd I felt slightly let down, like the band only wrote three songs but made seven variations of them. Still, I now am curious about their later work. Maybe they evolved from 2001 when they first recorded Charged. So I'm off to find more Nebula.

8 / 10

Excellent

Songwriting

8

Musicianship

7

Memorability

7

Production

7
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"Charged (Reissue)" Track-listing:

1. Do It Now
2. Beyond
3. Giant
4. Travelin' Man's Blues
5. Instant Gravition
6. This One
7. Ignition
8. Shaker
9. Goodbye Yesterday
10. All The Way
11. Giant (demo bonus track)
12. Cosmic Egg (bonus track)

Nebula Lineup:

Eddie Glass - Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards
Mark Abshire - Bass, Vocals
Ruben Romano - Drums, Keyboards, Vocals

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