Product Description

'Stay Positive' is the fourth studio album from The Hold Steady and follows their hugely popular 2006 release 'Girls And Boys In America'. Working once again with producer John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr.) the album sees the band continue in the same direction their previous release took them, mixing classic bar-room style rock with Craig Finn's halfspoken/half sung lyrical tales of drinking, partying and love. The single 'Sequestered In Memphis' is also included.

Track Listing

1. Constructive Summer
2. Sequestered In Memphis
3. One For The Cutters
4. Navy Sheets
5. Lord, I'm Discouraged
6. Yeah Sapphire
7. Both Crosses
8. Stay Positive
9. Magazines
10. Joke About Jamaica
11. Slapped Actress
12. Ask Her For Adderall
13. Cheyenne Sunrise
14. Two Handed Handshake!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #694 in Music
• Released on: 2008-07-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Limited Edition

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Hold Steady's ascent and eventual breakthrough with 2006's Boys & Girls in America was never pre-ordained. If anything they did it without the tastemakers' consent. Their shtick is old-fashioned through and through, beginning with Thin Lizzy and ending with Bruce Springsteen, performed by men advanced enough to have experienced those touchstones first or second hand. And look at them--not exactly The Strokes, are they? But it was precisely their enthusiastic unoriginality, the fact that the clichés were piled on so thick and so fast, that they triumphed. And placed next to that unapologetically feel good record, that Stay Positive sounds so immediately brighter and more muscular is undoubtedly a great sign. Production is really cranked up--see the horns wedged into "Sequestered in Memphis", the REM mandolin texturing of "Both Crosses" and the surprising harpsichord flagrancy of "One for the Cutters". They're clearly determined to not be so easily pegged this time around, though admittedly they never exactly go that far off-piste. "Our songs are sing-along songs," announced Craig Finn semi-helpfully, and though the spirit is right, with such a conversational lyrical style that is rarely the case. It's more about the rock gestures and knowing when to punch the air. And there are instances aplenty, from the Pete Townsend-esque windmill power-chords in "Constructive Summer", to the overblown solo in "Lord I'm Discouraged" that is so "November Rain" it's practically going through Stephanie Seymour's trash (those not watching MTV in the mid-90s, hit Youtube). --James Berry

Customer Reviews

Positive Ambition, Mixed Results
The title 'Stay Positive' is a bit of a risky one - what is conceived as a rallying call could end up sounding like a desperate plea if the album falls flat - and this release has a lot to live up to. 'Boys & Girls' was a fun listen and carved out a niche for the band as the feel good rockers who boasted untypically clever lyrics.

The band appear very much aware of this on the opening two tracks which follow the blueprint established on 'Boys & Girls' a little too closely. The next two songs throw a lot of new ideas in the mix but aren't 100% successful. At this point on my first listen I was a little worried - not one of these songs is a patch on the first 4 songs that opened the last album. 'Lord I'm Discouraged' marks the breakthrough - it is a steady, stately slow burner that boasts an awesome guitar solo that ignites the album. The next three songs continue the winning run - 'Sapphire' has a mean guitar sound, 'Crosses' would have been one of the better songs on the recent Gutter Twins album and the title track contains this album's great impassioned (and slightly comical) Finn vocal.

The quality dips slightly on 'Magazines' but it is still a catchy enough rocker before 'Stay Positive' rallies for a big 1-2 finish. 'Jamaica' is a bit kitchen sink with its Specials organ, rambling piano, voice box solo and all the rest but it is theatrical in a good way and works pretty well. More successful is the stunning 'Actress' which delivers the grandest of grand finales and recalls the more dramatic moments from last year's Okkervil River album 'The Stage Names'.

You have to applaud The Hold Steady for trying something different with this album - an approach that is far more welcome than the usual routine of producing a weak retread of former glories. It could all fall into place on the next release - mark this one down as 'transitional'.

Best album of 2008 so far!
I just wanted to say that I am flabergasted by the 2 reviews whcih rate this as 2 stars. I would say that if anything, the first 2 albums are a band finding their feet, Boys and Girls in America sees them finally perfect the early sound and this is something else entirely.
Craig Finn's voice is definitely at it's best on this album as is Tad Kubler's outstanding guitar (check the J Mascis' esque solo on 'Lord I'm Discouraged.)
Elsewhere, banjo and harpsichord add an element never heard before and if you're looking for a Chips Ahoy! look no further than the title track itself. I literally have not stopped playing this and have recommended it to most of my mates, who also have been won over (even my old man who is very sceptical of hype!)
In short, ignore the second and third review and indulge in a true classic.

What is going on with this great band?
At first hearing it sounds as if everything is well in the Hold Steady camp, as Constructive Summer and Hey Sapphire do the business. But after another few plays it seems that the wheels have come off the wagon. Their previous album was arguably the best of 2006, but this is just plain disappointing, unfocused, cluttered production. Even Craig Finn's lyrics aren't up to their usual high standards. I'm going back to play the first two albums to remind me how good these guys are. But in rock and roll three out of four ain't bad and I rate Stay Positive's `Lord, I'm Discouraged' which is like an early episode of Twin Peaks.