Album Review: Tinted Windows - Tinted Windows
Well, we can want for nothing now, for all of our dreams have come true! James Iha, one of the founding members of The Smashing Pumpkins, is now singing back-up for a pop group headed by Taylor Hanson of the legendary boy band Hanson. We can breathe a little easier.
Yes, the aforementioned musicians have joined forces with Fountain of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger and Cheap Trick’s Bun E. Carlos to create a supergroup by the name of Tinted Windows. Schlesinger and Iha had worked together in the past (Iha played on Fountain of Wayne’s Welcome Interstate Managers), so this particular partnership isn’t so strange. Toss in the drummer from Cheap Trick and things are starting to sound good. But who will front the band? Naturally, the youngster responsible for “MMMBop” is the only option.
An idea so crazy, it just might work. But I believe Arthur Kirkland said it best when he said, “At this point, I would just like to say that what this committee is doing in theory is highly commendable. However, in practice, it sucks.” Okay, that may be going too far. There is a lot of music out there far worse than this, but there is even more music that is much, much better. Let’s hope this self-titled release marks the beginning and the end of the group, Tinted Windows.
Schlesinger, Iha, and Carlos are good musicians in their own right, and may play together for the rest of their lives if they wish. Pop music can be great! Unfortunately, lead singer Hanson does not work at all. He still sounds like his 14-year-old self, if he were singing at the semi-finals for American Idol. Singing “A-whoa-whoa” and “C’mon-a-c’mon” through the first two songs (”Kind of a Girl” and “Messing with My Head”), he echoes the thoughts of the listener listening to the album: “Whoa, whoa, stop! C’mon, you gotta be kidding me.”
“A-ooh-ooh, a-ooh-ooh” dominate songs like “Can’t Get a Read on You”, as the album delves into Make Believe-Weezer territory. Yes, into those dreaded badlands. The blame cannot be placed on Hanson alone, however. He’s only credited for writing the two songs, “Nothing to Me” and “Take Me Back”. Schlesinger writes most of this record, and is chiefly responsible. It’s as though he took “Stacy’s Mom” and spread it out over 35 minutes. Hanson is no Marc Bolan as he tries to cha-cha his way through “Cha Cha”.
Iha even wrote two songs. Using Hanson as his conduit in “Back with You”, he confessed “Time won’t heal me/I’m trying to make due/Time won’t heal me/And it won’t be too soon/To get back/Back with you.” Now, the Pumpkins are not the Pumpkins without Iha. When we think of what that band was and what they meant to us, we will always see him in that line-up, backing Billy Corgan. Here, unfortunately, I prefer to not think of him at all.
If this band is possible, will we see a group consisting of Alex Van Halen, Joe Jonas, Albert Hammond, Jr., and Krist Novoselic at the end of this upcoming decade? Heads would explode; bells would ring out Earth’s end.
The Soundtrack of Our Lives and Sloan are examples of two bands that have put out some scattershot records that featured some solid pop rock. Tinted Windows cannot even claim that much. The songs aren’t meant to be taken seriously, and we get the joke, gang. But no one’s laughing.
Rating: 
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I was never predisposed to dislike this album. I would not have bothered to review it. I was willing to give Hanson a chance, and in my eyes, it was not good.
So, what you’re saying is that you have issues with the existence of Taylor Hanson on this record? Sounds like you could have written the review before ever hearing the album. Perhaps you did. I’m wondering why you chose to review this album, since it seems it was a foregone conclusion that you would dislike it.
There are reviews that tell me about music, and then there are reviews that tell me about the reviewer. Generally, I prefer the former. This is one of the latter.
I cannot get behind Taylor Hanson’s presence on this particular album. If you can, then maybe you will like the music. It’s all objective, and I don’t intend on calling out anyone’s tastes or knowledge of the genre.
If someone likes it, that’s great. These musicians are not bad people. I just didn’t enjoy it.
Most of the elements that this reviewer doesn’t like about this album are almost essential to the genre of power pop; such as the youthful-sounding, boyish vocals and the straightforward, uncomplicated and non-ironic lyrics. As has been noted in many reviews, Taylor Hanson sounds more than a bit like a young Robin Zander here (and yes, that’s a compliment!) Complaining about a power pop album because the vocals are too youthful sounding and the lyrics are too simplistic is a bit like complaining about a rock and roll album because it uses too much guitar and bass and not enough brass and woodwinds. That’s what it’s SUPPOSED to sound like. I’m sure this is an honest review, but it doesn’t seem to be a very knowledgable one.
You make a good point, Jim. I’ll leave it at that.
Wouldn’t it be more helpful to post a video of the music, so that readers could decide for themselves what they think of it?
KidKharma, it’s just the style of our one star albums. From what I gathered, this album missed the goal.
I’m typically not too fond of bubblegum pop, but I like this CD. It’s not spectacular by any means, but it’s catchy enough.
whats that football video have to do with anything?
And thanks for not calling me evil for disliking it.
To everyone that’s enjoyed the album, that is genuinely great. To me, it was not music to my ears. I love pop music all the way to the tweeful sounds of Belle & Sebastian, but I can’t get behind this album at all. Love a lot of previous work by certain parties involved, but thought this was a miss.
Jane, the double-mention of Hanson and Bolan was an old fashioned cut-and-paste error, and will be corrected. My bad.
I am probably going to get this album anyway. Out of curiosity and support. I am a huge fan of Smashing Pumpkins and Cheap Trick, if not the other two bands so much.
But I think I agree with you on Hanson’s vocals. The Jonas Brothers’ already sound more mature/masculine (at least on their newest single ‘Paranoid’) than Mr. Hanson does all these years after his youngster days.
And I must say - I’m really into the Jonas Brothers (and most old school bubblegum rock - just sayin’, I am not at all a teenpop or top 40 person, generally otherwise), so I kind of resent them thinking they can so obivously to horn in on that Jonas territory. There is room in the world for credible, upbeat, exuberant bubblegum - and that’s what the Jonas Brothers are producing. Adults who want it need to just get over themselves and admit it and buy into the Jonases instead.
Most enjoyable album released so far this year. Don’t get how anybody could so completely miss the joy and exuberance of this music.
And to Justin Gerber… was it really necessary to end two different paragraphs by saying that Taylor Hanson is not Marc Bolan?
Love the album.
May 17th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
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