I may be completely wrong but I feel there was a certain point
perhaps after Bob’s divorce that the music got slightly darker,
I thought some of the last GBV albums and some of the
Fading Captain series of recordings reflected that.
Some have claimed that Bob wasn’t “engaged” in the music
and what he was doing, which I disagree with.
I feel when your life is changing as Bob’s was at the time,
His music and how he writes is effected.
It’s unavoidable.
The Takeovers is Bob and ex GBV bassist Chris Slusarenko,
who plays practically everything except for some guest musicians,
with narration by Rich Turiel.
There is really a sense that everyone was enjoying themselves
during the making of the record.
You can feel that Bob seems rejuvenated.
After this record, Bob and Chris made another great Takeovers
record, “Bad Football”, then formed Boston Spaceships,
with drummer John Moen.
This whole period was a creative reboot for Bob,
which is still going on to this day.
The record starts with an acoustic guitar strumming
with Rich Turiel speaking, then the record kicks into gear
with "Insane/Cool it".
The record is a mixture of rock numbers like “Mojo Police”
and “Fairly Blacking Out”, acoustic songs like, “The First Spill is Free”,
and off the wall instrumentals.
“Be It Not for the Serpentine Rain Dodger” is an old unreleased
GBV song, “She Don't Know Your Name” with added instrumentation
by Chris.
We even get a song that Bob records on a phone message,
“Wig Stomper”.
“Turn To Red” is a fun and enjoyable record that
seems like a creative shot in the arm for Bob.
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