This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Big Head Todd And The Monsters are one of those bands you almost feel sorry for.
After nearly 20 years, this jammy Colorado blues-rock trio are still plugging away. But if their eighth disc is anything to go by, not only are they hanging in there — they’re evolving and improving. Crimes Of Passion is perhaps the most stylish, ambitious — and, oddly enough, the most commercially appealing — disc Todd and co. have released in their 15-year recording career. Several cuts — most notably the opener Dirty Juice — are lumpy clumps of fuzzy, high-tech robo-blues lifted wholesale from ZZ Top’s back 40. Others nod to the earthy funk-rock of Jimi Hendrix or the swaggering blues-metal of Led Zeppelin. Acoustic ballads like Beauty Queen and Angela Dangerlove, with their drawled vocals and quirky romanticism, recall John Hiatt. Even better, every note is underplayed with laid-back confidence by the band, leaving Todd plenty of room to add ear-catching textures with his sonically adventurous production. Bottom line: There’s no reason to feel sorry for any band that can put off a stunt like this.
