that hero. nobody wants to be a sidekick.

Better Than Ezra is: Kevin Griffin - lead guitar & vocals; Tom Drummond - bass; Travis McNabb - drums

Skip to album: *Before the Robots *Greatest Hits *Live at House of Blues DVD *Live at House of Blues CD *Closer *Artifakt *How does your garden grow? *Friction, Baby *Deluxe

jh: Better Than Ezra is my favorite band. I've owned their second CD, Friction, Baby since before I could drive. I listened to it off and on, never fully appreciating how good it was. I liked it enough that a few years later when I heard a couple songs from Closer, I bought it. Closer is one of the best albums you'll ever hear. While I think the band's sound and songwriting have improved, I'm a big fan of BTE's older stuff too. If you are unfamiliar with Better Than Ezra... there's a chance you've heard "Good," "Desperately Wanting," and/or "Extra Ordinary" on the radio. If you liked any of these songs and especially if you thought they were all pretty good, go get yourself a Better Than Ezra CD (or four). Everyone who's heard this band on account of me (quite a few people) has enjoyed them to some degree. They're so good.

Before The Robots: The new studio album is coming on May 31, (pushed back from April 12 and then scooted again from April 26) 2005 from Artemis Records. Before the Robots cover pic

1. Burned
2. Daylight
3. A Lifetime
4. It's Only Natural
5. Overcome
6. Special
7. American Dream
8. Our Last Night
9. A Southern Thang
10. Juicy
11. Hollow
12. Our Finest Year
13. Breathless

Greatest Hits - © Warner Bros., 2005. BTE Greatest Hits cover pic

1. King of New Orleans
2. Good
3. At The Stars
4. In The Blood (single remix)
5. Live Again
6. Extra Ordinary
7. Rosealia (single remix)
8. Desperately Wanting

9. Misunderstood
10. This Time of Year (French radio)
11. Under You
12. Tremble
13. One More Murder
14. Porcelain (voodoo mix)
15. Laid (cover of James song)
16. Wallflower

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jh: I'll be honest, I can't think of a circumstance where I'd pay $14 for a cover song and a couple re-recorded versions of old songs. I'm not much of a "greatest hits" kind of guy, especially when I own all of the band's studio albums. However, the tracks for this album were selected by the band and it seems like a good list. So if you just want the singles you've heard on the radio and a handful of other great songs, by all means pick up a copy of Better Than Ezra's Greatest Hits.

1. Intro
2. Recognize
3. Misunderstood
4. Good
5. Rolling
6. Live Again
7. Allison Foley
8. Get You In
9. Extra Ordinary
10. King of New Orleans
11. Rosealia

12. Beautiful Mistake
13. At The Stars
14. Waxing or Waning
15. A Lifetime
16. This Time of Year
17. Sincerely, Me
18. Desperately Wanting
19. Porcelain
20. In The Blood
21. Use Me

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jh: With around 2 hours and 10 minutes of footage, this DVD is a fan's dream come true. The sound and video quality are good, most of the cuts are smooth, the setlist is excellent. I'm not really into concert DVDs (although Ben Harper has good ones), so I don't know how this one compares. But it's entertaining and pretty cool by my standards. If you know Better Than Ezra's music or are just big on concert DVDs, check this one out.

1. Intro
2. Misunderstood
3. Good
4. Rolling
5. Live Again
6. Get You In
7. Extra Ordinary
8. King of New Orleans
9. Rosealia

10. At The Stars
11. A Lifetime
12. In The Blood
13. Porcelain
14. Sincerely, Me
15. Desperately Wanting
16. Cold Year (studio track)
17. Stall (studio track)

[ listen/order at amazon.com ] [ listen/order at target.com ]

jh: This is something fans have been waiting on for quite awhile now; it was worth the wait. Recorded over two nights last December at the New Orleans House of Blues, the sound quality and track selection for this disc are both good. If you've seen Better Than Ezra in concert, you'll wish there were a couple random covers (which I suppose would be less than legal, since Kevin usually just sings whatever Outkast song has been on the radio lately) but should other than that be completely satisfied. If you're a fan who hasn't been to a show, you will like Live at House of Blues and fully understand why you need to see the band live.

1. Misunderstood
2. Extra Ordinary
3. Closer
4. Rolling
5. A Lifetime
6. Recognize
7. Sincerely, Me
8. Get You In
9. Briefly
10. Juarez
11. I Do

[ listen/order at target.com ] [ find it at half.com ]

jh: One of the best things ever to result from the invention of the guitar. Honestly, this is a CD so great it's almost ridiculous. A collection of songs with more than enough serious rocking to keep me happy as well as a couple of the best soft, slow songs you could ask for. If it started at track 6 and ended at track 9, Closer would still be one of my favorite CDs. The title track is also a deep, touching song, rounding this off into a disc that more of my friends agree on than anything we've heard before. Regardless of what sort of music you like, you should get Closer unless you want to be uncool forever. Variety from one CD to the next is a must for a band to not get stale; variety within the same album is even better when it's pulled off this well. UPDATE: Since Beyond (the label Closer was sold under) went out of business, new copies of Closer are all but impossible to come by. Hopefully the band, who - to my understanding - has rights to the songs, will take care of this in the future...

1. Tremble
2. Strange Funny Way
3. Oh, Corrina
4. Falling Apart
5. Wallflower
6. Use Me (cover, originally by Bill Withers)
7. Rarely Spoken
8. Silly Fool
9. Wintercoats
10. Mercy
11. State Street State of Mind

[ order at betterthanezra.com ]

jh: Not exactly in chronological order - artifakt is actually a collection of BTE demos from back in the day that were re-released a couple years ago. Next to Closer, this is my favorite Better Than Ezra CD. The music is entirely different from almost all of what you'll find on Closer - it's very acoustic in sound - but this is not bad news. The one problem is that, for whatever reason, the CD's sound is not as sharp as it could be. The songs are great though, so this can almost be overlooked. "Wallflower," "Mercy," and the cover of "Use Me" are my favorite songs from this disc. You can only get artifakt at the band's website or concerts, but if you like Better Than Ezra's other music it's worth your trouble to get your hands on this one. Unless you're extremely picky about the mildly watered-down sound quality, which would be sad.

1. Je ne m'en Souviens pas
2. One More Murder
3. At the Stars
4. Like It Like That
5. Allison Foley
6. Under You
7. Live Again
8. Happy Day MaMa
9. Pull
10. Particle
11. Beautiful Mistake
12. Everything in 2's
13. New Kind Of Low a.) Low b.) Coma
14. Waxing or Waning?

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jh: How Does Your Garden Grow? was a bit of a letdown for me. I like it but don't love the sort of trancy/electronica undertone throughout. That said, the only song I dislike is the opening track because it's a big sound-effects fest -- the rest of the CD is very good. "At the Stars," "Allison Foley," and "Pull" are all great songs. All things considered, this is a catchy, high quality CD and I enjoy almost all of it. And yes, it's not my favorite but I'd heartily recommend it to anyone who's already played Closer, Friction, Baby, or artifakt to death. Oh yeah, and people who are into electronica; I keep forgetting there are listeners who actually prefer funny little noises with their music...

1. King of New Orleans
2. Rewind
3. Long Lost
4. Normal Town
5. Scared Are You?
6. Return of the Post Moderns
7. Hung the Moon
8. Desperately Wanting
9. Still Life with Cooley
10. WWOZ
11. Happy Endings
12. Speeding Up to Slow Down
13. at Ch. Degaulle, etc.

[ listen/order at amazon.com ] [ listen/order at target.com ]

jh: Friction, Baby is a very good CD. "Desperately Wanting" is the only track from here that's been on the radio but to assume it's the only worthwhile song on the disc would be a mistake (the radio is garbage, after all). Friction, Baby, like Closer and artifakt, has a healthy mix of slow- and fast-paced songs. Also like BTE's more recent releases, this album is something you can happily listen to again and again (and sing along with until your voice wears out). Friction, Baby holds down the 'rock' angle of the band's music, whereas artifakt is more acoustic and Closer is a little bit of everything. "Long Lost," "Desperately Wanting," "Rewind," "WWOZ," and "Speeding Up to Slow Down" are all super sweet. This is a CD you should check out if you like Better Than Ezra or are a fan of alternative in general.

1. In the Blood
2. Good
3. Southern Gurl
4. The Killer Inside
5. Rosealia
6. Cry in the Sun
7. Teenager
8.
9. Summerhouse
10. Porcelain
11. Heaven
12. This Time of Year
13. Coyote

[ listen/order at amazon.com ] [ listen/order at target.com ]

jh: Listen to one of BTE's newer CDs and then listen to Deluxe, and you'll be sure to notice a difference. Not that this should be surprising, since this was their first full-length album. The only bad song on this disc is the untitled instrumental, but then again don't expect many tracks as great as what you'll find on the band's more recent releases. Deluxe is a solid CD that sounds more similar to artifakt than anything else; the loudest song is "Good," which is not especially heavy (but is such an awesome song). Of course even I must recognize that a CD doesn't have to be fast and noisy to be good, and Deluxe has some sweet softer songs: "Southern Gurl," "This Time of Year," and "Coyote" more than pull their weight. If you like Better Than Ezra's other CDs and could go for some slower, darker-toned stuff, Deluxe is worth $12 or $14 of your hard-earned money.