I hardly ever review anything on this site. ...but here I am, on Amazon, leaving a review that few people will ever read, for an album that even fewer will actually hear, and I'm doing it because The Silos deserve it. Why? Because The Silos are good. I mean, REALLY good. ...and this album is gorgeous. That's not a word I generally use to describe rock music, and make no mistake this album rocks, but the music is also haunting and beautiful and the lyrics make me cry. Just so we're clear, I'm not a crier either. This music is special. It makes me want to get in my car, roll the windows down, crank the volume, and sing along at the top of my lungs.

The Silos also deserve this review because I feel like they were gypped. Someone other than me (and you) and college radio DJs should have noticed the beauty and intensity of their music. How did this band slip through the early 90s music scene with barely a ripple when their talent deserved a splash?

I've been looking for this CD for ages but it's hard to find. I don't know why it's so rare, but no one ever seemed to stock it. I kind of remember the band getting picked up by a major label after the release of 1987's Cuba. I suspect sales of this follow up were disappointing (unfairly so) and maybe they lost the contract or something but couldn't say for sure what happened. Still, it would explain why this self titled CD has been out of print and near impossible to find. Every so often I queried Amazon to see if it was available and last week, I found used copies. I snatched one up and so should you. Actually, if you're new to The Silos, start with Cuba then follow up with this one. You won't be sorry.

I opened up that old book
Photographs took me back
To your room....

I grew up in Florida seeing the likes on Molley Hatchett, Greg Allman, and Tom Petty perform. Fast forward to the 80s, and while the folks in Athens, Winston-Salem, and other southern college towns were experimenting with fusing southern rock and country traditions with indy and punk, the Silos showed up in Gainesville, FL and had an interesting twist. The lead singer is the son of Cuban immigrants, and he does sing one song in Spanish on this cd, but the whole feel is alt-country (before the genre existed). When he sings about "driving down 441, a beer in one hand and the radio blasting...I'm over you" he harnesses the power and tradition of Hank Williams but with the styling of the Rave-Ups, X, and eventually what will be Son Volt.

The Silos CD - otherwise known as the "bird album" - is one of their best works. Later releases, such as "Cuba", don't have the same energy and grassroots feel to them. The Silos are one of the best 'mostly-unknown' bands I've encountered so far.

Song recommendation from this CD: "I'm Over You".

If you have Loaded, Pleased to Meet Me, any REM (up through Monster or so), or any of the Jimmy Miller-produced Stones albums (save for Goat's Head Soup) in your collection, and you listen to them with any regularity, do yourself a favor and get this album. It's the one with the crow's head on the cover. At least I think it's a crow's head. It might be a penguinn.

This is an amazing, life-changing album and its a darned shame it never got the recognition it deserved. I can throw this masterpiece on the stereo (or the iPod these days) and it just goes down easy with its gritty, down-and-dirty, world-weary mood. Great for those days when your PO'd at the world but know its a little to late to call that girl or tell your current boss to stick it.

In many ways, the Silos sound closely resembles alt-country with a Southwestern flavor, and with a little Rock en Espanol thrown in for good measure. It's too bad that they never caught on, but on this album, at least, they caught lightning in a bottle, and created a collection that deserves a far wider audience.

There's no shortage of real classics on here (Caroline, The Only Story I Tell, Commodore Peter, Porque No) but the real standout is I'm Over You. This is a get-over-the-bad-break-up song that rivals the best ones out there by capturing the conflicting sense of regret and freedom.

I'm gonna phone her, but not today
I'm gonna write her, but not today
Today I'm gonna be
Driving down Highway 441 with the windows down
A beer in one hand, the radio blasting
My old needs I won't recognize
I'm Over You

If you're looking for a solid album to add to the rotation, check this gem out.