MuchMusic.com | Blog

Photograph Courtesy twovital.com

…the band.

I guess technically it can’t be called a return since they never disappeared - they’ve been steadily releasing albums in other parts of the world since the early 90s (Like most things nostalgic, though, Arrested Development are still wildly popular in Japan), but for the average North American the band probably dropped from view shortly after 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of… was released in 1992.

You may remember the album’s monster hits:

1. Mr. Wendal (YouTube)
2. Tennessee (YouTube) - the song is part of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame’s list of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll
3. People Everyday (YouTube) - this song was heavily sampled (nay, ripped off) in Kardinal Offishall’s 2005 song Everyday (Rudebwoy). In my eyes when a song is this close to the original it’s basically a cover.

In 2003 (not unlike Red Hot Chili Peppers in Jen’s post below) the band sued TV station FOX over the show of the same name.

In March this year the socially conscious group toured Australia as part of a triple-bill show with Simple Minds and INXS (odd pairing…).

So that brings us to right now…the band just released their fifth album, Since The Last Time a coupla weeks ago, and it’s their first North American release in 12 years.

I’ve been listening to the album and I’m very much enjoying the tracks Sao Paulo and Sunshine, which reminds me of Mr. Wendal in some ways, but also of A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. I also really like Down & Dirty, which is more of a party jam. Arrested Development member Baba Oje said the band wanted to “add old fashioned party songs to the catalog” and show a fun side…and this album is definitely it!

Posted on Thursday, November 22nd, 2007 at 2:21 pm by Alison and is filed under Music & Videos.

Related Articles:

• Caw! Ca-Caw!
• IMPORTANT ISSUE
• Babies! Arrests! Arrested Development!
• Top Tens: TV SHOWS!
• A Band By Any Other Name