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Agent Cooper: Beginner's Mind

During the course of the 10 songs on Beginner's Mind, Agent Cooper sounds like four different bands – a prog band, an alternative-rock band, a pop band and a classic-rock band – while vocalist/guitarist Doug Busbee sends his voice from an appealing straightforward pitch to an evocative falsetto. Agent Cooper, based in Atlanta, has been through some personnel changes between its 1999 self-titled debut and Beginner's Mind, and the long time off may have led to the diversity of material here. Not that there's anything wrong with that …

In fact, Agent Cooper's musical dexterity is what makes Beginner's Mind the perfect progressive-rock album for people who don't like progressive rock, because they won't even know they're listening to a band that actually labels itself a modern prog act. While the manic "Shallow Disease" and "Timing Crucial" are easily this record's proggiest pieces, other songs like the ethnic-etched "East Indian Sun" and "I Never Remember" have broad appeal despite their progressive leanings. "Taipai" would be right at home on modern-rock radio, and the mid-tempo "She Screams," in its own warped way, sounds like Styx. Near album's end, the tender "You Know" and "Struggle Like I Do" – during which a father encourages his son to straighten out his life – reflect more of a singer/songwriter approach, and the acoustic coda on "Struggle Like I Do" hints at an organic, even more melodic direction for this band. With the proper promotion, this Agent may not be a secret for much longer ...


Track Listing:
1) East Indian Sun
2) Shallow Disease
3) … In the Bottle
4) Taipei
5) Timing Crucial
6) I Never Remember
7) The Heat
8) She Screams
9) Struggle Like I Do
10) You Know

Added: May 3rd 2006
Reviewer: Michael Popke
Score:
Related Link: Official Agent Cooper Web Site
Hits: 5993
Language: english

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Agent Cooper: Beginner's Mind
Posted by Steve Ambrosius, SoT Staff Writer on 2006-05-03 10:51:36
My Score:

Taking 6 years to complete an album is usually not a good sign. Agent Cooper, which is really just a name that Doug Busbee carried on, disbanded and reformed, recording and re-recording songs, with the result being Beginner's Mind. As you can imagine, when dealing with new band mates and going through a selection process to pick six years worth of songs, you get a somewhat disconnected sound. And taken song by song, that can be a good thing. "… In The Bottle" and "The Heat" really have almost nothing in common, but are excellent songs in their own right. "She Screams" has a Styx theme, where as "Shallow Disease" could be on Royal Hunt's new release.


Sean Delson(bass) and Frank Fontsere(drums) provide a solid rhythm section, but Beginner's Mind lives and dies with Busbee's guitars and vocals. Although not an amazing vocalist, Busbee does a fine job of matching his sound to the musical style being played. His range is more than adequate to compliment and enhance the songs.


This is a solid release, that works better as a collection of songs than a full album, but is entertaining enough to be recommended for fans of Chain, Presto Ballet or Devin Townsend.




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