Every family seems to have a band that the relatives never stop talking about. For the creator behind @whatsongrandpasturntable, that band was Tool. He says he has family members who are huge fans and that he has always been curious about the music of these “Tools,” but he never knew where to start. So when he came to the 1993 album Undertow in the record collection he inherited from his grandfather, he decided his journey to discover the band was long overdue.
He opens the way he does with every installment, welcoming everyone to another day of listening to his grandfather’s record collection. His verdict, after a single listen, is that Tool should be its own genre.
His First Reaction To The Band
The thing he notices first is how well the voice and the instruments work together. He calls the vocals of frontman Maynard James Keenan truly like no other, some of the most unusual he has ever heard, and he says he is glad he found them. He admits that he did not understand some of the lyrics and that they seem pretty angry, but he also feels the band was having a very good time making the music.
He was most impressed by how perfectly composed everything sounds. Everybody comes in at exactly the right time and moment, he says. Picking a favorite track was hard, but he singles out “Bottom” and the title track, “Undertow.” He also loved the way a song he names as “Silver” builds at the end. The album has no track with that exact title, so he may be thinking of “Sober,” but we are only repeating what he says. While listening, he thought the song was wrapping up, and then it hit him that there was definitely more coming, and he enjoyed that surprise.
The opening track, “Intolerance,” is the one he says will go down as one of the best songs he has heard in the collection so far. He hopes he picked the right starting point for a band he is just getting to know.
Then comes the part many of us can relate to. He does not really know what the songs are about, and he has decided that he likes that mystery. Not knowing makes him want to listen again and find out. He says he does not know what to label the music, because it feels like its own thing and should be its own genre. He closes by thanking Tool for an awesome album.
What Undertow Was When It Arrived
For readers who missed this one, here is some background. According to Wikipedia’s page on the album, Undertow was released on April 6, 1993, on Zoo Entertainment. It was produced by the band and Sylvia Massy and recorded at Grand Master Studios in Hollywood. It was the band’s first full length album, running a little over 68 minutes.
The lineup at the time was Maynard James Keenan on vocals, Adam Jones on guitar, Paul D’Amour on bass and Danny Carey on drums. The album is usually described as alternative metal and progressive metal. The track list on that page opens with “Intolerance” and includes “Prison Sex,” “Sober,” “Bottom,” “Crawl Away,” “Swamp Song,” “Undertow,” “4 Degrees,” “Flood” and “Disgustipated.” “Bottom” features guest vocals by Henry Rollins, and the final track is nearly sixteen minutes long, with a long stretch of quiet and cricket sounds before a hidden message.
Undertow did not top the charts. It peaked at number 50 on the Billboard 200 and number 1 on the Heatseekers chart, which is a list for newer acts. But it kept selling for years, and it is now certified triple platinum in the United States. Critics were warm. One described it as showing that metal could be intelligent, emotional and brutal at once.
That slow climb is part of the reason a younger listener might discover it today. Bands like this one built their audiences through word of mouth and passed albums from one relative to another, which sounds a lot like what happened in this creator’s family.
Why “Its Own Genre” Is A Fair Description
The creator is not the first person to struggle to label this band. Critics have used alternative metal and progressive metal, and fans often add their own descriptions. Tool is known for long songs that change shape in the middle, for drum patterns that do not follow the usual rock rhythm, and for singing that moves between a quiet, almost fragile tone and a roar. When he says that everyone comes in at their perfect moment, he is putting a listener’s finger on the band’s biggest strength, which is patience.
His reaction to the build in that song he names as “Silver” is a good example. Songs that make you think they are ending and then keep growing are a hallmark of this style. It rewards a listener who stays with it. If you grew up on three minute singles, it can feel like a different way to listen to music.
How To Listen To A Band You Have Never Heard
His approach is worth borrowing if there is an artist in your own life you have been curious about.
Start with an album, not a single song. A full album tells you more about a band than a radio cut ever can, and it shows how the group likes to pace its music.
Pick an early record if you can. Debut albums and early releases often capture a band’s raw energy. He wondered if he had chosen the right starting point, which is a fair question to ask anyone who knows the catalog.
Ask the fans in your family. If your relatives are devoted to a band, they can tell you which album to try first and which one to save for later. Then compare notes after.
Do not worry about understanding every word. He enjoys the mystery of not knowing what the songs mean. Some music is better the second and third time through, when you start to notice things you missed.
Give the record a clean start. If you are playing it on vinyl, wipe the surface with a soft dry cloth or brush and listen all the way through, uninterrupted. Records from this era were mastered with the full album in mind.
A Collection That Keeps Giving
This is the charm of the series. Each time he plays something from the inherited shelf, he comes to it without years of opinions, and his reactions are honest. It is a sweet reminder that a stack of records can connect generations, even when the music is not what anyone expected to find in a grandfather’s collection.
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