I agree with everything the Hip does on this album.
In fact, I love each and every song.
I am blown away by what I hear on this album.
Maybe I am just growing up....but damn, this shit is good.
Thought I'd check back in for this thread, as it's been a while and I've had a couple of months and two live shows now to fully absorb the new album. I see the fans are still quite divided on this one. Definitely the most divided I've ever seen us on this board. But here I am, two months later, and I still fuckin' LOVE this album. Yea, that's right. I said it. As always with this band, these songs need to be heard live to get the full impact. I thought the new material sounded incredible at the two Fillmore shows I just saw in San Francisco last weekend. "The Depression Suite" is simply epic. There's really no other word to describe it. And "Frozen in My Tracks" is a freakin' monster.
Im with ya, Wolf. I fucking love it too, especially after hearing some of it live.
I love it so much, I intend to remain sober for the London show, so I can appreciate a tad more.
Still think Now the Struggle Has a Name might be their best song I've heard live. Also the back to back Struggle/Depression Suite on the album stands up against any two songs back to back on any album
As far as the last few posts with everyone saying the live versions of the new songs are so much better..........are you sure you really love the album then? Cuz what you're saying is the recorded versions are inferior. Do you think the album would have benefitted if these songs were played live first for a few months, and then recorded? Just askin....
Personally, I love the album. Except for a couple over-thetop production things that annoy me (backing vocals on Frozen, and the overblown end section of Country Day), I wouldn't change a note of it. The Exact Feeling is a deceptive little song, isn't it? At first seemingly average, now I LOVE this track.
Still lovin' the album, but I have to say, i'm not all that keen on Struggle, or Suite. Still in love with Skeleton Park and Hush, and even though I didn't really much care for it at first, Coffee Girl has grown on me a little bit.
Can't wait to hear some of the new stuff in North Bay, maybe hearing live versions might sway me.
Probably have listened ten times, and seen it live, and this album still does not go beyond the 'meh' scale for me.
And anyone who thinks the sound of this album was more The Hip's doing then Bob Rock's is delusional. Bob said over and over again he pushed Gord to change his lyrical style and want to 'push' the band in a new direction musically AKA sound like Bob wanted them to sound.
Quote:And anyone who thinks the sound of this album was more The Hip's doing then Bob Rock's is delusional.
I guess I'm missing something here. To me WATS is a natural, stunning progression for the Hip. So there may be string sections, trumpet and backup vocals overtones that some people object to - details. Look beyond the window dressing and it’s not hard to appreciate the strength of these tracks. They have stated themselves they believe this is the best music they've ever written (Gord has anyway), and that parallels closely to how I feel about WATS. I appreciate and in fact love the beer chuggin' tracks and moods from the past but I'm ecstatic the band did not settle for those anthems and have moved on to new ones. I can put on ANY track from this release and instantly know it’s the Hip, not Bob Rock. To be honest I really don't care what Bob Rock did or didn't do on WATS, or WC for that matter, or that he apparently ruined Metallica. The fact is IMO that WATS, under the liner notes, stands up to anything the Hip have released, and it has paved the way for a continuing career of fantastic live music, some of the best in the planet. And that’s good enough for me.
thebends Wrote:Quote:And anyone who thinks the sound of this album was more The Hip's doing then Bob Rock's is delusional.
I guess I'm missing something here. To me WATS is a natural, stunning progression for the Hip. So there may be string sections, trumpet and backup vocals overtones that some people object to - details. Look beyond the window dressing and it’s not hard to appreciate the strength of these tracks. They have stated themselves they believe this is the best music they've ever written (Gord has anyway), and that parallels closely to how I feel about WATS. I appreciate and in fact love the beer chuggin' tracks and moods from the past but I'm ecstatic the band did not settle for those anthems and have moved on to new ones. I can put on ANY track from this release and instantly know it’s the Hip, not Bob Rock. To be honest I really don't care what Bob Rock did or didn't do on WATS, or WC for that matter, or that he apparently ruined Metallica. The fact is IMO that WATS, under the liner notes, stands up to anything the Hip have released, and it has paved the way for a continuing career of fantastic live music, some of the best in the planet. And that’s good enough for me.
What he said.
:thumb:
rob68 Wrote:As far as the last few posts with everyone saying the live versions of the new songs are so much better..........are you sure you really love the album then? Cuz what you're saying is the recorded versions are inferior.
That wasn't really what I was getting at. I love this album. Both live & the studio versions. What I meant with my previous post is that the Hip are always better in concert. That's the way it's been for their entire career. I think songs like Morning Moon, Depression Suite, Last Recluse, and Queen of the Furrows can easily stand up to anything they've ever written, and they sound very good on the album. But Hip songs in general are so much more powerful in a live setting. I wasn't too keen on the album version of "Struggle", but when they played it live at the Fillmore in San Francisco I was blown away by it. In terms of songcraft, these guys are still at the top of their game in my opinion.
I'd like to hear some of these songs live, but there's no way in hell I'm paying $70-$90 per ticket for the opportunity. To compare, next month me and my girlfriend are seeing my other favorite band (Clutch) live, and then I'm going to Edmonton to see them again. All three tickets together cost me $84.
Between the limp album, exclusive tracks, and the absurd ticket prices, I'm a pretty disillusioned fan right now.
direwolf74 Wrote:I wasn't too keen on the album version of "Struggle", but when they played it live at the Fillmore in San Francisco I was blown away by it.
I enjoyed Struggle the first time I heard it live (Detroit 1)
I wasn't so receptive to it second time (Detroit 2)
The third time I found it to be rather tedious (Cleveland).
I think it's a "pretty" song, and a pretty song usually sounds pretty damn beautiful to me the first time i hear it live (imagine that).
However, I've found that "pretty" songs are often rather simple and technically uninteresting in the live setting, so the more i hear one live, the less I want to hear it in concert, in general. When they were halfway through it in Cleveland, I was all but bored with it...and since it runs too long live (imo), I was actually a little irritated by the end.
Now, the fact that I heard it 3 times in 3 straight nights probably had alot to do with its rapid deterioration in my 'live appreciation' bin, but i grew tired of it nonetheless.
Depression Suite began to 'deteroirate' for me in much the same way: tedious length, redundant segments, too frequently played, etc., etc., but the saving grace for DS with me is that there are some portios of that suite that I find so incredibly cool (sweet guitar riff at the beginning of Part 1, groovy bass/guitar riff that introduces Part 2, awesome accompaniment during "It's minus eleven/inside my kettle" and similar segments of Part 3) that it was still enjoyable by the 4th time I heard it this tour.
JMO, but nothing on WATS will evr be as 'epic' onstage as the Grace Toos/Giftshops/Don't Wake Daddys/Yawning or Snarlings of their catalogue though. Furrows?... maybe.
Maybe
BulletRiddled Wrote:I'd like to hear some of these songs live, but there's no way in hell I'm paying $70-$90 per ticket for the opportunity. To compare, next month me and my girlfriend are seeing my other favorite band (Clutch) live, and then I'm going to Edmonton to see them again. All three tickets together cost me $84.
Between the limp album, exclusive tracks, and the absurd ticket prices, I'm a pretty disillusioned fan right now.
Ever hear of supply and demand? More people want to see the hip than clutch, therefore, tickets to see the hip cost more...
The Horrible Esthete Wrote:JMO, but nothing on WATS will evr be as 'epic' onstage as the Grace Toos/Giftshops/Don't Wake Daddys/Yawning or Snarlings of their catalogue though. Furrows?... maybe. Maybe
I
love Furrows on the album, probably my favorite song so far. But it just has not done it for me live yet. Yet.