PunBB

It may certainly be 'brilliant' in the eyes of many.

But it puts me to sleep......

The Horrible Esthete, wait until you see this album live.
More than a couple of your songs stars will change.

I'm hoping so!

Hey, did you see them play SIKU? Is Bobby...er...Rob playing a Rick in that song?

Check out the video of The Mod Club show - you may be able to tell.

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OK, I can't resist emulating The Horrible Esthete:

Heaven: *1/2 Good verses, nice grinding guitar, good vocals---and a completely banal non-chorus that more-or-less saboages the song, as does the lyrical content.

Summer: **** GREAT guitar, wonderful bridge, ferociously demented vocals and---my favourite moment on the record---the blow-out of Gord's vocal chords on the last extended 'praises,' followed by that WHOOO! and crash of guitars. That's where you know this will be a live, off-the-floor kick-ass record.

Gus: ****1/2 What can you say that hasn't been said? A Hip classic. 1/2 star deducted for idiosyncratic reasons: I don't like that prog-rock guitar work at the end (although it is redeemed by the wonderful chunk-a-chunk acoustic trailer).

Scar: *** Yet more outstanding guitarwork, and some of Downie's most elegantly baroque lyrics. All that's missing is a really compelling melody; which is too bad, given that it was, rather puzzlingly, the lead-off single.

Nashville: ***1/2 Strong, driving, and sardonic. Not as complex as the Hip's very finest work, but Downie's attack on Bush's America is pointed and entertaining.

NOIB: ***1/2 Lovely and poignant; maybe a few too many words for the melody; it has a slightly hurried feel to it. On the other hand, the combination of rumination on America PLUS resonances with their signature tune are impossible to miss (an elegy for the band?).

You Are Everywhere: ***** One of Downie's very finest moments. The heart of the CD in my opinion. 'Under the moon at night and the ballroom hanging, yer there'---shiver me timbers.

Make Shift: **** Should have been a single and a big hit; vocals mixed too low, but 'occurring to each other under the setups of the stars' and the rousing final verse in general redeem any technical flaws.

Mean Streak: ****1/2 Menacing, mysterious, wonderfully sung in that inimitable Gordon Dowonie bass voice. Redolent of earlier excursions into the ominous, such as 'Opiated' and 'Put It Off.' This song is unfairly maligned and, in contrast to 'Makshift,' is beautifully recorded.

Heart of the Melt: ***** Another classic, surely. The ferocious 'dorsal fin' section and the searing finale are peak moments for the band. This tune should be a live workhorse like nothing since 'Music@Work.'

Copenhagen: ** Really splendid lyrics here---one of the few times Downie actually sounds like a genuine poet---but they're marred by a banal, repetitive melody and zero musical development. I've heard this compared to 'Giftshop' and that's not unfair, given that 'Giftshop' is also something of a bore---but much more interesting than this misstep.

Are We Family: **** A fine song in every way, with moving lyrics and that wonderfully sign-of-the-times play on the old 'We Are Family' classic. I love the 'boy who stamped too many ants' line. It's touching. Maybe slightly overproduced, with that echo and all.

Josephine: ***1/2 This seems to be a polarizing song, but I come down in the middle on it. The lyrics are, of course, excellent, and the turn to the minor notes as the song builds towards the 'chorus' is neat. But I wouldn't put it down as the finest moment on the CD. A nice, mixed-tempo closer.

Tthip Wrote:Check out the video of The Mod Club show - you may be able to tell.

Tthip....will do when I get home :thumb:

For me, not having seen things live yet (which may elevate a couple songs, like Summer), this is where the tracks stand:

*****: Gus, Everywhere, Melt, Scar
****: Josephine, Heaven, Makeshift, Family
***: Nashville, New Orleans, Mean Streak, Copenhagen
**: Summer
*: Nothing. I'm not sure I can think of _any_ Hip songs I'd rate one star, although Apartment Song comes close. Well, maybe I'm a Werewolf and Evelyn.

For me:

* Heaven is a Better Place
* * Heart Of the Melt
* * * Gus, Makeshift, Mean Streak (just not the same w/o the high yelling from the 2003 shows)
* * * * Are We Family
* * * * * You're Everywhere, Summer's Killing Us, Can't Be Nashville, New Orleans Is Beat, Vacc Scar, Copenhagen

Whoa!

Feel free to crucify me for honesty but I just noticed I haven't listened to IBE in about a week and a half! hock:

It just sorta seemed to fade off of my playlist.
I've been listening to Beastie Boys, The Killers and Maroon 5....
Weird... Anybody else kinda spent themselves up on IBE?

How could I have let that happened?!? cratch:

I'm with you Brazle, its only in the car and falling to third on the playlist behind O.A.R. and Drive By Truckers, Don't get me wrong it is a good CD, but not that much ahead of IVL

Oh yeah and Vacination Scar is easily the weakest song on the album. I've had two bottles of wine and a couple of gins so don't eat me alive.