Okay,
For the last 2-3 years, I have been hesitant for some reason, to purchase either of Gord's solo albums. Just got Coke Machine Glow today. UNBELIEVABLE!!! Why the hell did I wait so long!!!! Chancellor, Canada Geese, Awesome!!!!!
Mick
I did get CMG when it came out, but I haven't listened to it in years. One of these days I oughta pull it out again.
What do you guys think of Battle of the Nudes? Is that one any good?
I highly recommend Battle of The Nudes, from eerie to rocking the mood shifts between each song, the songs are tight lyrically and musically IMO and it's a highly enjoyable listen. :thumb:
i think brazle has said it, and i'll second him..i would rank CMG ahead of some hip cd's it's that damn good!!
'Glow' is superb. Undeservedly obscure, and if Downie weren't the Hip's frontman that album would have generated a huge buzz in 'indie' circles and among real music fans.
'Nudes' is much inferior to CMG, which is not to say it's bad...but the record is very short and, in my opinion, a couple of key tracks---'Christmastime in Toronto' and 'Fret'---aren't good enough to anchor it. It rocks harder than 'Glow' but it might be more of an album for completists; then again, songs like 'Figment' and 'Into the Night' are brilliant. So, don't buy it expecting another CMG, but something closer to a set of decent-to-execellent outtakes from those sessions.
I'm agreeing with the CMG is better than BOTN sentiments, but disagreeing with the CMG is better than Hip releases position.
CMG has Chancellor and Vancouver Divorce and Canada Geese and SF Song as standouts but the rest is a bit arcane, esoteric, eccentric, or choose-yer-adjective, which is fun to listen to if you really like Gord Downie and don't mind him coughing in the middle of songs.
BOTN has Figment and 11th Fret which would be sooo much better if you could hear what he was singing without having to read along with the lyrics. Pascal's Sub is just an unbelievable barn-burner of single though, and gets my butts wigglin' everytime. Steeplechase is eerie-good too, and reminds me of The Wars by Timothy Findley (which Something On does too for some reason). The rest is quirky-Gord-Downie-chuckling-in-the-middle-of-Pillform, but in a good way.
I'd buy 'em both. In fact, I did.
CT
Yeah, Nudes is good and a little more mainstream I guess for lack of a better term. My biggest problem with Nudes is that it is too short. You blink and it's over. "Christmastime in Toronto" is as good as most Hip songs and "11th Fret" is also IMO. "Into the Night" is a nice, soft little tune showcasing a 4 am sounding voice.
CMG showcases some of Downie's best vocal work IMO. When he's not screaming and singing rock with the Hip, he can sing soft, mellow songs with the best of them. "Chancellor" is definitely one of the best songs in Gord's musical career.
Nudes is worth buying, but go in with low expectations. Six songs and 23 minutes of brilliant musicianship, and five "songs" making up the rest that really border on throwaways. The additional one-minute-and-a-bit version of Pillform at the very end is unnecessary, as is We're Hardcore. I mean, was that REALLY worth immortalizing on the release at all?!
I cannot say enough about CMG. I listed to it more than any single Hip release, mostly because my night shift security job demands peaceful but pensive music. CMG fits the bill so perfectly. Quite frankly, as Trick Rider and Canada Geese flow into Chancellor, Never-Ending Present and the UNFORGETTABLE Lofty Pines, I am absolutely struck with awe every single time. This album NEVER gets old. Nothing like it has ever been made in Canadian art-folk, and I hope our kids regard it as a musical landmark in this country's history.
Thanks for the advice on BOTN guys... I think I'll pick it up soon, as well as pull out CMG again, and listen to them both.
I agree with all said here, CMG is easily one of my top 5 albums of all time.
BOTN is good, has some great tracks, but doesn't have the same depth or flow..or atmosphere of Coke.
Killer Whale Tank Wrote:'Glow' is superb. Undeservedly obscure, and if Downie weren't the Hip's frontman that album would have generated a huge buzz in 'indie' circles and among real music fans.
Uh ... what does that mean? Are you saying that it didn't generate a big buzz because Downie is a mainstream figure and "real music fans" are superficial enough to be turned away by that? I don't get it. Or maybe I do....
CMG is amazing. I like BOTN, but CMG is up there with the best, imo.
Yea I just busted out CMG again and was amazed. I love even the non-singing songs like "Mystery". "It's not that it's such a mystery to me, it's practically on display."
While I liked BOTN, it wasn't nearly as good. However, songs like "Steeplechase", both "Pillforms" and "Pascal's Submarine" are tremendous songs.
I think of both of these CD's as more "summer" CD's though. Maybe it's because so many of the songs revolve around heat. ("Let's gather 'round the fa-a-an" and "There's not a breath of air tonight"). I dunno, just more summer-sounding to me.
Both of them worth buying, tho.
Skippy, you ask a good question.
What I mean is that Downie's first solo CD is both brilliant and hugely underrated. And I suspect that it is underrated---basically ignored by non-Hip fans, and even there it's only the harder-core ones that tend to get into it---because its natural constituency is those who dig atmospheric, alternative-sounding folk/country stuff, and a lot of those people don't care much for the Hip. Put it another way: the CBC Radio crowd should have been loving CMG but largely ignored it. And I'm sure it's because Downie = Hip. It gets back to the Hip's lack of critical respect (or maybe just being taken for granted) in this country.
Of course, Gord also did nothing to promote the record...cancelling the video shoot for Trick Rider, I ask you.
Ah, now I understand. Yes, very true ... I guess everyone just expected a Hiplike album.
skippy the wonder dog Wrote:Ah, now I understand. Yes, very true ... I guess everyone just expected a Hiplike album.
well they don't know what theyre missing :wink: