10-20-2006, 07:49 AM
GBV Wrote:loving it on a a friday with beer. :roll:
Yes, the bar is open. Point well noted.
Here's my take of the band's latest work...
First off, there have been numerous comments to the effect of "the songs on the album should've been produced this way or that way, etc." and that's fair enough as an opinion (see the dose.ca thread). But unless such alternate versions were actually able to be produced and compared/contrasted to what has been materially produced by the band, it's just speculation and less valid as criticism.
I also share the opinion that some of the moments on album suffer from where the production took the songs, but overall I like the energy in the songs from this production for the most part. Where it really works is in "You're Not the Ocean", especially when the piano hits. It's like a signal of "Okay, we're probably in for something a little different here" only to be thrown for a bit of a loop by a return to the hard-driving guitars in "Lonely End of the Rink" and then a return of the keyboards for "In View". Great shifts AND balance there.
The biggest problem, IMO, with the moments that aren't effective is when Gord's vocals are taken too far. Shockingly (!), I'm going to make a comparison here to Christina Aguilera, who I think has an incredible voice but doesn't need to indulge in as much vocal acrobatics as her songs often feature (not that I actually have any X-tina songs, but they're hard to avoid). A few times of over-the-top vocals, sure. We get the point: you can really sing. But it doesn't need to happen song after song.
The biggest culprit of this tendency on World Container, I find, is the song "Pretend". The doubled-up vocals are different enough, and the piano-based song is different enough from other Hip songs, that some restraint on the vocal mix would've been helpful here, especially in order to hear what the band is doing differently in terms of their sound. In an interview, Gord S. talks about the piano songs freeing him up to do things on bass he wasn't previously able to do in a song. Problem for me is that this aspect is completely lost underneath the vocal treatment.
To that point, what's different in this previous comparison with Christina Aguilera (amongst other things, e.g. assless chaps, etc.) is that that Gord actually has a band with its own "voice" that can easily step up when he backs off on the mix. We've heard this happen before to excellent results in songs such as Nautical Disaster and Bobcaygeon, even Gus and Courage, where the band takes over for extended outros that don't suffer at all from not having Downie singing. Full credit goes to Robbie's lead work on many of these moments.
The other problem that I have with the album is a minor issue with the track order, but is something that can actually be addressed. As mentioned previously, when I downloaded the album from iTunes, it missed out on "In View" because it had put the song in the "In View - Single" folder rather than the "World Container" folder. So when I sat down to give the album a proper headphone listen, I was confused when "In View" didn't come on at track 3, thinking that it might actually be track 4 and I had misread where it was in the order. Then it didn't come on at track 4 either.
However, I was quite taken by "Luv(sic)" when it hit at track 4, and thought it was the perfect spot for this song (Note: metaphorically, idiots like me who obsess over track orders are like baseball fans who are fanatical about particular lineups, i.e. lead-off, 2-hole, 3-hole, cleanup, etc.). As mentioned ealier, I was debating whether "In View" or "Fly" would be best dropped from the "batting order" so as to allow "Luv(sic)" to move up to the cleanup spot.
Again, to reiterate, this is all opinion and conjecture... but in this case, only to a point. Given the wonders of modern technology and the ability to create personalized playlists (whether via iTunes or Winamp or whatever), unlike vinyl records of old, it's possible to rearrange track orders to suit one's preference. So I ended up dropping "Fly" from track 4 and let "Luv(sic)" take its spot. Problem is, I kind of like "Fly", even if it reminds me (or maybe because it reminds me) of a slower tempo "Putting Down". (SIDE NOTE: I also think the first 5 songs of M@W create one of the better openings to a Hip record, with "Stay" being one of the band's better moments).
So where to put "Fly" then? For a possible answer to this, we can look at another problem that I found with the track ordering, specifically, going from abrasive and punk-ish "The Kids Don't Get It" to the previously mentioned soft piano ballad of "Pretend". I understand there's a connection between the two songs with the repeated lyrics, but I don't think it needs to be so direct and jarring. So to smoothen the transition between the two songs, why not put "Fly" in the middle? Anyhow, that's what I ended up doing last night before giving the album another listen, and I quite enjoyed the results. There's still the problem of the vocals in "Pretend", and putting "Luv(sic)" in the fourth spot seems to beg for the song to have a longer drum count-in, but overall I like the flow of this track order better.
What's the point of all this? Well, throw out all the above analysis and what really matters here is the idea that, hey, if I don't like how this album is laid out, I do have some ability in this day and age to "fix" it in a way that works for me (or for you in your case, whatever tinkering you might think is needed or not needed at all).
While my example is only in terms of changing song orders, perhaps we're moving to a point where you'll end up being able to remix the actual songs (not just their order) by having access to individual instrument track a la Nine Inch Nails or Beck or Bowie. Who knows. But another point here is that we could actually compare such alternate versions, rather than talking about what could've been done instead but not actually having it materialize in any way (i.e. only theoretically). I think that's an interesting thing about albums today vs. albums of the past, but whatever.
Otherwise, I quite enjoy this album and its "differentness" while still staying within the same overall sound that the band has established over whatever number of albums. I'm not sure Bob Rock would be best to have produce another album, simply because it would be good to keep this album different from others in the catalogue. Rather, I think it'd be good to keep toying with different vibes on future albums. I was excited to hear what Bob Rock would bring to a Hip album, but now I'd be even more exicted to hear what a Rick Rubin or Chris Goss would do to the next batch of songs by the band.
On the controversy that is the song "World Container" and its production, I think the song is so strong it doesn't matter. I'm sure there will be a stripped down live version somewhere to satisfy those who are put off by its big sound on record. While I do find some Queen-ishness to it, its chord progression and barstool vocals remind me more of "I don't like Mondays" by the Boomtown Rats. It does, however, walk dangerously close to the land of Meatloaf and Reo Speedwagon in its grand piano sound, but I don't think the Hip could actually get to that land with a straight face even if they tried.
my $1.02
-jf
