[cochise]

"look around the crowd, what do you see but a bunch of greying 40-somethings who haven't listened to a new Hip record in 15 years and just want to relive their youth."



Speaking as one of these "greying 40- somethings" (I'm actually over 50) I must say that I have bought and listened extensively to EVERY Hip record and have seen them live well over 100 times - the first time being before many of you "fans" were born. The simple fact of the matter is that the early records are simply better ROCK albums and ROCK is the reason we all love this band. I enjoy their acoustic stuff as much as any fan (although I confess to getting bored by hearing ABAC in concert yet again) but it is the ROCK songs that get people off their feet (even us grey hairs) Seriously, which song would you rather hear them play live - ABAC or Three Pistols??

For me, many songs on NFPA were not Hip songs. When I heard At Transformation I was thrilled that the whole album might be like that - then I heard the title track. Geez - really?? It's not that us old fans ONLY yearn for the old stuff - I eagerly await every album - we just think that our beloved band is, first,foremost and always, a ROCK band.

This is perfectly said. I had posted earlier about wanting them to get back to their original sound. Doing that does not stimey them from growth and maturing as artists, nor does it mean I am trying to relive my youth. Many artists have grown considerably, yet at the core is their roots that you can still hear, take The Stones, Pearl Jam, Rush, etc for instance. Every single one of them matured from a teenage band into incredible artists, but you listen to one of their first hits and a more recent hit, their core is still there. The Hips core shows flashes now and again, for instance Gus, Lonley End Of The Rink, At Transformation etc, but that is too few and far between, maybe one song an album anymore.

Back when the Hip first came out, they were compared to the likes of The Stones, Pearl Jam, REM, etc. If the Hip were a new band today, where say their first LP was World Container and forward, they would not be getting those comparisons, it would be more along the lines of much "easier listening" artists, more adult contemporary "CBC radio" worthy type bands. Its not that I completely dislike their last few albums, but they almost seem to be an entirely different group now.

I am not asking the band to stop growth, I am just wanting them to return to their core and expand on it, return to that bluesy rock that made them The Hip in the first place.