12-21-2017, 09:39 AM
Sorry. "METAMORPHOSIS" = the name of the second part of The Dark Canuck. You know, the awesome part. :wink:
I agree that the discussion in this thread has been particularly interesting. I'm also relieved to learn that I'm not the only Hip fan who hates "Use It Up," thinks "The Darkest One" is merely OK, and has serious reservations about how this album sounds. And as for Gord's voice, let's face it. It was one of the Hip's greatest assets in the first decade. It became thinner, wobblier of pitch, and yet in some ways harsher and spikier, as he got older, and a big part of the reason why the Hip lost commercial appeal. IVL is the first record where it's not an obvious strength, and even a problem on some tracks (i.e., the first half of "Dark Canuck").
On "Silver Jet"..well, there is *something* wrong with that track. It seems like it should be a go-to Hip song; it follows their classic formula. Maybe the problem is just more of the light bass-end that I've argued compromises the entire record. But the song seems to sag at the "your heart jumps to" pre-chorus, which would be precisely where classic Hip would be slipping into killer mode. Maybe the whole thing needs to be sped up. I don't know.
"Good Life?" It's kind of the opposite: the whole is more than the sum of its parts. I would normally dislike a song about being a performer (yawn), with hints of faux-poetic grandiosity ('colour of the night'), yet it rises above any such reservations to become a soaring, moving statement. The line "get with the times" used to give me shivers, considering its context, i.e., the post-9/11 war on terror. And that "forget your skates dream" is beautiful.
"Beautiful Thing?" Great verses, horribly overblown chorus. Rob B's solo carries the song's cheesiness over the top. I admire the willingness to just go kitsch, but - bleech.
I agree that the discussion in this thread has been particularly interesting. I'm also relieved to learn that I'm not the only Hip fan who hates "Use It Up," thinks "The Darkest One" is merely OK, and has serious reservations about how this album sounds. And as for Gord's voice, let's face it. It was one of the Hip's greatest assets in the first decade. It became thinner, wobblier of pitch, and yet in some ways harsher and spikier, as he got older, and a big part of the reason why the Hip lost commercial appeal. IVL is the first record where it's not an obvious strength, and even a problem on some tracks (i.e., the first half of "Dark Canuck").
On "Silver Jet"..well, there is *something* wrong with that track. It seems like it should be a go-to Hip song; it follows their classic formula. Maybe the problem is just more of the light bass-end that I've argued compromises the entire record. But the song seems to sag at the "your heart jumps to" pre-chorus, which would be precisely where classic Hip would be slipping into killer mode. Maybe the whole thing needs to be sped up. I don't know.
"Good Life?" It's kind of the opposite: the whole is more than the sum of its parts. I would normally dislike a song about being a performer (yawn), with hints of faux-poetic grandiosity ('colour of the night'), yet it rises above any such reservations to become a soaring, moving statement. The line "get with the times" used to give me shivers, considering its context, i.e., the post-9/11 war on terror. And that "forget your skates dream" is beautiful.
"Beautiful Thing?" Great verses, horribly overblown chorus. Rob B's solo carries the song's cheesiness over the top. I admire the willingness to just go kitsch, but - bleech.