04-29-2009, 02:11 PM
For everyone who is complaining about Bob Rock's production - I seriously think we are listening to different albums - of course I have awesome taste...
We Are The Same - Critic Reviews
04-30-2009, 08:54 AM
Ouch:
With his bandmates sounding like over-produced session players
We Are the Same sounds more like The Eagles than The Tragically Hip. That’s not just bad; it’s unforgivable.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/music/cd-reviews/the-tragically-hip-we-are-the-same-3687/">http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/music ... same-3687/</a><!-- m -->
The Tragically Hip - We Are The Same
Universal
Published April 30, 2009 by Jason Lewis in CD Reviews
It finally happened. On their 12th album, The Hip have lost their edge.
When Canada’s most literate major-label outfit declares We Are the Same, you might expect more of the cryptic, driving rock they built their rabid fan base and two-decade career on. Instead, they delve deep into the mediocrity that was hinted at on their last outing — the Bob Rock-produced World Container. Rock is back again, leading long-time listeners to wonder if he is out to sabotage The Hip, just like he did Metallica.
It’s not all his fault, though. You might be able to pin the syrupy string arrangements and crappy trumpet solos on him, but even the band’s frontman and poet laureate Gord Downey is losing his grip. His vocals have a wonderful confidence, but his lyrics lack the maturity and enigmatic charm that set The Hip apart from all the other bar bands that have followed in their footsteps. With his bandmates sounding like over-produced session players putting an emphasis on maudlin MOR acoustic roots rock, We Are the Same sounds more like The Eagles than The Tragically Hip. That’s not just bad; it’s unforgivable.
With his bandmates sounding like over-produced session players
We Are the Same sounds more like The Eagles than The Tragically Hip. That’s not just bad; it’s unforgivable.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/music/cd-reviews/the-tragically-hip-we-are-the-same-3687/">http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/music ... same-3687/</a><!-- m -->
The Tragically Hip - We Are The Same
Universal
Published April 30, 2009 by Jason Lewis in CD Reviews
It finally happened. On their 12th album, The Hip have lost their edge.
When Canada’s most literate major-label outfit declares We Are the Same, you might expect more of the cryptic, driving rock they built their rabid fan base and two-decade career on. Instead, they delve deep into the mediocrity that was hinted at on their last outing — the Bob Rock-produced World Container. Rock is back again, leading long-time listeners to wonder if he is out to sabotage The Hip, just like he did Metallica.
It’s not all his fault, though. You might be able to pin the syrupy string arrangements and crappy trumpet solos on him, but even the band’s frontman and poet laureate Gord Downey is losing his grip. His vocals have a wonderful confidence, but his lyrics lack the maturity and enigmatic charm that set The Hip apart from all the other bar bands that have followed in their footsteps. With his bandmates sounding like over-produced session players putting an emphasis on maudlin MOR acoustic roots rock, We Are the Same sounds more like The Eagles than The Tragically Hip. That’s not just bad; it’s unforgivable.
"We're forced to bed, but we're free to dream"
Dana
04-30-2009, 10:31 AM
I can't take a critic seriously when they spell the lead singer's name wrong.
04-30-2009, 12:33 PM
cygnus8595 Wrote:I can't take a critic seriously when they spell the lead singer's name wrong.
Agreed.
I also can't take a review seriously when the "author" writes like an 8th-grader.
04-30-2009, 12:43 PM
cygnus8595 Wrote:I can't take a critic seriously when they spell the lead singer's name wrong.That is exactly what I was going to say!!
04-30-2009, 10:01 PM
The Horrible Esthete Wrote:cygnus8595 Wrote:I can't take a critic seriously when they spell the lead singer's name wrong.
Agreed.
I also can't take a review seriously when the "author" writes like an 8th-grader.
FFWD Weekly is Calgary's local arts & entertainment rag. Believe it or not, the writer of that review used to be a big Hip fan and wrote rave reviews of just about every album they've done up until IBE, which is where they started to lose him. Obviously he's part of the "I hate Bob Rock" club, as he's been very unimpressed with their last two records. His review of WATS sounds like he just wants the band to keep churning out the same hard-rock from the early days. This is the first time the Hip have really gone out of their way to try something different (since DFN anyway), and he shits all over it. Typical. And comparing them to The Eagles is simply uncalled for.
05-01-2009, 04:33 AM
BLURT
blurt-online.com
Tragically Hip-We Are the Same Review
Along with single-payer health care and 12-month maternity leave, the Tragically Hip are at the top of the list of things that the United States should learn from Canada. Monstrously successful north of the border, the Hip's literate rock anthems have inexplicably failed to find much success here. Sure, they've got more songs about hockey than most rock bands, and Gordon Downie's lyrics tend toward the cryptic, but for all of their quirks, the Tragically Hip are nothing if not big, bold, arena rockers at heart. If Nickelback can top the charts here, surely these guys deserve more love than a few sold-out theaters in a half-dozen major cities, which is the extent of the band's U.S. touring these days.
We Are the Same, the band's 12th studio album, isn't likely to change that; save for "Love is a First" and "The Exact Feeling," they've mostly traded in the swaggering, straightahead rock that made their early albums so instantly appealing for pleasures both more subtle and more ambitious. On one end of the spectrum are "Coffee Girl," a pensive paean to the bohemian behind the counter, and "Morning Moon," a twangy exploration of the banalities of a relationship quietly falling apart.
At the other extreme lies "The Depression Suite," nine-and-a-half minute epic that travels lyrically from Chicago to New Orleans to Canada's Barrens and musically through three distinct musical sections from pulsing pop to midtempo rock to lighter-waving power ballad, orchestral strings. Then there's "Now the Struggle Has A Name," on which the strings appear again, propelling a bridge that sounds like early ELO.
So what keeps it all from turning in to bombastic cliché? It all comes down to Downie's voice, a nasally snarl that's by turns vicious and tender, and his lyrics, which sketch out enough descriptive and narrative details to create a vivid scene and the skeleton of a story, leaving the listener to fill in the rest. Well, that and the fact that the Tragically Hip are the best rock band you've never heard of.
Standout Tracks: "The Last Recluse," "Now the Struggle Has a Name" ERIC SCHUMACHER-RASMUSSEN
blurt-online.com
Tragically Hip-We Are the Same Review
Along with single-payer health care and 12-month maternity leave, the Tragically Hip are at the top of the list of things that the United States should learn from Canada. Monstrously successful north of the border, the Hip's literate rock anthems have inexplicably failed to find much success here. Sure, they've got more songs about hockey than most rock bands, and Gordon Downie's lyrics tend toward the cryptic, but for all of their quirks, the Tragically Hip are nothing if not big, bold, arena rockers at heart. If Nickelback can top the charts here, surely these guys deserve more love than a few sold-out theaters in a half-dozen major cities, which is the extent of the band's U.S. touring these days.
We Are the Same, the band's 12th studio album, isn't likely to change that; save for "Love is a First" and "The Exact Feeling," they've mostly traded in the swaggering, straightahead rock that made their early albums so instantly appealing for pleasures both more subtle and more ambitious. On one end of the spectrum are "Coffee Girl," a pensive paean to the bohemian behind the counter, and "Morning Moon," a twangy exploration of the banalities of a relationship quietly falling apart.
At the other extreme lies "The Depression Suite," nine-and-a-half minute epic that travels lyrically from Chicago to New Orleans to Canada's Barrens and musically through three distinct musical sections from pulsing pop to midtempo rock to lighter-waving power ballad, orchestral strings. Then there's "Now the Struggle Has A Name," on which the strings appear again, propelling a bridge that sounds like early ELO.
So what keeps it all from turning in to bombastic cliché? It all comes down to Downie's voice, a nasally snarl that's by turns vicious and tender, and his lyrics, which sketch out enough descriptive and narrative details to create a vivid scene and the skeleton of a story, leaving the listener to fill in the rest. Well, that and the fact that the Tragically Hip are the best rock band you've never heard of.
Standout Tracks: "The Last Recluse," "Now the Struggle Has a Name" ERIC SCHUMACHER-RASMUSSEN
05-01-2009, 04:37 AM
blogcritics.org
Music Review: The Tragically Hip - We Are the Same
Author: Jordan Richardson
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all
- Emily Dickinson, "Hope is the Thing With Feathers"
If ever there was a band to sum up the Canadian character, it would be Kingston’s The Tragically Hip. From the sun-yellowed prairies of Saskatchewan to the heavin’ metropolis of Toronto, from the rain-soaked lanes of Vancouver to the warmth of Nova Scotia, The Hip have criss-crossed Canada with their tales of love, struggle, passion, glory, and hockey.
The quintet has poetically told the stories of thousands, keenly engaging in the beautiful accounts of the fisherman, the longshoreman, the waitress, the businesswoman, the lawmaker, the hockey player, the truck driver, the farmer.
And now, with the world to all appearances crumbling ‘round us, frontman Gordon Downie and the band return to draw us near, hold us close, and open our eyes.
The Hip have dispatched Bob Rock again to serve as producer. His work on 2006’s World Container helped shake something loose and it’s exciting to see the band continue on the same path with their eleventh, the aptly-titled We Are the Same.
Unity is the essential theme. The lyrics ring with devotion, humanity, assurance, and joy. The music, smart in its alt-country tang, surges forward with confidence and dexterity.
Downie, who once sang “For a good life, we just might have to weaken,” fearlessly asserts positive ground and compels his listeners, his host, to scuffle with their own reflections. Examination of the inner architecture of our very souls provides direction and grants us strength to carry on.
In this hurtlin’ gap, We Are the Same.
“Morning Moon” opens things up with a wonderful, crisp alt-country gait. The tune feels like it would be at home under paper lanterns at an Alberta barn party, delicately lighting the occupants as they pull together. Guitar accents the piece with affectionate twang.
With “Coffee Girl,” The Hip crack out a tune that is sure to be a fan favourite. Bassist Gord Sinclair and drummer Johnny Fay shape a taut groove and Downie serenades his “beautiful and disaffected” protagonist. A trumpet feels right at home, adding cosy tone.
The shimmering, broad “Now the Struggle Has a Name” swells with strings and Downie’s wavering vocals. It serves as the perfect lead-in to “The Depression Suite,” a multifarious work that is The Hip’s longest tune to date. It flows and eases into its pulse, coming together with Downie’s consoling phrases and wobbly enunciations. “Are you going through something?” he asks. “I am too.”
Comfort is really the name of the game, as The Tragically Hip have composed a record to serve as the proverbial hug or pat-on-the-back for a bushed, broken, bothered public. The songs elevate, every note feelin’ like the right note. With a sort of working class energy, The Hip toil hard for every melody they make.
“Love is a First” is the roasting, guitar-driven rocker of the album, made whole with Downie’s mid-song rant.
We Are the Same is a record with a theme, maybe even a theory. Fuck it, this is a record with a mission. Spurred by stunning melodies, Downie’s elegiac lyrics, and a solid wallop of optimism, We Are the Same finds The Hip doling out a little bout of what many of us could use right now: hope.
Music Review: The Tragically Hip - We Are the Same
Author: Jordan Richardson
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all
- Emily Dickinson, "Hope is the Thing With Feathers"
If ever there was a band to sum up the Canadian character, it would be Kingston’s The Tragically Hip. From the sun-yellowed prairies of Saskatchewan to the heavin’ metropolis of Toronto, from the rain-soaked lanes of Vancouver to the warmth of Nova Scotia, The Hip have criss-crossed Canada with their tales of love, struggle, passion, glory, and hockey.
The quintet has poetically told the stories of thousands, keenly engaging in the beautiful accounts of the fisherman, the longshoreman, the waitress, the businesswoman, the lawmaker, the hockey player, the truck driver, the farmer.
And now, with the world to all appearances crumbling ‘round us, frontman Gordon Downie and the band return to draw us near, hold us close, and open our eyes.
The Hip have dispatched Bob Rock again to serve as producer. His work on 2006’s World Container helped shake something loose and it’s exciting to see the band continue on the same path with their eleventh, the aptly-titled We Are the Same.
Unity is the essential theme. The lyrics ring with devotion, humanity, assurance, and joy. The music, smart in its alt-country tang, surges forward with confidence and dexterity.
Downie, who once sang “For a good life, we just might have to weaken,” fearlessly asserts positive ground and compels his listeners, his host, to scuffle with their own reflections. Examination of the inner architecture of our very souls provides direction and grants us strength to carry on.
In this hurtlin’ gap, We Are the Same.
“Morning Moon” opens things up with a wonderful, crisp alt-country gait. The tune feels like it would be at home under paper lanterns at an Alberta barn party, delicately lighting the occupants as they pull together. Guitar accents the piece with affectionate twang.
With “Coffee Girl,” The Hip crack out a tune that is sure to be a fan favourite. Bassist Gord Sinclair and drummer Johnny Fay shape a taut groove and Downie serenades his “beautiful and disaffected” protagonist. A trumpet feels right at home, adding cosy tone.
The shimmering, broad “Now the Struggle Has a Name” swells with strings and Downie’s wavering vocals. It serves as the perfect lead-in to “The Depression Suite,” a multifarious work that is The Hip’s longest tune to date. It flows and eases into its pulse, coming together with Downie’s consoling phrases and wobbly enunciations. “Are you going through something?” he asks. “I am too.”
Comfort is really the name of the game, as The Tragically Hip have composed a record to serve as the proverbial hug or pat-on-the-back for a bushed, broken, bothered public. The songs elevate, every note feelin’ like the right note. With a sort of working class energy, The Hip toil hard for every melody they make.
“Love is a First” is the roasting, guitar-driven rocker of the album, made whole with Downie’s mid-song rant.
We Are the Same is a record with a theme, maybe even a theory. Fuck it, this is a record with a mission. Spurred by stunning melodies, Downie’s elegiac lyrics, and a solid wallop of optimism, We Are the Same finds The Hip doling out a little bout of what many of us could use right now: hope.
05-04-2009, 01:07 AM
BakersBrew Wrote:The best article to date. It is objective and speaks the unfortunate truth. The more I listen to this record, the more it sounds like it was made for a teenage audience. There are a couple of tunes that really interest me, but, as with World Container, I find myself constantly skipping songs that I dont want to hear. I have been to 102 shows since 1989, and consider myself a diehard. But, I also appreciate people that are honest. The Hip really need to address their next production and that is if they stick together after this one. Hopefully Bob Rock makes another lovefest with Metallica coming out of rehab that will take up the next 5 years of his life. You are a shit musician Bob, and that influence has apparently carried over to your producer's role.
I agree that the cokemachineglow interview was a great review. The guitars took a backseat on this album, and too often keys were way too prevalent. I don't know about everyone else, but I thought that the Hip were a guitar-based group. :what I mean, I don't hate keys, when they fit the song, but anyway..... I'm not quite as negative about the record as the cmg reviewere, but I can see where he's coming from in his review and he makes valid points, IMO. I do disagree with you about who this album was made for though. To me, this album sounds like it was made more for 40 year olds than for teenagers.
As for someone calling Bob Rock a genius, I can't agree with that, but that's just my personal tastes I suppose. It's clear that some Hip fans love Bob's work and that's great. To me, I think WC is a decent album in spite of Bob Rock. I think one listen to a live version of the title track compared to the studio version makes that point abundantly clear. WC is a great song, and sounds incredible when it's not being drowned out by over the top, Queen-like production. WATS is a decent album, with some beautiful songs, but I actually think that Gord's lyrical contribution to this record is pretty weak in comparison to some of his other work. I can also understand how a reviewer would say that the musicians sound like session players.
05-04-2009, 01:11 AM
The Horrible Esthete Wrote:How exactly does he sound like an 8th grader, though? I wish I knew all those words in the 8th grade. I've never heard an 8th grader call someone a "poet laureate" before.cygnus8595 Wrote:I can't take a critic seriously when they spell the lead singer's name wrong.
Agreed.
I also can't take a review seriously when the "author" writes like an 8th-grader.
05-04-2009, 08:19 AM
cortezthekiller Wrote:I agree that the cokemachineglow interview was a great review. The guitars took a backseat on this album, and too often keys were way too prevalent. I don't know about everyone else, but I thought that the Hip were a guitar-based group. :what I mean, I don't hate keys, when they fit the song, but anyway..... I'm not quite as negative about the record as the cmg reviewere, but I can see where he's coming from in his review and he makes valid points, IMO. I do disagree with you about who this album was made for though. To me, this album sounds like it was made more for 40 year olds than for teenagers.
As for someone calling Bob Rock a genius, I can't agree with that, but that's just my personal tastes I suppose. It's clear that some Hip fans love Bob's work and that's great. To me, I think WC is a decent album in spite of Bob Rock. I think one listen to a live version of the title track compared to the studio version makes that point abundantly clear. WC is a great song, and sounds incredible when it's not being drowned out by over the top, Queen-like production. WATS is a decent album, with some beautiful songs, but I actually think that Gord's lyrical contribution to this record is pretty weak in comparison to some of his other work. I can also understand how a reviewer would say that the musicians sound like session players.
I'm not sure how one would think that this album isn't a guitar based album. The same way Harvest is a guitar based album. Actually there are a lot of similaries from the countryesque songs (Morning Moon, Harvest) to rockers (Love Is A Curse, Alabama) to orchestrated rock (Depression Suite/Country Day, There's A World/A Man Needs A Maid).
As far as it sounding like session players...You got me there - I don't see how one would even consider this to be a reasonable statement? Why do they sound like this? No reason or justification given and a completely idiotic statement in my opinion (not yours cortez but Jason Lewis). I don't know who Jason Lewis is but he sounds like one of the frat boy beer swilling HIPHIPHIPHIP drunken idiots you see too often at shows who are pining for another Little Bones and are fearful of anthing with sentiment the way Vampires are fearful of garlic.
05-04-2009, 07:18 PM
NegPhil Wrote:BLURT
blurt-online.com
Tragically Hip-We Are the Same Review
Not surprisingly, they reviewed the whole album and not just Track 11.
Because, you don't just Blurt "Love is a First".
sorry,
ct
05-05-2009, 06:57 PM
sherpa Wrote:cortezthekiller Wrote:I agree that the cokemachineglow interview was a great review. The guitars took a backseat on this album, and too often keys were way too prevalent. I don't know about everyone else, but I thought that the Hip were a guitar-based group. :what I mean, I don't hate keys, when they fit the song, but anyway..... I'm not quite as negative about the record as the cmg reviewere, but I can see where he's coming from in his review and he makes valid points, IMO. I do disagree with you about who this album was made for though. To me, this album sounds like it was made more for 40 year olds than for teenagers.
As for someone calling Bob Rock a genius, I can't agree with that, but that's just my personal tastes I suppose. It's clear that some Hip fans love Bob's work and that's great. To me, I think WC is a decent album in spite of Bob Rock. I think one listen to a live version of the title track compared to the studio version makes that point abundantly clear. WC is a great song, and sounds incredible when it's not being drowned out by over the top, Queen-like production. WATS is a decent album, with some beautiful songs, but I actually think that Gord's lyrical contribution to this record is pretty weak in comparison to some of his other work. I can also understand how a reviewer would say that the musicians sound like session players.
I'm not sure how one would think that this album isn't a guitar based album. The same way Harvest is a guitar based album. Actually there are a lot of similaries from the countryesque songs (Morning Moon, Harvest) to rockers (Love Is A Curse, Alabama) to orchestrated rock (Depression Suite/Country Day, There's A World/A Man Needs A Maid).
As far as it sounding like session players...You got me there - I don't see how one would even consider this to be a reasonable statement? Why do they sound like this? No reason or justification given and a completely idiotic statement in my opinion (not yours cortez but Jason Lewis). I don't know who Jason Lewis is but he sounds like one of the frat boy beer swilling HIPHIPHIPHIP drunken idiots you see too often at shows who are pining for another Little Bones and are fearful of anthing with sentiment the way Vampires are fearful of garlic.
Well, as a huge Neil Young fan, I have to say that Harvest doesn't even make my top 5 Neil albums. Some great songs, for sure, but not his best work, IMO. I much prefer the bare bones nature of Tonight's The Night or Zuma. I hear what you're saying,though. I dunno, I just think the guitars should be more in the forefront and not completely swallowed by orchestral strings and sometimes, keys. Like I've said before, I don't hate strings and I don't hate keys. IMO, there are songs that just don't need either of them, in the same way that not all songs require a guitar solo. I agree with the cmg review that the keys completely make "Honey, Please" sound dinky, for instance. I mean, there's some nice guitar there, but the dinky keys detract from the song. "The Last Recluse" is another song where there is just way too much going on.
As far Jason Lewis' review, yeah it's a little uninformative and maybe a tiny bit frat boyish. I can't really explain in detail why I agree with him about the session players comment, other than it makes sense to me. It just sounds to me like there isn't enough creativity and umph in the music, like what I'm used to hearing from them. I know, that sounds sketchy, is not really a valid answer, I'm sure the band members would find offense in those comments. I dunno, there's just something about the album that seems a little too sappy for me. I mean, this album does kind of remind me of Coldplay, and I hate Coldplay's over the top, sugary songs. I just would like to know how much input Bob Rock had. This album sounds almost like an album where the band members pretty much let Mr. Rock tell them what to play, if you want me to be honest with ya. Maybe they are running out of ideas and were glad to give a producer so much control over their songs, I don't know. Maybe it WAS their idea to make a record that sounded so orchestal and grandiose. I'm just a fan, that's all. I'm certainly not a fan who just pines for 1992 Hip , either. The Hip have made some tremendous music in recent years. I had an idea that Bob Rock might not be my favourite producer since I hate Motley Crue, Metallica, and saw that he worked with Simple Plan. :?
05-06-2009, 01:04 PM
cortezthekiller Wrote:How exactly does he sound like an 8th grader, though? I wish I knew all those words in the 8th grade. I've never heard an 8th grader call someone a "poet laureate" before.
Using an expanded vocabulary doesn't equate to 'good writing'.
Anyone can dress-up a piece by thumbing through a thesaurus. If a reviewer can dispatch descriptors like "poet laureate" and "maudlin", why can't he come up with something better than "crappy" in reference to the trumpet solos? He describes to the band's music as "cryptic, driving rock"; 'cryptic' would be perfect when describing Gord's lyrics, but instead, he misuses it in reference to TTH's overall style of music. How is The Hip's style of rock "mysterious", or "ambiguous", or "secret", or "occult", or "coded"?
The reviewer's basis for criticism is somewhat fair at points, but what little objectivity he imparts is overshadowed by petty subjectiveness, imo.
No respectable writer ends a sentence with a preposition.
Misspelling the name of a subject in a review is an unforgivable amateur oversight.
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