[mintgreenbird]

Damn u Canada! I want this sooo bad. And alas I have no computer for the time being so I can't even steal it! Not that I want to I would rather pay :-(

[NegPhil]

The more I listen to this track the more I love it. The boys are really killing it here. At one point i was griping about how they needed to get back to their white boy blues roots, fire in the belly and what not.

Mission accomplished fellas.

This is the kind of song that causes speeding tickets.

[Dire Wolf]

Haven't been too excited by their singles for the last 2-3 albums, BUT this song is fantastic. Absolutley sounds like older hip, if the whole album will have a similar sound, this is going to be amazing...to bad we have to wait til fall.

I suppose, if ones definition of older Hip is 2004. What the heck has happened to Johnny's drumming? Even if you go back to "older Hip", like IBE, he is still killing it and prominent in the song/mix. The drumming on WATS and this song is very uninspiring.

[direwolf74]

Haven't been too excited by their singles for the last 2-3 albums, BUT this song is fantastic. Absolutley sounds like older hip, if the whole album will have a similar sound, this is going to be amazing...to bad we have to wait til fall.

I suppose, if ones definition of older Hip is 2004. What the heck has happened to Johnny's drumming? Even if you go back to "older Hip", like IBE, he is still killing it and prominent in the song/mix. The drumming on WATS and this song is very uninspiring.

Johnny isn't Neil Peart or Matt Cameron, but I've always loved his playing. Going all the way back to their early days, he's always been a basic 4/4 time kinda drummer, and that's not to say he isn't talented by any means. He provides a rock-solid foundation for what the Hip do, and the dude is a freakin' BEAST when they play live. But he's never been a flashy drummer in the studio. In my opinion his best work was on World Container. The drum patterns on songs like Lonely End of the Rink and The Drop-Off are really interesting, and he got to break out of his usual style and try some different things. He does some terrific stuff on Music@Work as well. When I think of Johnny, I'm always reminded of a Dave Bidini quote from his book "On a Cold Road":

"Johnny plays with an unflagging confidence and even touch, with propulsion rather than flair. His arrangements are spare, yet poignant. Since many of the Hip's songs veer off into exploratory jams, I suppose it makes sense that someone steer."

[The Darkest Canuck]

Poets is probably one of my favourite drum "riffs" ever, if that makes any sense...totally makes the song.

[direwolf74]

Poets is probably one of my favourite drum "riffs" ever, if that makes any sense...totally makes the song.

Exactly. His playing perfectly suits the material. It always has.

[cortezthekiller]

Poets is probably one of my favourite drum "riffs" ever, if that makes any sense...totally makes the song.

Exactly. His playing perfectly suits the material. It always has.

I slightly disagree. There are moments where certain songs beg for something more from Mr. Faye. I do agree that Faye is more dynamic when playing live, though.

[BakersBrew]

Ya johnny fay is a great live performer. His album stuff sort of gets lost in the mix for me. The transformation song is alright...kinda makes me look forward to hearing new material. But as far as saying it goes back to their roots...I don't agree. Gord sounded so much different in the 80's and early 90's. Maybe the band sounds more like it did originally...but Gord has changed and can't go back to those times. Good start though to a new album.

[The Darkest Canuck]

probably all the drugs he stopped doing.

[kennedy11]

"probably all the drugs he stopped doing"

WHAT??????

[The Darkest Canuck]

that's a rock star joke

[direwolf74]

Gord sounded so much different in the 80's and early 90's. Maybe the band sounds more like it did originally...but Gord has changed and can't go back to those times. Good start though to a new album.

Gord's voice in the early 90s didn't have the range that it does now. It was perfect for the kind of music the band was making at the time, but I think he's become a better singer since then. People seem to gripe about his live singing these days, and I've heard him sound kinda rough on various youtube clips. But honestly, at the shows I've been to recently, his voice has been absolutely spot on. I was particularly blown away by his vocals at his Country of Miracles gig in Calgary a couple years ago. Maybe I've just been lucky and haven't seen one of his sub-par performances yet. I remember an interview he did when World Container came out (Strombo I think) where he mentioned that he had quit smoking a few years back, and as a result it changed his voice a bit and opened up his range.

[robert goulet]

I started feeling this way around In Violet Light, when I was in my mid-20s. Now that I'm 35, I don't care. I like new Hip albums. Are they objectively great albums? I doubt it, but who listens to music objectively? If I can pick up a few Last Recluses and a Depression Suite each album, I'm happy.

On the topic of baggage, I did buy One Night in Toronto for a thoughtful, music-loving Finnish friend in 2006 while I was living in Vienna and he wrote a full review of the concert, free from any historical context (he knew literally nothing about them) and/or any personal baggage.

He went all-out with a full review. Here's a very condensed version. Don't judge him.

Vaccination Scar: Good, nice guitar
Fully: Hard-hitting, raw, good live lead singer
Grace, Too: Chilling, chaotic, delirious
Summer's Killing Us: 'Reasonable rocker,' catchy chorus, uninteresting overall
ABAC: Melodic, good lyrics, "one of the best songs" of the concert
Silver Jet: As close to typical private radio single as they get, compact, good
Makeshift: Good singing, good drunk music
Courage: "At this point the concert has become an unstoppable steam engine"
Bobcaygeon: Impressive, best melody of the concert
Nautical Disaster: Hypnotic, stands out on first listen, unusually well composed lyrics
Gus: Doesn't belong wedged between the previous two and the next two
Poets: Raw, mad, passionate
100th Meridian: "You can tell a good Hip song from the first few bars, or maybe it's an illusion of mine." Hard-hitting, singing 'defies the beat', nice arrangement, incredible finale
Nashville: A real downer. Annoying.
Music@Work: Good beginning and verses, annoying chorus
NOIS: Traditional rocker. "I don't like it as much as the audience." Guitar riff is neat but too complex to be an instant classic.
Heaven is a better place today: Leaves me cold.
Good Life: Good singing, good backing vocals, atmospheric
Little Bones: Fast, but doesn't maintain concert momentum, raving at end saves it some
Gift Shop: Sounds like filler
Springtime: interesting, aggressive, impressive, doors-ish, ends too soon
Three Pistols: Crowd pleasing, but simple and unmemorable
Boots or Hearts: Best thing about this is it's short.
Blow at High Dough: Excellent song, great guitars, catchy vocal line, feels like it's connected to Vaccination Scar

This guy was pretty close to being "bang on" as far as I'm concerned even after only hearing it once. There are a ton of songs that are often deemed "classics" by fans that i have always been thoroughly underwhelmed by (Gift Shop, Spring, Boots) and many of the original singles never stood the test of time for me either (Heaven, Nashville, Gus, Silver jet). That is a massive collection of "meh" if I've ever heard one.

For someone that hasn't listened to a Hip song in its entirety in well over a year, I must say that I am looking forward to hearing this new album. I hope that i am pleasantly surprised after being let down for the most part by the last 3 offerings...aside from 2 or 3 good songs.

Fingers crossed...

[canuckeh]

any word from MAv or other sources on a potential music video for At Transformation? seems like they're needlessly missing out on some easy youtube promotion by not slapping together a cheapy video. There's gotta be plenty of film from the studio laying around to sync up to the album version of the song!

then again, i guess they didn't do one for Love Is A First so perhaps not...

[BakersBrew]

I've heard the new tune a few times now and really like what I hear. I also think Gord Downie sounds really good actually. What I don't understand is why this album isnt coming out for the summer. I'm not a marketing genuis, but, the music here sounds like something that would be spun quite a few times on backyard decks, or on summer road trips, etc. Doesn't the relationship between the time of season and the vibe of the record go together when making the decision for a release date. By the sounds of it the Hip have very little say in the matter.....this just makes no sense. It is mixed and ready to go......If I wanted the biggest bang for my buck from a business perspective this thing would be out no later than the beginning of July, preferably the begining of June. Someone in management needs to re-think this one. Just my opinion...and Im guessing a few others would agree.