[Oyberg]

I think everyone has been listening to this album for 1 or 2 days at most - maybe give it some time...like 3 days?

:thumb:

Let the songs get some memories behind them in your life. Listen to them on a camping trip, or after you had a bad day, or hear them live. Bobcaygeon took a long time before it was anyone's favourite.

For me, this is the most exciting/weird/truly Hip album since In Between Evolution. It may not be one of my favourites in the end (time will tell), but everything after IBE felt like someone else was steering the ship. This one feels like the boys not trying too hard, just letting loose and seeing where the music goes. It is a classic Gord Downie rant extended into an album format.

[NegPhil]

I just completed an 8 hr. road trip with the new album and I have a few thoughts. Man Machine Poem is the return to form we have been waiting for. From the first listen it is apparent that The Hip have rediscovered what it was that had been missing from the past three albums. That missing ingredient is...wait for it.....Pot! Yep. Weed. The dank. Good old Miss Mary Jane. Now here me out here. I'm not saying the guys are using drugs. (That's what hip young producers are for) What I'm trying to describe is the relaxed, laid back essence at the center of the songs. It feels like the guys said screw it then let their hair down and made music for themselves. Music for me. It sounds like the Hip again. There are places on this album that we have not been to for so long. Ocean Next grabs me by the heart like no other Hip song has in years. Great Soul, In Sarnia, What Blue? Seriously Man. Every track is fantastic. Breathe deep Brothers and Sisters. Man Machine Poem is one big beautiful bong hit and I for one love it.

[Summiteer]

I just completed an 8 hr. road trip with the new album and I have a few thoughts. Man Machine Poem is the return to form we have been waiting for. From the first listen it is apparent that The Hip have rediscovered what it was that had been missing from the past three albums. That missing ingredient is...wait for it.....Pot! Yep. Weed. The dank. Good old Miss Mary Jane. Now here me out here. I'm not saying the guys are using drugs. (That's what hip young producers are for) What I'm trying to describe is the relaxed, laid back essence at the center of the songs. It feels like the guys said screw it then let their hair down and made music for themselves. Music for me. It sounds like the Hip again. There are places on this album that we have not been to for so long. Ocean Next grabs me by the heart like no other Hip song has in years. Great Soul, In Sarnia, What Blue? Seriously Man. Every track is fantastic. Breathe deep Brothers and Sisters. Man Machine Poem is one big beautiful bong hit and I for one love it.

You got that right! This is a fucking deadly album!

[Summiteer]

Close to the end of what blue and on tired as fuck sounds like he's taking a hit off a spliff....

[Lizard King]

There are places on this album that we have not been to for so long.

That was my first thoughts exactly when I first heard it. There's some unbelievably fantastic moments on this album that are just pure Hip genius, you just have to listen for them and don't get too lost in the production. Like your "weed" reference you almost have to see past it all and get taken away by it, is anybody feeling me?

A few quick random thoughts:

I cant wait to hear "Here in the Dark" live, that song is a monster, I think it will blow people away live.

Hot Mic, wow..this song could slot in on Day for Night with ease, really took me back in time.

In Sarnia, my early favorite, shades of Music@Work I think this one could be an all time favorite. I can stop listening to it.

Man, beautiful song, great album opener, has a Grace Too vibe, but I have this gut feeling its a NFPA leftover, Gord's been working on his Man Machine Poem opus for awhile now, and here's the results, simply amazing.

The band has channeled the best of itself and laid it out here, forgoing the heavy rock anthems of old and whats left is a beautiful album full of emotion and musical prowess.

[senrab]

Gord D is credited as Gordon Edgar Downie on this record.

His father Edgar died recently....I wonder if that has something to do with it?

[Summiteer]

In sarnia reminds me of now for plan A

[thedarkcanuck]

In sarnia reminds me of now for plan A

was thinking this exact same thing today!

[fingernailsonhull]

Guys, I've been listening to Man all day.

At first I found the effects off-putting, but I love them now. And the words...it's a song of lament almost. Exposing the self-centredness that sits inside each of us, even against our own wills.

I decorate my cells
I am the holy fool
I can get strangely compelled
But I can't get rid of the self

I'm a man and I'm a man
I do what I hate and don't understand

[gsmacleod]

Was listening in the car yesterday - I really like Possessed following Man - a great pairing of songs - what struck me was how well What Blue fits after Possessed. Just a great transition between these two songs.

Shane

[spottrax]

The only song I can't get is In Sarnia. The music is very beautiful but GD's delivery could've used (I know I know) a bit of Bob Rock's vocal policing. That melody line, covered up with delay and reverb...ugh. It's not a complete mess.... just doesn't work for me personally. Everything else is really done well, the effects and all. I get it what the band is striving for on MMP. Cool direction. Nice to hear the creativity after all these years. Granted, the young producers had some control over things but this is really GD's album. Still rockin' to Hot Mic and "Dark". Among the band's best. Man is growing on me. Took a few listens....but I am on board now with everything except "Sarnina".

[Killer Whale Tank]

'In Sarnia' is a terrific little song, as a song. Gord's vocal decisions on that cut are questionable, though - he should have focused on respecting the melody rather than over-emoting. Those questionable decisions are then made worse by the horribly exaggerated reverb treatment. I regard this as a 'lost track,' a cut that could have become an absolute fan favourite marred by studio errors. It's too bad.

I remain totally unimpressed by Hot Mic and Great Soul, however.

Enough negativity. Can I just say how much I'm loving 'Machine'? The chorus is killer, obviously - so damned cool - but I like the song's overall dynamics, the relaxed verses, the up-an-octave pre-chorus, the dramatic lurch to the exciting chorus. And in terms of singing and production, it's the polar opposite of 'In Sarnia:' every decision is right. Gord gets right out of his own way, signing beautifully, the band cooks, the hand-claps are the icing on the cake. The coda draws out a bit too long, but I love the sound of the machine powering down at the very end. No doubt just a cute touch at the time, it seems incredibly poignant as the conclusion to what may be the final Hip record.

I think 'Here in the Dark' will be one of those songs that is lost on a lot of people, maybe because of the 'lyric cramming' and some perverse singing-against-the-hooks by Gord, but to me it's catchy as hell. Some ambitious young band should cover that, they might have a hit.

'Tired as F**k' is a real grower, isn't it? I like that one more every time I hear it. My guess is that the went with that as a single over obvious winners like 'What Blue' and 'Machine' because it captured what Gord ended up going through. Bad single, but a strong song.

Like most of you, I'm enjoying the record more with each listen...but I don't agree with anyone who sees it as a radical departure in terms of composition, relative to 'Plan A' which was itself a strong album, like this one relatively low on the Canadiana and focused mainly on the internal realm and relationships. The novelty seems to me primarily rooted in the production.

[direwolf74]

I remain totally unimpressed by Hot Mic and Great Soul, however.

Funny, those are two of my favorite songs on the album. The drums on Hot Mic are especially kick-ass, and I really enjoy the dark/menacing feel of the entire track. Cool guitar solo from Robby as well. Very Day for Night-ish. Great Soul features some killer guitar work along with a wonderfully emotional vocal performance from Gord. I think both of these songs are gonna be absolute barn burners in concert.

[Escape@Hand]

Been listening to it a lot the past day or so...it's growing on me but there are still a lot of filler tracks, imo. As others have mentioned above, In Sarnia is pretty much a wasted track, and the middle portion of the album seems pretty mediocre to me. Man has really grown on me, as has Possessed (since it was first released), and of course, Machine is a killer track, and fantastic way to end it (it would make a great opening track too, but not for this album, as everything else would be downhill from there, and it wouldn't represent the mood of the overall album as well as Man does).

What Blue, and Ocean Next have also grown on me a bit, but I still think the album is pretty weak overall, especially as there are only 10 tracks to it. It starts off well enough, and ends with a bang, but the middle gets bogged down in mediocrity. I find the reaction from everyone on Hipbase a bit odd, as I actually hear a lot of "Screamo" Gord in many of the songs; he really goes "off" the melody on numerous occasions. Everyone has hated him doing that in concert, but seem to be eating it up on MMP. I think there are some fairly weak vocal performances that are covered up by lots of reverb and other effects. In any case, I'm going to be thankful for Machine, it's such a good tune. I'm curious to hear what the "shadow" album would have sounded like...

[Dev]

IBE might be favourite album. Like many others the last three albums lost me. And I am a fanatic about everything from Road Apples to IBE. I was convinced before the first listen that this would probably suck. After first listen I thought I was probably right. But this is the best hip album since IBE. And it's not a compromise. Beautiful effective evocative music. True Hip. Truly Canadian.

I am a little surprised by how dark the lyrics are. Seems like Gord might have a difficult relationship.

To me the lyrics in What Blue effectively say, our relationship is terrible, but what blue eyes you have. I don't know. I feel like that song plays with your emotions a bit.

And then there are the lyrics about forgetting. And I just think to myself. I wonder if that had anything to do with Gord's health. Alternatively, I think those are feelings that probably most people can relate to. Especially potheads lol. I'm pretty sure it's well known Gord is a smoker.

Also, I think the distorted effect at the beginning of Man but be a vocal saying "I do what I hate." I also love the humour found in parts of this song.

And no problems with the vocals. Even on In Sarnia (which is probably my favourite track) I think the vocals are pretty much fine. I just think maybe they should not have ended on the verse like they did. But i dunno. At least it's somewhat challenging music. And the hip are best at their most experimental.

I feel like I could drone on and on about this disk a lot.

Man Machine Poem rules. So grateful.