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Easily my least favourite album they've put out, next to UTH (and excluding the EP). There are some great songs (Man, Machine, Possessed) but there is too much mediocre material, and my least favourite song of their entire catalogue (In Sarnia, I just hate the vocal performance), to make it a great album, especially as there are only 10 songs. I'm still listening to it a lot, as it's new, but generally speaking, Machine gets heavy rotation, and I skip a bunch of the album.
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carebread Wrote:I've done a complete turnaround on In Sarnia.
On my first listen through the album In Sarnia was the one that grabbed me first an instant favorite and the intro is beautiful, I could listen to those first 55 seconds on loop forever.
Next to "Possessed" its the most "Hip" song on the album imo.
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My opinion has remained fairly stable. The production is sub-optimal in places, especially on 'In Sarnia.' Sure, you get used to it - but you shouldn't have to.
The 'skippers,' for me, are 'Man,' 'Great Soul,' and 'Hot Mic.' Other than that I enjoy them all very much. I really agree with Rob Baker that 'Machine' should have led off the album, but what are ya gonna do.
All told, though, a nice crop of fine songs. Not sure about 'masterpiece' - but that's a big word.
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Further to this, I did want to throw a couple more thoughts out there.
Re: the production, I've grumbled about it fairly consistently. But thinking about it further, the production is actually a strong *asset* on most of the record. It's sonically rich and interesting. Production is only really a problem on two songs, 'In Sarnia' and 'Here In the Dark.' In both cases, they decide to treat Gord's vocal in a way that accentuates its harshness. The former track is seriously compromised as a result of all the fiddling; the latter track overcomes it (perhaps because the treatment is not so extreme). I do think 'Here In the Dark' is not all that it could be, though; it has an indecisiveness about it that is probably explained by the battle of producers that Rob Baker talked about. The song sags in the instrumental break before the final chorus (I always hear background vocals chanting the song title in that break - it seems obvious that that should be there), and the vocals in the spectacular coda are sadly underplayed in the mix. The impact of these production errors is enhanced by sequencing the songs back to back.
Other than that, though, the production is actually *nailed* on this record. The weird vibe of 'Man,' the crisp brightness of 'Possessed' and 'What Blue,' the warm mix of 'Tired as Fuck,' the ominous tones of 'Hot Mic,' the eerie distortion of 'Ocean Next,' the hand-claps of 'Machine' - it's all gold. It's too bad they couldn't nail those other two songs or maybe we really would have had a masterpiece on our hands.
The other thing I wanted to say - and I might develop this in another post - is how 'Tired as Fuck' has quietly moved up to become one of my very favourite moments on the record. An under-rated gem, that one is.
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How's it holding up for everyone after three months?
I think I can atleast go ahead and officially say this:
Man Machine Poem > Now For Plan A
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New fav on the album is Great Soul. Previously Hot Mic. Previous to that What Blue and Tired As Fuck. Loved and still love Machine. It's the album that keeps on giving.
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I'm just happy this album got made.
What Blue has been my fave all along.
Tired As Fuck has grown on me a lot.
Machine rocks.
Great Soul falls flat for me.
Possessed is a pretty heartfelt song. Great lyrics.
I think it's far from the best Hip album but look at their catalogue.
That said, some really nice additions to their canon.
With another album to go, I'd bet.
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I have this on vinyl and it's ALWAYS on.
I love this album.
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My inference:
It is the nature of man to take jobs about which they are not passionate and that have no real meaning to them. They hate them (to one degree or another), yet continue to perform these ultra mundane daily tasks without really understanding why*.
Who knows exactly what Gord had in mind, but that's how that line struck and strikes me.
*ETA:
I don't mean the they don't understand the work they're doing, but why they do it when they hate it.
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2000-06-14 Pontiac | 2000-07-15 Clarkston | 2000-12-02 Detroit | 2002-08-31 Clarkston |
2004-09-18 Detroit | 2007-04-12 Detroit | 2009-05-29 Detroit | 2012-11-28 Detroit | 2016-08-08 London | 2016-08-16 Hamilton
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scottitude Wrote:My inference:
It is the nature of man to take jobs about which they are not passionate and that have no real meaning to them. They hate them (to one degree or another), yet continue to perform these ultra mundane daily tasks without really understanding why*.
Who knows exactly what Gord had in mind, but that's how that line struck and strikes me.
*ETA:
I don't mean the they don't understand the work they're doing, but why they do it when they hate it.
Because a man's gotta eat. Interestingly, you might be freer to stop doing what you hate if you were a machine. That's what I love about the juxtaposition of Man and Machine.
Man : I'm a man and I'm a man. I do what I hate and don't understand
Machine: I write about words - I find treasure or worse. I watch the end of man and I dream like a bird.
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I was spinning this vinyl tonight for the first time in a few weeks and I think it is incredible. I was coming here to say just that. If I remember correctly opinions from everyone on here as to what their favourite track is was all over the map. To me that's a telling sign of a strong album.
