OmegaprimeVKM wrote:I'm not entirely sure what I make of all of the reviews I've read so far. When people say things like "I was more into Backspacer the first time I heard it" it deeply worries me.
The negativity to Sleeping By Myself seems well reasoned - nostalgia should be put aside by people who enjoyed listening to it on Ukelele Songs. If it is a recycling of a previous song and not a reinterpretation, and they're just fleshing things out (or unnaturally inflating it) I am certain it seems like a barrel scraping exercise. It certainly leads to one of two theories:
that's certainly fair. I love the uke version. If this feels like it improves it, fleshes it out, changes it then I may very well like this version and not care. If it feels redundant, a bad fit for the album, and especially if I am enjoying everything else I hear I can see coming to resent its presence. But gone felt very different from the gone demo (which was officially released via xmas single before the album version). The same is true of speed of sound and we know how can't keep was transformed. Those all gave me confidence that this would be worth it. The negative reviews about it are discouraging, but I wonder if it will effect me less since I didn't have resentment going in.
Also, from what we've heard it sounds like BoB really loved Sleeping By Myself and wanted it on the album, more than the band being insistent that this song show up or a desperate need to get to 12 songs.
OmegaprimeVKM wrote:
1) PJ seem to feel obligated to include these soppy love ballads on their albums these days and that very much may be attributable to their changing target demographic, it's more AAC / MOR than social injustice and youth rebellion - it really seems an easy stick to beat them with but the more this increases to be a fixture on records the closer it becomes to being the straw that broke the camel's back. I can't stand Come Back, Parachutes, Just Breathe etc. and it's not just because the guys do a poor Bon Jovi impression - it's a bad fit.
It certainly sounds like there is no shortage of social injustice/social commentary songs on this album. same with S/T. It's not like come back or parachutes, by being love songs of a type, somehow derailed the albums they were in. It was a nice break, actually. That may be the case on LB as well. And I get you don't like these songs and want to be dismissive, but none of these songs sound like bon jovi.
OmegaprimeVKM wrote:
2) Like Backspacer, PJ did not produce a set of 20 tracks for this record and pick the winners for the final cut. It was 4/5 leftover tracks coupled with some rather forced sounding, unimpressive new creations (Force of Nature, Amongst the Waves, Speed of Sound - plodding and unimaginative). Let the Records Play, Sleeping By Myself and Getaway all sound like they're stock tracks in the same vein - PJ creating tracks in second gear. No innovation and no true desire.
Why? Because they are fast songs? Getaway may have been the most universally liked songs in the initial reviews we got. One of the nice things about reading those reviews is that the only songs that sound like retreads are actually the ones we've heard so far.
OmegaprimeVKM wrote:
I also read that quote by Ed regarding simplifying their music for the live circuit and I can see that the band are aware of the lack of reaction to post-2000 tracks when they're played live. If that results in writing the likes of Supersonic hoping it's the new Animal or Come Back hoping it's the new Black then PJ are definitely out of new ideas and have jumped the shark. It's not now that is the breaking point, but as far as I am concerned with this record they are on their very last chance to keep me interested. Otherwise,I won't be returning until we get pre-2006 unreleased material following the band calling it a day.
Yes, I am quite positive that upon completing the writing of supersonic the band was absolutely convinced they had just reproduced animal.
) on the new album. Pretty siked here myself, but kinda cynical too. Have the same feelings about OTE and SBM. FD is pretty cheesy, but it's ok for me now. Probably just press the stop button (edit: pick up the needle) after Yellow Moon.
