Everybody Hates A Boring Ending

Speaking of Tears for Fears in my last post, I recieved TFF's latest (2004) album Everybody Loves a Happy Ending for Christmas. I consider myself to be well versed in the TFF catalog and I will say that this album was a shock. I found it difficult to make it through the first five songs and ended up turning the album off. This was very disturbing to me as I am a huge fan and found the music to be up-beat/happy and very simple...in otherwords; dissapointing. It reminded me in many ways of the worst of The Beatles. I said to my wife as we were listening "have I heard this before?" and she said "it sounds like The Beatles" and then I said "yeah, really bad Beatles". I will tell you so far that it does not contain the dark emotion and musical complexity that previous TFF albums have. Sadly, those are the reasons I have loved TFF's music.

I have now listened to the album in full and have decided that about half of it is faily good. I would not say that any of it is excellent but there are some songs that are catchy and that echo a little of TFF's past. The other half of the album, as said before, feels like a Beatles rip-off with some Earth, Wind, and Fire 70's funk/disco thrown in.

I found this review today and I thought it paralleled much of what I've been saying:

"This reunion album is a misbegotten mess. Where Orzabal’s pompous pronouncements about inner torment and the Human Condition once came with bounding New Wave hooks, they’ve now doubled their self-seriousness, dressing mediocre songs in shopworn Beatlesque flourishes, from baroque countermelodies to psychedelic distortion. Instead of sounding clever, it comes off as dreary and dated. (...) Sorry, fellas, but nobody loves a sad reprise."
-- David Hiltbrand, blender.com

That pretty much sums it up.

Faith No More

I have stumbled upon another band that has moved me - Faith No More. While at a practice session with my band, Edgar (drummer) mentioned liking this band so I thought I would give them a try.

Listening to FNM's first couple of albums (1985 and 1987) I was dissapointed. It honestly sounded like some bad 80's RHCP, although early RHCP is very good. Much of the early FNM stuff is full of funky bass lines that go a little too far in the funk category and the vocal lines push the envelope of lame.

1989 brings on new light to FNM with a new lead singer and new style. They still carry much of their funk roots but really start to bring in some heavy guitar. The album is called The Real Thing and it has some hard rock power that will launch FNM's career. The song "Epic" moves them to superstar status but I think its a very small part of their musical ability and of the album as a whole. Overall its a very good album as I enjoy Mike Patton as the new lead singer, although I could do without the old rap-esque RHCP vocals.

1992's Angle Dust (pictured) I believe is the pinnacle of FNM catalog. If you want to hear an album that will change your musical perspective, this is the one. Patton leaves the rap-esque vocal lines behind and really starts to push his ability as a singer. Unfortunatly this is the last album for the guitarist that I feel moved mountains for this band. I dont know his name off hand, but he was for sure on The Real Thing/Angle Dust and his ability really shows clearly on these albums. The combination of keys, drums, guitar, bass, and vocals on this album shows the musical mastery of this band. Songs like ''malpractice'' span musical styles from death metal to shoe-gazer to a sound that strikingly resembles Alice in Chains. This different styles are pulled off amazingly in one song and it is seamless. "land of sunshine" sounds mad (like carnival mad) and switches between belting vocals and talking...truely captivating with intensity. I honestly cannot go on reviewing this album because it is too difficult to describe the material. It is really more than words can describe...it is once again a 'must listen' album. However, I must warn that you will probebly not like this album on first listen, but if you give it a few tries all the way through it will become addicting.

1995 delivers I think to be a weak follow up to Angle Dust. This may be in part because of the departure of the previous guitarist. The album is called King for a Day Fool for a Lifetime. You can hear an attempt at trying to capture what Angle Dust accomplished, but it does not work. The first cut on the album "get out" is some sort of two minute punk hyperactive song that is more annoying that entertaining. Many of the songs on this album follow in the footsteps of this song and I cant keep my finger from pushing forward to the next song. The easiest way to describe the style of this album is: two chord songs with little progression that would otherwise make them interesting. The band tried really hard to make this album dynamic but it just does not feel right as the songs are very disconnected from each other.

1997's Album of the Year is a step back in the right direction and a major step up from the last album. This album seems to flow much better with some very interesting vocal work that keeps me listening. Many songs get a boost of metal guitar followed by great keyboard work that breaths new power into the band. It is obvious on this album that the songs were written much better with a flow that pushes the album forward. There are still a couple of two minute lame punk songs left over from the last album but it fortunately does not drag the album down too much. I recommend this album.

Reflecting on FNM's albums is very difficult as they produced music that is unlike anything that I've heard before so it is hard to describe. Other bands I can think of at the moment that capture such dynamic and quality songwriting are Smashing Pumpkins, Tears For Fears, and TOOL. Truely brilliant music...

Preface:

I've been thinking about starting a blog for quite some time - In particular, to post my thoughts about music. Being that music is a large portion of my life blood, I felt the need to express opinions and thoughts about the music I'm listening to and performing. This will include current artists I'm listening to, the band I am a member of, and maybe some non-music related content.

Anyway...

Since my tendancy is to flake out on things that involve reading and writing, for now I'm giving this a shot. I hope that it works out and that I will continue to post and have fun doing so.