Rate the last Album you Listened to...

[criterionmaster]

andruini said:

Moby - Play
9/10

That album is one of my favorites, definitely the best I have heard from Moby. He knows how to make a song that keeps developing as it goes along, which makes it interesting to listen to the whole track through. Whereas the songs could easily become repetitive, they never do, they are always entertaining. Any reason you gave it a 9/10 though?

blackmoses said:

I love Play

Interesting thoughts… with terrific punctuation to boot.

[blackmoses]

criterionmaster said:

andruini said:

Moby -

blackmoses said:

I love Play

Interesting thoughts… with terrific punctuation to boot.

I was just saying I like the album. What is your problem? Am I not allowed to say I like something without giving a review of the whole thing or giving any thoughts? You asked Andrew why he gave it a nine out of ten and didn't say anything stupid like "nice thoughts", even though he gave no thoughts. Why can't you do that with me? Instead of just saying something like you did, how about ask me what I liked about the album or just saying nothing at all. This just happened, and it was in this same thread just a few posts up. And I told you last time this happened to just ask me for my thoughts like you would with anyone else on the forum, but you still didn't, so I don't even know why I am telling you again.

You can continue this in the arguing thread if you would like. And don't try to blame this on me or anything. You should of just asked for my thoughts or said nothing at all, like I said last time. I just don't understand why you can do that with everyone else on the forum and not me.

[captainofbeef]

Rush- Snakes & Arrows
9.5/10
Damn good record. I wrote a gigantic review for it that I will post tomorrow.

[captainofbeef]

Rush- Snakes & Arrows

Released May 1st 2007, Snakes & Arrows is Rush’s eighteenth full length studio album and their first studio album in nearly four years, not counting 2004’s Feedback EP. The album is produced by former Foo Fighters producer, Nick Raskulinecz along with the members of the band themselves.

The production on Snakes & Arrows is significantly better than the rather poor production of Vapor Trails. The music itself is heavy rock with progressive elements. The album shows significant similarities to the band’s sound on both Feedback and early Rush records such as 2112 and Hemispheres. The record contains three instrumentals, the first new instrumentals since Test for Echo. The origin of the title, Peart says, comes from the lyrics for “Armor and Sword.” After Googling “Snakes and Arrows”, Peart discovered Leela, The Game of Knowledge. Leela was an old Hindu board game which was the precursor to the common children’s game, Snakes and Ladders. Ironically, the subtitle of this game was The Game of Snakes and Arrows. After discovering this, Peart and the other two band members agreed that this should be the final title of the album. The band also took the cover for that board game and used it as the cover for their album. Though I like the title, I do not particularly prefer the cover opposed to the other artwork made for the album.

Band: Geddy Lee (Bass Guitar, bass pedals, mellotron, keyboards, vocals)
Alex Lifeson (Electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki)
Neil Peart (Percussion)

All song written by Lee, Lifeson, Peart

Track List:

1. Far Cry
Far Cry is the first single from Snakes & Arrows, charting at 22nd on the mainstream rock charts. It has been streaming on Rush’s website since March 12th. The song is extremely heavy from the start with repeated riffs showing prominence of Geddy’s bass. The song is well structured with a catchy chorus and several swift changes from riff to riff. The lyrics are damn good as well. This song does suffer from a lack of an Alex solo and the music is a tad repetitive. But overall, good start to the record and a nice choice for the first single.

2. Armor and Sword
Kicking off with Peart’s pulsing drums, the song quickly dissolves into simply an acoustic guitar and Geddy’s vocals. After the verse, the acoustic disappears and a heavy electric riff comes in for the chorus. This pattern continues throughout the song, with a synthesizer also aiding in places. Peart’s lyrics are particularly strong on this track. Lifeson has some small solo parts but they are buried too far in the mix in my opinion.

3. Workin’ Them Angels
Very similar to Moving Pictures era Rush in my opinion. The guitar clearly is prominent on this track with playing acoustics, electrics, and a mandolin. The lyrics on this track refer to Peart’s tendency to live on the edge. Once again, no guitar solo, but the song is way too strong to count that as a fault.

4. The Larger Bowl
This song is primarily acoustic with Geddy pleading over Lifeson during the verses and even the chorus. Peart’s drumming is particularly noticeable on this track, probably because of the acoustic guitars dominating instead of the electrics. Lifeson has an awesome solo on this track. Not too space-age sounding and not too long. The solo is perfect in length with perfect tone, bravo Alex.

5. Spindrift
This song starts out with an organ and Geddy’s voice is straight from 2112. Neil’s lyrics are a tad repetitive here but I like the general theme. Another Lifeson dominated track, acoustics and electric are both present on this track, with the electric being more dominant. Overall, this is a nice little tune.

6. The Main Monkey Business
Now to the first instrumental and it is rather long, clocking in at roughly six minutes and three seconds. This song flies out of the gate in a rather YYZ-ish manner. Geddy’s voice is heard here. But he sings tones rather than actual words, so the song still qualifies as an instrumental. Lifeson and Peart clash here for dominance as Peart pounds along and Lifeson delivers fierce riffs. Lifeson has a superb solo about half way through the track. His tone is much better here than it was on Feedback and I’m glad. Probably my favorite song on the album, an example of what a Rush track should sound like.

7. The Way the Wind Blows
This song starts off rather softly with Peart clacking his drums in a muted, military-like fashion. Then, Lifeson kicks in with some bluesy licks that are clearly the bastard sons of his licks on the self-titled album. Geddy comes in with the verse and the song descends into an acoustic breakdown with Geddy bashing Bush over acoustics. It seems as if every artist has at least one song bashing the USA’s current President and Rush is no exception. Alex continues the bluesy licks during his solo section; he then drops further back into the mix and continues the solo in signature Lifeson tone. Lifeson’s work on this song is easily my favorite work of his on the album. The blending of the acoustics, the electrics, and the meshing of tones are perfect on this song.

8. Hope
The second instrumental of the album, there is not much to say about this track. It is Lifeson on an acoustic switching from chord to chord and delivering some Middle Eastern licks. It is a nice song, but it is essentially filler.

9. Faithless
Faithless kicks off with a riff that repeats too often in my opinion. The song descends into an acoustic chorus with some cool organ fills. The lyrics are pretty good too, melancholy with obvious references to the loss of Peart’s wife and daughter. Lifeson’s solo on this track is buried in distortion but it reminds me a lot of his Limelight solo, starting off slowly, then speeding up to a fast run. Faithless is one of the weakest tracks on the album, in my opinion, but not bad by any stretch.

10. Bravest Face
The song starts off acoustically with Geddy singing over Lifeson’s nifty riffing. The electrics then come in and Geddy gets epic during the chorus. The pattern repeats itself. The lyrics here are not my favorite ever but they are sufficient. Lifeson delivers some blues licks here again, this time hidden behind Geddy’s singing.

11. Good News First
Lee’s voice is clearly sung through distortion on this track, the song itself recalls Vapor Trails. Peart has some nice fills on this track and his lyrics are strong as well. Lifeson plays both electrics and acoustics here and his solo section is sufficient for the song. The song doesn’t stand out particularly but its still a good track.

12. Malignant Narcissism
The third and final instrumental comes out of the gate fast and hard. With Lifeson shredding away, Peart slapping the skins behind him, and Geddy churning out the bottom. About halfway through, the song disintegrates into feedback, which feels very natural. Each band member then gets a small solo section and this is the only time Geddy gets to show off his bass skills with any type of solo. A little two minute burst that I can’t wait to hear live.

13. We Hold On
Even as this song is starting, I can tell that it is going to be a powerhouse. It feels like old Rush circa mid-Seventies. The band is focused and tight on this song, with great lyrics and excellent musicianship. Lifeson’s solo part is repetitive but it fits the song well. Geddy’s final wail, Peart’s drumming, and Lifeson’s end part signal a great ending to the record.

Overall, Rush comes into their own on this record. This is the sound of a band who just loves music. They are as tight and focused on this record as they have ever been before. Lifeson makes the most of his solo time and some of his tone on this record is the best I’ve ever heard from him. Peart is a steady rock both in the drumming and lyrics department. Geddy doesn’t try to go for the high vocals very often. He seems to know his age and realize that his voice can’t do those types of high wails anymore.

What can I say, Rush is Rush. They are consistently good in almost everything they do. There are songs on this record that are flashes of greatness and there is not a single track on the record that I did not like. In conclusion, all I can say is that I can’t wait to see them play these songs live.

Grade- 9.5/10

[Nomansvally]

captainofbeef said:

What can I say, Rush is Rush. They are consistently good in almost everything they do. There are songs on this record that are flashes of greatness and there is not a single track on the record that I did not like. In conclusion, all I can say is that I can’t wait to see them play these songs live.

Grade- 9.5/10

My review, do whatever you want with it BD.

Good review captainofbeef and I mainly agree with what your writing. I've given S&A two full listenings and it's easily one of this year's best releases. I really love the vibe and total-sound impression. I'm impressed how intertwined every sound and instrument is, it's perhaps RUSH's most well mixed album? And the fact that the album is quite accustic does'nt bother me at all.
My favorite song is he Way the Wind Blows at the moment, so laid-back and confidently cool. Wonderful progression in that track.

What's your favorite Rush album? Mine's Hemispheres by the way...

[captainofbeef]

Yes, it is extremely well mixed. So much better than Vapor Trails. I gotta say 2112 and A Farewell to Kings are my favorite Rush record. 2112 and Hemispheres aren't far behind though.

[captainofbeef]

Andrew Bird- Armchair Apocrypha
10/10
Whoa, was this good. Bird is clearly classically trained because they way he weaves stuff together is just too intricate to not be based on some type of classical styles. Bird weaves his soft vocals through loops of violins, guitars, and other instruments. What is produced is all at once melancholy and uplifting. Just a stunning musical masterpiece. I can't wait to hear more from this artist.

[ie]

I haven't been listening to many albums lately, but I listened to this one today and I must say I really like it...

The Alternative by IAMX or I Am X


Electronic music, I guess specifically electropop, is not really my usual style of music, but I enjoyed this particular album. Each song does seem like it fits, but there's something a little different about each one. Some remind me of video game music. (If electronic music reminds me so much of video game music, why I don't listen to it more, I don't know...) The vocalist, who also does stuff with the Sneaker Pimps, reminds me a lot of the guy from the heroic rock band Muse, who in turn reminds me of Freddie Mercury.

I'm not as strict with my rating of music as I am with movies, so I'm not sure if I'd place this in my Top 200 or anything, but I'd give it a 9/10 nonetheless. (Once I get a good handle on my movie rating system, I'll apply the structure to music and then rate all of my albums. That'd be interesting to see, eventually.)

edit: Lulled By Numbers reminds me of some of the music by Goblin, or at least from what I've heard off Dawn of the Dead.


...Then again, I did listen to this album earlier today:

Holes in the Wall by the Electric Soft Parade


Decent enough. I didn't like the first song too much, but it eventually just kind of sat in the background. Last couple of tracks didn't work because the CD was scratched up, but it gave me enough of a general impression.

6/10

[sacrilegend]

Marilyn Manson
Holy Wood


At first everything sounds the same as everything else I've heard from this god, but after a while you notice subtle differences such as gentler choruses, more harmonious vocals and repetition. The use of instruments is also a bit different, it sounds like the technique is better, although I'm no expert. There is more defined difference between his hating and hurting and loving and losing songs. If that makes sense to anyone who isn't as obsessed as I am, I do not know. He uses his usual "radio-ed" voice a few times, nothing new there. Same hate, although there are a few nicer songs than on other albums. It provokes less feelings and is much less profound and memorable than The Golde Age of Grotesque, but I feel it necessary for my collection. One thing I can say for this album is that his hate songs are crazy, crazy, crazy hateful. On some other albums the songs kind of met up somewhere in the middle, but here there is no middle. I kind of don't feel safe with it yet, it's still very new and I might warm up more later.

Track listing (favourite favourites bolded):
GodEatGod
The Love Song
The Fight Song
Disposable Teens
Target Audience (Narcissus Narcosis)
President Dead
In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death*
Cruci-Fiction In Space
A Place In The Dirt
The Nobodies
The Death Song
Lamb Of God*
Born Again
Burning Flag
Coma Black a) Eden Eye b) The Apple of Discord
Valentine's Day
The Fall Of Adam
King Kill 33o
Count To Six And Die (The Vacuum Of Infinite Space Encompassing)*

*three astonishingly different songs, I frigging love them.

She's got her eyes open wide
she's got the dirt and spit of the world
her mouth on the metal
the lips of a scared little girl

I've got an angel in the lobby
he's waiting to put me in line
I won't ask forgiveness
my faith has gone dry

She's got her Christian prescriptures
and death has crawled in her ear
like elevator music of songs
that she shouldn't hear
8/10 (for now)

[captainofbeef]

No Code-Pearl Jam
9/10
Haven't spun this one since I sold my old copy. Bought a used one today for five bucks, MUCH better than I remembered it being. It is Pearl Jam in their more reflective style. They shy away from loud guitars for the majority of the tracks, instead favoring haunting melodies and understated grooves from McCready and Gossard. There are a few weak links, notably Lukin and I'm Open, but overall, its a good effort from PJ.

[criterionmaster]

sacrilegend said:

Marilyn Manson
Holy Wood

I have that album, it is great, although not the best from Manson.

[sacrilegend]

No, I mentioned that, but it is necessary for my collection I'm building up! So far The Golden Age Of Grotesque is my bestest.

[eatawiiner]

MFDoom is a super sick MC. I will be listening to DangerDoom for the rest of my life.

Pink Floyd - The Division Bell 7/10
I dont like the new floyd shit. Its good music for sure, just not by bag. I paid like $15 for it and am extremely dissapointed after the 1st listen through.

[captainofbeef]

eatawiiner said:

MFDoom is a super sick MC. I will be listening to DangerDoom for the rest of my life.

Pink Floyd - The Division Bell 7/10
I dont like the new floyd shit. Its good music for sure, just not by bag. I paid like $15 for it and am extremely dissapointed after the 1st listen through.

I relistened to that yesterday and I really loved it. Maybe it is because I play guitar and that record is all Gilmour. But, I really liked it ten times more than I did on first listen. Lost for Words is the best track on that record in my opinion, though it jacks a little riff from WYWH.

[misterbalco]

Elliot Smith - New Moon
10/10 (with exclamation points)

Hell, a posthumous compilation album by the songwriting Prince (king would be Dylan, of course), that still kicks almost all other albums released this year. Second best album this year, Neon Bible is too perfect to be dethroned.

[sacrilegend]

eatawiiner said:

MFDoom is a super sick MC. I will be listening to DangerDoom for the rest of my life.

Pink Floyd - The Division Bell 7/10
I dont like the new floyd shit. Its good music for sure, just not by bag. I paid like $15 for it and am extremely dissapointed after the 1st listen through.

I just listened to it, and I liked it, more or less. I want to listen to them all some more before commenting, though.

[eatawiiner]

Just like you said there was way more guitar than I was used to for the PF that I was accustomed to. NIN's 'With Teeth' was way too heavy on guitar compared to the more industrialized beat heavy nin that I was used to also and I gave up on that after a few listens. My favorite floyd is by far dark side and ummagumma. I wanna get The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, which will be my next venture down the trippy lane. Division Bell had some good songs, and a 7/10 in my book is still high, i'll definitely be listening to it a few more times, but for now im stuck on Pixies Doolittle


The Pixies - Doolittle 10/10
Fuck yea I love this shit. One of the best parts is where is sounds like slipknot playing over some punk rifts either at the end of Tame or Wave of Mutilation, I cant remember at this moment.

[criterionmaster]

misterbalco said:

Elliot Smith - New Moon
10/10 (with exclamation points)

Hell, a posthumous compilation album by the songwriting Prince (king would be Dylan, of course), that still kicks almost all other albums released this year. Second best album this year, Neon Bible is too perfect to be dethroned.

Yo, did this dude have a song in Royal Tenenbaums, I seem to remember a song, it might have been called "Needle in the Hay" or something?

[misterbalco]

Yes! Please listen to Elliot Smith, both Andruini and I love this man's music.

[captainofbeef]

Arcade Fire-Funeral
9/10
This record is finally starting to grow on me. I hated it after the first listen (GASP!) when it came out and after listens number 2 and 3, I really didn't feel much different. But after a fourth listen, I'm starting to get why everyone loves this record so much. It has an intricate sound and some of the songs are just brilliant. That said, I still don't think its a perfect record, I liked Neon Bible better in fact. But, I can honestly say that I enjoy it at this point.

[captainofbeef]

LCD Soundsystem-Sound of Silver
8/10
An enjoyable listen, but I was expecting a little more. The record is not on the same level as Murphy's self-titled CD. It does have its moments however. Get Innocuous, North American Scum, and the title track are all catchy tracks. It doesn't have a classic like Daft Punk is Playing At My House. And the last track, New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down, is droll, repetitive, and it should have been kept off the album. But, all complaints aside, if you have enjoyed Murphy's project in the past, you will enjoy this record.

[captainofbeef]

The Nightwatchman-One Man Revolution
8/10
An interesting record from Morello. He definitely expresses his political views in a more open setting here. There is no De La Rocha raps or Cornell howls screaming here. Just Morello in his deep voice and an acoustic guitar. He obviously took huge influence from Springsteen on this record. Sometimes it hauntingly echoes Nebraska or The Ghost of Tom Joad. It gets repetitive after awhile, all the songs just kinda blend together pretty much. Only The Road I Must Travel stands out. But it is effective and I wouldn't mind seeing another one of these records in a couple of years.

[ie]

captainofbeef said:

The Nightwatchman-One Man Revolution
8/10
An interesting record from Morello. He definitely expresses his political views in a more open setting here. There is no De La Rocha raps or Cornell howls screaming here. Just Morello in his deep voice and an acoustic guitar. He obviously took huge influence from Springsteen on this record. Sometimes it hauntingly echoes Nebraska or The Ghost of Tom Joad. It gets repetitive after awhile, all the songs just kinda blend together pretty much. Only The Road I Must Travel stands out. But it is effective and I wouldn't mind seeing another one of these records in a couple of years.

Yeah.

That's basically verbatim what I said last month, except you condensed it down a little bit. Either my opinions subconsciously influenced yours, or I got the money shot. I'm fine with a little of both.

ie said:

If you liked his stuff on the Axis of Justice live CD, then you'll like the entire album. Nothing really stands out to me for the album as a whole, but when I heard Union Song and Until the End, I was pleased. Good studio transition.

I might give the album an 8/10.

You'd probably give it more, but there just isn't enough diversity. Sure, it's good music and there are a couple new things thrown in here and there, and it's kind of the point with a solo musician and all, but it just doesn't stand out to me any more than just listening to Until the End thirteen times.

ie said:

I haven't listened to much Springsteen, so I can't say for sure about that, and I don't think you really have to be a fan of Morello or RATM to enjoy the Nightwatchman. I could make a quip about how you have to enjoy good music to enjoy the Nightwatchman, but I won't.

Basically, listen to this song: Until the End.

If you like it, you'll like the album, because that sound is the basis for the entire album. Also, he plays a good harmonica occasionally.


The version I heard had no crazy metal guitar solos or guest vocals by Maynard James Keenan that I could tell, although it wasn't completely solo in that I heard some background vocalists, so there wasn't much to differentiate one song from another. I can appreciate the flow of an album, but I also like the idea of each song having something distinct that you can obviously tell that you're on Track 5 and not Track 7. In this case, maybe too good of a flow?, but the album just seemed to consist of songs with different subjects and a sometimes more angry than usual Morello.

Not that it's a bad thing that he stuck to the same style throughout, it's good to play it safe and strong on a first release, but there were only like four songs that honestly stood out to me: the two from Axis of Justice, the title track (because he's pissed ) and the bagpipes/guitar or bagpipe sounding guitars on the Road I Must Travel. If he was able to coax a guitar to sound like a bagpipe, then holy shit... ;D

Anyways, the rest of the songs were good, and I couldn't remember a lagging point at all, but I just would have liked more stand-out songs I guess.


Also, try to listen to some of the songs on YouTube. There should be a couple, and that should give you a better idea of what you're in for.

[captainofbeef]

I think you got the money shot, hit the essence of the record right on the nose.

[ie]

Thanks. Well, yours is good as well.

Honestly, though, I'd much rather see another Axis of Justice live album, especially if it's not just Part II, but if they really go with the mixing of genres and the use of covers to collaborate with rock musicians. You see that a lot in rap, but not a whole lot in rock, even though they're about as different as apes and humans.

[wkw]

The Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night - 10/10
Tango Zero Hour - 10/10
Buenos Aires - 10/10

[captainofbeef]

ie said:

Thanks. Well, yours is good as well.

Honestly, though, I'd much rather see another Axis of Justice live album, especially if it's not just Part II, but if they really go with the mixing of genres and the use of covers to collaborate with rock musicians. You see that a lot in rap, but not a whole lot in rock, even though they're about as different as apes and humans.

A new RATM record would be even better...

[ie]

captainofbeef said:

ie said:

Thanks. Well, yours is good as well.

Honestly, though, I'd much rather see another Axis of Justice live album, especially if it's not just Part II, but if they really go with the mixing of genres and the use of covers to collaborate with rock musicians. You see that a lot in rap, but not a whole lot in rock, even though they're about as different as apes and humans.

A new RATM record would be even better...

That again? Not that I don't care, but while we're speaking of dreams (which may come true), another couple of albums by the Beatles, featuring tamed-zombie Lennon and Harrison would fit the bill.

[captainofbeef]

^Lol, true. But I can still hope

[eatawiiner]

The only album i could find for them at amazon was an import for $35! Is there shit not yet released in the US?