Manchalivin

Audio of Being Man of Action The Workers Sing a Song of Mass Production Advertising on Police Cars Truffle Pigs The Rat Who Would Be King Tripoli I, The Throw Away Under the Influence Sort of a Protest Song White Light Rock and Roll Review Put Out Your Lights Poor Man's Grey We're So Heavy It's Been a While Since I Was Your Man Hopeless Little Terror North American For Life Ex-Pats of the Blue Mountain Symphony Orchestra Empty Road Blue Skies Over Badlands I don't know why Matt stopped playing with Rich.

Correct, everything is live on this album. Not that it couldn't sound great if it was simulated but I don't think I'd be nearly as excited about this record if the real instruments weren't used.

Maybe it's my changing interests in music but I don't think there is too much brass overall on this record. I only really see Zero Orchestra as being a stretch. Then again, this is based on the demos as I have not heard the finished album yet so maybe I will change my opinion when I hear the CD. I must say, I am really surprised to see you mention Shallow's Low almost being ruined by the orchestration and it sounding lame. I cannot imagine how you would feel that based on the demo anyway as it sounds so spectacular and beautiful to me. Not lame in the slightest. So I really hope the beauty of the demo is still intact on the final version. To each their own though. I agree there's such a thing as putting too much of something and it sounding out of place or overblown but I think at least most of this fits.

Did anyone pre-order the album on itunes and get Darling? If so, how long is the song?

I can see his concerns about it alienating fans to an extent. The amount of orchestration may turn some fans off but I think it sounds pretty honest and not just there for the sake of being different so I don't think most fans will hate it.

Cool, I thought Mildred should be a bit of a surprise. I agree the album is still clearly Matthew Good but some of it is still refreshingly different to me. And plus, who cares if it's very MG, that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. Just as long as it's not a rehash. Anyways, you have me really curious as to what you mean with "weird 80s female voice" on Shallow's Low.

Have you listened to the whole thing Bimbly? If so, what do you think of it? I've noticed Mildred is about 40 seconds shorter than the demo so I'm a bit concerned it's not going to be as cool, but what do you think of that song? I plan on holding out until I have the CD to listen to the finished product.

I don't know if I even noticed about half of these but it's neat when you check the song for it and hear it. I like the Flashdance ones and "f***, I got a headache" is probably my favourite out of those bunch.

What is going on here? Now Amazon.com has copies of the new cd for cheaper than Amazon.ca. http://www.amazon.com/Lights-Endangered-Sp...3548&sr=8-2

The CD is what I was referring to.

That price is ridiculous.

The album appears to be up for sale on amazon.com now.

What a crazy guy. ;) He's already talking about new material and said he has a phenomenal idea for the recording of the next album. Nothing specific has been mentioned yet though.

Gomo: Listening to it after I had listened to the FF record I was surprised how bare it sounded but I think that's because the new FF is so heavy on guitars and distortion. It's nice not to always hear heavy guitars. I agree it's not the best single material but screw radio anyway. So you haven't heard Non Populus? I think you'll be right at home with that one. It's unfortunate that some find In a Place of Lesser Men lacking. I actually really like it and think it's a unique song. It stands out to me and it's nice to hear from MG. I especially like the use of cor anglais and piano in it.

Aren't those the best kind? ;) What do you think of the song? Good stuff, I thought it should have a vinyl release.

Sweet. It's nice to see someone else who isn't understanding all the hype for this album. You said what I think the problem is exactly: it's bland. At least compared to an album like TCATS, which to me is a special rock album that just stands out in nearly every way. It's far more memorable and the balance of music and arrangement of songs on it is almost perfect. The production on that also beats this album's in my opinion. It's cool that they recorded this in a more basic way but from the reception it has gotten I expected a more memorable album. It's not bad by any means, I just don't find it anything special like they're capable of. And to me it sounds like they're going a more radio friendly, big radio chorus direction which I'm not a fan of. They were always a mainstream band but their old records have a more distinct sound to me.

On first listen it's nowhere near TCATS in my opinion and I'm surprised the praise has been seemingly unanimous. It has potential, I just need to give it more listens.

As I said somewhere, there is no doubt some of his latest releases in it. I think that is inevitable and only natural. You have also only heard 2 songs which aren't overly different but I still think they contain some different ideas for Matt. I never said the entire record was massively different, but a few of the songs stand out to me and it's more that as a whole the album has a very different vibe from his others. At least to me anyway. I'm pretty sure you wll know what I mean when you hear the whole thing.

Matt's never been one to flaunt guitar solos but when he does use them I find they often add a lot to the song. In the case of this album I think they're pretty great. His solos usually add more to the songs I thought than most musicians I've heard who seem to like to put them in to show off or just for the sake of it. No one says he plays similar chords because they're convenient. Maybe that's the way he wants it and not just because it's closer or whatever. I dunno, I'm not a musician but I think you might be speaking too soon. I think there will be some stuff that will catch your fancy on this record.

I just purchased myself Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock albums by Talk Talk on eBay.

Who could POSSIBLY disagree with that? That guy should be KING!

I'm not gonna lie, the bonus track Darling in my opinion is the worst of all the stuff he's released during the process of this album. That may just be because it's an acoustic song and often times they bore me. It's not bad, just bland and dime a dozen to me. I wish he would have recorded the other demos for release as extras, they're far better. Bimbly: I really don't know what album of his to compare this to. I'm sure there's some of his last couple records in it but I think there's also lots that is different. I dunno what to say right now. I look forward to seeing what you think it's most similar to when you hear it.

Like what album of his is the most similar?

It's hard to say. I'd say Mildred is the most interesting song on the album and I enjoy it a lot but I am not sure what is overall my favourite. It might be Shallow's Low, I LOVE the mid section in the demo, one of the nicest musical parts of MG to my ears.

Now that's the way to do it. Not listening to anything but the single is cool enough, but not listening to any thing whatsoever is even better. I envy you for waiting to hear this whole album not having a clue what to expect. You're in for a treat I think, you may just be shocked by some of it.