(STICKIED) Album Review Thread

[God]

Meddle
Pink Floyd

This is the album that started what, in my mind, make Floyd one of the greatest bands of all time. They released three consecutive albums, each of incredible quality, but somehow topping the last each time. Meddle - Dark Side of the Moon - Wish You Were Here. Consecutive releases of albums that quality (and rising each time) is rivaled only by The Beatles, if of any band ever. And this started it. Unlike the latter albums, it had no true focused theme and was a very happy upbeat album, but the musical quality fits right it with it's followers.

The album is opened by the lyricless "One of These Days." The wind is the begining turns into a precussion beat, slowly building, getting darker and darker, eerier and eerier until it erupts into the faster paced guitar solo finishing it off.

It transitions well into "Pillow of the Winds." The beautiful melody is set by differing layers of acoustic guitar. Walter's tells a relaxing story of falling asleep and later waking up while the layers of guitar set the mood and melody, perfectly playing off each other and the lyrics.

The much more upbeat "Fearless" follows. It seems to convey the message of "do what you want." "You pick the place and I'll choose the time, and I'll climb that hill in my own way." More acoustic-sounding guitars set up the wounderful melody. The lyrics are beautiful, "And as you rise above the trees, light, and the clouds, you look down, hearing the sound of the faces in the crowd."

"San Tropez", the next track, is a very happy upbeat song. Mason's precussion and Wright's piano do a great job of setting the mood.

"Seamus", a light hearted ballad to a dog, is a very bluesy-feeling song, and in a very good way. More great acousting guitar and piano, which seems to be the musical theme of this album.

Finishing Meddle off is the 23 minute epic "Echoes." We are greeted with the sound of a distand submarine soon leading into one of the greatest melodies I have ever heard perfectly accompanied by a light, Shine on You Crazy Diamond-esque guitar. The only downfall of this epic is the slightly boring middle portion.

Meddle is what started Floyd's magnificant three album chain of greatness and was a perfect start.

8.9/10

[ozymandias]

2112
Rush

As any Rush fan will tell you, 2112 is considered the band's greatest accomplishment. Even with two mostly ignored songs and a very cheesy one in the middle, this album is nothing short of perfect. The reason for this may be because it's just too deep for many fans to grasp. It's one of those albums that has a millions meanings to a million people. The title track alone is twenty minutes of confusion to anyone trying to figure out exactly what Peart was trying to say beneath the uppermost layers of subtlety.

2112 is broken into 7 parts. The Overture is a classic Rush instrumental, climbing an electric ladder into one of their best hard rock jams.
The Temples of Syrinx picks up right where the last chapter left off. With screaming vocals (a rarity for Geddy Lee) and pounding beat it shows a disturbingly perfect world in which all people have their lives dictated to them.
The Discovery is a stark contrast, with calm lyrics, occasional instruments, and an acoustic guitar.
Presentation is a dramatic combination of the acoustic calm of Discovery and the pounding heat of Temples of Syrinx, as the character presents the guitar to the priests. They destroy it saying that it wouldn't serve them any use, and would disrupt society.
Oracle: The Dream is a slowly building account of his dreams that night, where he is shown how life would be if man were aloud to live freely.
Soliloquy is a slow, powerful, mournful chapter, in which the character is overcome with hopelessness that he can't change his lot in life.
Grand Finale is a racy and energetic ending to the song. The entire song itself seems to have many subliminal messages, but few can figure them out.

A Passage to Bangkok follows, and is one of the few songs done by the band that obviously talks about drugs. It's a great short song and it's melody is close to that of 2112.

The Twilight Zone is a somewhat cornball song, but despite this its definitely got its own unique charm. The voice however is VERY annoying to anyone not in the mood to listen to Rush. Even me. The background whisper is haunting throughout the song.

Lessons is a bouncy song, but Geddy's vocals are given a shrill boost with the help of Lifeson's guitar. This song is often overlooked by many fans, but it's not a bad song.

Tears is one of the songs that is very hard to comprehend. It's slow and mournful, but somehow numbing. This song also doesn't have much of a following, but like Lessons, it's not bad at all. The ending is strange yet beautiful.

Something For Nothing is an excellent way to end the album. It's empowering and motivating to get you off your ass and to do something with your life. It's constantly changing and is very unpredictable, starting off steady and suddenly jumping.

The album is a true testament to Peart's incredible writing talent and the band's flexibility. From the haunting lyrics to the equally intriguing album art, it's meaning isn't well known, and there are always changing opinions as to what the true message really is. All in all, this isn't a good starter album unless you like to keep an open mind, but once you know the band it's a must have.

[menelec]

Squarepusher - Go! Plastic
true testament into beat programming

[victor34]