Then let the havoc choose to shape us all, push us to invent

Somtimes you need something sweet.  Something to leave a nice taste in your mouth; like a bottle of Coke (and I know that the American bottles of Coke with your silly corn syrup pale in comparison to the taste of the cane sugar used just about everywhere else, so you don't necessarily know what I'm talking about) or a mandarin orange.  Other times, you need something bitter, maybe a little salty; like chocolate peppered with chilis.  Some days, you may feel like something tart or sour; like a gin and tonic.

Now, you may be wondering why I'm going on about flavours, especially in what is ostensibly a review of an album.  Well, I'm currently suffering through a certain amount of pain in my mouth; the second of my upper wisdom teeth is coming in.  I know, I could just go to the dentist and get it pulled, however, as he's said previously, there's enough room on my upper jaw to hold it, and sometimes I'm just stubborn.  To weather out the pain, I've been listening to the new Chevelle album, Sci-Fi Crimes.  I picked it up earlier this month, but until now, really haven't paid it much attention.  I needed something to listen to that could be aggressive, but wasn't necessarily the level of napalm that much of the black or death metal to which I listen.  I needed something that had a certain undulating rhythm and bite to it; but I wasn't in the mood for Agalloch or something as pretty as Nest.  I didn't want doom or drone.

I'm an unabashed fan of Tool, and sometimes it's just too long between albums.  Unlike their cookie-cutter clone, Earshot, Chevelle manages to sound a wee bit like Tool -- certainly in Peter Loeffler's vocals, but different enough that it has a flavour of its own.  With Sci-Fi Crimes, I think I've finally figured out what the other influences -- aside from the obvious in Tool and Helmet -- might be; late 80's/early 90's grunge.  Especially a band like Pavement.  Coming from me, that's a compliment.  It also dawned on me the overlap that exists also with bands like the Deftones and The Mars Volta.  Strange to come to that conclusion just listening to this album.

Horse Droppings

The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings
Edited by Scott Allie
ISBN: 1569719586
$14.95 US

Ever since Dark Horse started publishing comics, they've had the stigma of being primarily a publisher of licensed comics, continually publishing some form of Star Wars comics, along with Aliens and Predator originally, and now Buffy, the Vampire Slayer today. Now, I'm not going to tell you that any of that impression is ill-deserved or untrue, but they've always been broader than just licensed comics. On top of them, they've published all sorts of horror comics from the keystone of Hellboy to Paul Chadwick's The World Below, the European horror comics of the late 90's, and Gary Gianni's Monstermen.

In recent years, there's been a resurgence of popularity in horror, starting with films like The Sixth Sense to spark interest amongst the "common folk", and in comics primarily with Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith's 30 Days of Night. Along with that comes Dark Horse's new horror "line", of which this book, The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings is the crown jewel: a hardcover anthology collecting eight haunted tales from some of the best of the industry and an interview of séance medium, Larry Dreller, by Scott Allie.

It used to be that Dark Horse did something like this every year, although initially it was called the Dark Horse Maverick anthology -- featuring works from the creators who published books under that imprint, from Frank Miller to Stan Sakai. Last year, things changed a little bit, and instead of being the usual saddle-stitched "annual", the book grew a spine, dropped the "annual" appellation, and became the anthology, Happy Endings. Then Maverick as a line was dissolved, they put out the licensed comics showcase, plus other odds and ends in Reveal, that slightly serves as a precursor to this. Reveal has an interview with Guillermo del Toro and Mike Mignola thrown in amongst the Lone Wolf & Cub 2100 tale and Joe Casey autobiographical drug trade-off.

To me, an interview alongside prose or comics content just feels weird. It makes this seem more like a magazine than an anthology, despite the hardcover. I'm not sure if that's a bad thing or not, but there's a little twinge in the back of my head that just makes me feel like this is a bad combination for something that is essentially standalone. I appreciate the interview with Dreller, it's really quite good, but it feels too much like filler. Dreller is a great subject, elaborating on his life, work as a medium, and certain experiences that he has had, but in all honesty it feels more like a vanity piece, a lark that Allie himself wanted to go on and justified by having it printed here.

That, basically, is my only problem with the anthology, everything else included within is a great accomplishment, with only one slight blip.

Of the eight stories contained in the book, seven of them are actual comics work and the eighth is illustrated prose. The prose story is one by Perceval Landon, an author who wrote stories around the turn of the last century in a similar vein to Edgar Allan Poe or some of the work of Arthur Conan Doyle, and, for the life of me, I can't say he had a huge body of work, since all I've ever seen reprinted is the same story presented here, "Thurnley Abbey". It's your typical tale of Victorian hauntings and monstrous things that go bump in the night, and if you regularly read horror fiction and anthologies, you've no doubt come across this one before. What are new are the beautiful illustrations to accompany the story by Gary Gianni, who also provided the anthology's cover. Honestly, his work is perfect for this kind of thing, looking dated itself, like the kind of woodcut illustrations and etchings you might have seen one hundred years ago to accompany the chapbook thrillers. Given the nature of today's comics reader, though, I assume they'll more than not be likely to skip it, which is a shame, because it's a fairly decent genre piece.

With all of the prose pieces out the way, there are still 59-pages of comics, well worth the price alone. The first is a story called "Gone" by Dark Horse publisher, Mike Richardson, as adapted by P. Craig Russell. It's a ten-page story that shows all of the craft of Russell's work, with excellent pacing, layouts, and always beautiful linework, but it's essentially a story out of an episode of The Twilight Zone or Ray Bradbury Theatre, without any of the heart that Russell shows in his recent adaptations of Oscar Wilde or century-old opera. Essentially, it's very pretty window-dressing.

The next piece is what that window-dressing is for, the centrepiece of the anthology, and the reason why the book exists in the first place; the only Mike Mignola Hellboy story to be published in 2003. "Dr. Carp's Experiment" is pretty much what you'd expect from a Hellboy short-story, akin to much of what's published in the Chained Coffin and Others collection, featuring a bit of action, a bit of "history", and a bit of self-discovery. The whole thing is essentially an excursion to discover what will happen if Hellboy's blood is injected into another creature, which has very nasty results. This isn't a story that's going to give "The Corpse" a run for its money, but it's still a fun Hellboy yarn.

The third comic piece is a Devil's Footprints story, that has no relation to the mini-series, other than the fact that it features the same protagonist. If you bought this alone without having read the previous material, you'll be no worse for wear. It's a funny story, really, with an excellent twist, involving the exorcism of ghosts from a house. I'll not give it away, but it's definitely not what you'd expect. Following it is "Forever", which involves a curse over a guy who skipped the bill for a tattoo, by German artist, Uli Oesterle. It too has an interesting twist ending. Lucas Marangon and Milton Freewater, Jr. supply "The House on the Corner", four pages outlining the history of the tenants of a haunted house in an attempt to show a little boy that there are ghosts lurking everywhere. "Lies, Death, and Olfactory Delusions" from Randy Stradley and Paul Chadwick is of a similar type as Richardson and Russell's, stemming from childhood adventures. The story is a little more involved that "Gone", following the first person narration of our protagonist of what happened to his dead "friend". It's kind of a sweet little lie in order to help someone find peace, I guess.

The final story, "Stray", by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson is most likely my favourite of the entire book, but it's possibly just because I'm a sucker for furry animals. It's a story of a few dogs and a cat who have their own "haunt" interrupted by a lingering ghost. Funny, sad, and touching, it's really a great story, made all the better through a beautiful colour wash in Thompson's artwork.

Matthew Good's Avalanche

2002 was a great year for music, seeing new David Bowie, Tori Amos, Tom Waits, Our Lady Peace, Tragically Hip, and Dream Theater material, along with countless others. Thus far in 2003 there hasn't been a lot yet, but easily rising to the top of important releases is Matthew Good's sans "Band" solo release, Avalanche. Personally, the Matthew Good Band was one of my favourite groups of artists, easily attaining status alongside the Tragically Hip, almost as a western counterpoint with a more sardonic bent.

Thankfully, Avalanche carries on the progression of sound witnessed from Last of the Ghetto Astronauts to The Audio of Being. The music is still undeniably Matthew Good, still sound enough like MGB to get carry over fans, but also different enough, grander, to perhaps drag in people who didn't like the old material.

As a whole, there's less emphasis on rocking out and overdriven guitars, the album's more expansive, supplementing flashy rock postures with the string section from the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and choral work from Musica Intima. If you took The Cure, The Police, The Pixies, the Tragically Hip, Leonard Cohen, and REM mixed them together and gave them an orchestra to play with, that would closely approximate Matthew Good's sound. There's little pieces of all of them present here and there in his music, lending itself to creating an interesting and expansive, understated alternative rock presence.

Track by Track

Pledge of Allegiance (4:59) - This is one of the tracks that reminds me largely of The Police, driven forward by a slowly pulsating bass rhythm and drum back beat. The chimes and choral work supporting the track is a nice touch that brings it beyond 80's new wave into something a little bit different. It's not upbeat or really catchy at all, and as such it's an interesting way to lead you into the album. It's understated, almost insidious, and feels almost like Good's laying down a gauntlet to say that this won't be as commercial or even as "happy" as previous MGB albums.

Lullaby for the New World Order (3:52) - Easily one of my favourite tracks on the album, this song shows how large and deep, how "ambitious", this solo project is going to be. The strings really come to the fore here, delivering an extremely broad canvas for Good's poignant lyrics, "somebody gave you a choice and all you do is abuse it, if god he gave you a voice, then use it" and interplay of some nice guitar work. There's an acoustic version of the song available for download from Good's secret site that shows the strength of his guitar. For something under four minutes, the song feels a lot "bigger".

Weapon (5:58) - The first single from the album that was originally released months ago as part of the Big Shiny Tunes repertoire. It's one of the few tracks that has Good "rocking out" admist the strings and simple vocals.

In a World Called Catastrophe (5:57) - The second single seems like a Matthew Good Band ballad with strings supporting, which is probably why it was released to remind people that the album was on its ways. It featurs all of the things you'd expect, jabs at the current political climate, self-deprecation, wild structure changes between verses and chorus, Good reaching for higher registers in long, drawn out vocals, and some little bits of guitar work in odd places of the song.

Avalanche (7:26) - ...and then we get to Leonard Cohen. There's an almost carousel-like, tarantella rhythm to the beginning of the song, dancing around Good reaching to lower, rough registers almost speak-singing like Cohen, building to a crescendo of the chorus, and a fall back into a cacaphophy of numerous voices similar to say Tricky, and then a further repetition of the tarantella, shift to a refrain of a Tori Amos period of lofty heights, and back into a crescendo to the chorus, and back down again. It's truly a beautiful, moving song.

21st Century Living (3:10) - Then we get a three-minute rant on "super-sizing" that sounds a bit like Rick Mercer put to music, a bit like an 80's REM tune, and a little bit like the MGB of old. The song is hilarious to listen to, certainly one of the best on the album, and has some valid points to it. It works as both an anthem and as a three-minute counter culture commercial, I can't wait to see a video for this.

While We Were Hunting Rabbits (8:00) - This is a rhythm piece. Or at least that's what I get out of it. It's hard to say exactly what this one sounds like, it's like a melting pot of 80's sounds, and a haunting vocal track. It's almost a Roxy Music track in some parts, it's almost The Police, it's almost So-era Peter Gabriel, but it's none of them. The rhythm to it is phenomenal, a great undulating bass line, coupled with pounding drums that only appear for brief periods. That's the first half of the song, the latter half is a long and beautiful crescendo of the strings alone.

Bright End of Nowhere (4:08) - This is a nice, short love ballad, with a very nice piano part. It's just a beautiful song, really.

Near Fantastica (8:00) - This track is bizarre and probably as multi-faceted as "Avalanche". It starts out similar to a Peter Gabriel tune from Passion or Long Walk Home, then develops into a long introduction piece similar to The Cure, only to wind up as a crazy rock piece. Upon first listening to it, it seemed out of place to me with the rest of the album, but it grows on you quickly, finding new little pieces that you don't notice instantly.

Song for the Girl (3:16) - This is another love song of sorts, but as a harder rock ballad than the beauty of "Bright End of Nowhere".

Double Life (4:22) - Here's the track where the Pixies influence shines through the most, not necessarily sounding like a Pixies track, but more like Catherine Wheel. Old MGB fans will probably love this track, which is a lot more upbeat and "rocking" than the rest of the album. I can see this one being released as a single for the summer, actually, it feels like it could be a good summer song. Kind of like "Indestructable" from Underdogs in its structure. As Good himself has said, "Sometimes you just need to rock out," and it's a good thing he does here.

A Long Way Down (3:56) - I'm a sucker for cello, drums, and bass. I'd wager that this track was partly inspired by the promo music on the "what's coming up next" on Much More Music, which follows a similar layering of the three, but maybe I'm just hearing things. When they throw in piano playing lower chords and what sounds like horns -- probably just keyboard, because I don't see a listing for horn players in the credits -- I'm hooked. It's kind of a jazzy piece actually.

House of Smoke & Mirrors (6:05) - To me, the weakest song on any Matt Good Band album is always the last song. It's usually the slowest, most contemplative, and eschews any sort of structure. It seems like he's not set to disappoint on his first solo album. It's not to say that the songs themselves are bad, this one certainly isn't, the piano is downright beautiful, but it leaves you on a quiet, sedated note with no real memory of the song itself due to how slow and long it usually is. It's probably better that he puts them at the end of the album, due to how soothing they are, though. If you want to fall asleep, or simply to relax, this is a good song to get you there.

Standing In Line With the Selfish

"And fuck me if I say something you don't wanna hear. Fuck me."

Pearl Jam's a bit of a funny thing with me.

Like many my age, demographic, and such (I am not a taget market.), I picked up Pearl Jam's Ten, and I fell instantly in love with it. It encapsulated a lot of what was "me" at the time, as well as some of what I wanted to be. Anger without self-pity, anger with purpose. I think that's part of the reason why grunge and alternative music spoke to me, for the most part it was more than just whining and complaining, here there was meaning. That's one of the reasons why a lot of today's rap/rock offerings do very little for me, it's empty rage. Sure, you're angry, but what are you angry with? Why are you angry? Most of today's heavier material doesn't focus it, and it just winds up with a lot of negative energy spent busting stuff. Maybe I'm just getting old. Anyway, with Pearl Jam I followed them along with Vs., which I quite liked still, and Vitalogy, which I didn't. Part of the problem was something as ridiculous as the case itself, which didn't fit in any of my CD racks at the time, but it also represented a change from the music I did like at the time, to music that just wasn't for me. I'd say the same thing about No Code, which I would categorise as Pearl Jam's worst album.

In the years following Vs., mind you, I didn't track Pearl Jam's course so closely, and understood why they were boycotting TicketMaster and their essential media blackout, but in all honesty, I didn't really care too much. Knowing me, I probably should have, but for the large part, Pearl Jam was off my radar. I didn't even buy Yield when it came out, No Code had burned me so. It's a good thing I did eventually, though, because I would have missed out on at least one great album, in addition to the two that followed it. Still, if you asked me, I would never consider Pearl Jam one of my favourite bands. I realise that is somewhat odd because I own all of their studio albums, a few of their singles, the label released live album, in addition to three of the bootlegs (the Toronto show being one of them), and bought the No Boundaries disc specifically for the Last Kiss song. If you asked me, I'd say that Pearl Jam was a solid rock band, producing for the most part, solid rock songs, carrying on in the tradition of folk-rockers like Neil Young. It's good music, it will endure, but it will always just be there. What's also strange is that I consider Pearl Jam to be the one American band that maps the closest to what is one of my favourite bands in the Tragically Hip; they both have a core integrity to producing good rock music, great lyrics, and an experimenting spirit that allows them to adapt and grow.

...and that brings us to why you're here, Pearl Jam's new album, Riot Act. What can I say but that it's a solid rock album, and little more. You probably won't be instantly hooked by it, it's not "Eleven" (none of Pearl Jam's following albums have been, and it's ridiculous to expect that at this point), but the songs do grow on you quickly, and there are a few assorted gems that will probably prove positively wonderful when performed live. In all honestly, this is a bit of an ecclectic album, swinging quickly from slow ballads to psychadelic rock to folk rock to what could almost be considered punk, so I would say that like many of Pearl Jam's previous albums (only really Binaural escapes this) the songs stand alone and don't necessarily form a cohesive whole, but still work as a collection of different voices. It also builds on their previous two albums Yield and Binaural in its overall quality and rededication to its rock roots. This isn't a grunge album, it's not an alternative album, it's just a rock album. Most fans will probably have already seen this curve.

Track by Track review:

Can't Keep -- "you can't keep me here"
-- You know what's scary about the lyrics to this song, is that if you read them with a particular cynical and pessimistic bent, they read almost like a suicide note. I'm sure it's not meant as such, more a testament about freedom and wanting to do what you yourself want to do, but still..."I want a last breath", "I wanna rise/ and say goodnight/ wanna take/ a look on the other side", and "you can't keep me here", how would you interpret that? As to the music itself, it's a subtle tune similar to some of the ballads from Yield and Binaural, with a particular pulsating rhythm throughout provided by Matt Cameron and Jeff Ament, along with some interesting echo effects (it's kind of hard to describe, but it "feels" like a ripple on a pond). The guitars themselves remind me of the short, quick strummings of the Eastern-inspired offerings of the Tea Party and Led Zepellin.

Save You -- "don't go on me now"
-- In the tradition of "Go", which "Save You" aptly quotes, this is a full-ahead rock song and an interesting counterpoint to the previous track. Whereas "Can't Keep" was a little depressing, "Save You" brings you back. It also features one of my favourite chorus lyrics ever, that I quote above at the beginning of this review. People who love Pearl Jam's more upbeat songs are definitely going to love this one.

Love Boat Captain -- "it's already been sung, but it can't be said enough, all you need is love"
-- So, of course, after something strong that "rocks", we have a wild mood swing back to an introspective and "slow" song, which makes you wonder if Eddie or the band is manic depressive. Similarities will point towards "Insignificance" both in terms of structure and content, but it never really rocks out. It's quieter. It doesn't build itself up to a fervor. It seems like the "insignificance" has been accepted here and Vedder's just trying to deal with it. This is also one of the tracks that remind me of the Tragically Hip and bring about the comparison. There's some nice use of keyboards, but what brings it out is the guitars themselves, which sound similar to the Hip's "Poets".

Cropduster -- "every life is falling down"
-- Another quasi-depressing song wrapped in a fairly impressive rock background. It's an interesting song about every life becoming part of the earth, regardless of plans and whatnot, and that the world itself is an accident. You've got me, I thought we already covered this back in "Push Me, Pull Me"

Ghost -- "the mind is grey"
-- Another nice, tight rock song, the content of which rings familiar to "Given to Fly". There's definitely an underlying current of wanting to get away, wanting to be free to do new things, and "Ghost" presents this in a little more positive light than "Can't Keep". You have to wonder a bit about what Vedder is talking about (or Jeff Ament as it were, given that the lyrics were co-written by he and Vedder), but it's a nice ditty on its own.

I am Mine -- "the selfish, they're all standing in line"
-- I don't know why, but this sounds like an REM song to me for some reason. It just has the same dirge-like quality of early to mid-90's REM songs, along with strings of odd notes from a guitar thrown in at strange places. It's certainly not a bad song, and easy to see why it would be put out as the first single. It has that easily accepted alt-rock feel about it and is very listener friendly.

Thumbing my Way -- "thinking that's what held me back"
-- This one I'd almost categorise as being folk rock. It's an understated, quiet ballad that reminds me of a bizarre blend of Bruce Cockburn and Neil Young, with all of their energy drained from them, and a bit of country twang added for good measure. Tom Petty on 'ludes, maybe. It's a good song, nonetheless.

You Are -- "sometimes i burn like a dot on the sun"
-- Easily, "You Are" is one of my favourites on the album. Overdriven guitar and bass propel this simple hard altrock love song at a rather measured pace. Whenever it plays in my head, it seems to be faster than it really is, as it actually is a fairly mid-tempo song.

Get Right -- "swear if you must"
-- This is a more typical early Pearl Jam song, which is somewhat strange, considering that it's written by their newest member, and former member of Soundgarden, Matt Cameron. There are some really nice guitar solos peppered throughout the song.

Green Disease -- "No white or black just grey"
-- "Green Disease" is another song that has the same construction that older Pearl Jam listeners will recognise from all over Vs. and Vitalogy, in Pearl Jam's almost "punk" style.

Help Help -- "tell me lies"
-- Uh, yeah. You've got me. There's some nice instrumentation, but the lyrics and vocals will probably start grating on you after a while. The chant at the end, coupled with some nice guitar work, is well worth listening to, though.

Bushleaguer -- "born on third, thinks he got a triple"
-- This is a good song in and of its own right, a nice chorus, some great music, and a great spoken vocal reminiscent of Bob Dylan from Eddie Vedder, as a political song, however, it leaves a lot to be desired. Vedder's jabs at Bush seem half-hearted, or the level of contempt just isn't quite up to where it should be. I'd certainly say that Bush is a pathetic doofus, and perhaps that's where some of the apathy comes from, but even pathetic doofuses can be dangerous from time to time. Especially when they're being controlled by right-wing fanatical special interest groups and trying to fight daddy's war.

1/2 Full -- "don't see some men as half empty, see them half full of shit"
-- Straight up roadhouse blues rock. Great bloody song, with the wit and bite of some classic Pearl Jam.

Arc -- "aaa aaa aaa ohm"
-- Hey, look at that, Pearl Jam covered the THX start-up noise. It's kind of surprising that they put it second to last, mind you, considering that it really doesn't seem to fit there.

All or None -- "it's a hopeless situation"
-- Here's another one that I'd definitely consider one of the best of the album, a simple loungish, down-tempo ballad. It shares some of the droning, haunting qualities with "Nothing as it Seems", but none of the psychadelic pretension. The chorus itself features some really nice piano in the background, that leads into one of the better guitar solos on the album.

On Rainy Days We Go Swimming

I know that it probably sounds a bit odd reviewing a "Best of..." collection, considering that most of the material will have been covered and be familiar to the listeners who would buy it, and even doubly odd given that it's a U2 disc. Meaning, basically, that most people will have heard at least part of all the songs on the disc. That's the reason why I won't be doing a track by track review, however, there is material on this limited edition package that you might be interested in reading about before you rush out and make a mad dash for the record stores. ...and, honestly, if you haven't already picked up the CD, I suggest going this week if you want the limited edition. I know that it's only "limited" in the sense that it won't be going back to print, but there were some unscrupulous stores that, when the first U2 "Best of... & B-Sides" compilation was released, jacked up the price to $60 (from $23) Canadian the following Monday.

Now, personally, I've thought that U2's output throughout the 90's has been considerably lacking. They started off strong with Achtung Baby (a disc I consider to be stronger and more well-rounded than even The Joshua Tree), but the excesses and extravagancies of the Zoo TV tour that followed just soured me on the band through most of the 90's. Although looking back, I can appreciate some of the things they produced on Zooropa and Pop, it just seemed like a great rock band had become a Vegas act (think the general reaction to David Bowie's Glass Spider tour, and you'll have my reaction to the PopMart tour). There was also the Passengers "soundtrack", which was certainly interesting, but I could only listen to it in small doses. The only thing that really had any impact between Achtung Baby and All That You Can't Leave Behind was, of all things, the song from the Batman Forever soundtrack, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me". [Just as a side note, isn't it sad when the soundtrack to your film is better than the film? As was the case with Batman Forever.]

Coming from that angle, you can probably guess my reaction to this new collection: less than overwhelming. It's a nice catalogue of the past ten years of the band, but it honestly doesn't hold a candle to the sheer power of the first collection chronicling 1980-90. It's still decent listening, and despite featuring the band at their strongest (Achtung Baby's seminal track "One" is one of my favourite songs ever) it also features them at what I consider to be their weakest: the extravagant, flashy, and overall empty "pop" songs. After All that you can't Leave Behind and the new song on this disc, "Electrical Storm", I have hope for future albums, getting back to the rock heart of the group, but that's not what's presented here.

The main "Best of..." disc strangely doesn't feature everything you'd expect, there's no "The Fly", no "Elevation", no "Walk On", yet does contain some odd choices like "The Hands that Built America" (a new track from the Gangs of New York soundtrack, good song, sure, but still an odd choice) and "The First Time" (from Zooropa and not one of the better ones). There are also new mixes of Discotheque, Gone, Staring at the Sun and Numb, which I do have to admit sound pretty good, but again, it seems somewhat odd when doing a retrospective you remix the songs that you're presenting. To me it just seems a little bit like missing the whole point. Also, sadly, "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" (from the Million Dollar Hotel soundtrack) doesn't make the cut, which is a little disappointing considering that it was one of their better songs in recent years.

The lure of the B-Sides is what really got me purchasing this set. I can honestly say that the collection from the 1980-90 collection, were nice, some "new" songs that were released with singles along with song great covers (you haven't lived until you've heard Bono doing "Unchained Melody"). What you get here is more in line with modern singles; remixes of songs you already own, often times badly done at that, as though they were an afterthought. The first half of the new b-sides disc is decent, culminating with a cover of "Happiness is a Warm Gun", but the rest of the tracks are empty, heartless, and cold "dance" remixes of songs that were already a little empty to begin with.

All in all, this collection reminds me as to how little and how disappointing the 90's were for U2. I'm sure that many consider Pop to be a great album, and with that mentality, you'll probably love this collection, but to me it represents U2's creative low.

I'm Not Sure Who's Fooling Who Here

Ostensibly, Tori Amos' new studio album, Scarlet's Walk, is about one woman's journey throughout America, finding out who she is, what her country is, and what it means to be here, alive. At least, that's what I get from listening to the album. I know that other people have come up with different reactions, reactions to what Amos herself and Epic records have put a spin on, and reactions to various other media, coming up with ideas that this is a political record and so on. Honestly, I don't get that out of the album at all, but maybe that's just me. ...and from what I could understand from Amos' commentary on the DVD portion of the limited edition boxed set, what I say in the first sentence is about it.

Certainly not exactly new territory for a Tori Amos album.

It's filled with the same sometimes bizarre, nigh unintelligible lyrics (think latter day Radiohead lyrics that actually form sentences, but are still incomprehensible), sometimes overly precious, sometimes highly poetic and beautiful, sometimes abrasive, that all of her previous albums have. So, in other words, if you like previous Tori Amos albums, you're liable to like this one as well. To me, it feels like a blend of the preciousness of Under the Pink, the edge from From the Choirgirl Hotel, the electronic experimentation on the first disc of To Venus and Back, the putting on of airs and other identities of Strange Little Girls, and the rambling, seeming unendingness of Boys for Pele. In other words, it's a blend of most of what she's done before. Perfectly sensible as such. 18 tracks that blend every era of Tori's previous work, perfectly fitting a new 'renaissance' at her new label.

Now, before I go on with a track by track review, I'd also like to say something about the other stuff in the box as well. In the limited edition set, there's also a little charm thing (don't ask me its significance, I haven't a bloody clue), a fold of various polaroids taken during "Scarlet's" walk across America (in other words, twelve pictures of Tori, or parts of Tori -- similar actually to what was included with Pearl Jam's No Code), a map of "Scarlet's" journey for each song with the lyrics and musician information printed on the back (which I have to say is rather annoying, I hate fold out lyrics, I much prefer the standard booklet format), and a bonus DVD featuring the songs "gold dust", "a sorta fairytale", and "Taxi Ride" played over top of either video footage of Tori travelling America or a photraphic montage of such, and honestly, it's not a bad thirteen minutes spent. You could probably be doing other things in those thirteen minutes, but at least it's good music. There's also an audio commentary track in addition to that, and to be honest, I couldn't listen to it very long. I mean, as much as I respect Tori as an artist and her music, whenever I hear her in interviews or in pre-song banter in concerts, she comes off as a fripping loony, and much is the same here. I couldn't get through it, so I can't really say much about it, but those of you who can stand or enjoy listening to her talk about her influences and the impetus for the journey, you'll probably love this.

Oh, and there's also stickers that you can, like, stick on things and stuff.

Track by Track review:

I'll say a litte caveat before I begin, if you're looking for some kind of analysis of meaning from me of the songs that is in any way accurate in regards to the lyrics, you'd probably be better served by looking somewhere else. I haven't got a clue what's going on in Tori's head, and won't pretend to.

Amber Waves -- "tell the Northern Lights to keep shining"
-- It's an interesting, light way to introduce us to the new album. The opening track is pretty much Tori and the piano (oh drums and bass are still there, but they're never overpowering to Tori's keys). Very similar to her early work on Little Earthquakes with an emphasis on melody in both the piano and her own voice.

a sorta fairytale -- "till you lost me"
-- This is of course the first single, that I've seen damn near no promotion for up here, on the radio or television, I wouldn't even have known about the album if I didn't check HMV regularly like a hawk. It's a nice strong pop song, with some catchy rhythms and chorus, a little more upbeat that "Hey Jupiter" and "1000 Oceans" but in a somewhat similar vein. It seems like a straight forward story-song, about travelling and relationships, kind of encapsulating the entire concept of the album to begin with. Matt Chamberlain's drums are more present, often times just the drums and Tori's voice, but it's still almost wholly a supporting role, almost like a drum track rather than a "real" percussionist. There are some really nice guitar plunkings from Robbie McIntosh and Mac Aladdin, but they're few and far between.

Wednesday -- "can someone help me, I think I'm lost here"
-- This is probably one of my favourites on the album. It's just a short little jazzy number heavy on bass and the band actually has a greater presence. There's a feel similar to some of the Beatles work, specifically Lady Madonna, and Tori's own wonderful song "Mr. Zebra", which I admit is also one of my favourites of hers. I think I just love that bass, heavy on the funk. Sometimes you just need a catchy fast groove. It's just a fun song, despite the fact that there's actually more meaning and darkness in the lyrics themselves.

strange -- "when will I learn"
-- That feeling of "fun" doesn't last long though, as the uber-seriousness and preciousness felt all over the album comes screeching back on this somewhat haunting track. It's fairly down tempo, low key, and a little sad. There's a feeling of self-pity evident in the song, as well as one of the sillier lyrics I've seen in Tori's metaphors for relationships in "I put our snowflake under the microscope". It's kind of like a counter-argument to "1000 oceans", which shows the after effects of reaching too far.

Carbon -- "just keep your eyes on her"
-- Percussive movement forward in short succinct lyrics, in addition to short pulsating rhythms in the drums, piano, and guitars all of which have presence here together, drive this song forward. It also incorporates Neil Gaiman into the song, with Tori wanting him to read his rendition of Snow White (which if I were you, I'd check out in Smoke & Mirrors, or in audio format on Two Plays for Voices. Actually, I'd say check out both, but then I'm like that.)

Crazy -- "paper tigers"
-- Okay, now I'm about up to here with slow, soft pop songs on this album, with long drawn out sequences and lilting melodies. I mean, they're not exactly bad, but there can only be so many on a single album before said album starts putting you to sleep. Case in point, pick up an Enya record or the new Beck disc, Sea Change and try to listen through the entire thing. It's not bad, it just puts you to sleep.

wampum prayer -- "greed is the gift for the sons of the songs"
-- Speaking of putting you to sleep, I guess the only good thing about this is that it's only 44 seconds long.

don't make me come to Vegas -- "she's telling me of all the trouble you're in"
-- There's more presence of bass and drums here, but it's a lot like many of the songs on From the Choirgirl Hotel to me, kind of monotonous and annoying on first listen. Again, it has quite a slow tempo, with Tori's own kind of story-singing guiding overtop the rhythm. I think I could accurately call this and the previous two songs the "lull" on the album.

Sweet Sangria -- "tell my why does someone have to lose?"
-- ...and here's where things start picking up again. Again, it's similar in style and execution to what you'll find on the studio disc of To Venus and Back and From the Choirgirl Hotel, but there's a rousing chorus similar to what you'll find in the song "sugar" and you can almost hear the punched out version that Tori will incorporate into singing it live. Honestly, though, it feels almost like Like a Prayer-era Madonna on tranquilisers.

Your Cloud -- "pick out your cloud"
-- Only the upbeat tracks don't last too long, as Tori seems to be doing her best at creating a slow, haunting lounge song, the likes of which Bobby Darin or Frank Sinatra would have sung a little bit faster and with a greater pinache. It's a nice song, really, with some nice vocal work, interlaying two different lyrics, but again, we're off to slumberland. It's nice background music, actually, but I'm finding that while I'm listening to it intently trying to write this, it has too great a soothing effect, and it's starting to really put me to sleep. It's still beautiful, just incredibly somber.

pancake -- "separate the man from body, from soul"
-- A little bit darker turn here with the music, a haunting chorus behind the main lyric featuring Tori with a rather scratchy voice that will wake you up fairly quickly, along with the overdub pianos with who knows how many effects going into them. It's a nice examination of religion, actually. "messiahs need people dying in their name", how true.

I can't see New York -- "I can't seem to find my way out of your hunting ground"
-- Supposedly the destruction during September 11th is what sparked this album in the first place, even though it's not entirely overly evident in the music itself, but here's the song in which it's presented front and foremost. The song starts off fairly similar to Tori's take on "Raining Blood" from Strange Little Girls, slight discordant sounds and harsh raspy vocals, but goes off into more familiar territory with some beautiful piano and guitar play from the centre of the song on. As the longest song on the album, it truthfully doesn't feel as such.

mrs. jesus -- "your walking on the water bit by far my favourite"
-- This one's another that draws from a similar state of mind as Tori's first three albums and a bit of Beatles influence here again, with a nice, sweet pop song that plays on religion again. The strings are certainly a nice touch.

Taxi Ride -- "I'm glad you're on my side"
-- Which brings us to my favourite song on the album. By far, this one's the most upbeat on the entire album, similar in style and structure to "Concertina" and "Cruel" in its construction, I can see this one being a single in the near future. Again, it's another song about relationships and how they seem to fail and get drawn out. Makes you wonder.

another girl's paradise -- "Does it all come down to the thing one girl fears in the night"
-- We're back to Under the Pink realm with this song, hinting at some of the stronger melodies and bite of Little Earthquakes, with a darker chorus than most of what you'll find on the former album. It's a nice, well constructed song actually, there are hints of the saccharine nature of Under the Pink, but not too many.

Scarlet's Walk -- "yes they're free to leave"
-- Then we get more of the "ambient" noise to kick of the album's title track, that I personally found old and tired when Tori first used it on From the Choirgirl Hotel. Thankfully, though, most of the rest of the song takes on a better structure that reminds me of something else if only the chorus had one more beat. It's a fairly strong song, but it feels as though it's building to something more powerful that just isn't there.

Virginia -- "and even wait for their saviour to come"
-- ...and what would a Tori Amos album be without yet another song that shares stylistic approach to "Sugar". Oh wait, we already had one? ;-) Darker, stronger melodies pepper the song.

gold dust -- "I have your photograph"
-- Just so you're not still awake at the end of the album, here's another long, slow song just to put you to rest. The strings and piano opening is certainly strong, and the strings say as such throughout, but here it seems like the vocals are out of the place. The music is hauntingly beautiful, but it seems at odds with Tori's voice.

From all of that, you may get the impression that I don't like the album. That's not the case. I certainly don't think it's her best album, that goes to either Little Earthquakes or Boys for Pele, but it's still a decent album about as good as Under the Pink and certainly better than the three prior to this one.