OWB....best yet?

[negative1]

( interest vs time)

Chart 1
 
Interest
High
^
|X *    *     *    *     *     *  *   *  *   #
|  X                            #         +
|    X                 #            +
|     X     #                 +
|      #X             +
|   #     X    +
| #          X   
|         +    X
|      +           X
|    +                X
|  +                     X
|+                          X
|                               X
|                                   X
|                                      X
|
___________|___________________________________> Time
Low
0           3         Years                     10
Interest vs time
legend   : X , depreciation of album that is good at start, 
               but loses interest
           + , album that is not that interesting at first,
               but improves over time...
           * , album that is good, and stays that way,
           
           # , started off good, and got better           

* = second toughest in the infants
# = dubnobasswithmyheadman
+ = beacoup fish
X = one hundered days off

at some point i need to add 'everything everything', and the riverrun releases..

later
-1

[patrick]

Fully agreed with your graph -1... (although with a minor aside: i was given STITI the year it came out and didn't like it then, but then put it on another year later and was blown away... probably after being introduced with more mainstream stuff into electronic etc)

too early to tell about OWB... i am certainly super impressed with half of the albumn, and the other half is a bit of a disintrest to me...

[gillenium]

I'm liking the album more and more on each listen through. I don't really understand all the Ring Road and Boy Boy Boy hate on this forum. I like both tracks! Ring Road is especially fun to sing along with, catchy as hell. BoyBoyBoy is very un-Underworld, I'll grant you that, but I think it's a mighty-fine take on the Rock genre.

I understand what they were trying to do by adding Cuddle Bunny and Cockerel, they were trying to make a steady-flowing album, but come on... they passed up Darc to put this stuff on? That's ridiculous. After 5 years of no album, I would expect a full-on best-stuff-we-have assault on my ears... but whatever. The album is still amazing.

My girlfriend says Best Mamgu Ever is the best Underworld track ever.

[mmm skyscraper]

Originally Posted by gillenium

My girlfriend says Best Mamgu Ever is the best Underworld track ever.

I wish it went on for longer.

[bryantm3]

the thing that lets me down so much is the last song. they've always had amazing last songs, cohesive, with lyrics, that are complex and very strong musically.

'best mamgu ever' is like emerson lake and palmer's aboddon's bolero.

[patrick]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

the thing that lets me down so much is the last song. they've always had amazing last songs, cohesive, with lyrics, that are complex and very strong musically.

'best mamgu ever' is like emerson lake and palmer's aboddon's bolero.

wrong... it is among the best tracks on the albumn...

[potatobroth]

If "Boy, Boy, Boy" was called, "Affliction" and released on a Depeche Mode album, you wouldn't think anything of it. Its not that its a bad song, but man, it sure as shit isn't an Underworld song as much as it is a Depeche Mode remix.

That might as well be Dave Gahan singing with Martin Gore doing the harmony. Even though I can tell its Karl's voice, it still slowly turns into Depeche Mode everytime I hear it.

Ring Road, on the other hand, is pure awesomeness.

[King of Snake]

I'm having a hard time deciding what to think of OWB. There's a couple of great tracks, mainly Crocodile, BB and Mamgu, then there's a bunch that are ok, like To Heal, Faxed Invitation and Cockerel (these are all great sounding tunes but they all feel under-developed to me). Then there's a couple of tracks that have really started to grate on me like Glam Bucket (depressing and the violin-like sounds are annoying me) and Holding the Moth (I like the vocals of it but what's with all the cheesy piano noodling and stuff coming in at the end?).
Ring Road... can't decide if it's brilliant or rubbish really... jury is still out on this one. Boy Boy Boy, I'm kinda getting into it but again it doesn't really go anywhere interesting enough.

All in all so far: some cool tracks, with most notable standout the brilliant BB and Crocodile a close second. But ultimately dissapointing and still kinda puzzled about how some of these tracks made it onto the album while tracks like Darc are left on the shelf. And truth be told I think some of the Darren Price stuff they've been playing live the past couple of years was more exciting and fresh sounding than a lot of OWB.

[potatobroth]

You know, I'm starting to agree with you, KoS on Holding the Moth. It works well on the album in straight listens, but as a single song it really seems sort of odd. Kind of reminds me of Little Speaker, but not in a good way.

[BrotherLovesDub]

Originally Posted by King of Snake

And truth be told I think some of the Darren Price stuff they've been playing live the past couple of years was more exciting and fresh sounding than a lot of OWB.

i was thinking just the opposite. Price's stuff is very loop oriented and 1 dimensional. it's just a kick, simple bassline and looped vocal. every one of his tunes is the same. it's nice that they use them to join tracks but they're very plain tracks on their own.

Faxed Invitation needs that guitar bit from the version that opened the Lux gig.

the only tracks i don't enjoy on the album are the 2min ambient songs - To Heal, Cuddle Bunny, whatever the other one is called.

Peach Tree and Loads of Birds are both better.

the joy of the digital age is we can create a cd or mp3 playlist with exactly what songs in what order we want. Underworld have put out the album they wanted to deliver. we can assemble the tracks however we want. we all win.