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Post by sickmouthy on May 11, 2009 14:53:59 GMT
If you keep using lousy pseudo-pejoratives to describe this album ("collection of fairly accessible Patrick Wolf songs, as opposed to a true album" maaaaan, as if you were describing someone with leprosy), than I'm gonna keep smiting you. Sorry for not having my head up Patrick's arse. Genius.
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Post by cmj on May 11, 2009 15:11:18 GMT
I'm sorry, I don't watch the Inbetweeners. What?
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Post by sickmouthy on May 11, 2009 15:20:16 GMT
Well, when discussion gets reduced to "head up arse" type insults, Will (pictured) generally deadpans the word "genius" at the offender. I was gonna 'shop the word into a speech bubble but frankly couldn't be bothered.
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Post by sickmouthy on May 11, 2009 15:20:37 GMT
Or maybe he says "brilliant"? Perhaps it varies.
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Post by Roxy on May 11, 2009 17:00:27 GMT
I love the album. I think I just don't listen to it as much as I would Patrick normally because I am just not as ridiculously obsessive about everything-Patrick as I once was. More to do with growing up than the quality of music. But in all technicalities, I think this is Patrick's best album. It is a bit epic, but I think he wanted that (didn't he mention an admiration of Joanna Newsom's Ys a while back? When I first heard Ys I was like WTF but then you realize that it is actually genius, and one of your favorite artist's trying something new. I would say the same for Patrick with The Bachelor.) First of all, I think "The Bachelor" is the best track on the album. It is SO different not only from anything Patrick has ever attempted, but from basically anything else anyone else is attempting in the music industry right now, and yet, IT SOUNDS SO FUCKING GOOD! I still don't know who the other person singing on it is...but that person's voice works hella good. I just love this song so much. Other songs like "Oblivion", "Hard Times", and "Theseus" are just sooo good. The Sun is Often Out, Damaris, and Blackdown really stir emotion. Actually, I think part of the reason why I don't listen to this album on repeat is because it really is EMOTIONAL. And there is nothing wrong with that, but it does take a lot of you to listen. Count of Casualty is probably my second favorite song on the album. It's just...genius. I think the ONLY song I was disappointed with is Battle. I don't think it's a bad song at all, it just doesn't have the magic the other songs do. So I can't really give it a number. My two favorite Wolf albums will always be the first two, mainly because of personal ties with them? But I would rate this album very, very high.
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Post by Roxy on May 11, 2009 17:02:43 GMT
OH by the way, I predict him getting a lot of fame with this album because *yes* there are a lot of marketable tracks. I think Hard Times will go a long way when it is released, I think him touring with Nylon will get even more annoying 12 year-olds to like his music, but I don't have a problem with any of this...BECAUSE WE INVESTED MONEY IN HIM SO WE MAKE MONEY TOO YAY.
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trixie
Libertine
stay blind to my future and fate
Posts: 124
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Post by trixie on May 11, 2009 20:11:16 GMT
Kriespel - I'm not able to rate it,but I think it's a good introduction Hard Times - 6 Oblivion - 7 The Bachelor - 8 Damaris - 7,5 Thickets - 8 Count of casualty - 6 Who will? - 7,5 Vulture - 6,5 Blackdown - 7 The sun is often out - 7 Theseus - 8 Battle - 7 The Messenger - 7
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boingoksf
Apparition
Handsome Devil
Posts: 49
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Post by boingoksf on May 12, 2009 1:56:22 GMT
Lycanthropy > The Bachelor > Wind in the Wires > The Magic Position
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Post by cmj on May 12, 2009 9:30:11 GMT
Lycanthropy = WITW > TMP >>>> The Bachelor for me.
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Post by liam9976 on May 12, 2009 9:42:25 GMT
Wind In The Wires > Lycanthropy > Magic Position > The Bachelor I'm afraid.
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Post by sickmouthy on May 12, 2009 11:03:43 GMT
WITW > The Bachelor > The Magic Position > Lycanthropy
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Post by Self Destruction on May 12, 2009 12:40:07 GMT
*Joins the party*
WITW > TMP > Lycanthropy > The Bachelor, I'm afraid.
The Bachelor feels like a collection of songs rather than an album...but a damn good collection!
Just to show how much of a Patrick Fanboy I am...
Joy Division > The Cure > Clinic > School of Seven Bells > The Twilight Sad > Patrick Wolf >>>>>>>>>>>> ANYTHING ELSE THAT HAS EVER EXISTED OR WILL EVER EXIST =D
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Post by comaman on May 12, 2009 14:55:26 GMT
Reg. what I wrote about the production: I used the term 'flat' when it comes to the layers of a song. Take, for example, VULTURE: it sounds like a guy on a Casio, ca. 1993, and Patrick singing over it. If that is what hewanted and loves the track, I'm fine with that. It's just not as much my taste as WHO WILL?, which has many layers and different things going on sonically. And I have the same problem with DAMARIS, which is a great song, but somehow sounds very one dimensional. It's not about that he recorded it in a studio - the drums and the electronic beats have a very sterile feel to it for my taste. And yeah, I'm listening to the CD.
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Post by dot on May 12, 2009 20:00:52 GMT
I haven't listened to Bachelor yet, but I'm curious as to whether you guys that have it think that it is the kind of album that will grow on you? On the whole people seem to be not that positive about it, but I wonder whether views will change at all.
Also, I do have other issues with you all rating his album on the official forum before it's even released, especially in a negative way when lots of you don't even have the proper CD (though I don't know how the quality of the illegal downloads compares to the actual CD). But I guess there's not much that can be done about it once it's leaked.
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Post by cmj on May 12, 2009 20:45:12 GMT
I haven't listened to Bachelor yet, but I'm curious as to whether you guys that have it think that it is the kind of album that will grow on you? No it's not; those albums are generally the best but I already knew most of these songs before the album anyway and some have just got worse with further listens (whilst a few songs like The Bachelor are fucking incredible and will stay that way).
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Post by sickmouthy on May 12, 2009 21:14:51 GMT
Are people who are disappointed with the album generally either a; people who've heard some of these songs lots of times in different (presumably live) versions before hearing recorded versions on the album, and b; generally quite young? Because I a; haven't, and b; am gonna be 30 in 2 days.
As far as the former goes, I think knowing some songs in advance, especially in different, less adorned forms, is going to strongly colour one's opinion of the arrangements (the new arrangements are not what you're used to) and of the perceived flow and cohesion of the record.
And for the latter, I'm not a serious Patrick "fan" like I imagine some are; I'm a jaded old cynical ex-music journalist who thinks he's brilliant [Patrick, not myself, before anyone comments] - I don't particular identify with him, although he has written songs about where I grew up. And (sorry to preposition at the start of a sentence) I think with this album Patrick's growing pretty far away from the kind of persona that was evident on his first album (which, a few songs aside, I'm not that arsed about compared to his later stuff).
As for the potential of this album to be a grower; I think the songs are produced in such a way that there's plenty to be revealed sonically on repeat listens (I'm noticing stuff new after a couple of dozen listens - the cutlery percussion on [is it?] Count of Casualty, for instance, or the little processed violin loop in the right channel of the verses of Vulture) (plus it's not mastered at all fatiguingly), and I also think there's enough imagery and interpretation in the lyrics and twists in the tunes to keep you intrigued. There's also, simply, quite a lot of music to get to know here - 14 tracks, 13 of which are full "songs", with no segues or instrumentals.
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Post by fluorescence on May 12, 2009 21:25:01 GMT
I haven't listened to Bachelor yet, but I'm curious as to whether you guys that have it think that it is the kind of album that will grow on you? On the whole people seem to be not that positive about it, but I wonder whether views will change at all. I'm undecided as to how I really feel about The Bachelor, and I've listened to it at least thirty times through, with some individual songs getting even more play than that. Some of the songs that I didn't really like at first HAVE already grown on me. TMP took a while to grow on me, so maybe eventually I'll totally love this one. Many of the lyrics aren't really grabbing me and there are some songs that I would like better if they were more stripped down. For example, Oblivion is great in its own way, and I really love it now, but I took a while to come around to it since I saw "Barghest" performed live and that colored my expectations. But the order the songs go in was clearly chosen meticulously, there are a few songs that I just can't stop listening to, and Patrick's voice has never sounded better. I've seen really strong accolades from people who are NEW to Patrick Wolf, so perhaps people here are being especially hard on The Bachelor because one of their favorite musicians didn't go in the direction that they wanted. I have to say that it sounds infinitely better on my good headphones than it does on my cheapo computer speakers. I can see why someone would complain about flat or overproduced sound if they were listening through crappy speakers or headphones, since the way the songs are arranged and the variety of instruments that are used really benefit from clear, well-rounded sound quality. The article about mixing/mastering/etc someone linked earlier was spot on when it said that just as you don't judge art by black and white xerox copies, you shouldn't judge music wearing some tinny standard issue ipod earbuds and listening to 128kbps mp3s. Sure you can tell whether or not a song is catchy that way, but you aren't going to really feel the texture of the music. But I digress! All that isn't to say that the most adamant detractors of The Bachelor would necessary like it if they put on some expensive headphones... there are so many more other voices and elements involved on this album (choirs, Tilda, Alec-empire collaborations, Eliza Carthy, guitars) that it sounds very different from any earlier Patrick Wolf album. (I personally don't know how I feel about some of those stylistic choices, this album is SO dense and packed with music that I feel like I won't be able to make up my mind for a while.) But then again, Lycanthropy and WITW and TMP were all very different from each other too. Wind in the Wires is probably my favorite album of all time, but I've accepted that he's not going to make another WITW (as much as I'd love him to, hah), he's going to keep evolving and exploring new sounds. Oops... this was longer than I wanted it to be.
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Post by jay on May 12, 2009 21:29:47 GMT
As far as the former goes, I think knowing some songs in advance, especially in different, less adorned forms, is going to strongly colour one's opinion of the arrangements (the new arrangements are not what you're used to) and of the perceived flow and cohesion of the record. i remember when i first heard a version of magpie live... it was just on ukulele and clearly very unfinished, but i fell in love with it, and the same with an early live version of get lost. i only hoped that they retained some of that initial 'wow factor' i felt when i first heard them when they were polished up into album versions. in the end, i felt that they changed so dramatically i often regard them as completely different tracks to their earlier, live counterparts. i love them both but in different ways. i wasn't disappointed at all, but you're right, it did 'colour my opinion' before i heard TMP. i've not heard many bare-bones style 'bachelor' songs on tour, unless there are some i can't recall? the first time i heard anything was vulture at the finale show, and by that point work on the album had already started, so it was all pretty much done as a package and performed with the full band etc as well. all of the bachelor songs i've heard live since then have been live versions of their album counterpart, if that makes sense (aside from the first bandstocks gig, where everything was acoustic and lovely). the only song i'm really worried about on this album is theseus. that live bootleg has been floating around for absolutely ages and if pushed, that IS my absolute favourite song by patrick, and i will be seriously sulky if it's ruined by tilda's voiceover/too much added extras.
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Post by horrorshock666 on May 12, 2009 22:46:35 GMT
I'll try and keep this short and sweet, because i have not actually heard the album and thus am not adding to the titled discussion as such.
One thing i can say is from what i gather is the same as Jay as in what i have heard are the live rips from the tour. If the live rip of Vulture is anything to go by, then the live rips will be pretty similar to the recorded songs and this could be down to backing tracks being used or whatever.
From the live rips, i can safely say that the material sounds promising to me, and it seems as if some of the new songs could be up there with my fave Patrick songs so far. One thing i will say is that with everything, not everyone is going to like it. Of course there will be people who really dislike this album and vice versa.
Personally, i really hope that if there are songs that do not instantly take a liking to me (or should that be me to them?), that i will hear them and like them more over time, or maybe come back to them after and like them. I did the same with Lycanthropy, i disliked the second half of that album for quite some time, but after letting them rest, listening every once in a while and giving them a chance to grow on me, they did just that and i love that whole album very much now.
Okay, i'll leave this now... Im adding nothing to the discussion and i'm not really making sense any more. Tiredness kills indeed (the mind and senses in this case).
I'll be glad to finally hear it though! Thats fo'sho!
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Post by Xteenuh on May 13, 2009 2:07:24 GMT
the only song i'm really worried about on this album is theseus. that live bootleg has been floating around for absolutely ages and if pushed, that IS my absolute favourite song by patrick, and i will be seriously sulky if it's ruined by tilda's voiceover/too much added extras. Yeah, I ADORED that live bootleg for a long time and I personally think the album version came out beautifully. It's actually not too overdone with arrangements and things and you still hear that similar sort of just-uke sound in the beginning, and Tilda's narration works perfectly and Patrick's voice sounds BEAUTIFUL on it. In relation to his other albums, it's so hard for me to rank them because I love all of them and ones especially depending on my mood. I think the thing people are finding to be really different about The Bachelor is that in terms of content, it seems to deals more with external struggles (war hate relationships etc.) than say Lycanthropy and Wind in the Wires which are very very internal-struggles based and that of course is something a lot of earlier fans were very strongly able to identify with more personally. Though some songs like Theseus and Thickets and parts of Blackdown are incredible internal-struggles based songs.
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