Sunny D
Midnight Hauler
"We've gotta try a little harder..."
Posts: 1,900
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Post by Sunny D on Mar 27, 2014 0:47:01 GMT -5
So with the release of Teeth Dreams I'm reminded of the negativity many people have/had towards Heaven Is Whenever.
Can we all agree that Heaven Is Whenever is a fantastic album, but just fails to live up to Hold Steady standards?
The ultra-nostalgic recollection "Sweet Part Of The City", the worthy sequel to "Chips Ahoy!" and nearly as catchy "The Weekenders," the regrettably relatable "Rock Problems," the ultra dark climax "A Slight Discomfort" (which might be about Holly's relapse but who knows?)...
Also that bonus track Touchless is... untouchable.
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Post by muzzleofbees on Mar 27, 2014 1:31:24 GMT -5
Can we all agree that Heaven Is Whenever is a fantastic album, but just fails to live up to Hold Steady standards? Yes. I really liked upon release, maybe even more than I liked Stay Positive when it came out. I've been going back through the catalog in the weeks leading up to TD release, and in hindsight I think those two records are equally good, even equally great. But as you say, they lacked a little bit to reach up to the perfection from the earler records. I still think it makes a pleasant listening. It sounds like a real album, the sequencing makes sense, and even though I understand that the production is debated, it also sounds kind of... fresh. It might not be the best way to dress up a Hold Steady records, but I still enjoy the bright and glossy sound, if only for the change of style and tone. Sweet Part Of The City, Rock Problems and Our Whole Lives are classics to me. And even the songs I care the least about, has some great parts (the bridge in The Smidge, Craigs lyrics in the verses of Barely Breathing, the way Soft In The Center flourishes when the tempo drops in the chours). A decent Hold Steady album, a great rock'n'roll album. |
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stringer
Has Status
Seein' my duty clear.
Posts: 2,702
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Post by stringer on Mar 27, 2014 5:14:19 GMT -5
I never disliked HiW. I think it's a great album.
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Post by kickingitwithkevin on Mar 27, 2014 5:30:42 GMT -5
I never got the lack of love for HiW. Callbacks (Weekenders, Our Whole Lives), shout outs (Barely Breathing), stellar guitar playing plus Craig really sings. Drop the needle on Sweet Part of the City and say the production doesn't rule, and that bassline is so cool.. Maybe collectively we were all a bit bummed out by Franz going and that caused emotional ripples, but that doesn't detract from the fact that it is (again) an awesome set of tunes. I'm not much for ranking the albums - it's a big world with enough room for all - but I do go back to it more than SP.
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robs
Hoodrat
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Post by robs on Mar 27, 2014 5:39:04 GMT -5
I loved it then, love it now. As a complete album to listen straight through, I prefer it to both SP and BAGIA. A lot of the reviews of Teeth Dreams seem to start with a negative, revisionist take on HiW.
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Post by muzzleofbees on Mar 27, 2014 6:09:02 GMT -5
I loved it then, love it now. As a complete album to listen straight through, I prefer it to both SP and BAGIA. A lot of the reviews of Teeth Dreams seem to start with a negative, revisionist take on HiW. It wasn't recieved very well upon original release as well. It wasn't butchered, but it seemed like reviewers (even then) felt it was a bit of letdown after Stay Positive. I'm not sure if its a revisionist thing. To me, Stay Positive was sort of disappointing. I still find great pleasure in that record as well, but I felt it was a step down. Maybe it was the expectations that had changed, or maybe it was (what then felt like) the long gap between the albums, but HiW to me felt fresh and good. |
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Post by Fine Malt Lyrics on Mar 27, 2014 6:47:44 GMT -5
For an album that was supposed to be a disappointment, I sure do listen to it a lot. "A Slight Discomfort" is one of the best THS tracks ever. That said, I'm glad I have the RSD vinyl version, because the actual album art is...yikes.
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Post by delboydrums on Mar 27, 2014 7:10:09 GMT -5
I never disliked HiW. I think it's a great album. Me too. We can get together is beautiful. |
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Post by angelalcohol on Mar 27, 2014 7:14:55 GMT -5
I don't think THS is in their comfort zone at that time. Whole record seems like an experiment
(If you were born original every experiment makes you mediocre); more direct, more traditional rock sound over most confident narrative. But musically it feels cohesive and punchy. I think it's a good record for the fans. For others, well, It's a very bad place to start..
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Post by bobsacamano on Mar 27, 2014 7:21:57 GMT -5
I remember when "Barely Breathing" first worked its way into setlists, it sure seemed like a lot of folks felt like it was bound for THS classic status. It's a damn good song and I wish it wouldn't have disappeared.
I think the album has some great, great songs. "The Weekenders" is top-5 stuff, "Our Whole Lives" is a gem, and "We Can Get Together" is thoroughly underrated. The transition from the outro to "Hurricane J" is absolutely perfect. Plus, "Ascension Blues" is one of my favorite b-sides ever. That song rips.
Sure, there are a couple songs I could do without ("The Smidge" and "Rock Problems" generally do nothing for me), but hell, not everything can be perfect. I guess there has to be a "worst" THS album, and if this is it, we are so goddamn lucky.
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Post by doctoracula on Mar 27, 2014 7:40:09 GMT -5
I never disliked HiW. I think it's a great album. Same here. It gets way too much hate |
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Post by infinitejest on Mar 27, 2014 8:14:24 GMT -5
Never disliked it, but it's not on the same level as the others. Actually, maybe I like it about as much as Boys & Girls overall.
I didn't like the production on HiW at all. But I think "We Can Get Together" is real underrated and of course both "Hurricane J" and "The Weekenders" are great live. I tend to enjoy most of the other songs on there, too.
I think what bummed me and a bunch of other people out about the record is how fairly stagnant and staid it seemed. Although I don't personally like Boys & Girls all that much, I fully understand why it's a popular record. I still enjoy most of the songs on there.
Heaven is Whenever I just don't think is an exhilarating record. All the others are, in some way.
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mcstevepants
Hoodrat
Shaky but still tryin' to shake it.
Posts: 400
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Post by mcstevepants on Mar 27, 2014 8:18:59 GMT -5
I love 8 of the 10 tracks. I only am not so hot about 'soft in the center' and 'our whole lives'.
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Post by teethdreams82 on Mar 27, 2014 8:43:36 GMT -5
Agreed. I think that maybe overall it's their weakest album to date. That being said, I think it's still a great album. A weak Hold Steady album is still always a great rock record it seems. I mean, 'The Smidge", "Hurricane J", "The Sweet Part Of The City" are awesome tracks and some of my absolute favorite in THS's catalog. The only tracks I really don't care for are "We Can Get Together" and "Barely Breathing". Never liked those tracks, but the rest of the album more than makes up for it. I was surprised to read that many people in this forum didn't care for "Stay Positive" as much as the first 3 albums. "Stay Positive" is actually my second fav HS album after "Sep Sunday".
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Post by mja271 on Mar 27, 2014 8:49:19 GMT -5
I don't think it's a bad album, but I never thought, and still don't think, that it lives up to the typical THS standard. Granted that's a very high standard to hit, but it just doesn't quite "get there" for me. The production and the way the actual album sounds as a whole has a lot to do with my standing on it. Some of the songs are quite good, and are great live, but I find that the actual album does not have a very good relisten quality. Easily the album I return to the least. I personally don't get people thinking it's on equal footing with SP, to me that album is much better overall.
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dabook
True Scene Leader
Posts: 520
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Post by dabook on Mar 27, 2014 9:03:42 GMT -5
Of all the THS albums its the one I listen to the least. I think for me it seems like a ball of cotton in a box of rocks.
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Post by doctoracula on Mar 27, 2014 9:05:01 GMT -5
Stay Positive is a goddamn masterpiece. Its a close second to Separation Sunday for me.
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Post by pers0na on Mar 27, 2014 9:40:09 GMT -5
Loved HiW, always loved it. But as others have said, just not quite as much as the other albums. But they are all great. I'll be very pleased if I like the new one as much as SP or HiW, which are my two least favourite albums, but are still bloody brilliant.
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Post by thunderbirdcarpet on Mar 27, 2014 9:47:22 GMT -5
I've grown to really like it, but I think a lot of that is because I had so long to wait for "Teeth Dreams".
The lyrics just never grabbed me the way earlier albums did, I think mainly because of a lack of specificity to the details and locations. Ironically, hyper-specific details also made the other albums more universal.
I always thought of HiW as sort of a 'eulogy' album, with the earlier discs being the arc of a life/lifestyle, culminating in the darkness of "SP". Honestly, I kind of thought the band would end there, having played out that story, if that makes sense. I'm really glad I was wrong.
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Post by teethdreams82 on Mar 27, 2014 10:27:11 GMT -5
"SP" on vinyl is the only way to hear it, I've discovered. The tracklist is slightly different on the vinyl version and I personally prefer that order over the cd/mp3 versions. It also adds the bonus track "Ask Her For Adderall," which should have made it on that album anyway because it's one of the best tracks from those sessions I think. Sorry to steer off topic, since this is supposed to be about "HIW," but I just had to throw that in there.
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Post by reallystickyglue on Mar 27, 2014 10:36:07 GMT -5
"SP" on vinyl is the only way to hear it, I've discovered. The tracklist is slightly different on the vinyl version and I personally prefer that order over the cd/mp3 versions. Really? That's interesting. Can you post the full tracklist? |
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Post by teethdreams82 on Mar 27, 2014 10:53:34 GMT -5
"Stay Positive" Vinyl Edition
Side 1: Constructive Summer, Sequestered In Memphis, One For The Cutters
Side 2: Navy Sheets, Yeah Sapphire, Lord, I'm Discouraged
Side 3: Both Crosses, Stay Positive, Joke About Jamaica
Side 4: Ask Her For Adderall, Magazines, Slapped Actress
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Post by thunderbirdcarpet on Mar 27, 2014 10:58:59 GMT -5
"Stay Positive" Vinyl Edition Side 1: Constructive Summer, Sequestered In Memphis, One For The Cutters Side 2: Navy Sheets, Yeah Sapphire, Lord, I'm Discouraged Side 3: Both Crosses, Stay Positive, Joke About Jamaica Side 4: Ask Her For Adderall, Magazines, Slapped Actress That's really interesting! I'll have to make a playlist and hear it that way. That said, the transition of "Joke About Jamaica" into "Slapped Actress" might be my favorite of all of the albums. That or "Crucifixion Cruise" into "Resurrection". |
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Post by doctoracula on Mar 27, 2014 11:42:55 GMT -5
The SP vinyl sequence is the only way to go. I mentioned it in another thread recently. It works so damn well
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robs
Hoodrat
Posts: 297
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Post by robs on Mar 27, 2014 11:47:48 GMT -5
"Stay Positive" Vinyl Edition Side 1: Constructive Summer, Sequestered In Memphis, One For The Cutters Side 2: Navy Sheets, Yeah Sapphire, Lord, I'm Discouraged Side 3: Both Crosses, Stay Positive, Joke About Jamaica Side 4: Ask Her For Adderall, Magazines, Slapped Actress Is this the only way to get Ask her for Adderall as a studio version (the only version I can get hold of in the UK seems to be on A Positive Rage)? |
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