 |
 |
|
|
buying more than one thing? (uses Multi-Item Price Optimization™) ...or |
||
 |
 |
intereact!Muse
Retail Price (not our price): $13.98
Release Date: 2004-03-23
Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea
Format: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Track List
Now here, for your listening pleasure, the tracks...
| Disc 1 |
Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
1) Amazon.com
One can't listen to Muse without hearing Bends-era Radiohead, so it's necessary to start there. But for all the familiar grandeur and gloom, Muse's other catharsis-rock influences, like Queen, Slade, and even Black Sabbath, provide the band with a dazzling, heart-on-their-sleeves theatricality. Always threatening to layer on another falsetto from singer Matt Bellamy, or conjure more guitar crunch from the ether, Absolution is downright Baroque in parts, like a Rufus Wainwright-penned rock opera fantasy. Yes, the record is completely unoriginal. But when these guys let it rip, there's no doubt they have the fever. "Stockholm Syndrome," for one, could only be produced by True Believers with a lust for power chord drama, full of angst, envy, and the bitter end of it all. If you wish a certain Thom Yorke-led outfit from Oxford had made another record or two before evolving into minor-key art rockers, Muse carry the torch for another few miles, gloriously and tragically unaware that they're running in circles. --Matthew Cooke
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5
1) Muse Just after their peak [Rating: 4 out of 5]
I'll admit it would be difficult to top Origin of Symetry. But this album is still amazing it just takes more time and has a few more disapointing tracks: 1. Intro 7/10. Hard to rate an intro but they could have made it better. A crescendo (gradually getting louder) of marching with some guy saying something and then... 2. Appocalypse please 8/10. Crazy pianos with Matt claiming it is the end of the world. Don't knock it until you've heard it a couple of times. 3. Time is running out 9/10. The popular song that gets everyone cheering in a live performance because all the posers only remember that song. Starts quiet and electronic and builds up to a rocky chorus. Mainstream but good. 4. Sing for absolution 9/10. Very calm and creepy pianos with some high echoey vocals from Matt. It's very atmospheric and has a gargly guitar solo near the end. One of the growers. 5. Stockholm Syndrome 10/10. Amazing beginning riff with Matt wailing emotionally. But then the chorus along with a piano and choir comes in and it feels really beautiful. If you don't like this song I'd suggest a different album. One of the highlights. 6. Falling away with you 9/10. It starts off quiet and then explodes into a chorus with a chirpy guitar. Another grower. 7. Interlude 8/10. Well it's better than the intro. A guitar version of some opera which I've forgotten the name of. 8. Hysteria 10/10. One of Chris' best bassline quick and menacing. The guitars are great and Matt sings with power. The chorus is a bit simple though...oh well. Will grab you instantly. 9. Blackout 7/10. Very quiet. This song didn't do it for me and that's a shame because it sounds okay. I'll let you be the judge. 10. Butterflies and Hurricanes 9/10. Matt uses piano mainly on this track which is a refreshing change. He belts it out alot but deep down it reminds me of Queen's 'we are the champions' (don't ask why). Has a small piano solo as well which is pretty good. 11. The Small Print 10/10. Guitars are good and rocky and then Matt sings with great emotion. Short and sweet. 12. Endlessly 5/10. A filler. Keyboard is used but emotion hasn't been put into this track. 13. Thoughts of a dying atheist 9/10. A creepy song with Matt saying 'It scares the hell out of me!!!' A good song and has a interesting bawling guitar solo. 14. Rule by secrecy 4/10. Why carry the album on when it is fine as it is? Disapointingly dry and lack of anything in particular. A very good attempt by Muse and one of their best. It would come second to Origin of Symetry but still has more of a variety of sounds whether they work or not.2) Maestro Extraordinaire [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Thank you to "Christopher Wood" for saying what was exactly on my mind. As someone who has just recently gotten into Muse, I must say I did associate the music with Radiohead at times but never Matthew Bellamy's voice. To me, Matthew sounds more like Jeff Buckley. Thom Yorke's voice comes no where near Matthew's voice. Matthew sounds like he has been classically trained which from what I have read he hasn't been. Thom's voice is often off key and bland but he gets away with it with the fantastic music Radiohead produce. And having heard Muse perform live, I must say Matthew never misses a note and sends shivers down your spine with his vocal technique whereas from what I have heard of Thom Yorke live, this isn't the case. I'm not having a go at Radiohead in a any way. I have all their CDs and am listening to "In Rainbow" as I type and I can tell you now, IT IS NOTHING LIKE MUSE.I will even go so far as to say that Muse are the ultimate band of the naughties. They use grunge, fantastic vocals, great lyrics and classically inspired music to create a sound that is, I feel, absolutely unique.Ok I'm talking about 3 guys, a drummer, a bassist and a vocalist who alternates between lead guitar and keyboards absolutely rocking on either instrument.Look all I'm trying to say is, go out and buy either this album, Origin of Symmetry or Black Holes & Revelations and you won't be disappointed. If you really want a blast, purchase Muse Absolution Tour on DVD and then you will know why I love these guys.3) I'm in Absolution... Great Album. [Rating: 5 out of 5]
You know, honestly, I gotta say... I'm not sure where people are getting the "This sounds exactly like an imitation of Radiohead" crap. Ok, yes, Matthew Bellamy's vocal has some allusions to Thom Yorke's sound. I own The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A, and Hail to the Thief, and NOTHING on those albums even remotely resemble anything on Absolution. It is blatantly obvious that a majority of the detractors heard from their friends, or other various hearsay that Muse were a blatant rip-off of Radiohead. Then they listened to like three songs, and decided to say the same thing. As far as I'm concerned, Muse's sound is completely original, more approachable than Radiohead, cleaner, less annoying, and CATCHY. God... Apocalypse Please, Time is Running Out, Sing For Absolution, Stockholm Syndrome, Falling Away With You, Hysteria, Butterflies & Hurricanes, The Final Print, and especially Thoughts Of a Dying Atheist... THEY SOUND NOTHING LIKE RADIOHEAD. Not only that, they are absolutely fantastic songs. And they call sound different from one another each offering a different greatness, from the non-mainstream drumming in Apocalypse Please, to the great beat and riff synchronization in the 2nd verse of Time is Running Out, to the epic singing choral section in Sing For Absolution, to the passion of Falling Away With You, to the In Your Face guitar work in Stockholm Syndrome (which, I may add, is probably one of the most original songs I've heard in a very long time), and finally the greatness of Hysteria and Butterflies, and Atheist. This is what I ask of anybody with a free ear and an open mind when it comes to music. Ignore the pleas from the ignorant people senselessly stating that Muse is a Radiohead rip-off. While there are some distant similarities, Muse is completely their own band, and worlds far and away better than what Radiohead could ever be. Buy this album, give it a chance, and I guarantee you won't be disappointed.4.9/5 (sorry only Dream Theater's Scenes From a Memory gets a 5/5)4) (Title of the album). [Rating: 5 out of 5]
It's been four years since the album has been released, but the album seems to be able to sound fresh any time."Absolution" is an absolute masterpiece, artistically, musically, and conceptually. As each song is unique individually, I was surprised how well the album flowed and functioned together as a whole. They've thrown in all types of colors onto the black canvas and made something colorful and coherent. Rock, electronics, orchestral strings, piano... all blended into something so complex yet so controlled at the same time.. Every melody convey different emotions, and by the end of the album, I literally felt chills running down my back.Matt's vocal is definitely one of the most exotic vocals I've heard for a band, with his distinctive soft vibrato and flexible falsetto. When I think of a band, I believe that every unit of a band has equal importance to the song and to the album. In Muse songs, especially this album, he practically uses his voice as an instrument. Even the lyrics, though simple and limited in words, seem to function as a whole other unit to add rhythm to the songs. It's not about singing anymore, but about creating sophisticated music. That very fact sets Muse apart from other bands.The songs touch so many different realms that each song is a different experience. Most of the songs in here are rock-oriented, and then you suddenly have "Blackout" and "Butterfly and Hurricanes" that include classic, gorgeous strings and Matt's crazy piano. These different elements make the next track that follows refreshing from the previous.The album is a roller coaster ride, and "Rule by Secrecy" is such an elegant song to end the album with. It's mysterious and sounds like an elegy, but there's a quality of it that keeps you contemplating, meditating, as the album comes to a closure.Yes, Muse has Radiohead influences, but since when have artists not been influenced by others? Peter Paul Rubens have referred to Michelangelo. But to fuse those influences together with an original touch is also the ability of an artist. That is what Muse did here.5) Sonic attack [Rating: 4 out of 5]
Here's my five cent's worth... I prefer this album to Black Holes & R. Won't sway my allegience to Radiohead though. But boy can these guys swing a tune and throw it like ten buckets of mixed color paint on the blank canvas of your sonic landscape. Track 11 a bit of a dud. The rest is just a-ok. I like their intensity, their over-the-top full-frontal-attack attitude. A solid record for those who prefer melody with a kick in the pants.