quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:

quote:

Originally posted by Shadrach:
I'm interested in what other people think of the "Solo Acoustic Demo Disk" that came as a bonus with preorders. As I was saying in another thread, I think some of the songs (The two "Hand" songs especially" are better stripped down and accoustic than they are in their final form. Or they at least helped me appreciate the actual music of the pieces a lot better. And the harmonic at the end of "Girl in Port" is excellent. I can't believe they cut it from the final album.

I just got around to hearing this, front to back, and I agree with you that it is great. I don't think that I would prefer some of the acoustic versions to the album versions but hearing them back and forth is nice. It is nice to know how the album started and if you like the acoustic version then you should love the album version. I still really love this album and I hope everyone gives it a fair, honest shot.

I think everyone on this board has, FKA... whether due to your preaching it from the mountaintops or not.

I agree completely with FKA. Great album all the way around. It's definitely album of the year for me right now.

I never expected Stage Names to be better than Black Sheep Boy. BSB is one of my favorite albums ever. I can't express how much I love that album. It's right in there with NMH's 'aeroplane'. But it's so nice to see a band with the kind of talent it takes to release a superb follow-up. So many one hit wonders out there today.

Cokemachineglow shat on this album. Not surprising considering that Will Scheff was a dick to them when they interviewed him.

Honestly I agree with a lot of what Cokemachine says about the album. I still would give it an 85 though. There review hardly warrants a 65.

Listened to this album on the way to class tonight, and for the first time, it really connected. The first six songs are great, like album-of-the-year great, but the last 3 songs are just mediocre. It'll probably make my top-15 at the end of the year. I just wish they'd had 3 more good songs to go with those first 6.

The new Okkervil is still top five for me, but that's mostly because I love the middle three songs , but, as ericg75 pointed out, the next two songs (#7 & 8) have lyrical tie-ins and character references to the earlier songs, so it does seem relatively strong all the way through. At least, if you care for that sorta thing.

I don't care for that sort of thing.

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Originally posted by RavingLunatic:
...like album-of-the-year great, but...

Well at least it was close. It's probably my album of the year now and I love it. All of it is strong and as mark and eric have stated the songs have some nice, smart tie-ins. Maybe with a few more listens you will see that the entire album is tremendous.

I don't think I could ever like that last song, especially not with that "balls removed" line. I have to cringe for a full minute every time I hear that one.

It's not literal; only figurative. Hey, the band needs a rest after all their touring (sailing) and just have to get home from "the worst trip I've ever been on." I agree that the "Sloop John B" reference is a bone, but it makes a lot more sense than just a throwaway-bone closer. Besides, my wife loves to sing along to that part! (Not the balls stuff )

There are actually several different---boom! I just nailed a mosquito that was feeding on my forearm---musical parts to that last song, and I do enjoy the hooks on a couple of the later parts. So it isn't a total waste of a track I guess. I feel similarly about The Stage Names as I do about Black Sheep Boy. Both have some un-frickin-believable songs, but there are a few duds on both. On Black Sheep Boy, there's "A King and A Queen," "A Stone," "So Come Back, I Am Waiting," and "A Glow." Overall, both albums are good, but just miss from being all-time greats.

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Originally posted by RavingLunatic:
I don't think I could ever like that last song, especially not with that "balls removed" line. I have to cringe for a full minute every time I hear that one.

I thought you don't pay attention to lyrics.

And yes, mark is correct (as usual) that it's a figurative line. I'm not sure if you paid attention to the entire song, but it's about the last years of poet John Berryman's life and his subsequent suicide. In that line, Will Sheff, singing from the POV of Berryman, calls himself "a fall-down drunk with his tongue torn out and his balls removed", which is really a fancy way of saying he was washed up. Where he used to do something he felt was important, he was now just going through the motions, teaching at a university.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: EricG75,

Yeah, either way, I agree with the Lunatic. He said "Balls Removed" and wether it's a metaphor or not, the shock of it is still there. And the image... and the "feeling"... and the word Balls.

Obviously you guys are no fans of AC/DC's "Big Balls".

Good grief man, no more B-word.

"People think I'm into sports because I'm a man. But I'm not into sports. I like Gatorade, but that's about as far as it goes. By the way, you don't have to be sweaty and play basketball to enjoy Gatorade. You can just be a thirsty dude. Gatorade forgets about this demographic."

Personally, I like the "Sloop John B" reference. I thought it was a clever, original, and possibly cruel approach to suicide. I'll credit them with this: I'll never hear "Sloop John B" the same way. As a whole, the album is probably top five for me. I've been giving it a lot of plays. Several songs have a chance to make my song list as well.

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Originally posted by MajorNougat:
Personally, I like the "Sloop John B" reference. I thought it was a clever, original, and possibly cruel approach to suicide. I'll credit them with this: I'll never hear "Sloop John B" the same way. As a whole, the album is probably top five for me. I've been giving it a lot of plays. Several songs have a chance to make my song list as well.

I completely agree with you, Nougat. I also really like the use of "Sloop John B" and it ends the album in such a fittingly beautiful manner. It surely is one of the best of year and argubaly, the best album of the year--or have I said that already?

I agree. I listened to it at work today, and everybody perked up, and asked, "Hey, what's this?" One smart ass, who always likes to give me crap about my musical taste said something that I had thought, but hadn't said. There are one or two tracks that sound a bit like the Wallflowers.

I can't understand all that super excitement for that album. It's good, it contains really surprising songs, but i don't think it will make my top 5 of the year. Definitively a different record compared to black sheep boy