Best Martha & The Muffins album

There are quite a few. Even some modern ones. Got any faves? I thought i’d like the debut but it’s go too much annoying saxophone.

 

By far, This is the Ice Age.

Such a great record. Let’s call it swimming!

 

I'm going to go ahead and agree with Chemguy. This is the Ice Age continues to be worthy decades on.. but if you hate saxophone of course you need to be cautious of the 80's....

 

Yep. The Canadian, fraternal twin of Remain In Light in some spots

 

Definitely the classic Danseparc. One of the best New Wave albums in my book, every song is a winner!

 

Agreed, This is the Ice Age is the best album. But the underappreciated Trance & Dance has what may be their best single track:

 

I love saxophone in jazz, and mostly near detest it in rock. Funny but i get why. Same w guitar the other way round. is there sax on Ice Age?

 

And for the first time in near 50 years of listening I’m more enjoying the keyboard stuff and not needing guitars. That’s why i am thrilled to have discovered the Toronto band FM. I’m not here for the saxophone either haha.

 

Yes, but used differently than before. It’s more a “soundscape “ album.

 

Yeah that was great, great w the video.

 

Gotcha

 

Definitely This Is The Ice Age. They were on a lower budget and had lost two members - keyboard player Martha Ladly (also a key songwriter) and bass player Carl Finkle - so new bass player Jocelyne Lanois suggested using her brother Daniel for his first ever production job. Of course, it sounds fantastic on top of the songs being all A+ (You Sold The Cottage is literally the anti-Echo Beach to boot)

Saying that, first album (Metro Music) is a new wave classic and full of amazing songs. Second album is good but far from great, mostly because it was very rushed (came out only a few months after Metro Music).

For me that applies to Danseparc but it’s a good call.

 

1. Danceparc
2. This is the Ice Age

3. Metro Music
4. Mystery Walk

5. Trance & Dance

 

Definitely This Is The Ice Age, how I love that album!

 

Metro Music is certainly their most consistent, packed with great pop songs (with a couple of diversions into progressive territory on "Saigon" and "The Sinking Land"), but This Is The Ice Age is certainly their most original and accomplished.

 

Trance and Dance, definitely. Very fun, almost like a lost B-52's album. I love This Is The Ice Age as well, very artsy and different than the first two albums. I tried to do an expanded CD reissue of Metro Music but received a denial for it a few weeks ago. The band had been saying for some time they were doing a 2 CD edition but there's been nothing announced in all that time.

 

Yeap

 

Has anybody listened to their 90s and 2010 albums?

 

I also came here to say this - Danseparc is a masterpiece, and the remaster by Scott Davies is superb on Cherry Red.

Martha And The Muffins / M + M – Danseparc (2008, CD)

 

Actually, I didn't remaster it. I suggested the reissue and CR were going to have me 'remaster' with their usual cost-saving method, meaning they wanted me to work from the previous One Way CD and vinyl. Since the band got involved, they worked to get the original masters sourced for the project, so I was relegated to a thank you credit.

 

Such a a great Canadian band! Here's a quick ranking. Difficult for me because the ones I like best [top 4] are so consistent!

1. The World Is A Ball
2. Mystery Walk
3. Danseparc
4. This Is The Ice Age
5. Metro Music
6. Trance + Dance
7. Modern Lullaby

I prefer their Art Funk direction to their New Wave era, but like almost all of it. The 1992 album drifts by my ears without doing too much.

 

Definitely This Is The Ice Age. I would say that every song on this album is a gem in its own way. You can't say that about many albums.

One caveat. The CD bonus tracks detract from the listening experience. The album was as close to perfect as you can get and needs no additions. For maximum effect, it should conclude with the powerful one-two punch of "300 Years/Chemistry" -- not the bonus tracks, which would work better on a rarities collection.

***

PS: There is a good interview from 2005 in the webzine Perfect Sound Forever that addresses the cult popularity of this album:
Perfect Sound Forever: Martha and the Muffins interview

 

Tough one. I'm a huge fan of the first four. The fifth one is good IMHO but a slight step down. I don't know the stuff after that at all.

If I had to pick one I might say "This Is The Ice Age".

 

While we are on this subject, anyone care to mention their favorite CD editions of their albums? I've mainly got M&M stuff on vinyl with Metro Music being the only one I have both CD and vinyl versions of. I'd like to get CD versions of the others I have. Mainly concerned with the first 5 albums. Thanks.

 

I think there's only one choice for Trance and Dance and Ice Age. They both sound pretty good if not a bit too loud. For Danseparc and Mystery Walk, I stick to the 2 on 1 One Way CD. The standalone CD of Danseparc isn't bad and it has extra tracks, but the standalone of Mystery Walk is too loud and they used some very intrusive noise reduction on the quiet intros that the One Way CD didn't use.