Bittersweet is another nice song contributed by Ty. The melody is really good and I think the harmonies are great. Ty turns in a pair of tasty solos as well. Again, this could almost be a Ty solo song, but the bass line is so Doug that it get's the X stamp.
Catching up... Smudge I think could have used more work. I like the riff and that it might go somewhere more sinister than the typical King's X song. Whether they could have actually pulled off something like Tool, well this song doesn't make it. The chorus is a joke; ya know guys, I'm not going to forget I am listening to a King's X record in four minutes, I think you can explore another direction for a bit before doing the major chord deal! Plus they shift away from it before it's even over. A lot of these songs are based on riffs, so the same riff goes through the whole song. This one needs more of a changeup to not just take the journey from A to A like so many of these. Smudge needed improvement, but of course no songs were getting that kind of care at this point. Bittersweet is fine, it's complete as is, like the other Ty songs here. It's just so slight that I barely care about it. Especially after Charlie Sheen just two songs back, which is another that registers on the slight side. If the band had more songs under consideration for this album, I'd be fine with Bittersweet being set aside for something else. Obviously, that wasn't the case, so it's here. It is what it is.
Something I forgot to mention about this song that I like are the backing vocals. I believe, too, that Ty's picking style here is rooted in his bluegrass background.
I recall being very happy with "Please Come Home..." as I was so disappointed with its predecessor. And as I recently learned to appreciate "Tape Head" much much more I was afraid to give "Mr. Bulbous" a spin (it's been awhile...). Shouldn't have been, sounds great and brings back memories why I liked it so much back then.
That guitar part reminds me of a Genesis song from the "Wind And Wuthering" era. One of Rutherford's 12-string electric arpeggios. If I only could name the song...
Bitter Sweet I like this pretty but sad ballad. A lot of emotion in this one. A lot of hurt. I too would have liked a second verse, but it certainly makes its point with what's already there. Bitter Sweet also serves as a good palate cleanser before the final double dose of King's X heaviness that closes out the album.
Move Me (parts 1 and 2) The final track (or is it two?) on the album is a standout number, "Move Me". The lyrics were based on an idea of Doug Pinnick's. "I came up with those lyrics", he says. "More about my faith and losing it." "Move Me" is sung by Pinnick as well, but is supported by a second, counterpunctal vocal by Ty Tabor. Lyrically it contains references to their first album, as well as "When You're Scared". The song is divided into two separate tracks on Bulbous. The reasoning for this was that the band were asked by Metal Blade to submit atleast ten new tracks. As they only had nine, they simply split "Move Me" in half to meet the needed quota. As much as I dig this album, there are various aspects of it that frustrate me. This song features the most frustrating -- the division of "Move Me" into two parts. I don't keep this song in my King's X playlist because of that; if I listen on shuffle, it will either hit the first half of the song, which stops abruptly midway, or it will hit the second half and pick up in the middle of the song. Which, by the way, is followed by 3 minutes of dead space, and a "hidden track": the repetition of an earlier tongue-twister. Really? If a band is going to waste 3 minutes, why not just write another song? Maybe Doug recognized this in hindsight when he said Bulbous felt incomplete. But at any rate, it is a disservice to "Move Me", which is a really good song. Keeper of mysteries River of tears After it's over And after the years are passing Never asking What about miracles Faith in the space It keeps me guessing With nothing to hate I am lonely And unholy Everything matters A prayer when you're scared Boarded up windows And broken down chairs before morning Heard it storming (God can you hear me God can you see me cry, die) Handbook of rituals, hands in the air More than a give up, big as a care If you're daring And you're sharing Move me God, can you hear me cry God, can you see me die God can you move me Move me and move me again Out of the planet and into the silence Over the mountains in search of a crisis to find me If it should be Once I was told there's a race to be won Pointed the finger straight into the sun to be blinded and I minded (God can you hear me God can you see me cry, die) Wish I could whisper how much I need you After tomorrow I might forget to If it's only from a story Keeper of mysteries River of tears After it's over And after the years are passing Never asking Move me God, can you hear me cry God, can you see me die God can you move me Move me and move me again
Okay guys, that wraps up Bulbous. Certainly an interesting album, no matter how one feels. Good insight from everybody. I still feel this is a pretty good record. Doesn't compare with earlier albums but it is what it is. I think a problem for this album is that there is no classic on the level of, say, "Dogman" or "Mississippi Moon". But there are some solid album tracks. So, final thoughts, and tomorrow we start Manic Moonlight. Please Come Home ... Mr. Bulbous rankings Great: (none) Good: Fish Bowl Man She's Gone Away Marsh Mellow Field Charlie Sheen Move Me Average: Julia Smudge When You're Scared Bitter Sweet Skippable: (none)
I really like Move Me Pt. 1 & 2. Surprising I know as I like every song on this album (the first one since the self-titled). Nice riffs, catchy melody and cool harmonies/counter melodies. I think it is little lazy to split the song into 2 parts to meet contractual obligations and Pt. 2 starts to wear out it's welcome a couple of minutes in. Doug and Jerry's interplay toward the end are the only thing keeping me from cutting it off. I do cut it off after the song, I dislike the 'put a big gap between the final song and then some 'secret track'' thing bands do. I place this album in the #6 spot, just behind the first 5 albums, in the likeability category. Tapehead would be #7 and Ear Candy #8. The rest of the albums don't even compare for me, but I'm looking forward to going through them with you all.
Not a particular Move Me fan. It's the same as so many of these songs, a riff and that's the song. The song just goes on, 9 minutes long, and when you've heard the first minute you've heard all of it. Maybe if I felt the band was more excited to make this album, that would show through on songs like this, but it doesn't for me. Sounds more like a veteran band who can ably reproduce their sound, but where the esprit de corps is fast fading. She's Gone Away is head and shoulders above the rest, the only one that indicates emotional involvement, excitement, and smart changes. Charlie Sheen and Bittersweet are complete works but slight ones. The rest, if this was an Atlantic album and I worked for Atlantic, I would have rejected the album and asked King's X to do more work on it. I think the band meant well here, and did at least try to build out some ideas. Just didn't happen. The jam approach to writing didn't work as well as it did on Tapehead. At this point I'm looking at the solo albums and side projects and seeing things I'd prefer on a King's X album to what was released here. It's not going to get any better for a while, as far as the albums! So those who are able to enjoy Bulbous, it does provide more of the King's X sound than would be present for a while. For me, it's a substantial step down from Tapehead, and has aged poorly.
I do agree with this; and the lack of major label money handicapped them. You can hear the potential in this album (and the next) but they needed more work.
"Move Me" is my favorite song here on Bulbous and a great end to the album. I keep repeating myself discussing these songs, but I like the chord progression here in this one and love the vocal melodies. Some have said this album lacks emotion, but this track in particular seems to me to be delivered with an extra level of intensity/emotion. Doug's lead vocal with Ty doing counterpoint vocals behind him hits the spot for me.
Move Me (Parts one and two) A strong finish to a pretty solid album. Speaking as someone who used to be a believer and then got off of the train I can identify with the lyrics. I think there's plenty of emotion there, but it's an internal heartfelt type that doesn't call for vocal histrionics. I like the long ending as it harkens back to the band's earliest albums. Hearing Jerry cut loose a bit is always fun. As for Come Home...Mr. Bulbous, it's not up to the lofty standards of the first three, but it's still an enjoyable listen for this fan. I prefer it to the albums on either side--Tape Head and Manic Moonlight. It's more consistent than Dogman, but it doesn't reach that album's heights. I'd rank it around 5 or 6 in the band's discography--that is, the discography I've heard. I got off of the train after Manic Moonlight. I did hear Ogre Tones, and I did not like it.
'Bulbous' usually holds the 3rd best KX album for me, with 'Gretchen' and 'Faith Hope Love' being 1 and 2 respectively. I'm in the minority on this thought, but I think Bulbous still has the great vocal melodies that KX is known for, and I like the more experimental song structures and different approaches with the songs on this album. It just clicks with me. I'd break the songs down like this: Great Marsh Mellow Field When You're Scared Charlie Sheen Smudge Move Me Good Fish Bowl Man She's Gone Away Bitter Sweet Average Julia ..........and now I am off to listen to 'Manic Moonlight' this evening
Manic Moonlight is the ninth studio album by King's X, released September 25, 2001 via Metal Blade Records. The album was produced by King's X. As with their previous Metal Blade albums, the group wrote all of the songs together as a unit rather than individually. After Please Come Home ... Mr. Bulbous was met with mixed reviews from fans and critics alike, the band were at a loss as to what to do next. Doug Pinnick explains, "We were at the end of our rope, and didn't know what to do, what to play, what people wanted, or what they didn't want." Despite these feelings of uncertainty, the thought of splitting up was never an option. Pinnick states, "We're not going to break up or stop. So, we just said, 'Time to make a record - let's go do it.'" In a search for inspiration, the band hit upon the idea of incorporating drum loops into their new work-in-progress. Ty Tabor explains, "We wanted to see what would happen - to experiment with it, to see where it would take us." But not everyone in the band was onboard with the idea of loops. Pinnick explains: "At the time there were noises people were putting in their music, and we thought, 'Hey, let's give that a try'." But, he adds, "I don't think we were all excited about it. To this day, I don't think it was a real great idea. But we all agreed on it, and we worked real hard on getting the right sounds. Even though I think we could have done without it." Recording for the album took place between February and May 2001 at Tabor's Alien Beans studio. "We decided to move into my place and do everything from beginning to end there", says Tabor. "Whenever we would work at Alien Beans we would set up a mini-drum kit and some small amps in my living room ... and we would make that the band preproduction/rehearsal space, before we would step into a studio and record." All of Pinnick's contributions would be finished earlier than the others; this became a necessity as Pinnick was set to play dates with his side project, Poundhound. This left Tabor and drummer Jerry Gaskill to complete the remainder of the album on their own. Most of the songs began life with Pinnick writing a bass line to a MIDI loop. Tabor, then, would write his guitar parts around Pinnick's. All of the songs on Manic Moonlight were sung by Pinnick - a first since Dogman. Pinnick also wrote the majority of the lyrics. Manic Moonlight would see, by the combination of the MIDI loops with Pinnick's chunky bass playing, songs that were funkier and more groove-based than Bulbous. Pinnick, for instance, remembers "a lot of slap/plucking on my bass on that CD. That was something I didn't do much." Tabor also noted the difference in the overall direction of the material on Manic Moonlight, stating, "I don't understand why the vibe is so different on that album. It is where we were at, because we didn't intentionally have an idea of what we wanted to do - we went in and did it, and that's what came out." Examples of this more groove-oriented approach can be heard on "Vegetable", "Yeah", "Static" and "Skeptical Winds". Two songs were edited in length for the finished album: "Believe" and "Vegetable". Both of the longer, unedited versions were included as bonus tracks on Japanese copies of Manic Moonlight. The final track on the album, "Water Ceremony", is not an actual song, but rather a short recording of Pinnick drinking a glass of water and belching. The album cover, like Tape Head and Bulbous, was designed by Ty Tabor, who explains that his goal was to "come up with something that had an uneasy feeling, even if you didn't quite know why. That was the intent anyway ... I hate to try to explain visuals, because people get different things from it." As for the album title, the guitarist says, "I think the title came from the song." A photo of the band in Tabor's living room is featured in the album artwork, showing the band dressed in various costumes. Manic Moonlight was released in September, 2001, and like its previous Metal Blade cousins, failed to impact mainstream charts. "False Alarm" was issued as the lone single but did not chart. Reviews of the album were, like Bulbous, mixed. Many praised the album, but some felt the group were losing the script; the deconstruction of their signature sound coupled with the drum loops further alienated an already flagging fanbase. Tabor recalls, "There were a lot of King's X fans who weren't too into it - and were pretty vocal about it - and were dogging the band pretty heavily about it." Pinnick agrees about fan reaction, stating that "they either hated it or loved it, and very adamantly, too. They let us know what they thought." "People scratch their heads on Mr. Bulbous a bit", Tabor observes, "but when it got to Manic Moonlight, there were some people who were just like, 'What the heck?' But we were into it." Despite the failure of Manic Moonlight to impact mainstream charts, the album did reach #19 on the US Indie chart. This was, in Tabor's view, indicative of a new group of fans who had only recently discovered the band and who were not beholdened to a preconceived notion of how King's X should sound. "There was this new group of fans that heard that album [who said] that it was their favorite thing we've ever done." "I think it's one of our least 'worked on' records", reflects Pinnick. "I think there were some really good songs on it, and I also think there were songs that were kind of a waste. Or that we could have worked on some more." Tabor summarizes his feelings by saying, "I don't make any apologies for that album. We all three felt it was a good album. We knew it was different, we knew King's X fans who wanted us to stay in this box weren't going to dig it. But it turned out to be a turning point for things to come, because it brought us some new fans. And the Kings X fans that did like it, really loved it." Before getting deep into my thoughts on Manic Moonlight, let me say that I don't want it to sound like I'm crapping all over it; their are good things to find here. Just fewer than I would expect on a King's X release. As usual, the vocals are solid. The playing is solid, too. Doug's bass playing shines here. And the album grooves hard. If Bulbous was Ty's album, then Manic Moonlight belongs to Doug. Funky. Probably their funkiest. And it is hard to totally hate on a record that makes your foot tap even on the worst songs. But ... the bad outweighs the good, sadly. Although Bulbous was really weird, I still connected with it on some level. And I thought, okay here is something new. Even though it had flaws, I gave them a pass. And over the years it has continued to entertain me with each return listen. Solid 2nd tier KX. But then comes Manic Moonlight. And I wasn't able to make the same connection. Although aspects of Bulbous felt under-served, Manic Moonlight felt downright half-a**ed. The drop off in the quality of the songwriting was staggering. There were moments - the title track, "False Alarm", "The Other Side" - that were decent enough. But even with the added element of loops it felt tired. Speaking of the loops: I remember reading that the album was going to utilize them, and I was kind of excited about it. I thought, wow, they are really getting back into experimental mode. My mind ran to recent albums by rock artists that incorporated electronics and loops and such -- U2 and Bowie's recent albums, for instance, or Alex Lifeson's Victor. So I envisioned "Bulbous Meets ... all those things. But what we got instead, in my opinion, sounded lazy, cheap and uninspired. And most of the songs didn't even sound like they needed loops at all. It was very disappointing. And, once again, we got a short album, but with a throwaway track ("Water Ceremony") to fill a 10-track quota. So I personally had no qualms with the idea of loops. I just don't think they worked on this album. And it was depressing. Over time, I've come to like a lot of the songs here, but this wasn't King's X for me. We were a long way from Nebraska now, Gretchen. It was the first time I remember listening to a KX album and thinking that it might be time to pack it in. Yet ... I held out hope that their next album might be better. That this was simply a "phase". A very unsatisfying phase. After all, they still had some juice left in the tank; Doug was recording with Supershine and had recently recorded Pineappleskunk. Ty had his Safety album, as well as Jughead, Platypus and The Jelly Jam, all within the span of a year or two. All solid releases. So maybe they could channel all of that into their next album. Maybe?
I vividly remember sitting at work waiting for the live stream to start when the band was going to debut new songs from Manic Moonlight. I know they player False Alarm and Believe, there may have been one more but I can't remember...Maybe Vegetable or Static. I thought Believe was just gorgeous, still do. So first impressions of the music were very positive, the album cover not so much. I did my first interview with them before the Knitting Factory show for the tour. dUg told me similar stories to what's above adding, 'we gave the fans a lot to think about on this one.' Manic Moonlight continues the progression of different sounding albums that started when Sam left. Something I hope they continue for as long as they record.
Well, let me do that for you. The album is the absolute nadir of their career. Horrible in every way. Never in a million years could I imagine that any band I loved so much could release something this bad. Thank God I discovered them way b4 Mr. Bulbous or this album. Because if the first KX I ever heard was either of these I would never have become a fan at all, let alone the huge fan that I am.
It is certainly a drop off in quality from what came before. And it certainly did not represent what I find enjoyable about this band. But - for the sake of this topic - I'm trying really hard not to be too biased and to see both sides. But this album and the next are, to say the least, difficult in that regard. So crap away! I'm interested in all opinions.
Sounds like I'm going to be in the minority from here on out. Maybe it's just the fanboy in me, but I love each album for what it is. I don't want to hear Gretchen again, I want to hear something new that still sounds like KX. Bulbous had HEAVY sections and beautifully delicate vocal harmonies. Manic Moonlight lays down thick grooves that translate better live than on record, but the album is still a good listen for me.
Also let me add that this album has to be mastered the LOUDEST of all their albums. Coming out in 2001, that seems to be right when all the loudness war crap started right? I always have to turn the volume way down on this one.
Don't get me wrong - I'm all for change and progression in music or else it would get boring. As I noted, I found a lot to like in Bulbous and I had no issue with experimenting with loops here. However I think the execution of those ideas were flawed. In a lot of ways. As Doug said, both of those albums needed more work.
Probably but I don't remember. I used to see them every tour back then and sometimes more than one show. When was this album tour - Fall of 2001? Beginning of 2002? And did they do any songs from this on any later tours/shows?
