Still trying to work out how this was pressed, this is the other side of the record I posted earlier, different colours My copy sounds sensational, man those drums sound great
I'm one of those earlier fans (circa 1992) that is of the opinion that beginning with "At War with the Mystics" (probably an "Atlas Shrugged" reference) the Lips started their slide. I do like Embryonic, but it's so brickwalled that it's almost unlistenable, and I'm not really that sensitive to limited DR. I did think 7 skies H3 was a return to form, though. I've watched the videos for the new songs on YT that they've been putting up and I do like the music, but the lyrics...ugh...and I really like their old albums which had lots of strange lyrics, but it's almost like Wayne is trying too hard to come up with weird lyrics...I don't know. For reference, these are my top 5: The Soft Bulletin Zaireeka! Hit to Death in the Future Head Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Clouds Taste Metallic
Yeah, their insistence on obscene loudness is really annoying. The volume knob exists for a reason, but apparently only a handful of people know what it is. You might as well call their approach At War With Dynamics. I'm not much of a lyrics guy, but most of them have been quite bad for a while. The Terror had some of the worst lyrics I've ever heard, but the lyrics don't matter too much on that album; it's all about the oppressive sonic assault. (That said, better mastering would not lessen that impact.) I will defend "Mother Please Don't Be Sad" - very child-like, in a good way. That topic benefits from simplicity (well, it's depressing as hell, but you know what I mean). I enjoy the guitar rock stuff, but I absolutely love their art rock later stuff - even though it's very synth-heavy and I'm not a fan of synths. It just speaks to me. That's probably a bad sign considering how disturbing a lot of the music is.
I too am a longtime fan (jumped aboard in 1993 after hearing "Pilot Can at the Queer of God" on a Tampa college radio station), and I generally agree with this post, but I have no idea what "brickwalled" or "DR" means, and I don't want to know. My top 10: Clouds Taste Metallic Transmissions ... Hit to Death ... Yoshimi ... In a Priest Driven Ambulance The Terror At War with the Mystics (yeah, I prefer it to TSB) The Soft Bulletin Embryonic Oh My Gawd! In my humble opinion the slide began with Embryonic, which to me sounds... well, embryonic, as if it's a collection of cool sounds and unfinished demos. But I still love it.
I still haven't cracked open the new one, waiting until I can give it the time and attention a new Lips record deserves. Despite their many ups and downs and Wayne's recent mid-life crisis shenanigans, they've been one of my favorite bands since 1993. Excluding the cover albums and focusing on the "traditional" records, for whatever that means for these guys, here's how I'd rank 'em today: Hit to Death in the Future Head Embryonic Clouds Taste Metallic The Soft Bulletin In a Priest Driven Ambulance Transmissions from the Satellite Heart The Terror Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Zaireeka Heady Fwends Hear It Is King's Mouth At War with the Mystics Telepathic Surgery Oh My Gawd!!! Oczy Mlody It's hard for me to rate the first three records accurately, because I learned them through the Finally the Punk Rockers are Taking Acid 3cd package and it's hard for me to not think of them as one monster thing.
I love them all but here would be my ranking. King's Mouth might be last but I would give it a three and a half out of five still. In A Priest Driven Ambulance The Soft Bulletin The Terror Clouds Taste Metallic Transmissions From The Satellite Heart Oh My Gawd Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Hear It Is Telepathic Surgery Zaireeka American Head Embryonic Hit To Death In The Future Head Oczy Mlody At War With The Mystics King's Mouth
This is a good point. Even my bottom five still are albums I really enjoy playing, they just don't stack up against the others.
Just a random aside here, but I really love this track and am a bit baffled that it got excluded from the final running order. Does anyone know the story here? When I purchased the DVD 5.1 version with the alternate running order, I was blown away by "Slow Motion", which is pure euphoria for the soul, and I generally prefer the sequencing on this version. I can't believe that this great song got the axe, but it was a welcome discovery later on.
The US CD had "The Spiderbite Song" and "Buggin'" (Mokran mix only), the UK CD had "Slow Motion" and I think - though I'm not sure - there were no Mokran mixes at all. The 2LP had all 13 tracks, all Lips mixes, using the US running order with "Slow Motion" after "The Gash". The CD that came with the 5.1 set - well, the correct CD, anyway, original copies had the standard US CD - had all 13 Lips mixes in one place although, for some reason, it used the UK track list and put the two US tracks at the end. And now I think we're all sufficiently confused, so let's just leave it at that because they never made another attempt to get it right.
This thread inspired me to go back an revisit my 5.1 mix of At War With The Mystics last night and I have to say that this album holds up surprisingly well overall. The surround mix in particular allows the arrangements to breathe and flow better. I think that it's every bit as good as the two albums that precede it (I may even prefer it to Yoshimi), and it's very much of a piece with that phase, though it also recalls Hit To Death at times in its nervy-yet-catchy trippiness. Though the outlook is often jaded, there's still an underlying optimism and a soulful warmth that's appealing. The influences that they seemed to be drawing on at the time--Brian Wilson, Pink Floyd, Yes ("It Overtakes Me" always brings them to mind for me)--are right in my wheelhouse. The sprawling, multi-segmented suites like "Sound of Failure" and "It Overtakes Me" are particularly impressive, and though things get a bit flabby in the second half ("Haven't Got A Clue" is the only one I might be inclined to jettison), it holds together as a cohesive listening experience. I really feel like this is an underrated gem from the Lips and the last album of theirs that I truly love. As a fan of Krautrock, I wanted to embrace Embroyonic, but somehow the vibe of the thing never connected for me and the punishing distortion of the production made it like an aural migraine. Maybe I should give it another shot now, but that was the point where I got off the bus with them. I haven't purchased the new album yet, though I listened to it online and liked it well enough. It does sound like a bit of a return to their Soft Bulletin era sound, though I'd agree with the observation that someone made earlier about it all sounding rather like one song with different movements. I'm not shrinking violet when it comes to drug references, but Wayne seems to be laying it on a little thick this time!
my limited edition from europe finally arrived. After listening to the 96/24 files this past week. I can say the biggest difference on the vinyl version is the drums. Much better sounding on vinyl. i will say my copy has slight noise. a cleaning might fix it but im lazy.
My first Lips purchase since Embryonic. I'm back on board with them after just one spin of this one. This is a rabbit out of the hat moment. I certainly wasn't expecting a 'Soft Bulletin style' album from them.
Finally got my copy of the holographic/lithograph pressing of 500 and happy as heck with the sound quality. Have listened to it twice now and easily my favorite record by them and one of the best Psychedelic Rock albums I have heard in years, holy cow is this not one badass record!!!
Had this in my hand today. $57 Canadian!!!!!! Just couldn't do it. What are people paying for this record elsewhere? Like many others I gave up on this band in a substantial way. I especially grew super annoyed with Coyne, a guy who's relentlessly attention seeking but loves to deride superficiality in others. Coyne was crappy with people in his band and life yet sticks in the daggers on others who don't line up with his hapless druggy hippy vibe. The music wasn't so great either... This thread has somewhat convinced me to give the music another try. There is Stephen after all.
W O W !! Is it just the crucial times we live in, that so many artists are producing career defining works this year? 'American Head' is a bona-fide masterpiece from a band who's given us many great albums. Yoshimi and Soft Bulletin were always at top of the list for me, but this one may un-seat one of those classics. I'm pretty much on board with everything the band has produced over the years, but this new album just strikes a chord, few other records have done in recent years. The standard black vinyl sounds out of this world!!! Chris Bellman' mastering is brilliant. This is the kind of record that gets Grammy nominations.
I can't call this one a masterpiece but it's still a good listen. Maybe even a great listen. I can put it on in any mood and it always hits the spot. Long live the Lips.
Listened to it for the third time last night, and agree 110%, this is an absolute masterpiece and to my ears this is with out a doubt the best record they have ever made!!! WOW! The sound quality on my vinyl version is fantastic!
My teal and pink LP set arrived today. I'm a happy guy. It's flat and quiet and of course slays the Spotify stream I've been listening to while waiting for this. It has surprisingly nice dynamic range for a Flaming Lips album. Also, the album makes even more sense to me over 4 sides. It was clearly intended as 4 separate sides. This one has really grown on me.
