1. Led Zeppelin
2. Pink Floyd
3. The Beatles
4. Weezer
5. Cake
Followed by about 50 honorable mentions.
I take my favorite bands very seriously, this isn't an easy category to get a place in. As a matter of fact, spots 1-4 are all bands I have been listening too since the mid-90's. Cake entered the arena of favorites probably about the time they came out with Comfort Eagle, which was such a brilliant album, that it inspired me to go out and purchase their entire collection, thus securing their position.
I write this because over the last year my mind has officially been blown by Muse. I was introduced to them several years ago, but didn't really take the time to listen to them (I get introduced to a lot of music... and never seem to have enough time to evaluate it all). This all changed about a year ago when I heard Muse's single "Starlight" on the radio. The track was so good that it inspired me to check out the album Black Holes and Revelations. This beyond brilliant album lead me to acquire the entire Muse catalog, and to purchase tickets to their last Utah performance.
After the show, not only had Muse secured their own spot in my top 5, moving Cake to #6 (sorry John McCrea) but had also became my number one band to see live. Yes the show was that amazing.
This leads us up to my latest review, H.A.A.R.P. Which not only comes as an amazing live album, but also includes a live DVD to show you just how good these guys really are live. H.A.A.R.P. is in many ways a greatest hits collecting for the band, and will hopefully introduce fans to songs they may not already know.
Now anyone who knows me knows that I love live music. After sitting in recording studios for several years listening to individuals play the same 3 second snipit over and over again until they got it right, I came to the conclusion that we all need to go back to four track tape and record as a band (like the Beatles used to) until we get the song right, or at least get it good enough to send it out to the masses. Multi-tracking has destroyed musicianship, and created a plethora of sloppy live acts. Because of this I find live performances like Zeppelin's BBC Sessions, the Beatles Anthologies, and Pink Floyd's Is There Anybody Out There, so refreshing.In the style of the Rock and Roll masters of the 60's and 70's, Muse has single handedly restored my faith in the possibilities of great rock shows still existing. H.A.A.R.P. is the proof of this.
1 - Intro/Dance of the Knights (From Romeo and Juliete) - From the DVD version of this track, we see that it is used as an introduction of our "Musical Knights." With the video, this is a great piece to help build anticipation for what is about to be had, on the CD it's not near as exciting, but seeing as it takes less than 2 minutes, it's not worth complaining about.
2 - Knights of Cydonia/ Close Encounters of the Third Kind - As the band takes the stage, Matthew Bellamy (guitarist/pianist/vocalist) plays a highly distorted tune straight Spielberg's alien classic "Close Encounters..." It cracks me up that this is how he chose to start the performance, since after seeing them live, my brothers and I decided that seeing a Muse show is kind of like seeing a UFO land. Although you'll try to explain how amazing it was to everyone, they will never truly understand until they too have seen it for themselves.
The band makes a smooth transition from "Close Encounters" to their previous albums closer, "Knights of Cydonia." Although this isn't one of my favorite Muse tracks, there is just something special about this live version that makes me prefer it over the album version. Maybe it's the screaming fans, maybe it's the sporadic guitar improvisations, or maybe its just the fact that I spent hours on Guitar Hero trying to master this song.
3 - Hysteria - Sometimes I listen Muse to albums and wonder how they could possibly reproduce the guitar/bass parts live. "Hysteria" is proof that Chris Wolstenholme really is as good of a bassist as he appears to be on the bands different albums. The bass line is flawless, as is the guitar solo.
4 - Supermassive Black Hole - "This next song is for anyone who likes R&B," states Bellamy as he's playing around with false harmonics on his guitar. Although I'm not a huge fan of "Supermassive Black Hole" and the falsetto Bellamy sings for most of it (Katie once told me he sounded like a girl while listening to this song :) I do have to say that if more R&B sounded like this track, I'd think about listening to more of it... That being said, it's a decent track with some crazy sound effects during the guitar solo, but overall I don't really like the live version much more that I do the album.
5 - Map of the Problematique - On the album Black Holes and Revelations this track sounded almost like a mid-80's synth-pop track. On this version, Bellamy plays all of the "synth" sounds on his guitar, which is awesome! Where this guy learned to used effects, delays, and so on, I'll never know. Overall I like this live version is better that the original, it has much more of a heavy guitar rock sound, this may be due the the heavy riff added on as the outro to the track.
6 - Butterflies and Hurricanes - After five tracks of sheer power, its time to slow things down a little bit... Well slow for Muse that is, there is still a heavily distorted guitar in the background. The live version of this track has a great solo right in the middle of it that the original lacks. One thing I love about Matthew Bellamy's playing is that he knows how to keep a solo interesting without dragging on far too long just for the pure fact that he can. In fact, in this track he cuts the solo short to go into a classical piece on the piano. Not something you would generally see at a rock show. Just more proof of how amazingly talented these guys really are.
7 - Invincible - Seeing as this is already one of my absolute favorite Muse tracks, I was excited to see the live treatment of it. Needless to say, I'm not the least bit disappointed.
Like the studio version, this track starts out with a little bit of guitar and a drum beat worthy of a Civil War era march. One thing I love about the live version of this song is that the guitar is much more present in the second verse than on the studio version. In addition to this, the solo is beyond amazing, it was amazing on the album, but to hear it live is simply mind blowing. It's like Bellamy took everything that guitarists have worked for years to accomplish, and then turned it on its side and pumped out something that would make even the greatest players of all time drop their jaws. Yes, it really is that good.
8 - Starlight - So I find it kind of ironic that the song that really got me into Muse is one that I honestly don't think is that great in live form. Don't get me wrong, it isn't bad, I just prefer the studio version, thats all. I'm not a huge fan of the mixing on the album, the piano seems to be hidden behind the overly-powerful distorted bass. Still a decent track, just not my favorite
9 - Time Is Running Out - Although I do think that this is a great track, one thing that annoys me on live albums is when the vocalist steps away from the microphone to let the audience sing. I'm not paying to hear them, I'm paying to hear you Mr. Bellamy. Other than that, this is a great live version of a great song.
10 - New Born/Microphone Fiend - Seeing as "New Born" is probably my all time favorite Muse song, I was a little nervous about hearing the live treatment of it. I'm not sure if I like it better than the original, but I'd say that I like it at least as much. The transition from the piano to the heavy guitar riff is fabulous. This song is literally the perfect meshing of beautify played piano and death-metal guitar. It's amazing! The only flaw I can find in this live track is that the vocal track doesn't seem to be balanced throughout the song, this may have been caused by Bellamy stepping away from the mic or something like that. I've already written too much, so just one final though... The live solos are great!
11 - Unintended - Reaching back to 1999's Showbiz this is a nice little ballad. Honestly I'm not a huge fan of Showbiz but this is one of the better tracks off of the album, and is a nice addition to the album. There isn't anything overly special about the live version, other than it is nice to have a slower, softer song among all of the other powerful tracks.
12 - Micro Cuts - This is the second track on the album that is sung entirely in falsetto which I'm not a huge fan of. That being said it does have some great guitar work. So decent track, nothing special, but seeing as it leads into another of my favorites, I'll forgive the vocals.
13 - Stockholm Syndrome - This track, which happens to be one of my favorites off of Absolution, is just as good if not better in the live format. Not only does the song sound amazing, but after the track finishes, there is nearly 3 minutes of the band having an improvised jam session which is great. It really shows the great level of musicianship possessed by the band.
14 - Take a Bow - I find it really interested that on the tour to promote Black Holes and Revelations, the band chose to open with the album closer, and close with the album opener. Although this isn't my favorite track, it does have great dynamics, and great guitar work. It comes as a great closer to a near perfect performance.
Reviewing a Live album is a little different than a studio album, since they generally are more or less a collection of Greatest Hits, so in theory all of the music should be good. This isn't always the case, but overall I think Muse did a great job at their musical selection. What I really look for in a live album is the musicianship. Since I generally already own all of the music found on the live album, there has to be something special to make me want to go out and buy it. I'm not looking for a reproduction of what I already have. In the case of H.A.A.R.P. I'd have to say that Muse's live performance is as good if not better than nearly all of their studio tracks, and is a great addition to the Muse catalog for any fan. I give it a solid A. This is, in my opinion, the best live album to come out since 1999's Is There Anybody Out There: The Wall Live by Pink Floyd.
As a final thought, throughout the 60's and 70's there were several guitarist who earned the title of "Rock God." Not to discredit anything any of these great players did, but I think it's time they slide over and make room at the table. This albums single handedly proves that Matthew Bellamy is clearly their first worthy heir of the new millennium. All hail Mathew Bellamy.
