saut

I just got it and gave it a listen today (not out in stores yet, but if you preordered you get it early... not that I preorded...)

Anyway, to sum it up: If you were considering buying this -- don't. Waste of money. Nearly every song sounds NOTHING like the original (and not in a good 'ooh what a creative new take on an old song' kind of way either). It all sounds like random filler to me. When the Levee Breaks was the biggest disappointment of all. Total crap!

Alright, so it's not COMPLETLEY garbage. A few songs I liked:

Peace, Love and Understanding: I'm not sure if this is Billy singing or if it's Maynard (doesn't quite sound like Maynard... almost sounds like Jeff Buckley to be honest), but I like it.

Passive - The only original APC song on the album, and it's probably the best. Pretty crappy compared to most of the songs on Mer de Noms and 13th Step, but not quite bad. I'm not sure, but I think this may have originally been a song written by Maynard and Reznor during the Tapeworm project (which is no more).

Counting Bodies Like Sheep: Basically a remix of Pet from 13th Step. It's... different sounding, almost industrial I guess. At times it sounds like what would happen if Tool's Dier Eier Von Satan and APC's Pet had a baby.

Fiddle and Drum: A duet with Maynard and Billy, no instruments. Sounds kind of psalm-ish actually. Not too bad in comparison with the rest of the album.

The following songs suck:

Annihilation
Gimme Gimme Gimme
What's Going on
People Are People
Freedom of Choice
Let's Have a War
When the Levee Breaks


This album could really have been A LOT better. I know they're capable of covering songs well, and even making them better than the original in some cases (see: Diary of a Lovesong/Madman and Ashes to Ashes). But what the hell happened here? It seems like they're really eager to pump out a couple CDs in a hurry, perhaps to get out of their contract with Virgin.

Oh well. Now all I care about is Maynard getting his ass back over to the Tool camp and making the next album, which is almost guarunteed to be gloriously badass in all ways.

stonegrody

Wow, that's disappointing. Sorry to hear you didn't like it. I have only heard 'Imagine' so far but am eager to hear the rest. I'll post my thoughts after I pick it up.

Thanks for the review. I guess I'll focus on the anticipation for the next Tool album.

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jonjon42

that makes me sad for I really like A Perfect Circle...gar at least I saved a couple bucks..

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A damn dirty hippie without the dirty part....

saut

Of course, don't take my word on anything. You might just like it. Almost definitly not, but it might be worth a listen. Sample before you buy this one.

Stompy

I don't think it's bad at all.

It's different, but it's not horrible.

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I love lamp.

Undercover_Man

Agree with everything Saut said with the exception of When The Levee Breaks. I think that one is a nice song to just relax to.

- Undercover_Man

saut

Hey, who knows, it might grow on me in time. Different can be a very good thing, but it just feels like there's nothing going on in the music. Perhaps I need a more concentrated listening session?