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Hullabaloo? Is it the worst Muse album?

Boombleeb

By Boombleeb
in Songs & Releases

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Is it the worst album?  

53 members have voted

  1. 1. Is it the worst album?

    • Yes
      7
    • No
      46

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Boombleeb Escapee

Boombleeb

Posted
Posted

(CD 1 to be specific)

 

Is this the least memorable album? Has this album been forgotten? I hear from this album the least, the most common song I see or hear is Forced In but other than that it is like it has all gone to dust. :stunned:

 

Explanations?

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Jobby Defector

Jobby

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Yeah, people don't really tend to talk about it because it's not a proper album, just a compilation.

 

To be honest I think Hullabaloo is way better than some of their recent stuff.

 

Way better than Showbiz, TR, T2L and Drones imo, maybe even Abso as well. Great creepy/experimental vibe.

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Hat Collaborator

Hat

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Would never put it ahead of Abso. I know it gets praised (mainly by Static) for it's experimental and creepy vibe, but that only goes for a handful of the songs, the rest is basically mediocre rock and acoustic ballads.

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static shadows Escapee

static shadows

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Would never put it ahead of Abso. I know it gets praised (mainly by Static) for it's experimental and creepy vibe, but that only goes for a handful of the songs, the rest is basically mediocre rock and acoustic ballads.

 

Forced In, Shrinking Universe, Recess, Yes Please, The Gallery, and Hyper Chondriac Music do give it a really interesting vibe that's pretty unique in Muse's back catalogue - although it is one that definitely leaks into some OOS tracks. They're all raw but atmospheric and even a little creepy, with some amazing riffs and ideas. But the record's definitely patchy as a whole. The other 4 tracks range from ok or enjoyably daft, to forgettably mediocre, making it feel very much like the (mainly) OOS B-Side album it is. Still, it offers an intriguing insight into another side of the recording process of one of my favourite albums of all time, capturing Muse at their creative height experimenting with different sounds. In terms of invention and my own taste, I'd rather listen to those 6 Hullabaloo tracks mentioned above than the vast majority (if not quite entirety) of Muse's last three albums.

 

It would have been fascinating to have seen them go further down the more atmospheric and experimental route that Hullabaloo hints at. But if they had, then they really wouldn't have escaped the endless Radiohead comparisons! And it may have just resulted in an album of Endlessly-esque tracks. No one really wants that.

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serpentsatellite Escapee

serpentsatellite

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I sort of feel like Shrinking Universe is one of the few Muse songs that I like for the lyrics as well as the music, so I don't think it gets quite enough praise.

 

The album itself is a mish mash of stuff I love, stuff I only listen to when the rare mood strikes me, and stuff I really dislike.

Which I suppose is like most Muse albums, although with a lower percentage of stuff that I actively listen to.

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Hopix Hysteric

Hopix

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Well, both. But specifically another b-side album. We've had no b-sides or non-album tracks (except a few covers right?) since 2009, they'll have a wealth of unheard material, some of which will even be in the recording/mixing/mastering stages that they could shove on another Hullabaloo type release.

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serpentsatellite Escapee

serpentsatellite

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Not their best song, or even cover, but I actually do appreciate what they did with Prague.

It's something I can only listen to when I'm feeling really depressed or just emo (not unlike ConScience, really,) but I think their spin really fits with the lyrics, and could actually be quite relatable to someone who grew up not staying in one place very long.

 

I've really come to believe there just aren't Bsides anymore, and probably haven't been since BH&R. Otherwise, why would the TR ones have been those covers, in the first place?

 

Meaning, I think there's obviously other songs written, but I think they get weeded out well before they get to recording, and are probably really basic in form, maybe even before Matt got around to giving them lyrics.

Seems like the new direction is just to majorly overhaul the existing, selected tracks until they get something that works, rather than pick from a bigger pool of songs.

 

I found myself thinking about that a lot, though, when Matt said that he wasn't sure if The Globalist was going to make the album or not, when it seemed they were pretty far into recording. (And fans at the time would have probably rioted at not getting to see the hyped "CE sequel.")

That would have left us with a seriously short album, if there weren't other options.

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Dominic. Escapee

Dominic.

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Well, both. But specifically another b-side album. We've had no b-sides or non-album tracks (except a few covers right?) since 2009, they'll have a wealth of unheard material, some of which will even be in the recording/mixing/mastering stages that they could shove on another Hullabaloo type release.

 

I don't think over at least the past two album cycles they ended up recording anything except the album tracks (or at least I got that impression from stuff they've said). I think they whine it out in pre-production just writing the tracks they want to make the album then go to the studio to record them

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Hopix Hysteric

Hopix

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I don't think over at least the past two album cycles they ended up recording anything except the album tracks (or at least I got that impression from stuff they've said). I think they whine it out in pre-production just writing the tracks they want to make the album then go to the studio to record them

 

I think you're right, yes. It's just a shame when they stop doing b-sides and the album quality goes down at the same time.

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Finn. Escapee

Finn.

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I think you're right, yes. It's just a shame when they stop doing b-sides and the album quality goes down at the same time.

 

I don't think the quality of their albums is going down, their "worst" album, T2L is more or less like Showbiz, imo, and even then, they are good, just not cohesive, as they feel like a collection of songs rather than an album.

 

But i highly enjoy their later releases, Black Holes, TR and Drones.

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  • 2 weeks later...
graciegirl Escapee

graciegirl

Posted
Posted
(CD 1 to be specific)

 

Is this the least memorable album? Has this album been forgotten? I hear from this album the least, the most common song I see or hear is Forced In but other than that it is like it has all gone to dust. :stunned:

 

Explanations?

 

It's not counted as a studio album so I think that's why it's rarely mentioned. But, as a collection of B-sides/non-studio tracks and with a very early live recording it's essential for anyone serious about Muse and all their music.

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