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Pledge Music : New Album !
eveofabyss Wrote:I'd been abstaining from chiming in to the discussion because I had already said pretty much everything I had to say about Ballet the Boxer in a review I wrote, which finally went live today. So, for those interested, here is my review of the new album.

http://voices.yahoo.com/music-review-bal...tml?cat=33

I really loved reading your review! Smile

Thanks for sharing it.
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jargen Wrote:cool.  hopefully, that review gets seen by some people and helps the band out a bit.

sorry to critique a critique, but i felt the want to mention that it actually bothers me a bit that everyone keeps saying that "been down" sounds like motown.  it's the most soul-inspired ours track there is, i'd agree, but motown is just one region's take on soul, and it actually sounds nothing at all like the type pf groove that "been down" is going for.  motown was known mainly for multiple vocal harmonies and a good use of a brass section...neither of which is on that song.  so maybe refer to it as a taek on soul rather than the band's supposedly obvious motown inspirations (which are nowhere to be found).

why would i even bother saying this?  here's why...reading a review of a rock band i'd never heard of now trying out a particular genre influence, as an admitted music geek, i want to see how well they do it.  if i'd never heard of ours and read that review, i'd find the track, and i'd then quickly know that either the band or the reviewer was full of shit.  this is not an attack, by the way...constructive criticism.

sorry for the ramble Smile

Thank you for correcting me, Jargen. I appreciate the feedback.

You were right to point that out. I had been mentioning "Been Down" as Motown-like, just as a reference to its warmth and particular funkiness. Its prominent bass-line, slow warmth and falsetto reminded me of "the Motown Sound", something that has been noted as a major influence on Jimmy and the band, and is also more specific to the subgenre than to soul music in general...but that is still somewhat of a grey area I should have been more careful in to avoid misleading people.

So, thank you for pointing that out.
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wow, my girlfriend LOVES Soul music, and actually has liked a little bit of Ours. And I recall thinking when hearing 1 track, wow, she might dig, at least the beginning of this tune as it reminds me of some of the bands she likes. I think it is "Been Down" but I'm not certain yet.
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I think what bugs me the most about the album is the drums (especially) and guitar (for the most part) don't have the necessary... "umph" to counterbalance Jimmy's voice.

bxdash could probably give a more technically-termed explanation for what I'm trying to say but that's what gets to me about the album. Not sure if it's something that can be fixed with higher quality sound files or if this was as intended.
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I REEEEEALLY like it. From the first beats of Pretty Pain I loved it. I get that the quality isn't great, but I don't mind that at all. I love all John Frusciante's albums because alot o fthem sound like you're just sitting in his house listening to him play. Its more personal.

As for the actual songs, I feel like I finally have an Ours album that suits my tastes. To be honest, when I first met Ours I met them as people and used to go to shows because I enjoyed their company and their songs on the albums became the soundtrack to my life. So I love those songs and albums but THIS album is more my style.
I never thought I'd hear it!
Thanks Ours =D

Also sounds like Jimmy finally got his tribal drum sound....does anyone konw who played drums on this record? Is it a mixture of people as?
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I don't think anyone's complaining about the style of the album. (I like it, too. A different sound than what I'm used to, but good nonetheless.) Some people just can't get past the quality to really hear the songs. Shame, really.

You seem like you are/were close to the band. Don't suppose you can field confirmation on the quality?
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redjez Wrote:I REEEEEALLY like it. From the first beats of Pretty Pain I loved it. I get that the quality isn't great, but I don't mind that at all. I love all John Frusciante's albums because alot o fthem sound like you're just sitting in his house listening to him play. Its more personal.

As for the actual songs, I feel like I finally have an Ours album that suits my tastes. To be honest, when I first met Ours I met them as people and used to go to shows because I enjoyed their company and their songs on the albums became the soundtrack to my life. So I love those songs and albums but THIS album is more my style.
I never thought I'd hear it!
Thanks Ours =D

Also sounds like Jimmy finally got his tribal drum sound....does anyone konw who played drums on this record? Is it a mixture of people as?

The drum arrangements are awesomely tribal because Jimmy played them himself for the most part. A 16 year old drum genius named Nick played the more technically demanding songs.
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I thing I really do like about the album, is that it's brought out all the old heads ☺ ☺ so we can all say hi to each other!
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I think I could love Pretty Pain is only the opening sounds were powerful and really kicking.
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Xxtayce Wrote:I don't think anyone's complaining about the style of the album. (I like it, too. A different sound than what I'm used to, but good nonetheless.) Some people just can't get past the quality to really hear the songs. Shame, really.

You seem like you are/were close to the band. Don't suppose you can field confirmation on the quality?

Louda Antonelli posted the following in the 'We Love Jimmy Gnecco!' Facebook group.

"I interviewed Jimmy Friday night in Toronto. After we were done, we discussed the sound quality of the mp3s. What you are hearing is exactly what Jimmy wants. He wanted the sound to be the way albums were before computers took over, when you had to turn records up, not down. It may sound a bit better with a physical copy, but the mixing and production was all done on purpose."
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I want to build on others' comments and say something about the songs that reflects my very first impression of BTB that I failed to comment on earlier.

From the moment I listened to the first few opening bars of BTB, I was instantly transported to the same mental-emotional-spiritual sort of headspace that I occupied upon hearing Ours for the very first time. This collection of songs retains the core essence of all that I've come to associate with Ours but, in my opinion, are the songs that manage to finally burst through to the next logical level of the band's evolution.

The songs achieve next-level status by going back to the band's roots. Way back! And I am transported back, as well . . .

As I listen to these songs, suddenly it's spring 2001, I am 21 and am driving down a country road on my way home from one of my classes during my junior year as an undergrad in my old 90s-era Chevy Cavalier (complete with tape deck!). I can smell the grassy hayfields, the sun is shining, and life is good. I tune my radio in to a neighboring university station, which fades in and out through the static.

Suddenly, I hear the fuzzy, analog chorus of "Sometimes," and I swerve outside the lines as I frantically turn nobs and move my head closer to the speakers to get a better listen. It was the sound I had been waiting for, the sound I always knew could exist (*had* to exist, somewhere), the sound I heard in my head all my life, yet I was completely floored to actually hear it in that particular moment, pumping out of my factory speakers on a hilly countryside road in the middle of nowhere! And in that moment, life became injected with mystery and intrigue again.

It was one of those milemarker moments you have during life when you recognize you've been on the right path all along, and that you've just turned another page and begun the next chapter in your storybook. It was one of those events that puts you back in touch with who you really are and what your purpose really is. It was a much simpler time, when the future held infinite potential. And when I hear the tribal drumming, the soul, the vocal gymnastics on these songs, I once again forget about my mortage, forget about the ceaseless strife at work, forget about all the toxic people I can't shake, and I connect back with myself and my purpose, and the future holds infinite potential again . . . And for that, I am grateful and happy to have contributed to the pledge campaign so that these songs could at least see the light of day!
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Wow, the new album took you all the way back to 2001 the heavily influenced computer age? Hmmm, I surely hope it's recorded better than Distorted Lullabies. Which was most definitely recorded with computers running Pro Tools 5 and possibly even a few terrible DAT machines were used making high frequencies very harsh.
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northstar80 Wrote:I want to build on others' comments and say something about the songs that reflects my very first impression of BTB that I failed to comment on earlier.  

From the moment I listened to the first few opening bars of BTB, I was instantly transported to the same mental-emotional-spiritual sort of headspace that I occupied upon hearing Ours for the very first time.  This collection of songs retains the core essence of all that I've come to associate with Ours but, in my opinion, are the songs that manage to finally burst through to the next logical level of the band's evolution.

The songs achieve next-level status by going back to the band's roots.  Way back!  And I am transported back, as well . . .

As I listen to these songs, suddenly it's spring 2001, I am 21 and am driving down a country road on my way home from one of my classes during my junior year as an undergrad in my old 90s-era Chevy Cavalier (complete with tape deck!).  I can smell the grassy hayfields, the sun is shining, and life is good.  I tune my radio in to a neighboring university station, which fades in and out through the static.  

Suddenly, I hear the fuzzy, analog chorus of "Sometimes," and I swerve outside the lines as I frantically turn nobs and move my head closer to the speakers to get a better listen.  It was the sound I had been waiting for, the sound I always knew could exist (*had* to exist, somewhere), the sound I heard in my head all my life, yet I was completely floored to actually hear it in that particular moment, pumping out of my factory speakers on a hilly countryside road in the middle of nowhere!  And in that moment, life became injected with mystery and intrigue again.  

It was one of those milemarker moments you have during life when you recognize you've been on the right path all along, and that you've just turned another page and begun the next chapter in your storybook.  It was one of those events that puts you back in touch with who you really are and what your purpose really is.  It was a much simpler time, when the future held infinite potential.  And when I hear the tribal drumming, the soul, the vocal gymnastics on these songs, I once again forget about my mortage, forget about the ceaseless strife at work, forget about all the toxic people I can't shake, and I connect back with myself and my purpose, and the future holds infinite potential again . . .  And for that, I am grateful and happy to have contributed to the pledge campaign so that these songs could at least see the light of day!

i totally can relate! i love your references to pages and storybooks, because these songs tell a story, of course, and i love to read along, so to speak. the pledge campaign description of the band is about the universality of music and connecting to human emotion and experience. and this album succeeds entirely in doing so. it's all about the songs.
:grin:
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Username Wrote:Wow, the new album took you all the way back to 2001 the heavily influenced computer age?  Hmmm, I surely hope it's recorded better than Distorted Lullabies.  Which was most definitely recorded with computers running Pro Tools 5 and possibly even a few terrible DAT machines were used making high frequencies very harsh.

:clap:

lady's and gentlemen, sarcasm

(I'm glad I don't have audio nerd rage anymore...otherwise this post would be another novel. Growth, it can happen to audio engineers as well. Who knew?!)
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northstar80 Wrote:I want to build on others' comments and say something about the songs that reflects my very first impression of BTB that I failed to comment on earlier.  

From the moment I listened to the first few opening bars of BTB, I was instantly transported to the same mental-emotional-spiritual sort of headspace that I occupied upon hearing Ours for the very first time.  This collection of songs retains the core essence of all that I've come to associate with Ours but, in my opinion, are the songs that manage to finally burst through to the next logical level of the band's evolution.

The songs achieve next-level status by going back to the band's roots.  Way back!  And I am transported back, as well . . .

As I listen to these songs, suddenly it's spring 2001, I am 21 and am driving down a country road on my way home from one of my classes during my junior year as an undergrad in my old 90s-era Chevy Cavalier (complete with tape deck!).  I can smell the grassy hayfields, the sun is shining, and life is good.  I tune my radio in to a neighboring university station, which fades in and out through the static.  

Suddenly, I hear the fuzzy, analog chorus of "Sometimes," and I swerve outside the lines as I frantically turn nobs and move my head closer to the speakers to get a better listen.  It was the sound I had been waiting for, the sound I always knew could exist (*had* to exist, somewhere), the sound I heard in my head all my life, yet I was completely floored to actually hear it in that particular moment, pumping out of my factory speakers on a hilly countryside road in the middle of nowhere!  And in that moment, life became injected with mystery and intrigue again.  

It was one of those milemarker moments you have during life when you recognize you've been on the right path all along, and that you've just turned another page and begun the next chapter in your storybook.  It was one of those events that puts you back in touch with who you really are and what your purpose really is.  It was a much simpler time, when the future held infinite potential.  And when I hear the tribal drumming, the soul, the vocal gymnastics on these songs, I once again forget about my mortage, forget about the ceaseless strife at work, forget about all the toxic people I can't shake, and I connect back with myself and my purpose, and the future holds infinite potential again . . .  And for that, I am grateful and happy to have contributed to the pledge campaign so that these songs could at least see the light of day!

I just wanted to say that I love this entire post. <3
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I was listening to a bunch of classic rock today (led zep, deep purple, etc) so I decided to give the record another shot in that playlist today, as well listening to music in a way I never do for records I really love on many levels. Very passively. While doing some data entry type shit.

The mix doesn't bother me as much in this playlist. I really get to groove to the tunes and the vibe. Totally works in fact. It's still way more saturated in the drums, but it fits better in that mix. The vocals still feel buried and really thing at times compared to even those old records.

The minute I try to listen actively though (and I mean just trying to even pay attention the words/lyrics), I start side frowning.

This isn't a record I can lose myself in, but it makes sense. I can't lose myself in some of the classic rock records, especially some of the ones that were remastered. Turning em up just feels weird. Just like it does on this record to me.

Funny thing is, I tried putting on some newer "retro" style stuff in this playlist, and they stand out as more hyped and derivative.

So I'm guessing they got exactly what they went for. It's a bummer I can' jsut close my eyes and lost myself in it's depth. But passively I've been able to allow myself a place to love the hooks when they do come in. There may be hope for me yet.

I had to pull Emergency off the track list tho. It absolutely just HAD TO GO. It's a fine song and all, I just couldn't listen to it. It feels like it's form a completely different session. Almost had to do it to Get em out too. I'm really not a fan of the saturation, and phasey shit going on. But the energy at the end from Jimmy saves it, he's unruly in it. I love it.

Jimmy's pretty full of crazy energy in his inflections in places. Something that hasn't been on any of the records IMO.
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I have to admit, I'm a little jealous of all of you who really like this album.

I guess I'm an oddball, I sort of like albums to be polished. When I want rough and uncut, I go see a band live or listen to a show's bootleg. As another has said, I can't lose myself in this album. If I try to have it going as anything more than background noise, I have to fight the urge to go to the next album on my playlist.

I am disappointed that I don't like the album more, but it definitely won't deter me from trying to see the band live. I just won't be as intimately familiar with quite as many songs - not that this is something that takes away from the experience of an Ours concert, really.
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bxdash Wrote:I had to pull Emergency off the track list tho. It absolutely just HAD TO GO. It's a fine song and all, I just couldn't listen to it. It feels like it's form a completely different session.




agree.
find myself skipping over emergency.
it doesn't seem to want to grow on me.




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So I was listening to the boot of the Jimmy show at Mexicali Live from back in 2010 today, which I attended, and it has a long monologue where he talks about the next Ours record.

I've transcribed it below if anyone is interested. Maybe it will take the place of interviews right now Smile

The TL;DR is that he says that when they made the record he wanted to go back to the feeling of being in the band during the Sour era. He also said that these were songs written for Velvet Revolver with the intention of making something that would sound like a follow up to Appetite for Destruction. I thought that was fascinating and I can't believe I forgot all about it.


Quote:So the next Ours record...after doing this acoustic record...I get antsy. I do one thing and then I want to do something completely different. So, I've been having these feelings, I mean, when I was a little younger...maybe... [mumbles comically] years ago, we had something going on with our band where we kind of...I wouldn't say that we lost it over the years, you know, we changed, and I don't ever like to do the same thing over and over. There's lots of great bands who do that. AC/DC's one of em, they always make the same record and it's great each time. But I just wanted to do something new each time and grow. So the thing was by the time I made the first record, we never really made that record with the sound of the band that we had when I was younger, We never really made that record. And it was a fun band to be in at that time. Because, we uh, at a time where it was a...a bit of a hair band thing going on, which definitely with some great bands at the time. Some great singers, some great songs, which I felt actually deteriorated through the 90's with people who pretended like it was cool to not play. But um, we had a fun thing cuz we had this thing where we'd go into any little dingy bar and really just lay it out and really just kick ass. And I've been dying to do that again lately. I have a bunch of songs that I've written that are just gonna be, I don't know how to describe them, but I'd imagine that it's going to be close to that feeling that we had when we were younger. And I am really looking forward to doing that. I'm not going to play any of them yet tonight because for once I wanna surprise everybody with a record full of songs that you haven't heard. Rather than letting you hear it for five years and then recording it...and then wondering, "Why isn't anyone coming to the shows anymore? Because they've heard these songs for the last 20 years."

Yeah so there were some songs that I...I got a call to go down and sing with the guys from Velvet Revolver--a couple of times. The first time before Scott Weiland was in the band and then again after he was gone. I did jam with Slash a couple years ago, a show that we did in New York. It was horrible for me because I had lost my voice for about 6 months, 8 months. And I was just getting it back, that day oddly enough. I didn't know that I was getting it back. So I was terrified to go up and sing and I was like, "You gotta be kidding me." All those years of living like a compete...just trying to live like a Buddhist, with my, just everything. And the one night where I'm actually going to go up and play with some of my heroes and my voice wasn't working. So I did go up though and sing badly and...the one of the guys in the band gave me to wrong cue, so the funny thing about is if you find some of the footage on YouTube you'll see me going to sing and you'll see Slash going like this [makes a hand motion to his throat indicating for him not to go up? I don't remember what motion he mimed]. Great moment with Slash. Anyway the next day they called me and asked me to come to California and jam with them. And um...with the idea of that I started to write these songs about how I felt we could possibly make...Guns N' Roses, Appetite for Destruction was such a great record, and...I wasn't always into rock during that time growing up. I liked some of the bands like I was saying, but Guns N' Roses, that record was a great record and I thought if we were going to do anything, we had to...kind of make the next record that that great band would have made. So a bunch of the songs I started to write, and I guess maybe that's what the next record that we make as a band will be. I'm looking really forward to that, I'm not sure when it will be but...again I'm not going to play any of those right now. Maybe one...maybe one or two.

Anyway, just to give you an idea, this is the last thing I'll say about it. They spoke to the manager that we had at the time and he said to them, "What's in it for me if I have Jimmy come down to you?" That's the kind of management that we've had over the years. Just so you guys know that's what we deal with. "What's in it for me if I have Jimmy come down?" Awesome. So anyway, I sent them a letter myself and I said listen, "Let's get Slash, let's get Duff, let's find a drummer with a big, fat, back beat and a lot of soul...and where is Izzy Stradlin? They didn't like that email. So we're gonna keep all those songs that I was writing and hopefully it will come out [soon?].
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ok now that is just so fucking awesome of you to go to the trouble to do that, thanks so much!

i LOVE that ballet the boxer 1 is the surprise that jimmy wanted. a very lovely surprise indeed. can't wait to hear more from these writing sessions!
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