Passing_Stranger wrote:This seems an appropriate thread to ask - can anybody please explain the recent-ish hype about this album? I've seen countless times it hailed as some sort of a lost masterpiece, an achievement of epic proportions. What is it that I cannot hear? To me it's a weak record of a band bereft of ideas and/or tired and creatively spent (at least for the time being) but having to release something, anything after the unexpected mammoth success of a previous one. Sounds like they were going for "Radio activity" vibe but the experimental tracks are barely listenable - clearly such things weren't their forte. As for proper songs, well, using a couple of old B-sides as part of a main program of eight songs is always a sign that something's wrong. But even the other songs are mostly subpar, B-side level fillers. I'd only single out "Telegraph" and "Radio waves" as LP material, maybe "International" is nice, too, but I could hardly bear Andy's tuneless screaming (sic!) - and on this album it surfaces with disturbing regularity.
Alright, after a couple dozens of listens it all kinda grows on you, but seen objectively it's very clearly a lesser, not major work, something of a footnote and a deserved flop. So again - why so much praise? Anyone?
I have to agree with you; I don't get the hype with it. Mind you, a lot of that 'lost masterpiece' business seems to come from Andy and Paul themselves. Sadly it's probably one of my least favourite albums of theirs, second only to The Pacific Age.
All that being said, this really does seem to be a missed opportunity to have all the bonus material in one place. Even a separate set like the A&M one would've been fine. Hopefully this will be the last reissue of the first four albums, but I won't hold my breath.