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Old 09-07-2010, 12:51 PM
Future Proof
Richard Simmons
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Section 8
Posts: 347
Re: Thoughts on Barking (Track by Track)
Quote:
Originally Posted by 34958hq439-qjw9v5jq298v5j View Post
yes but "great" albums don't really need to be that innovative. Take the Cars first album, or maybe even Technique by New Order (to use another sacred cow) - neither of them really were terribly innovative, but they were great albums besides...
You're right, and there are more than a few albums I've listened to where I've felt that nothing new was added, but old ideas had just got polished to a point of near perfection. That said, Barking is NOT that album. It's not a bad album, but!!! It's not (IMHO) a classic, and my axe to grind came entirely from the fact that this UW album felt much more nestled in the middle of the pack than any other. I talked about OWB in my original post and how I felt that it was largely a failure. However, it was a risky, daring album with an original and unique feel... and it didn't work.

I have not listened to every album ever made myself. But I've listened to enough to know somewhat when artists are playing it safe, and when they are trying to write something completely different from both A.) their back catalog and B.) their contemporaries. And truth be told, I haven't unanimously liked anything Underworld has put out since STITI. But in spite of the fact that I've had a hard time with the rest of their releases I can feel in their music that they're always reaching and digging for something deeper. Always except for with Barking, a good album with no ambition except to (it seems) make everyone bust a move "when the lights go down".

But whatever, they've contributed enough to their scene and I'd wager that they personally had a ton of fun working with others, and enjoyed how much pressure was lifted when other people were brought in to do some of the heavy moving. This was a good record for them, and with good results in places. It's a different animal than everything else they've done however, and the samey-ness of this record compared to the modern scene is a major detraction.

Last edited by Future Proof; 09-07-2010 at 12:55 PM.