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Post by stax69 on May 3, 2004 19:23:18 GMT -5
 Maybe it's me but I've always felt Paul's shining "solo" moment came with Suicaine Gratifaction. It was Paul at his most vulnerable since his 'Mats heyday. It's a Wonderful Lie, Self-Defense, Born for Me, Sunrise Always Listens, & Bookmark are some of his most memorable songs...and Don Was perfectly "underproduced" the album w/o making it sound likely a second rate set of demos. Sure, the album title blows & there are very few rockers on the record, but Eventually was packed full of those and most of them were pretty weak. Guess I just like the sound of Paul and his piano with nothing left to lose. Has anyone else ever wanted to see a piano encore by the true "prince" of MPLS?
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Post by kgp on May 3, 2004 20:30:49 GMT -5
I've said this before but I think Suicaine could've been more. Parts of it seem very dark and vulnerable, and the rest seem like something done to please his record company. I like it in retrospect, but I doubt he'd make another album like that again. I think it fits into the "whole" of his work, if you know what I mean. "Wonderful Lie", "Self-Defense", and "Bookmark" are great songs, some of his best, but I don't know how performable they are. (other than "Wonderful Lie")
That being said, Paul should stay away from the piano. At least when he's depressed.
Is oncore a word?
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Post by stax69 on May 3, 2004 20:45:43 GMT -5
Maybe I've been listening to the wrong records...isn't Paul always a little depressed? Also, are record companies usually pleased with dreary, piano based singer-songwriter albums with no obvious radio singles?
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Post by ClamsCasino on May 3, 2004 20:51:04 GMT -5
Maybe I've been listening to the wrong records...isn't Paul always a little depressed? Also, are record companies usually pleased with dreary, piano based singer-songwriter albums with no obvious radio singles? Maybe he's always been a little depressed, but he's never sounded quite so dreary as he does on Suicaine. You might be listening to the wrong records if all you're listening to is solo Paul. Go back and listen to some Replacements albums. They're loud, obnoxious, angst-ridden, sweet, funny, sad, energetic, emotional, shocking, rocking and rolling, but the one thing they are not is dreary and depressing. |
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Post by Christy on May 3, 2004 23:44:27 GMT -5
suicaine is an acquired taste for the discriminating pw fan....
my husband and i have vastly different musical taste, and he is receptive to almost anything i listen to, except for this. the first time i put this cd in, a few notes in he gave me a look (eyes widened, eyebrows up) that i have yet to see duplicated.
performed live, the songs from suicaine sound completely different than they do on the cd. to me, they are fuller and better live. more spark, less dark.
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Post by ClamsCasino on May 4, 2004 0:13:18 GMT -5
performed live, the songs from suicaine sound completely different than they do on the cd. to me, they are fuller and better live. more spark, less dark. Hm...fuller live? He's only ever played a handful of tracks off the album live and it's always been solo. I love the quicker tempo of "Wonderful Lie" on the Jools Holland show, but I don't know if I'd call his other live performances of Suicaine tunes fuller or better than they are on the album. Has he played anything else besides "Best Thing that Never Happened," "Born For Me," and "Lookin' Out Forever" live? I prefer the full instrumentation of the album versions on all of those. I can't do without that one-handed piano solo on "Born For Me." I guess there's a solo acoustic version of "Whatever Makes You Happy" on that Launch CD-Rom, but I've never heard him play it at any of the solo shows. |
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Post by torethatbridgeout on May 4, 2004 2:59:55 GMT -5
::)Has anyone else ever wanted to see a piano encore by the true "prince" of MPLS? Yeah, I'd like to see him tackle a Moog. ::)Guess I just like the sound of Paul and his piano with nothing left to lose. I agree, but it turned out he had something left to lose after all, and he lost it somewhere between Mono and CFMT, and it was production values and like Clammy says his voice. |
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zook
Beagle Scout
You be me for awhile and I'll be ewe...
Posts: 1,246
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Post by zook on May 4, 2004 9:55:03 GMT -5
SG is a mood album for me - I like to listen to it when I am feeling introspective or sad. I would say it more depressing than usual for Paul but mostly because it is so sparse and quiet. I think Stereo is a similar album (but a little better) except with a guitar instead of piano. Both sound sad to me.
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Post by bhay42 on May 4, 2004 11:30:54 GMT -5
Suicaine was my favorite solo disc until Mono and the other recent batch. Sure, it's a dark ride, but I thought it was also his first real solo disc, where he finally stepped out of the 'mats shadow into his own thing.
There are two misses on the album (the dull Sunrise Always Listens and just-too-damn-weird Actor In The Street), but the rest of the disc ranks very high in my Paul solo catalog. It's A Wonderful Lie, Looking Out Forever, and Fugitive Kind are among my all-time favorites of his. Born For Me is his best love song. Last Hurrah and Whatever Makes You Happy are great jangly rockers. And Bookmark and Self-Defense are just damn haunting.
Ok, another flat-out love rant by me. Gotta stop writing these.
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Post by landshark on May 4, 2004 13:47:12 GMT -5
. Has anyone else ever wanted to see a piano encore by the true "prince" of MPLS? Yes. Bring a piano and someone who knows how to play it on the tunes when Paul's playing guitar. |
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Post by kgp on May 4, 2004 16:59:10 GMT -5
SG is a mood album for me - I like to listen to it when I am feeling introspective or sad. I would say it more depressing than usual for Paul but mostly because it is so sparse and quiet. I think Stereo is a similar album (but a little better) except with a guitar instead of piano. Both sound sad to me. is a better Suicaine, really. The songwriting, overall is a bit stronger, maybe a little more clear headed, but kind of runs along the same lines. And nary a tinkling of keys. ( save for his son banging away at the end of "We May Be The Ones".) When I said it seems partially an effort to appease his record company, I was probably reacting to something he said in an interview from last year. A few of the songs were reworked ("Whatever Makes You Happy" was mentioned.) as Capitol got nervous that there was no single. I guess "Looking Out Forever" was supposed to be the big hit single, since nothing else really stands out as accessible. I think the coldness and apathy turned a lot of people off. (or the crappy piano, take your pick). I think he held back a little and sounds a little too distant. But that's probably the point. Still, I have to like it for what is probably my all time favorite solo song, "It's A Woderful Lie", but I rarely pick it up and listen anymore. It definitely needs a certain mood, like everyone says. |
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Post by ericpolicecop on May 4, 2004 18:36:16 GMT -5
Umm.. yeah, like i've said before, this is the album that really got me into PW, and probably my favorite.. not necessarily the best, but my favorite.
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Post by stax69 on May 4, 2004 20:30:35 GMT -5
Still, I have to like it for what is probably my all time favorite solo song, "It's A Woderful Lie", but I rarely pick it up and listen anymore. It definitely needs a certain mood, like everyone says. Hey kgp I think I got your point now, but I have just one question for you. Is Woderful a word?  Just returning the favor. ;D |
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latebloomer
Second Class Scout
when you least expect it, expect it
Posts: 33
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Post by latebloomer on May 5, 2004 5:23:07 GMT -5
SG is a mood album for me - I like to listen to it when I am feeling introspective or sad. I would say it more depressing than usual for Paul but mostly because it is so sparse and quiet. I think Stereo is a similar album (but a little better) except with a guitar instead of piano. Both sound sad to me. Stereo is my "mood" album. Very sad, but somehow comforting in a way. Although the other day I was feeling so down, that Stereo actually sounded happy. Not sure that's a very healthy place to be for too long, but at least it gave me a little different perspective on his music. |
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Post by kgp on May 5, 2004 10:47:35 GMT -5
Hey kgp I think I got your point now, but I have just one question for you. Is Woderful a word? Just returning the favor. ;D Bad keyboard. touché. |
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Post by torethatbridgeout on May 5, 2004 14:02:37 GMT -5
Hey kgp I think I got your point now, but I have just one question for you. Is Woderful a word? Just returning the favor. ;D Woederful? I hope Paul "It's a Woederful Lie" Westerberg doesn't get any ideas from this board. |
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Post by Christy on May 5, 2004 14:06:55 GMT -5
otherwise he may begin to start talking like lawrence welk.
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suicainekid
First Class Scout
What would you have me do?
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Post by suicainekid on May 8, 2004 10:54:19 GMT -5
I love suicaine to bits. Its the first PW record I heard and I still find it really precious. Lookin Out Forever sort of changed my life in a way - I was THAT moved by it -and you can't give music a better compliment than that.
I used to love listening to 'sunrise always listens' at 6.30 on winter mornings. Maybe thats not a good sign though.....
Not keen on Wonderful Copenhagen though.
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Post by torethatbridgeout on May 8, 2004 17:51:07 GMT -5
Not keen on Wonderful Copenhagen though. WOEderful Copenhagen |
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Post by HillBillyJunk on May 10, 2004 12:24:29 GMT -5
i dont think its a strong effort, compared to his latest work...(which is fucking amazing)
but, wonderful lie...and looking out forever...are two f the best songs ever written...
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Maybe it's me but I've always felt Paul's shining "solo" moment came with Suicaine Gratifaction. It was Paul at his most vulnerable since his 'Mats heyday. It's a Wonderful Lie, Self-Defense, Born for Me, Sunrise Always Listens, & Bookmark are some of his most memorable songs...and Don Was perfectly "underproduced" the album w/o making it sound likely a second rate set of demos. Sure, the album title blows & there are very few rockers on the record, but Eventually was packed full of those and most of them were pretty weak. Guess I just like the sound of Paul and his piano with nothing left to lose. Has anyone else ever wanted to see a piano encore by the true "prince" of MPLS?
Just returning the favor. ;D
