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Post by torethatbridgeout on Feb 19, 2004 22:30:22 GMT -5
Something Kathy said about not finding songs she wanted to hear PW play from Eventually (or was it more of a greatest hits thread?) keeps rattling around in my brain.
I feel like the album is a slight dip in PW's trajectory, yet when I actually listen to it, it holds up real well .... and yet I agree it's hard to find too many songs that you would lie down in front of a bulldozer for to get them put on a greatest hits album.
I'm curious, those of you who were fans then, what was your impression of Eventually when it came out? (I was paying zero attention to music at the time.) Looking back, do you feel the same way?
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Doug
First Class Scout
Posts: 157
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Post by Doug on Feb 20, 2004 1:28:58 GMT -5
Not quite answering your question, but this is the album that converted me from a fan into a fanatic. Though it took a few years. The first five songs are just so much fun to listen to. In an article from the time I found recently, he said it was a bit like a 70s pop Carly Simon album for him (I think), easy listening (in a good way). If you look through the archives, you might find it. Not hugely memorable stuff, except maybe Love Untold. There are four very pretty songs I like a lot that may just be a bit too similar: These Are the Days, Once Around the Weekend, Good Day, and Time Flies Tomorrow. It's like he was starting to write songs about his quiet life, but hadn't figured out how to give them an edge, which he later found.
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Post by grandpaboysfriend on Feb 20, 2004 3:19:45 GMT -5
three years between records was way too long between releases it was the best thing he'd done since 14songs (obviously).
seriously however, i was so pleased to be hearing something new, after having read about it at least a year before hand, that i didn't listen to it with as critical ears as i do now. but it still has some of my personal favourites on it. i remember reading an interview where he said that once around the weekend was more or less written in five minutes coz he didn't have enough songs and that he sacked brendan o'brien because if he wanted to sound like the replacements he'd hire the replacements.
but i know quite a few people who bought this record after years of resistance to the replacements / pw because it was more palatable.
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Post by ClamsCasino on Feb 20, 2004 5:26:03 GMT -5
I've been a devoted fan since '85. I was disappointed with Eventually initially and I rarely listen to it these days. In fact I listen to Stink more often. It felt like Paul still hadn't gotten his sea legs back, even though it took him so damn long to put something out after the respectable but uneven 14 Songs. Overall, Eventually was just too bland. There were no real highs and the lows were among the lowest in his entire catalog of songs (I'm thinking of Times Flies Tomorrow, which contains the single worst line he's ever written--"your eyes like two hubcaps at the bottom of the river" ).
I will say that Eventually tour was the best he's ever sounded live, and the songs on the album were 100% better in the live setting. Certain songs, like "Century," were completely transformed live, effectively making the recorded versions obsolete. "Angels Walk" is still the highlight of the album for me.
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Post by elgoodo on Feb 20, 2004 5:52:33 GMT -5
Eventually is not exactly my favorite, but it does contain Love Untold, which is possibly the most sadly perfect pop song I have ever heard...
and Clams, Time Flies Tomorrow also contains the following lyric:
"your hands are like an ovation an uncertain work of art sometimes so impatient, gonna tear me apart...
there'll be no time for cryin' as you stand and deliver all my thoughts are dying, in silence by your river..."
as soon as you write something more insightful/poetic, you'll let us know?.. thanks...
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Post by torethatbridgeout on Feb 20, 2004 8:06:22 GMT -5
Times Flies Tomorrow, which contains the single worst line he's ever written--"your eyes like two hubcaps at the bottom of the river" ) Thanks for all of those comments ... helps fill in the gaps between me ears. Clammy, I just picked out that "hubcaps" line for special praise on the Lyrics page: it's one of my favorites. No accountants have taste ...
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duckfoot
Star Scout
I'm listening to the f*cking song!
Posts: 607
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Post by duckfoot on Feb 20, 2004 8:08:46 GMT -5
I got Eventually when it came out. It took a while to grow on me. It has some duds, but it is not all that bad. It was the background music for endless games of EA Hockey and beer drinking before my friends and I went out on the weekends. I would rank it above SG, easily. I tried to listen to that album again last night since some of you appear to think so highly of it and I just couldn't keep it on. I just can't get into SG. It was like the day I got it. I tried and wanted to like it, but I just couldn't.
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Post by mdelirious on Feb 20, 2004 9:14:23 GMT -5
Honestly, I think Time Flies Tomorrow is one of the most gorgeous songs ever. And the first 5 songs and also Trumpet Clip are stuff I enjoy listening to. They're...fun.
However, I pretty much can't listen to MamaDaddyDid.
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Post by claypigeon on Feb 20, 2004 10:09:15 GMT -5
Yeah, Mamadaddydid is kind of tough to listen to now since Paul's life has become exactly the opposite. I loved Eventually when it came out and thought it was much better than 14 Songs. Now the album as a whole doesn't do it for me much, but Love Untold, These Are The Days, and Time Flies Tomorrow are still up there with my favorite Paul songs.
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Post by BoringEnormous on Feb 20, 2004 11:19:11 GMT -5
I always found it kind of uneven, too many midtempo janglers...but I think there's some stuff on there that ranks with his best: Angels Walk, Hide 'n Seeking, Century, Love Untold...It took me awhile to warm up to it, though...
Definitely better overall than SG, I think...
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gravy
Beagle Scout
"OK Terrific !!!"
Posts: 1,589
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Post by gravy on Feb 20, 2004 11:19:53 GMT -5
I'm still amazed that people became Westerberg fans POST Mats, that is a very inspiring thing.
Before Eventually came out, I was expecting a Brendan O'Brien produced record. I was expecting something along the lines of what he had done with Matthew Sweet's 100% Fun. Paul then scrapped the O'Brien sessions(with Nick DiDidia, one of the best tracking engineers in the business!) & did the record with Lou Giordano. (former Husker Du soundman,turned Sugar porducer, turned Goo Goo Producer.) I was a little disappointed with it. "once around the weekend " is a great song, but the live version he played on the tour was more up tempo & really shined as a brilliant track.
Eventually to me was like sex and ice cream, even if it's not quite great.....It's still sex. or it's still Ice cream. and in 96, PAul was still better then what was out there! Not quite a masterpiece, but still Paul!
#nosmileys
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Post by ClamsCasino on Feb 20, 2004 16:45:29 GMT -5
Yeah, Mamadaddydid is kind of tough to listen to now since Paul's life has become exactly the opposite. Not really. Listen to the lyrics again and you'll find that it doesn't necessarily contradict his current family life. There's a play on words there that a lot of people seem to miss.
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Post by ClamsCasino on Feb 20, 2004 16:47:39 GMT -5
and Clams, Time Flies Tomorrow also contains the following lyric: "your hands are like an ovation an uncertain work of art sometimes so impatient, gonna tear me apart... there'll be no time for cryin' as you stand and deliver all my thoughts are dying, in silence by your river..." as soon as you write something more insightful/poetic, you'll let us know?.. thanks... No reason to get snippy about it. And I've got plenty of reviews under my belt praising my insightful/poetic writing, so don't be so presumptuous about my writing skills.
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Post by landshark on Feb 20, 2004 17:08:56 GMT -5
1. MamaDaddyDid is the most important song on that album and even though you read it differently know that he has a kid, it still holds up. I say most important because it got him headed back toward good old confessional songwriting. It's a good lick, and a good tune, and a universal message for the middle-aged among us. (Man, it s#cks getting old!)
2. Hubcaps is awkward, admittedly, but there's a truth to it: I was doing a lot of river cleanups at the time and if you see a hubcap at the bottom of the river, you realize the metaphoric/emotional truth of the image. Or at least I saw something.
3. I really liked Eventually when it came out, but it dropped out of the rotation after four or five months and never made it back in --- there's just not much there that speaks of raw honesty, IMO, in the way that SG does. I don't revisit SG too much, either, because I find the noisier songs kind of stiff (Final Hurrah, Fugitive Kind, Best Thing, yawn), but "Wonderful Lie," "Self-Defense," "Bookmark," "Makes You Happy," and yes, even "Actor in the Street" (which I read as his final confession to driving Bob to his death), go right to the heart like the best of his stuff.
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Post by kgp on Feb 20, 2004 17:34:21 GMT -5
I think it holds up pretty well, better than most albums done around the same time. I was listening to Dirty by Sonic Youth a few weeks ago (hadn't for a while) and was surprised to find out how dated it sounded. I think the main problem a lot of people had with Eventually was it's obvious attempts at being a commercial record. It's one of the easier ones to tempt the unconverted. "Love Untold"and"Once Around the Weekend" are still among his best.
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Post by mdelirious on Feb 20, 2004 17:53:33 GMT -5
When I said that I didn't like MamaDaddyDid, I didn't mean that I viewed it funny because he has a son, I meant that I just didn't like the song.
(And I'll admit that I tend to miss the point in things, so I'm not really saying much.)
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Post by A Regular on Feb 20, 2004 20:55:24 GMT -5
And I've got plenty of reviews under my belt praising my insightful/poetic writing, so don't be so presumptuous about my writing skills. Now I finally understand how one can be cursed with insight.
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Post by FeelinLike100Bucks on Feb 20, 2004 21:58:59 GMT -5
that is a richly grotesque line-brillant
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Post by thetwilitekid on Feb 21, 2004 1:16:06 GMT -5
I remember wondering why there wasn't actually hits off Eventually. "Love Untold" I thought would be one, but then it didn't get much play, and I couldn't understand why. I can't remember the actually musical climate in '96 now, but I thought "Love Untold" could have been a top 25 or 20 hit, then followed up that with "Angels Walk" as the second single, and the album could have been a 800,000 or 900,000 maybe even one million selling album. But what do I know?
Every few months I do put Eventually in for a day or two and like it. I don't like how the album was an attempt at a commercial record, but I do like how despite this throws in a song like "Ain't Got Me" with the line "I'm the last of a dying breed/'cause you ain't got me" and eased the disappointment of Paul giving in but in a way he doesn't.
The only song I don't like is "Hide N' Seekin'" "Once Around The Weekend" and "Good Day" are nice songs but kinda forgettable. Everything else I like, particularly "Time Flies Tomorrow."
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Post by scoOter on Feb 21, 2004 9:21:14 GMT -5
i like the album, but it is the "least listened to" amongst the collection.
time flies tomorrow is great
angels walk is one of my favorites
trumpet clip is stupid (but i don't skip it)
you've had it with you forkin' rocks, and i love it
love untold is beautiful
hidenseekin is a little weird
once around the weekend is a bit bland
century is nice
ain't got me is cute
what did i miss?
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