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As a certified Dino "Lifer", I felt disappointed by Beyond. Most tunes didn’t go ‘beyond’ J’s solid but all too familiar writing style. I would even say that Hand It Over and More Light had better songs.
I was hoping for more of a return to Bug or YLAOM, both in terms of the crazy multi-part structures and the awesome layered production. To me, the difference between YLAOMand Beyond is HUGE. Maybe it’s the relatively short time they spent recording the new album or the fact that J probably (and sort of understandably) doesn’t care about remaking Bug. But still, think about the first time you heard YLAOM. Did Beyond even come closer to blowing your mind the same way? I don’t wanna hear a remake, but this was a chance to take things to a new plane and it didn’t happen.
Of course, I’m not 19 anymore. Ehh..I wanna cheer on, but it feels a bit forced…
"sturn " wrote:As a certified Dino "Lifer", I felt disappointed by Beyond. Most tunes didn’t go ‘beyond’ J’s solid but all too familiar writing style. I would even say that Hand It Over and More Light had better songs.I was hoping for more of a return to Bug or YLAOM, both in terms of the crazy multi-part structures and the awesome layered production. To me, the difference between YLAOMand Beyond is HUGE. Maybe it’s the relatively short time they spent recording the new album or the fact that J probably (and sort of understandably) doesn’t care about remaking Bug. But still, think about the first time you heard YLAOM. Did Beyond even come closer to blowing your mind the same way? I don’t wanna hear a remake, but this was a chance to take things to a new plane and it didn’t happen.
Of course, I’m not 19 anymore. Ehh..I wanna cheer on, but it feels a bit forced…
I understand what you mean but you must realize that when YLAOM came out nothing sounded like it, so it was bound to have that blown away effect on everyone. You must also realize that they are not the "same" people or musicians they were 20 years ago. So to set such a high bar seems to me a little unfair, and unrealistic.
There are some killer moments on the record, it really does feel like a continuation (sp?) of sorts. I don’t think J would have made this album with Mike Johnson or George Bertz, it still has the aura of the older Dinosaur records and I guess for me thats enough.
I love it.
beyond is a killer album to me. it is maybe there most consistent work. i can’t stop playing this album. i can’t tell exactly why, but this album feels very comfortable. it is maybe not as layered and dynamic as some of their other albums, but this is the dinosaur jr 2007 reunion album. it is perfect. every second fits perfectly. it is a continuation & progress at the same time – almost magic.
It gets heavy rotation here, too. Actually Beyond has been among the top 40 best selling albums for three weeks here in Norway. first week no.14, no. 25-30 the last two weeks.
Never happen before here.And it’s placed number 3 on the swedish/norwegian webshop cdon.com. In their indie/alternative part of the shop. Placed before bands like Arctic Monkeys, Bright Eyes etc.
"sturn " wrote:I was hoping for more of a return to Bug or YLAOM, both in terms of the crazy multi-part structures and the awesome layered production.You find this same situation in the visual arts…………..a painter is doing his thing for say 15 years and then sometimes slowly sometimes suddenly his/her work begins to change. If you follow the artist and appriciate them then you are forced to make the new connection with what they are doing or not. Looking deeply into the work most often you can see the progression , the maturation. It always is interesting when people beg or desire a return to a place in time that was but is not anymore. I understand about wanting to go back………but you know the old saying "you can never go back" it’s true. My husband and I experienced a magical time in our life while living with a group of artists at a place called "Banning Mill" in the early 1990’s……..if you have seen the movie "Friend Green Tomatoes" the river club scene……..that was our house……..our back yard. We went back about seven years ago and we walked around with our children and nothing was the same……..the magic, the beauty, the love we had there, the special place we used to sit down together by the river………gone……turned into expensive condos! All the magic has gone…….it lives on in memory, in photographs but we could never recreate that time again, no matter how hard we tried….I think Beyond would have really seemed forced had they tried to duplicate an earlier sound.
Beyond to me was better than I had expected it would be……….I like the simplicity of it, it feels lighter to me, more fun, more relaxed……..nothing wrong with that.
"annette spalding " wrote:There’s no good leads on the new album. It’s like J lost his ability to relax and do them.I must say annette, this is the first post of yours in a long time that I could actually read and make heads or tails of…
that said…………………Do you mean leads as in the kinds that dectectives get when solving a crime or more the kind that salesmen get when making a sale? Are you speaking about the guitar? I’m confused?
not so elaborate leads, thats true. but still they fit perfectly the songs. and this is the quality of j.mascis, imo. there is a moment in "crumble" which illustrates this perfectly: in the first third of the song, or so, the song calms down a bit, the rhythm guitar (or bass) dominates, and then then comes a short,simple solo. and the notes of the solo fit so perfectly in this part of the song that it is almost magic to me.
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