Search - A Perfect Circle :: Emotive

William E. (unholyblackdeath) from GRAPEVINE, TX
Reviewed on 1/7/2008...

Another great release from Maynard and company. The highlight of this one is "Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rythem of The War Drums". Worth a listen for sure. I give it four stars.

Good--depressing, but good

A. Stutheit | Denver, CO USA | 02/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Nowadays, if you're a celebrity, there are really two ways you can protest a war or government. You can either do what one Fred Durst did, and make a holy fool of yourself by grabbing the mic at an awards show and saying to the crowd "I hope we're all in agreeance that this war should go away"; or plan b) you can make a protest album. Maynard James Keenan and his side project, A Perfect Circle, have a little intelligence on their side, so they chose the latter option. "Emotive," APC's third release, is a protest/covers album; it covers everything from John Lennon ("Imagine") to Depeche Mode ("People Are People") to Black Flag ("Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie"). Plus, there are two original songs (tracks which aren't covers). Track five, "Passive," is actually a remake of a song written by Keenan and Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor, and "Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums" (catchy title, huh?) is, contrary to popular belief, not a remix of the song "Pet" (which appeared on A Perfect Circle's last album, "13th Step"). Rather, this song is a continuation/second part of "Pet."



Some fans think that "Emotive" isn't an anti-war album, because of comments made by Maynard before the album's release. But, with lyrics like "war is not the answer" (in "What's Going On," a song originally done by Marvin Gaye), it's hard to believe there isn't an underlying political or anti-war message, here.



Almost every song on here is moving and touching. "Emotive," as a whole, is very depressing, but it's also very pretty. Plus, some of the songs (like "Imagine" and "Passive") are even kind of catchy.



The album begins with "Annihilation," which has very creepy, almost bonechilling whispers about power. The next song, "Imagine," is the single. It has some funeral-like piano playing, occasional string plucking, and a rhythmic drum beat; but it's mainly catchy because of Maynard's vocal style. Tracks three and eleven, ("What's So Funny `Bout) Peace Love and Understanding" and "When The Levee Breaks," find Maynard singing in a clear, limpid, feminine, almost falsetto tone. Plus, the former track is very atmospheric, with reverberating piano keys, a violin, and a resonating drum beat.



Elsewhere, "What's Going On" has very spacey singing with humming, almost static-y synthesizers; "Passive" is rather up-tempo and fast; and the album closer, "Fiddle and the Drum," is almost breathtaking (with nasal, a capella singing).



"Emotive" doesn't raise the bar for Maynard or A Perfect Circle, so it's understandable that some fans would be quite disappointed by this album. Plus, if you think a protest album should uplift the listener's spirits and give you a feeling of empowerment, you'll definitely not have any luck with this C.D.. But if you're an anti-war Maynard aficionado who's looking for some peace love and understanding, or if you just want a C.D. that's very calming and soothing, look no further."

Weak and powerless...

S. Walden | Woodstock, GA United States | 12/12/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Cover songs can be beautiful things. When well-chosen and deftly executed, a band can bring new life to a classic cut. A prime example, of course, would be APC's take on Failure's "The Nurse Who Loved Me", which managed to maintain the feeling of hopeful longing central to the original yet making it truly the band's own. And while we're in MJK-land let's not forget TOOL's reworking of Peach's "You Lied", which might just be the single greatest cover ever recorded.



The cover album, and it's close cousin the tribute album, are different animals entirely. They rarely work. The obvious problem is in the song selection -- Pick a classic, well-loved track and a band is hard-pressed to maintain the fell of the original while bringing something new. Pick obscure songs, and, well, nobody really cares.



And therein lies the main problem of "Emotive": song selection. In some cases, it couldn't get any better. A sinister-nursery-rhyme "Annihilation"? Great. Turning "Imagine" into a dirge? Brilliant. And "Passive" is an outstanding track, although as an original it would have been more at home on "Thirteenth Step". But what else is there? Most of the other songs are fair at best -- not necessarily BAD, but limp and uninspired. A slow version of "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie"? Nice try, but slow Black Flag is like drinking warm beer -- it might get you there, but it's definitely a bad idea. "Freedom of Choice" -- yeah that's a great DEVO cut, but here it's utterly bland, like it was phoned-in. And "Counting Bodies Like Sheep..." is the biggest piece of filler crap on this CD -- "Pet" was a great track on "Thirteenth Step", here it's just a sorry repetitive remix. Again, zero effort.



My other beef with this weak offering is in its tone. With any of MJK's other work, the lyrics are touched with a subtlety that is nearly sublime. The songs are intentionally abstract, leaving the listener open to take whatever interpretation is desired. In contrast, the political agenda of "Emotive" shines like a diamond in a goat's a$$. Quite frankly, when I pay money to be entertained, I expect to be entertained, not preached to (regardless if I agree with the subject matter or not). And if you ARE going to push an agenda in the guise of a "new" album, at least have the common decency to do it in a convincing manner -- you're not going to get too many people to listen when it's obvious not a lot of effort went into the project. Evidently there are plenty of others who agree with me on this point: At the time of this review, "Emotive" has garnered an astonishingly crappy 3-star rating from 247 reviews, and there are 97 copies availible on amazon from people who didn't feel this album was worth the money they paid.



In closing, one of MJK's favorite quotes seems to be Dr. Timothy Leary's great "Think for yourself. Question authority." Well, I DO think for myself, and I DO question authority. Which includes APC's authority over my vote and my wallet. If APC happens to crank out another ORIGINAL album, I will be interested. But if it's another uninspired, effortless, over-hyped piece of propaganda, I'll go read Marx."