I went for Blackbird, as it's the cheapest on iTunes, and I'm a total stinge
Will give it a couple of weeks to absorb, and then I'll go for Fortress. I don't know about anyone else, but it takes me at least a week to settle into any new album.
That's a good path. Start with BB, then do Fortress. After that, I'd suggest The Last Hero and/or ABIII. I'd save One Day Remains for last, not because it's their worst (IMO, it's not) but because it was their first album and they were still finding their sound as a band. As a result, it kinda sticks out of the discography a bit.
So, I've been listening to Blackbird for the last couple of weeks. I have to say - it took me a while to get into it. At first, all the songs seemed pretty samey, but once I got used to their style, which probably took a few days of solid listening, I found it a lot more accessible.
Blackbird, the song, is just top notch. Very poignant too, when you discover what it's about.
Watch Over You is the song they did at the concert (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqdp3b7l8oo), with just Myles on acoustic guitar, that made me take a mental note to go away and find out what it was. Great ballad, plus it uses open G tuning which makes it pretty fun to try to play.
Wayward One is a strange one for me. I love the brooding verse and bridge, but the chorus sounds to me like it doesn't fit. It shifts from minor to major, and just sounds a bit weird.
Some other favourites would be
Come to Life,
Brand New Start,
White Knuckles ("only the strong survive-ahhh"
)
Made a start on Fortress last night. Initial impressions are very good - sounds like a natural progression from Blackbird, although I know I'm skipping an album in between.
I'd say it sounds a bit catchier that Blackbird, in terms of riffs and vocal lines. There seems to be more vocal harmonies too, which is great.
All good..