It Took 4 Years, But I Now Love The Count Of Tuscany

[adamack]

When I first heard it, I didn't like it much.

Then I started thinking it was "good" at best.

Until last night, when I randomly put it on. And now I love it!

Let me first be clear that I absolutely can't stand the cringe-worthy lyrics. Hell, now that I think of it, I highly dislike all of BCaSL's lyrics, save Wither which isn't so bad lyrically I suppose.

But TCoT, ANtR, and of course TBoT, make me cringe. ANtR less than the other 2, but still.

Back to TCoT, there are so many awesome musical pieces in it, that I just try to shut out the lyrics as best as I can.

The intro is so amazing. Then, the main riff/keyboard that comes in at 4:07 is so awesome. And as much as I dislike the lyrics, the music on the verses does such a perfect job at painting a picture of the story.

The riff on the pre-chorus part ("Let me introduce, my brother" part) and the chorus itself are killer.

The instrumental section is definitely one of my fav. DT instrumental sections. It isn't just wankery to me...it is very melodic. Love that sine wave patch JR uses to compliment the guitar around 10:09. Then, into a really epic, somewhat evil sounding guitar solo when the tempo changes right before the ambient break.

Then, the best part...the epic ending. Love the "ohhs" and "whoas" so much, and when it goes back into the familiar melody from the intro....so awesome.


I may eat my words at some point, but dare I say that if this song had great lyrics, it just might be in my top 5 DT songs of all time.

Feel free to share your thoughts on the song....I'm sure it is a "love it or hate it" type of song, but I'd love to hear some thoughts.

[Kotowboy]

Musically I love it - it's just that the lyrics are really corny.


Musically - it sounds like a mini Octavarium. Parts of it definitely remind me of the title track.

[adamack]

Yeah exactly. Certain lyrics in particular just embarrass me. I hate when JLB says "down narrow streets and dusty roads" for some reason.

The whole idea in general is just horrible. A song with music that good should not be about such an experience, regardless of how scared JP was when he met this old dude.

[Kotowboy]

How did JP write this when he has written such lyrical gems in the past ?

I'm glad he got the whole fantasy thing out of his system on SC & BC.

[Tom Bombadil]

Let me first be clear that I absolutely can't stand the cringe-worthy lyrics. Hell, now that I think of it, I highly dislike all of BCaSL's lyrics, save Repentance, and Wither isn't so bad lyrically I suppose.

Repentance does have some good lyrics, but not on BC&SL

On topic, though, I absolutely love TCOT- #3 on my DT list (which you can still check out "wink wink"). As I said there, yes, the lyrics are bad, but the music more than makes up for it. The first 5 minutes is one of the single best DT openings ever. The ending is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. So excellent. It's probably my favorite 18+ minute song, only Supper's Ready comes close.

[TheAtliator]

Wow took you that long?? 

I guess I'll give it another four years for you to like the lyrics. The whole song simply wonderful and majestic. 

[Tis BOOLsheet]

That's dedication lol

[BanksD]

The song is probably one of DT's best musically, but the lyrics just don't match up to it.

That doesn't keep me from enjoying it from time to time when I want a DT epic to jam to that's a little more "fun" in nature

[BlobVanDam]

How did JP write this when he has written such lyrical gems in the past ?

I'm glad he got the whole fantasy thing out of his system on SC & BC.

Nothing on BCASL is fantasy. Just embellished reality.

I thought the lyrics were weird at first, but I love the quirkiness of them. I have some issues with the vocal melodies, but I love the story-telling nature of it. It's unique and fun.

And musically, it's amazing. The opening instrumental section is one of their best ever.

[Kotowboy]

I love that riff that starts out the heavy verse which is just an E pedal note and shifting double-stops underneath it.

It's pretty fun to play.

[adamack]

Let me first be clear that I absolutely can't stand the cringe-worthy lyrics. Hell, now that I think of it, I highly dislike all of BCaSL's lyrics, save Repentance, and Wither isn't so bad lyrically I suppose.

Repentance does have some good lyrics, but not on BC&SL

On topic, though, I absolutely love TCOT- #3 on my DT list (which you can still check out "wink wink"). As I said there, yes, the lyrics are bad, but the music more than makes up for it. The first 5 minutes is one of the single best DT openings ever. The ending is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. So excellent. It's probably my favorite 18+ minute song, only Supper's Ready comes close.

Oh God @ Repentance...Hahaha...the ultimate " "  Just fixed it. Geez, what was I thinking!?

Ya know what, I actually think that the reason I decided to listen to it last night was subconsciously because I remembered seeing it really high on your list! You have taste very similar to mine BTW. Great list and write-up man! Love how you went into depth for your track reviews.

I remember reading your write-up for Home, and it made me remember why that was the first DT song I fell in love with, and why it would be on my top 10 as well. (Or was it top 20 for you?)

Great stuff.

[Tom Bombadil]

Let me first be clear that I absolutely can't stand the cringe-worthy lyrics. Hell, now that I think of it, I highly dislike all of BCaSL's lyrics, save Repentance, and Wither isn't so bad lyrically I suppose.

Repentance does have some good lyrics, but not on BC&SL

On topic, though, I absolutely love TCOT- #3 on my DT list (which you can still check out "wink wink"). As I said there, yes, the lyrics are bad, but the music more than makes up for it. The first 5 minutes is one of the single best DT openings ever. The ending is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. So excellent. It's probably my favorite 18+ minute song, only Supper's Ready comes close.

Oh God @ Repentance...Hahaha...the ultimate " "  Just fixed it. Geez, what was I thinking!?

Ya know what, I actually think that the reason I decided to listen to it last night was subconsciously because I remembered seeing it really high on your list! You have taste very similar to mine BTW. Great list and write-up man! Love how you went into depth for your track reviews.

I remember reading your write-up for Home, and it made me remember why that was the first DT song I fell in love with, and why it would be on my top 10 as well. (Or was it top 20 for you?)

Great stuff.

It was somewhere in the top 20. Nice to see someone appreciates my write-ups. It takes a lot longer than you'd expect to think of all that stuff.

Glad I had an impact, however so small, of getting you to listen again to this wonderful piece of music.

[adamack]

Wow took you that long?? 

I guess I'll give it another four years for you to like the lyrics. The whole song simply wonderful and majestic. 

Haha, yep...something just clicked! I mean I definitely enjoyed it to some extent before, but it grew on me exponentially.

And musically, it's amazing. The opening instrumental section is one of their best ever.

Definitely....the opening instrumental has just leapfrogged its way into my top 3 or so.

I love that riff that starts out the heavy verse which is just an E pedal note and shifting double-stops underneath it.

It's pretty fun to play.

This part is prob. my second favorite in the entire song, aside from the ending. The riff with JR's pad underneath it is huge, epic, and just kick ass overall.

[Kotowboy]

Easily the best song on BC&SL.

[adamack]

It was somewhere in the top 20. Nice to see someone appreciates my write-ups. It takes a lot longer than you'd expect to think of all that stuff.

Glad I had an impact, however so small, of getting you to listen again to this wonderful piece of music.

Oh no trust me man, I know that takes a very long time to write. In fact, I was going to make a top 25 list, but I got to the 3rd song and I had to throw in the towel because I had so much to say about each song, and it took forever. So props for all of your hard work.

I'm going to check out some more of your thread tonight. I love reading reviews, especially ones which really hit home with me. A lot of your opinions on your picks sounded exactly like what I would say about them if I made a list thread.

Thanks again!

[425]

The lyrics aren't great, but they're almost like the lyrical version of some of DT's crazier instrumental sections. Amusing and fun in their own way even if they aren't perfectly serious.

And the song as a whole is just amazing.

I basically agree with this:

I thought the lyrics were weird at first, but I love the quirkiness of them. I have some issues with the vocal melodies, but I love the story-telling nature of it. It's unique and fun.

And musically, it's amazing. The opening instrumental section is one of their best ever.

[Grizz]

This song has had my heart since day 1. I could give a rat's ass about the lyrics.
TCoT was wonderful as an encore, especially in 2010 when JP started messing around more with the ambient section. The ending is an example of when pre-click DT slows down live, and it really benefits, especially given the context (the show is about to end, let's drag it out; emotion that the show is going to end, let's give some slowness to emphasize emotion; etc.).

[Rodni Demental]

Count of Tuscany is a grower for sure. I disregarded it a bit at first because I was like.. Come on dude it can't be that scary you're not gonna die! (not that I can pretend to understand). But a friend of mine that really appreciated it, just kept on playing the song every now and then and it completely grew on me to become the mastery epic like the others before it.

The lyrics don't bother me anymore, in fact the cheesey-ness is somewhat of an appeal that I can appreciate in a humorous way without being irritated by my altered conception of how myself and other people think the song should sound.

It's great just the way it is and I can hardly believe it was the encore for the only New Zealand show they played.. Now I can't believe I missed it! That would have been incredible.

[Tom Bombadil]

This song has had my heart since day 1. I could give a rat's ass about the lyrics.
TCoT was wonderful as an encore, especially in 2010 when JP started messing around more with the ambient section. The ending is an example of when pre-click DT slows down live, and it really benefits, especially given the context (the show is about to end, let's drag it out; emotion that the show is going to end, let's give some slowness to emphasize emotion; etc.).

I would kill to see this song live. Hope they play it on this tour, it might fit in somewhere in the "Evening with" format.

[hefdaddy42]

The opening instrumental section is one of their best ever.

I agree with that.

[54_diplomats]

I love TCOT. Like most people I think it's brilliant musically, but crappy lyrically. The keyboards at the beginning are fantastic and the ending is spine tingling.

[adamack]

Great to see how many people hold this song in high regard!

Also, it makes me happy that a lot of you guys have grown to tolerate, or in some cases, enjoy the lyrics. It gives me hope that maybe they will grow on me to a point some day.

The one thing that appears to be unanimous is that the musical aspect of this song kicks large quantities of ass.

Musically, I even prefer it to IT.

...too soon?

[hefdaddy42]

I love the music to most of the song.  However, I find the musical sections during the cheesy lyrics to be just as cheesy. 

I love the intro, the ambient section, and everything after.  But the main lyrical section kind of grinds my gears.

[DebraKadabra]

Easily the most overrated song on BC&SL.

FTFY

[sylvinception]

"It Took 4 Years, but unfortunately I still don't like The Count Of Tuscany"...

[Riitasointi]

It's funny, I never thought the lyrics to this song were stupid or cheesy at all. Only now that I read these comments I started to review the words and yes, they can indeed seem a bit foolish at times. This doesn't stop me from enjoying this song immensely though. TCOT is a very good and engaging epic even by DT's standards, so many amazing parts in this song! I think I like Black Clouds as a whole more than the average person on this forum. So, it's good that the OP has found the awesomeness of this song! 

[Onno]

I absolutely love this song, it's in my top 10. Yes, the lyrics are cheesy, but they are not cheesy enough to bother me and the instrumental parts are amazing. The best part of the song starts at the volume swells.

[Kotowboy]

Easily the most overrated song on BC&SL.

FTFM

FTFY

[?]

I just listened to TCOT on the bus. I still love it musically, but I had to make a wry face when the "mah brutha" section started Luckily the beginning and the end of the song are some of the best music DT have ever written.

[manticore999]

To me this is a truly awful song.  I'm embarrassed for them whenever I hear it.

[BlobVanDam]

To me this is a truly awful song.  I'm embarrassed for them whenever I hear it.

Don't be, because there's nothing for them to be embarrassed about. It's a good song.

[kirksnosehair]

A musically brilliant song that is somewhat dragged down by the lyrics.  They're not terrible lyrics, they're just too...literal.

[Cygnus17]

The lyrics are very tough to get beyond, so bad.  But I should give the music another chance, definitely some good stuff in that song.

[bosk1]

A musically brilliant song that is somewhat dragged down by the lyrics.  They're not terrible lyrics, they're just too...literal.

I have no problem with lyrics being literal, but that's a fair criticism.  But for people who find them "cringe-worthy" or who are actually "bothered" by them...I dunno.  I think some people just have a serious need to recalibrate themselves or something.  I think the lyrics are great.

But the real reason I posted in this thread was just to say that the thread title instantly made me think of the ending of 1984.

[SuperTaco]

When I first heard it, it was a good, solid middle of the road epic on my list. Overtime, it's slowly gained more of my interest. In my list of favorite epics, it is 5th behind ANTR/IT/ACOS/8VM. That might not sound great, but I place #2-#5 in basically the same regard. They are all second place.

I always found it interesting that this is the only song where JP has a backing track (The clean guitar in the intro) when he plays it live. He's always been a stickler about being the only guitar player in the band, so I think it might have been a tough decision for him. Though now that I think about it, that part couldn't really be done properly without a backing track..

The song has a smooth, easy going flow without getting overly crazy. That's something that isn't always true with DT epics, being the insane musicians that they are. The structure of the track is put together in a compelling and climactic way that sufficiently builds up to the end. Despite the subject of the lyrics being a topic of much discussion, I feel that they fit the song because they tell a story along side the music. Everything that happens in the story of the lyrics is guided by the music. That's how it's supposed to feel and this song does that quite well.