The fact that I'm a live album afficionado and this roulette is open for live albums is giving me trouble I must say, I have twice as many things to think about now.
I'm a bit of a live album aficionado, too. Just as a hint and encouragement.
Match 3 Result::format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-13543423-1556211432-1824.jpeg.jpg)
vs. 
Sacul (Glen Hansard - This Wild Willing) vs. Puppies_On_Acid (Marillion - Marbles)Glen Hansard Impression:
The second half of the album is more like what I was expecting from this artist, and I liked it much better than the first half on the initial listen.Marillion Impression:
This album is darker than I thought it was going to be. It’s the kind of darkness that I’m likely to connect with, though, and the first half especially shows promise.This is another contest that has been fairly close, between two albums that both feel to me like potential growers. On both these albums, there are definitely parts I like and others that I’m as yet unsure about, and a general sense that both of these will open up more if given even more time. It’s another contest that’s definitely close in a good way, since I do have a positive impression of both of these albums, and a sense that the impression could become even better.
The style of
This Wild Willing was somewhat surprising to me, since, based on what I’d heard from this artist, I was expecting more of stripped-back folk style. Instead, I got something somewhat more claustrophobic and electronic-influenced, which is particularly pronounced on the tense opener, I’ll Be You, Be Me. My initial listen to this album consisted largely of being taken aback by this unexpected style and trying to get accustomed to what I was hearing on this album, though I did enjoy some of the later songs, which are a little less produced and more like what I was expecting.
But on subsequent listens, I’ve started to appreciate the strength of some of the songwriting more and more, and spend less time comparing what this album is to what I thought it would be. And the songwriting here is at times quite strong. For example, Don’t Settle is just a fantastic track, with compelling vocal melodies that never feel rote, instead always feeling like they’re saying something new. The chord progressions and building instrumentation only add to the experience. Good Life of Song is another really wonderful track, between Hansard’s melodic and powerful vocals and the scaled-back instrumentation. Also very lovely is the closer, Leave a Light, which excels at the more pared-back approach that I was anticipating from this artist. Again, I like hearing the powerful vocals on this track.
Unfortunately, not every track is excellent as these, though most of them at least have their moments. Some of them feel like they somewhat overstay their welcome in terms of duration, and sometimes I don’t love the instrumentation. The Eastern-sounding elements on some songs, like Race to the Bottom and The Closing Door, do not work for me when they appear, and some of the noisier stuff like the last parts of I’ll Be You, Be Me and Weight of the World are obnoxious.
And while I have generally gotten used to the style of this album, I do wish Hansard sang in a different style sometimes. For example, almost the entire song Race to the Bottom has him singing in this almost whispered style, where his vocal part just doesn’t soar even a little bit the way it does on songs like Brother’s Keeper. This song overall is a low point on the album, since I don’t like the vocal style and the instrumentation feels too busy.
I like this album, and I think there is promise on some of the tracks I haven’t fully gotten into yet. But I think there are still things I don’t love in terms of the overall sound and instrumentation. I think I’d like the album somewhat more if the whole thing was more in the vein of Don’t Settle, Good Life of Song and Leave a Light. Those three songs really made a very strong impression on me, and while some others are fairly good, like the opener, there are a lot of dips and valleys for me in between these highlights. The album as a whole is still good, but it’s not something that’s likely to become a major favorite of mine.
The Marillion album is quite long, at almost 100 minutes, and there’s a lot here that I just have not had the time to fully absorb, as that would take several more listens and thus draw out this round by a couple more weeks (were I to afford that time fairly to all albums). Thus, I am in a position of trying to judge how well I like this album before I’ve really taken it all fully in. Nevertheless, I do have some fairly specific thoughts.
First, I think I generally stand by my first impression that, though this album has a certain darkness to it, it’s a type of darkness that I can connect with and don’t find alienating. There’s a certain beauty to the melancholy expressed on many of the songs here.
My preference for the first half of the album has also been enduring in this case. The first disc here, from The Invisible Man through Ocean Cloud, has a really nice subtlety to it. The songs here take some time to develop, and they feel like they reward patience. The Invisible Man feels like a massive grower, especially because of how slowly it builds up over its 13-minute runtime. But this pattern holds for most of the shorter songs, too. There are also a lot of nice subtler moments in the instrumentation, particularly from Steve Rothery’s guitar.
Ocean Cloud plays out this style of song on a grand scale, and while I haven’t had time to fully map out its structure (which usually takes me a little while with longer songs), it’s a promising epic. The chorus is certainly one of the highlights of the whole album. I’m not quite sure how I feel about the heavy vocal section right in the middle yet, but at least it doesn’t spoil the whole thing.
It’s on the first disc where I’d really praise Steve Hogarth’s vocal performance. It’s relatively understated and subtle, but the emotions are all in the right places. The chorus of Fantastic Place, for example, is sung really nicely.
I must confess, though, that I don’t have as favorable an opinion of the second disc. This part of the album seems to go in more for an alt-rock sound, which does not do as much for me as the subtlety of the first disc. I don’t dislike it, but it’s just mostly a step down from the very good first disc, and thus a bit of a disappointment when listening through. Among the shorter songs, I like Don’t Hurt Yourself best, particularly for Trewavas’s excellent bassline. You’re Gone is also solid. Angelina is more in the style of the first disc, but I’m not as much a fan of it. Don’t really like the sexual undercurrent in the lyrics, and the chorus melody just doesn’t work for me.
Of course, Neverland is an exception to my attitude to the second disc. This is a song I had previously received in roulette and enjoyed, and I still enjoy it quite a lot here. It feels grand and emotionally powerful at the same time.
Somewhat tangentially: I want to give all the songs here more time to settle in, but I’m honestly somewhat tempted to say I’d like this album better as a single-disc album. This thought, of course, led me to look up what the actual 1CD release of this album looked like, and… what a travesty! Why those songs? Why no Ocean Cloud, why no The Only Unforgiveable Thing, why no Genie? I’m in no way ready to make my own definitive 1CD version of this album, but I would be inclined to include the entire first disc plus Neverland, which would all fit with room for another song or two from the second disc.
I feel like both of these albums have more to offer than I’ve had the chance to fully discover; both of them have genuinely excellent tracks (Don’t Settle, Neverland) as well as some tracks I could do without (Race to the Bottom, Angelina). I’ve gone back and forth on which one I like better, but ultimately I’m going to choose
Marbles as the winner. It’s grown on me a little better, with songs like Ocean Cloud and Fantastic Place showing really significant promise. It’s an album I could see growing into something I listen to with some frequency, while the Hansard album seems like something I would enjoy more on occasion, or pull individual tracks from.
Favorite songs from Glen Hansard: Don’t Settle, Good Life of Song, Leave a Light
Favorite songs from Marillion: Neverland, Fantastic Place, Ocean Cloud
Winner: Puppies_On_Acid with Marillion - Marbles
Topic: 425's Roulette v4: Hiatus (Read 18434 times)
