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I listen to love is emotional until after the middle eight (i feel like a lone star...), then i skip to chameleon days, then i skip to second nature, the i skip to second nature single, then i im done.

love is emotional was playing in the house the other day when an 18yo staying with us slunk past and observed as only a teenager can: “christmas songs are playing already this year?” Ouch.

I skip to Chameleon Days, listen to Independence Day usually, skip to Second Nature and skip to I know Different.

The webcasts were great. I'll play those through in the background around the house. I guess the banter breaks up the similarities, whereas listening to the cd non-stop after many plays, it's a little like trudging through a swamp.

I'm still a huge fan, of course. We all have preferences which present themselves.

It's so wonderful how music touches each of us differently.  I love every song on Silence. 

And I've added some other songs to the playlist to "fill out" the album. 

Those added songs are "Serious in Love", "Shower" (perfect intro to "Alone"), "People Are Like Suns", "Guiding Star", "Still Got It", "Blue Hotel", and "Faster Than Light". 

Loving the album.

Recurring Dreamer posted:

I definitely like this album more than Dizzy Heights overall yet the song 'Dizzy Heights' I feel is quite a it better than every track on Out of Silence. So there you go.

Still can't stand the boring cover though. Zero imagination.

Funny you should say that... at the moment I prefer Dizzy Heights (only just) but the title track is one of my least favourite songs on the album!

I do agree with you about the cover art though 

silent stream posted:

love is emotional was playing in the house the other day when an 18yo staying with us slunk past and observed as only a teenager can: “christmas songs are playing already this year?” Ouch.

That's gold! Don't give up on us teenagers yet though, I'm only 18yo and I'm loving the style of music Neil's gone with for this album 

I always skip More Than One of You... I often skip the Law is Always on Your Side... I sometimes skip Love Is Emotional.

Independence Day is the song that has grown the most on me over time. I used to skip that occasionally, but one day it came up on a random play list, and I found I had a new appreciation of it. I heard things on it I hadn't previously pick up. 

I'm still enjoying the album, but find I have to be in a certain mood to listen to it, and I struggle to listen to it end to end in the car.

 

Annie99999 posted:

Just received the vinyl.   Anyone else feel a difference between the cd and vinyl?

I've skipped independence day  on cd but found on vinyl I have to listen to it fully.   Also the waves at the end of I know different just seems to have more clarity. 

I was hoping to hear some feedback on the vinyl.  I can imagine the stunning  musianship and beautiful vocals shine warmly on vinyl.  Annie99999, is it worth the purchase over buying the CD?  

Above the Kitchen posted:
Annie99999 posted:

Just received the vinyl.   Anyone else feel a difference between the cd and vinyl?

I've skipped independence day  on cd but found on vinyl I have to listen to it fully.   Also the waves at the end of I know different just seems to have more clarity. 

I was hoping to hear some feedback on the vinyl.  I can imagine the stunning  musianship and beautiful vocals shine warmly on vinyl.  Annie99999, is it worth the purchase over buying the CD?  

I would suggest both if you can afford to. There's definitely a difference. Yes a warmth coming through on the vinyl. Thank you for the perfect word description :-)

  

Whysus posted:

I always skip More Than One of You... I often skip the Law is Always on Your Side... I sometimes skip Love Is Emotional.

Independence Day is the song that has grown the most on me over time. I used to skip that occasionally, but one day it came up on a random play list, and I found I had a new appreciation of it. I heard things on it I hadn't previously pick up. 

I'm still enjoying the album, but find I have to be in a certain mood to listen to it, and I struggle to listen to it end to end in the car.

 

"Independence Day" has also grown on me a lot.  I wonder if the lyric refers to the day we leave the physical world.  Love the song.

Well now, I've had the vinyl for a few days but - due to the presence of my young son - haven't really had a chance to give this a proper listen.

Some early thoughts though:

1. I'm not a huge fan of piano ballads and they are - in my opinion - the weak spot in Neil's armour. Many of my least favourite Neil songs are piano ballads, so my expectations for this album weren't high.

2. My first impression is that the album is too samey. It really needs the tempo lifting more than Second Nature is able to do. As with most of Neil's post CH material, it is much less instantly accessible than his pre-TWT material. More's the pity.

3. Having said all that, I think there are some songs that will come to shine: Chameleon Days is the first to stand out. I do feel, however, that in recording all these songs in the same way, he's not offered them all the chance to really perform at their best. Chameleon Days is a good example of this.

4. The album seems to drop off a cliff after Second Nature. The last three songs really haven't connected with me at all.

5. I really enjoy Serious in Love - especially the guitar-based rehearsal version and wish it had kept it's place on the record.

In summary, I suspect this album is never going to become a favourite. But it's actually quite enjoyable as an end-of-day relaxer (something I'm greatly benefitting from after a day of looking after a 9-month-old tearaway).  It might prove to be something of a sleeper (as TWT was for me) but only time will tell.

All told, I'm a little disappointed by it though. I was really thrilled to learn that Neil was going to record an album in front of the world and really looked forward to seeing how a Neil Record would be pieced together. I wonder if I was the only one disappointed to discover that it wasn't really going to be a "standard" NF pop/rock album.

Anyway, I'm off for another sneaky listen while little one sleeps...

Paul H posted:

I wonder if I was the only one disappointed to discover that it wasn't really going to be a "standard" NF pop/rock album.

No, you are not the only one.  I don't know if you read any of my posts here about the album or if you avoided reading anything that would spoil your first listen, but my thoughts mirror yours almost identically.  

I am hoping Neil's upcoming album with Liam is very different.

Paul H posted:

Well now, I've had the vinyl for a few days but - due to the presence of my young son - haven't really had a chance to give this a proper listen.

Some early thoughts though:

1. I'm not a huge fan of piano ballads and they are - in my opinion - the weak spot in Neil's armour. Many of my least favourite Neil songs are piano ballads, so my expectations for this album weren't high.

2. My first impression is that the album is too samey. It really needs the tempo lifting more than Second Nature is able to do. As with most of Neil's post CH material, it is much less instantly accessible than his pre-TWT material. More's the pity.

3. Having said all that, I think there are some songs that will come to shine: Chameleon Days is the first to stand out. I do feel, however, that in recording all these songs in the same way, he's not offered them all the chance to really perform at their best. Chameleon Days is a good example of this.

4. The album seems to drop off a cliff after Second Nature. The last three songs really haven't connected with me at all.

5. I really enjoy Serious in Love - especially the guitar-based rehearsal version and wish it had kept it's place on the record.

In summary, I suspect this album is never going to become a favourite. But it's actually quite enjoyable as an end-of-day relaxer (something I'm greatly benefitting from after a day of looking after a 9-month-old tearaway).  It might prove to be something of a sleeper (as TWT was for me) but only time will tell.

All told, I'm a little disappointed by it though. I was really thrilled to learn that Neil was going to record an album in front of the world and really looked forward to seeing how a Neil Record would be pieced together. I wonder if I was the only one disappointed to discover that it wasn't really going to be a "standard" NF pop/rock album.

Anyway, I'm off for another sneaky listen while little one sleeps...

Hi Paul,

As most here know, I'm a huge fan of the new album and see this as his best work as a solo artist both lyrically and musically - a career highlight.

That being said, I do agree with you that "Serious In Love" (the guitar-driven version) should have made the album.  I also wish "Guiding Star" would have made the album as the album closer and "Ray of Hope" would also have fit beautifully on the album. I would absolutely love to hear "Guiding Star" and "Ray of Hope" get the full Victoria Kelly treatment. Perhaps we'll hear those two songs on the "Silence" performances in March. 

This is the track list that I use as my playlist and, for me, it flows beautifully.

1.  Love Is Emotional

2.  More Than One Of You

3.  Second Nature

4.  Independence Day

5.  Terrorise Me

6.  The Law Is Always On Your Side

7. Alone

8. Ray of Hope

9. Serious In Love

10. Widow's Peak

11. Chameleon Days

12. I Know Different

13. Guiding Star

In regard to the "sameness" of the songs, I find that to be one of the strengths of the album as I find that it helps to tie the songs together creating a magnificent musical journey. 

And I also love the Crowded House albums, but see those works as distinctly different than his solo projects. 

I suspect the Neil/Liam album may be more like a Crowded House album although I'm not sure about that after Neil announced that "Listen" will be the first track on the album.  "Listen" does sound a lot like a "Silence" song although the production/arrangement could change that a bit. 

All the best,

Brian

Last edited by Sugar Mouse

Hi Brownie,

yes, I avoided any talk of the album before listening. That wasn't hard: finding the time to engage with this album and it's chatter has been hard

Regarding Sugar Mouse's point about the sameness of the songs; I'm glad you enjoy it. Here's the rub for me: one of the songs was playing over and over in my head last night (can't remember which one) but in my head it had a simple acoustic guitar accompaniment which (upon checking!) isn't actually on the record. My head just filled in the gaps. And that additional texture made a real difference.

After further plays, Chameleon Days has stepped out as the clear leader of the pack. I'm REALLY loving this song but still have this nagging feeling in my mind that it - and most of the other tracks on the album - could have been improved with some additional sonic textures.

If your arrangement is going to consider of piano, strings and vocals through a whole album, the tunes and chords really have to be absolutely sublime to make up for the lack of anything else musical going on.

At this point in my listening journey (and believe me, this album and I still have much travelling to do together), I just don't think the songs are strong enough to justify the spareness of the arrangements. Perhaps it's the mix, keeping the strings almost mono (at least, they are on vinyl, which tends to have a narrower stereo picture than digital).

Having said all that, I AM enjoying the album and wouldn't want anyone to think otherwise, despite my overly negative posts.

There are some fabulous moments: I love the opening "Make it level" line in More Than One of You (shame the rest of the song falls away...); the middle eight of Love is Emotional is pure Finn. Independence Day may well step forward as time passes and Widow's Peak is a gem. (That said, I'm having real trouble getting past that line about "warlike beasts". Really, what the hell are warlike beasts??? It's like Sixth Form poetry...

Anyway, I want to finish on a positive: I really applaud Neil for making this album and for showing us the recording of it. Despite the drawbacks I've referred to, this is still a Neil Finn album and I'm always glad to have another one of those. There are certainly things on it that justify it's existence and as a chill out soundtrack at the end of a hectic day, it really comes into its own.

On a more positive note, up to now I've only listened on streaming, and I'm hearing so much more listening to it on vinyl. I'm not saying that's all to do with the vinyl, it's also the first time hearing it on a decent system (not top of the range by any means). There's so much more depth. It's given the album a new lease of life for me (I've liked, but not loved, it from day one). I'll be making an effort to listen to it on vinyl often. 

Last edited by Possessed7

I received my vinyl copy of ‘Out of Silence’ and gave it a first listen yesterday. Much more enjoyable than CD. It has more depth and is less bass-heavy; especially ‘Second Nature’ which I dislike listening to on CD. The overall item is prettier too because of the lyrics on the inner sleeve, the photo montage inside the gatefold, plus the corrected credits (drums by Liam, drum programming, etc). 

I was annoyed though that both the other and inner sleeves show the beginning of tear on the edges... anyone else had this?

Guy. posted:

I received my vinyl copy of ‘Out of Silence’ and gave it a first listen yesterday. Much more enjoyable than CD. It has more depth and is less bass-heavy; especially ‘Second Nature’ which I dislike listening to on CD. The overall item is prettier too because of the lyrics on the inner sleeve, the photo montage inside the gatefold, plus the corrected credits (drums by Liam, drum programming, etc). 

I was annoyed though that both the other and inner sleeves show the beginning of tear on the edges... anyone else had this?

Nothing so far 👍🏻

Absolutely. I just wanted to chime in and say, weren't we very lucky last year, with the podcasts and recording session LIVE on the interwebs?  Every time I listen to this work I think of that wonderful August, and late-late Thursday nights (coinciding with a road-trip to the total eclipse in these parts), and just feeling warm inside. A highlight of this decade, for sure.

Lyrics of Independence Day... just listened to this with careful observation.  Anybody else think this is about being released from the controls of the music industry mafia?  He is free and it's a somber celebration of acknowledgement of the controls, and the acceptance of what you can't control.

Beautiful and sobering.



I'm sending you a message
From a million miles away
Are you aware you are controlled
By forces still unknown
I guess I am an accomplice
To the true original sin
So let me take your suffering
Let me take you in
There will be no sunset
When the rain is falling
It's hard to hear thunder
When the river keeps roaring
Then one day it's over
Like it never happened
Disappear without a trace
On Independence Day

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