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DVDfever.co.uk – Muse: The Resistance CD reviewElly Roberts reviews
Warner Brothers
- Released: September 2009
- Rating: 10/10+++
- Vote and comment on this album:View Comments
Theyre back. Better than ever.
Matt Bellamys grand vision continues for Devonian trio Muse.
The Resistances predecessor Black Holes And Revelations was a monster album scaling all aspects of contemporary rock.This ones even grander, which takes some doing but only Muse can do that. When theyre in this mood, theyre unstoppable, and unmatched.
From all the bands Ive heard in recent years, they are by far the most adventurous and the best. Call me old fashioned, but I love something spectacular from say Queen to Led Zeppelin to Pink Floyd.So in true progressive ways, Muse keep moving on and developing at a devastating and alarming rate. When you look back at their earlier stuff it seems almost stifled, and inconsistent, but now theyre right on top of their game.
Its as if some of the long-gone greats like Freddie Mercury and Jimi Hendrix have beamed down their wisdom from the heavens above.Like all great bands they can mixnmatch their songs, whipping out brilliant singles like 2006s Starlight and recent Uprising, to much grander excursions like mini-symphonies Exogenesis, in three parts.
The model for this opus is the notion that were all under the thumb in one way or another by some sinister authoritarian existence, exemplified by the rip roaring chorus on Uprising. With content like this, its no wonder its taken three years to be realised.
Apart from some serious rock in the form of throbbing Unnatural Selection, theres Guiding Light featuring some whopping drums a la Queen and May-ish guitar solo (see I said Freddie was around) they also know the worth of keeping a commercial popiness on pulsating Resistance (catchy chorus and all that) and bouncy Undisclosed Desires (choppy synths) to keep things nice and simple.The jewel in the crown is unquestionably United States Of Eurasia.
A piano opening gifted by Freddie again, that unfolds into what could be Bohemian Rhapsody meets Led Zeppelins Kashmir. When they do this on their autumn tour, you can bet on masses of pyrotechnics: hopefully Ill be there.The song naively deals with east-west unification to end all wars ..But soon we will see / There can only be one / United States / United States of / Eurasia. Some tall order.
Love song I Belong To You is pure Queen playfulness showcasing Bellamys pseudo theatricals to perfection he also does some nice lines in French too. Then comes the tour de force, not in a rocknroll way at all nigh on 13 minutes of fabulousness.
The message is short and sweet. Where did it all go wrong for the human race?
Weve reached a point where Bellamy is given artistic licence to play some amazing piano, and to remind us hes not your average rocker.
The verdict BREATHTAKING!
Weblink:muse.mu
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Uprising
2. Resistance
3. Undisclosed Desires
4. United States Of Eurasia
5. Guiding Light
6. Unnatural Selection
7. Mk Ultra
8. I Belong To You
9. Exogenesis : Symphony Part 1
10. Exogenesis : Symphony Part 2
11. Exogenesis : Symphony Part 3View the discussion thread.blog comments powered by Disqus= 0) {query += ‘url’ + i + ‘=’ + encodeURIComponent(links[i].href) + ‘&’;}}document.write(”);})();//]]]]>]]>
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.