Hullabaloo (Soundtrack) - Muse

"Come waste your millions here..."


The phrase ‘B-side album’ will usually evoke a unanimous groan of distaste from seasoned music fans. What comes to mind? “Oh dear, here is a band exploiting their popularity to shift copies of rejected, recorded-in-the-attic tracks that were only good enough for singles, which no one buys anyway.” That is why I am reluctant to class ‘Hullabaloo’ by Muse, as a ‘B-side album’. Rather, ...
.../> The ten songs on ‘Hullabaloo’ may, granted, not be as revolutionary as those on their studio albums, ‘Showbiz’ (1999), ‘Origin Of Symmetry’(2001), ‘Absolution’(2003) and more recently ‘Black Holes And Revelations’(2006), but they’re still gems; gems that give the greatest hits of any alternative band today a run for their money.
Although it is really on disk two that the band truly shine. The second of this supermassive two-part Muse saga ... more

"Come waste your millions here..."

The phrase ‘B-side album’ will usually evoke a unanimous groan of distaste from seasoned music fans. What comes to mind? “Oh dear, here is a band exploiting their popularity to shift copies of rejected, recorded-in-the-attic tracks that were only good enough for singles, which no one buys anyway.” That is why I am reluctant to class ‘Hullabaloo’ by Muse, as a ‘B-side album’. Rather, it is a ‘secondary track selection’, which is completely different.
The ten songs on ‘Hullabaloo’ may, granted, not be as revolutionary as those on their studio albums, ‘Showbiz’ (1999), ‘Origin Of Symmetry’(2001), ‘Absolution’(2003) and more recently ‘Black Holes And Revelations’(2006), but they’re still gems; gems that give the greatest hits of any alternative band today a run for their money.
Although it is really on disk two that the band truly shine. The second of this supermassive two-part Muse saga is a collection of live tracks, collated from their concert at ‘Le Zenith’ in Paris on 28-29 October 2001. The tracks here demonstrate why Muse are universally recognised as one of the best live acts in the universe.

DISC 1:

The first ten songs, taken from the singles from the Origin of Symmetry period, stand out as being rather unlike a lot of mainstream Muse material. The songs are more experimental than those on their studio albums, and in many ways it is easy to see why they weren’t chosen to appear on 2001’s ‘Origin Of Symmetry’. I would most certainly recommend, to the first time Muse listener, trying their studio albums before ‘Hullabaloo’ soundtrack, but not to overlook the hidden gems here in the long term. The track listing is as follows and, to help all those downloaders out there, I’ve selected a few that are highlights.

1) ‘Forced In’ 4:18 3/5

The introductory rumble of guitars, intertwined with the gentle crooning of Matt Bellamy, gives this album a very introductory feel with ‘Forced In’, indicating that a lot of thought has gone into producing this album as if it were a studio album- rather than a random assortment of ‘bonus tracks’. This song isn’t a particular highlight, as the dark, constantly repeating guitar riff and drum beat give it an almost atmospheric sound- as if it were ambient noise. The vocals are short in supply, replaced by sound effects and synthesiser resonance.

“Force me in
Into Greed”

2) ‘Shrinking Universe’ 3:06 5/5

With ‘Shrinking Universe though, we are back to the Muse we know and love. This song is very reminiscent of ‘Micro Cuts’ and other ‘Origin Of Symmetry’ tracks, but the lyrics echo the later works in ‘Absolution’. The tough bass strikes and harsh drums give this track an apocalyptic feel, and the bursts of frantic synthesiser scream urgency. This song is a dark one, so it is no surprise that this song was actually chosen for use in the trailer to uber-zombie thriller ’28 Weeks Later’. The highlight of this track is most definitely the falcetto wails of Matt B. just over two minutes in, showing off the most outstanding vocal talent in alternative rock.

“Can’t you see it’s over?
Because you’re the God of a shrinking universe”

3) ‘Recess’ 3:35 3/5

‘Recess’ continues where ‘Forced In’ left off. It begins with a haunting acoustic riff with electronic bass and ascending drums. The electric guitar ‘waves’ here are flawless and powerful, building to the ‘Blackout’ style quick solo two minutes in. The riff is infectious, popping up throughout the track and once again, the vocals are perfect and varied.

“Hopes suffocating
And you’ve kissed my life”

4) ‘Yes Please’ 3:05 5/5
Now we get to the rock out anthem of this album. Turn the bass up on your EQs and just listen to the contagious guitar riff. Matt plays off against Dom on bass to form a brilliant interplay between instruments, around this central repeating set of chords. The vocals are harsher than before, as Matt dives into the occassional scream. This track is the most energetic on the album- definitely for fans of the Devonish band’s more metallic tracks such as ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ and, more recently, ‘Assassin’. For those who have experienced them live, this track sounds like the sort of material they would play with between songs. Yes please!

“I just wanna live my dreaded bliss in peace now…”

5) ‘Map Of Your Head’ 4:23 4/5
After all that black, sweaty moshing, your ears may be surprised to be met by the gentle acoustics of ‘Map Of Your Head’. This is my personal favourite, just because it is rare to hear Muse take this particular musical direction. Indeed, this kind of ‘space-age spanish guitar’ has not been experienced since ‘Unintended’ on ‘Showbiz’. This song exemplifies why this album is worth a fiver out of a Muse fan’s pocket- it is something out of the usual. Of course, the sweet vocals are signature Muse.

“Wearing just socks and a phone
Someone is screaming like their world might explode”

6) ‘Nature_1’ 3:39 5/5
Track six continues to fool the reader into believing that this is an acoustic album, with a strong mediterannean strumming pattern and jungle-drums. The bass is heavier than ever though, taking us back to the inescapable epic scale of the earlier tracks on this album. The rhythm and beat are the strongest on the album, and this minute and a half demonstrates the best of Muse’s forgotten jewels.

“You are just too old to feel an earthquake”

7) ‘Shine Acoustic’ 5:12 5/5
I cannot help but close my eyes and smile when this song floats onto my iPod. The soft, recurring synthesiser play at the beginning, combined with the sunny acoustics and deep drum thumps, make for a happy and peaceful track. Matt’s vocals are like a lullaby. A dreamy five minutes.

“Now we don’t feel a sense of time”

8) ‘Ashamed’ 3:47 5/5
But almost sadly are we dragged kicking and screaming back to the reality of a dark Muse, with the distorted kick of ‘Ashamed’. Similarly to ‘Yes Please’, the riff is infectious, and the track incorportates the use of segmented vocals, interspersed with bursts of thrashing instruments. The vocals are suppressed, hiding under the surface of the crunchy instrumental, all tinted with a sinister echo. Could be a highlight, if you’re more into the more frantic of Muse’s material.

“There’s still something you’re dying to tell me…”

9) ‘The Gallery’ 3:30 4/5
‘The Gallery’ opens with the first glimpse of piano on ‘Hullabaloo’, walking hand in hand with sighing keyboard effects and a ‘Linkin’ Park’ drum beat. No vocals in this one, showing that Muse aren’t reliant on the unique voice of their lead singer. The piano ascends into ‘Sunburn’ like glory, although fans of the band will recognise that the piano riff is essentially the same as that from ‘In Your World’.

10) ‘Hyper Chondriac Music’ 5:29 4/5
So here we are, at the end of this shuttle-ride through Muse’s B-sides and, as if we hadn’t seen enough surprises through the rocket window, we are encountered at the end not by a B-side, but a remix. ‘Hyper Chondriac Music’ takes one of their most energetic singles ‘Hyper Music’ and slows it down completely. The lyrics remain the same, while the feel of the song is drastically different. The vocals are haunting as ever, and the guitar chords are accentuated, extended and low pitched, flaunting the power of the song. Yet amoungst the singing guitar and thudding bass, a gentle piano twinkle echoes in the distance. How very Muse.

“Forgotten spaceways under my control”

DISC 2:

Disc Two contains recordings from Muse’s October 2001 gigs at the massive ‘Le Zenith’ stadium in Paris. Muse are a phenomenal live band, never failing to astound and amaze their audience with the quality of the music and the showmanship of the band members. Disc Two takes tracks from their previous two albums, and demonstrates what it is like to hear these tracks live. Despite having to listen to the hysterical screams of hundreds of teenage girls across every track, the quality is of a very high standard- virtually indistinguishable from that on ‘Origin Of Symmetry’ and ‘Showbiz’. The tracks are fantastic, though they are listed straight from their previous albums- so don’t expect to hear anything new.
These tracks, and indeed the DVD of the event that is also available in shops, are just designed to give you a taster of the otherwordly experience that is Muse in concert.

1) ‘Dead Star’ 4:11 4/5
2) ‘Micro Cuts’ 3:30 5/5
3) ‘Citizen Erased 7:21 5/5
4) ‘Showbiz’ 5:04 4/5
5) ‘Megalomania’ 4:36 3/5
6) ‘Dark Shines’ 4:38 4/5
7) ‘Screenager’ 4:22 4/5
8) ‘Space Dementia’ 5:32 5/5
9) ‘In Your World’ 3:10 5/5
10) ‘Muscle Museum’ 4:29 5/5
11) ‘Agitated’ 4:11 5/5

In conclusion, ‘Hullabaloo Soundtrack’ by Devonish rock group Muse, is quite obviously not a studio album. The first disc, though containing an array of strong and catchy songs, doesn’t resonate with the same flare and magic of ‘Showbiz’ and ‘Origin Of Symmetry’. Their work is experimental, toying with acoustics and diving into territories that they may be afraid to explore in their mainstream recording. Having said that, there will be those who strongly disapprove of the songs here, as they are quite drastically different to anything else they have produced to this day. I would not recommend this to anyone other than an established fan of the band and, even then, proceed with caution.

But the redeeming feature for the first-time Muse listener is Disc Two: the live tracks. The casual toying of Matt Bellamy with his gorgeous guitar between songs in breathtaking, and he takes command of the stage with enormous presence and awe-inspiring grace. This all comes across in each and every one of the eleven live tracks here- none will disappoint. The only negative is the noticable exclusion of some of the real crowd pleasers from their debut albums. Namely ‘Sunburn’ and ‘Plug In Baby’. Why they were left out, I will never understand

Well worth considering a purchase.

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