Showbiz - Muse > Reviews > Somebody Stole My Title

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money

Advantages:	Every song is an emotionally charged masterpiece !
Disadvantages:	Muse don't gain anywhere near the respect and popularity they deserve

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

.....which was going to be 'I'm young but I know that I'm aroused' (lyrics from track 9, 'Overdue')......

....Looking through my past opinions earlier today I realised something that shocked me ever so slightly…..I hadn’t written an op. on Muse – probably my favourite band in the whole wide world at the moment! So I decided I would write this op. on their debut album ‘Showbiz’.

Now I hope beyond hope that most of you reading this will actually know who Muse are because they really are an amazing band (I won’t be able to stress this enough!). Unfortunately though I doubt whether too many of you are familiar with them or their music although they have been bordering on major commercial, mainstream success for the past couple of years so hopefully you have done so. Many of you may know their most famous song, ‘Plug in Baby’ (taken from the second album “Origin of Symmetry” and nothing else I suspect.

But anyway……

The highly talented Muse, made up of main man Matt Bellamy (guitar, vocals, piano), Dominic Howard and Chris Wolstenholme, recorded ‘Showbiz’ in ’99 and have built up a very strong fan-base ever since. The reason for that is plain to see….Muse are an extremely talented band who make damn good music.

Their style? Well it’s hard to explain really as they are pioneering a whole new sound. They are ‘best’ categorised as an ‘indierock’ band but as this could describe so many a different style of music it probably helps little. They are characterised by the haunting yet delightful ‘wailing’ voice of Matt that varies from the high pitched to the most pleasant sounding of screams (a word that I use with much reluctance as I don’t want to give the impression Muse are one of those modern heavy bands that scream and shout their way through songs.) The beautifully melodic voice of Bellamy is backed by many a guitar riff that seem to almost imitate the style of his voice with their high pitched tones, beautifully played piano (often classical in style) and a often thumping bassline that drives many of the songs along.

‘Showbiz’ is a 12 track album clocking in at around 50 minutes in length and it begins with the most excellent……

“Sunburn”

‘I’ll burn forever, I can’t face the shame’

Oh my this is good!! The first track from their first album remains one of the best tracks Muse have recorded (although in fairness most tracks can be considered one of the best they have recorded!). Beginning as if you’ve made some sort of a mistake and purchased a CD of classical piano pieces you are enticed into the album with slow yet beautiful beginnings. The piano ‘riff’ is soon joined by a drum rhythm (there to guide the song along rather that dominate) which quickly dispels any doubts you may have about the CD. A few seconds on though is when you first get a taste of what truly makes Muse great – the singing voice of Mr Bellamy. There’s a sweetness about is voice that is matched by very few in the modern music scene. It has an almost choirboy air about it which, I suppose, is due to the high pitched level at which Matt sings. Throughout Sunburn Matt displays the talent he has for singing perfectly although it doesn’t quite show the full range of tones and pitches he has at his disposal. However it is during the chorus and guitar solo that this song gains its highest accolades. There’s a typically Musey, very strong Bassline that kicks in, in the chorus and does something rare for a Bass guitar; it dominates. The solo too is beautiful with its high, long lasting notes. Sunburn is a fantastic start to a superb album.

“Muscle Museum”

‘I don’t want you to adore me, don’t want you to ignore me, when it pleases you’

If it’s possible the album actually improves from track 1 with Muscle Museum. Again there is very powerful bass guitar that is this time ‘backed’ by some wondrous rock guitar. Over all this Bellamy stuns with his vocals which, at one point, blend into a guitar solo so skilfully edited that it’s literally impossible to tell where human voice ends and electric guitar begins. If you’re gonna listen to this track you absolutely must listen to it at high volume or you just won’t be privileged to its full glorious gloriousness!

“Fillip”

‘To me it is strange, this feeling is strange but it’s not gonna change for anybody’

This track was destined to be great from the beginning as it very nearly shares my name (Philip). Obviously it didn’t let my name-kind down. It’s a song where singing takes the drivers seat and for a vast majority of it the instruments only come along for the ride. That said there is a nice bit after a slow interlude in the piece where guitars of both ‘species’ build up cleverly for 20 seconds or so before another rendition of the fast paced chorus.

“Falling Down”

‘So I’m crawling away, ‘cause you broke my heart in two, no I will not forget you’

This is one of Muses slowest songs to date and I have to admit that for quite a while I considered it to be one of their weakest. To such an extent in fact that I would consider skipping it something that I don’t much like doing in general as I believe an album is best listened to as a complete article and not as a selection of individual tracks. However my views of it changed when I actually sat and listened to its sad yet beautiful lyrics backed by gentle drums and bassline. It’s a calming song among a group of twelve that generally are not.

“Cave”

‘Leave me alone it’s nothing serious, I’ll do it myself it’s got nothing to do with you and there’s nothing that you can do.’

Perhaps this song is just a bit too typically Muse to be considered among the best tracks that the album has to offer. The start is very promising with a guitar riff that makes you believe you’re in for another real treat of a song. Unfortunately the guitarless verses have less to offer than many other songs on the albums and it is only really the intermissions between chorus and verse that make Cave stand out in any special way. It’d be a stunning song if it was by most other bands though, Muse’s bar is set just that little bit higher than all but a few others!

“Showbiz”

‘They make me, make me dream your dreams, And they make me, make me scream your screams’

Now this, my friends, is more like it….much more like it (it being a brilliantly good song!) It seems quite unfair to me that someone (Matt Bellamy) can be so amazingly good at singing while someone else (me) can be so bad. This title track is one of the few on this debut that truly shows of to the absolute full effect what this brilliant musician is capable of. It is with his screaming vocal capacity that he dominates this track but there’s also so damn fine guitaring going on here. Best track on the album?? The voices in my head say yes.

“Unintended”

‘You could be the one who listens, to my deepest inquisitions, you could be the one I’ll always love’

And now for something quite different. This track is virtually acoustic featuring only a guiding, slowly picked chord progression that runs through the whole song, the vocals of Matt and a simplistic drum beat to keep the song on track. It’s as close as Muse are ever going to come to a ballad and it’s the most emotionally engaging of the albums tracks filled with love induced angst as it is. It makes a wonderful change from the distorted, effect filled songs of the album but would also be a standout track if realised as a single (Something that would probably never happen).

“Uno”

‘You could have been number one, and you could have ruled the whole World, and we could’ve had so much fun but you blew it all away’

Beginning with some rather odd little electrical effects which turn slowly into a guitar and bass intro this song turns out to be pretty good in the end. This is due, in the main part, to the strong, ‘loud’ choruses that contrast greatly with the gentile verses. However Bellamy doesn’t seem to want his vocals to be considered flawless as in this one he very nearly resorts to almost shouting the words rather than taking advantage of the fine tones he can produce. On a completely unrelated note the name does bring back memories of long rainy childhood days spent playing the game Uno!

“Sober”

‘Royal Canadian Blended, this spicy aroma had mended me, matured for years and imported, into my glass you poured’

In a word – brilliant. In a few more words – a stunningly executed piece of rock music with brilliant usage of the instruments at Muses disposal (save the piano) and an even more brilliant usage of Matt on vocals. This is another of the contenders for the albums best tracks though the lyrics seem to make little sense to the uneducated such as myself although to those on a higher intellectual plain I’m sure their meaning stretches far beyond that of whiskey or whichever drink they may happen to be describing.

“Escape”

‘Why can’t you just love her? Why be such a monster? You bully from a distance, your brain needs some assistance’

Throughout this album Muse seem to have mastered the art of placing the tracks where they belong on the album. After the harsh and powerful rock feel of Sober, Escape starts off at a calming pace and slowly builds until it reaches the strength of its predecessor with is pummelling guitars and drums. Yet another song of almost the highest quality.

“Overdue”

‘I’m young but I know that I’m aroused ;)’

Overdue is a song that is so much stronger than the sum of its parts because apart from some skilful guitar ‘soloing’ there’s little to write home about instrumentally. However put together and Muse have a strong penultimate track.

“Hate this and I’ll Love You”

‘So we all discard our souls, and blaze through your skies, so unafraid to die.’

With its slow guitar based origins that lead into the harmonic voice of Bellamy Muse end the album with this wonderful, five minute long track. It’s the perfect way to end the album. It’s slowness for the main part leaves you feeling calmed and contented rather that thoughts of ‘anger’ that can happen if the last track is too ‘rocky’. As Matt sings about becoming stronger it lifts you emotionally and leaves no bitterness that this fantabulous (WOW! spell checker accepts that word :D) has to end.

In case you haven’t guessed by now (or simply haven’t been reading) I absolutely love this album and it’s probably not even quite as good as Muses better known second album ‘Origin of Symmetry’ that shows a slightly more developed form of their music. That, to me, just shows how good Muse are and that every single one of you should go out and buy this no matter your taste in music. Muse are such a talented band that they deserve a place in every music lovers collection.

It’s available in pretty much all music CD shops and also for just £8.99 from CDWOW.com so go buy it before the world ends. Phil :)