First impression of The Bedlam In Goliath

I don't like to vote or compare an album after only a few listenings, but it will probably be one of my favorite 2008 albums. I feel something corresponding to what I felt when I discovered Deloused, which is pretty rare!

laplace wrote: I've heard this now and I miss all the noise. I don't like the new drummer - he seems to have professional muso disorder and doesn't seem to be serving the songs all the time. I also wonder why they've stopped writing songs they way they did on De-loused; how much has the line-up changed since then?

I agree with you on the drummer point. No doubt about it, he is excellent; he is more of a solo drummer though, like Billy Cobham and Mike Portnoy, as opposed to drummers like Alan White and Guy Evans, who play more for the music than themselves. In other words, Thomas Pridgen would be much more as a solist, not an accompanist.

kibble_alex wrote: laplace wrote: I've heard this now and I miss all the noise. I don't like the new drummer - he seems to have professional muso disorder and doesn't seem to be serving the songs all the time. I also wonder why they've stopped writing songs they way they did on De-loused; how much has the line-up changed since then? I agree with you on the drummer point. No doubt about it, he is excellent; he is more of a solo drummer though, like Billy Cobham and Mike Portnoy, as opposed to drummers like Alan White and Guy Evans, who play more for the music than themselves. In other words, Thomas Pridgen would be much more as a solist, not an accompanist.

He's a good drummer, but I think Jon Theodore was much better. He was simultaniously bombastic whilst being simpathetic to the music, with great chops.

Honestly, watch any youtube videos of Theodore and compare him to Pridgen.  Pridgen's an actual musician/player who gives it his all: HOLDS THINGS DOWN, LISTENS, improvs polyrhythmically, likes the material, etc. whereas you can actually SEE the points where Theodore stops trying/gets lazy and is more or less an amateur in comparison.  The Mars Volta sounded like an accentuated goddamn mess because JT couldn't hold sh*t down, be enthused, or try anything exciting live...you can tell he was being hard-pressed to improv/jam with them/care.  You might also infer that TMV with JT was more a mess because no one in the band gave a sh*t due to personal tensions, but this is entirely different albeit not totally besides the point.  

Time will tell in the long run with his implementation in the band (I'm more interested in seeing his laid back playing; if you don't know, their next album is supposed to be a sort of antithesis to Bedlam) but if you ask me Pridgen plays CIRCLES, CIRCLES around Theodore.  His background is far more impressive too.  JT likes Cobham, Chambers, etc.  TP comes from a completely different world (his background is in R&B and Gospel!) and has TOURED with Chambers in clinics...I just look at the two under the lens of  the professional viz. the amateur.

Like the post I made before: either cling to the past or move on.

So far...good, but not great. Although, it's still growing on me and like most TMV, will need a while to digest.

I purchased the album at Best Buy yesterday, which included a bonus DVD featuring live footage of Cygnus and a download code for two bonus tracks, Birthday and Pulled To Bits.  Only problem, the bonus MP3's are not compatible with Mac or iTunes and cannot be imported into an iPod.  The bonus DVD was cool, but I read an article stating that some DVD's are not working in American DVD players.

Overall I like the new album so far.  I haven't listened to it enough to compare to their previous releases, but as others have already posted, there is obviously much less "filler".  The songs that really jumped out to me after the first listen are Goliath and Agadez.  Omar is amazing as usual, I really need to get one of his solo albums.


Edited by vnmn23 - January 31 2008 at 00:26

stonebeard wrote: In the grand scheme of things.... De-Loused in the Comatorium: 4/5 Frances the Mute: 3/5 Amputechture: never listened to it all (approx. 1.5/5) Bedlam in Goliath: 3/5 Mars Volta as a whole may be a progressive concept, but they have a definite formula, that's only slightly altered. They knew how to ebb and flow and let silence and down-time do wonders on De-Loused. Amputechture and Bedlam are basically punches in the face. Good for what they are, but not versatile, or wholly enjoyable. It's a niche album from a niche band.

De-Loused in the Comatorium: 2.5 stars
Frances the Mute: 2 stars
Amputechture: 3.5 to 4.0 stars
Bedlam in Goliath: 1.5 to 2 stars

from Free-napster. I'm not going to buy this album. It sounds like a bad parody of Amp.

Zitro wrote: De-Loused in the Comatorium: 2.5 stars Frances the Mute: 2 stars Amputechture: 3.5 to 4.0 stars Bedlam in Goliath: 1.5 to 2 stars from Free-napster. I'm not going to buy this album. It sounds like a bad parody of Amp.

enigma wrote: but Cavalettas is just a dire waste of 10 minutes IMO

Having just said that, I am listening to it now, and it sounds much better !
Damn this album, the songs keep changing with each spin, more so than the other albums.

I'll stick with my first comment (after all the thread is titled "First Impression"), but I think this CD will take a while to reveal all it's treasure.