I'll be the first to admit that my musical taste is very narrow. There are the few artists that I love and not much else. Believe me, I try to find new music to listen to all the time. Occasionally I do find something new, but that is rare. However, what I do like, I truly love. It's the "I love it so much I want to take it behind the Junior High and get it pregnant" kind of love.
I decided to rate every song because it was the only way to really convey that I think the songs are kinda just average for the most part. I like them okay, but it's not true love.
I feel like I bent over backwards to try and be open minded with the songs, so it's not like I wasn't giving the songs a proper chance. If I've been listening to music, it has been Paper Gods. I've been doing a freelance job at home, designing a poster for the upcoming season of a TV show, and I've had PG on during that time. As a result, the album now reminds me of the show! I actually used to hate when that happened, when an album or song would get imprinted on an unwanted memory. My sister and I would go out of our way to try and imprint whatever new DD album was out to only very pleasant, or at least neutral, memories. In fact, my sister (also a big duranie) has resisted listening to PG because she hasn't found the time to isolate herself and listen to the album in a neutral environment. But I'm okay if this album forever reminds me of that show.
It's been almost a month of listening, and I think I have given the songs as good a chance as they are going to get. I know and remember even the songs I'm not crazy about, so I think I gave them their due attention and don't feel bad about setting them aside for now.
Paper Gods 11/10I absolutely love this song. When I first heard the release on YT I was initially taken aback and almost thought it was a joke until Simon's singing started. But once he did, I was completely entranced. It made me very hopeful about the rest of the album. There's something about the melody of the chorus that feels so poignant and heartfelt. I practically cry every time I hear it. I understand the criticisms about the length of the song and the very long middle part. I suppose I wouldn't say no to an edited version of the song. But I enjoy it immensely as is. One thing I particularly LOVE about the song is how the final chorus builds. It builds from the low, slow middle part to one big climax. And it also builds from the other previous choruses in how the mix of the two vocals change and how the keyboards evolve from more simple to the final one with the "Beautiful Colours" kind of keyboards. Same with the bass line and drums, all which evolve from one chorus to the next. That final chorus is an explosion of beautiful layered composition and sound. I love how he changes the lyrics to "They go for the money shot". I would love it if Roger's drumming was raised up much more, to give that last chorus that much more of a punch. As it stands now though, I do like his little flourish between the chorus stanzas. I also LOVE that final "ruuuling" where it almost sounds like he's off key, but it's just there for emphasis. Beautiful.
Last Night In the City 5/10I don't hate it. That's about as good as I can say about it. I don't really like Simon's vocals when he does that rising scale thing "We're gonna live this niiiight", which he also does in Sunrise ("Put your haaands into the big sky") and I don't like it there either. The verses are okay I suppose. And there is actually some good guitar parts in there. I miss hearing John, but I understand this isn't the kind of song that needs it. How terrible that the song can have decent guitars but not bass? John looked kinda sad and weird just standing behind a keyboard during the Today show performance. I'm not crazy about Keisza's parts either. It was mentioned in another thread the idea of if you would still like the song if it was by someone else, and I definitely would not like it. I've been skipping it.
You Kill Me With Silence 4/10I don't outright hate this song, but there are elements that do bother the hell out of me. I don't like the drums in the beginning and in the verses, but I think they're pretty good in the chorus. I don't mind the melody of the verses, but I really don't like the music that goes with it. And I don't like the vocal melody in the chorus, but I do like the music that goes with it. See what I struggle with?!? I don't even mind the key-tar solo, however I think they should make Nick perform it on an actual key-tar during any and all performances as punishment. Ultimately I have to say no to it and skip it too.
Pressure Off 7/10It's a good song, and it definitely gets better for me with every listen. I like the groove of it and that you can actually hear everyone performing in it. I think JT has some great moments in there. I even like the Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh parts, which I know some people hate. I can do without the preachy lyrics and I think it's getting a little tiresome of Simon to keep writing these kind of inspirational anthems lately. That's probably the only good thing about RCM--no inspirational song!
Face For Today 7.5/10This is more like it. I'll admit it didn't grab me right away, but it took a few listens to find the shine in it. It is a little keyboard heavy and could have used some guitars in it. And I think it would have worked just as well with real bass and not keyboard bass. But the melody is great and I love Simon's layered vocals in the pre chorus and chorus.
Danceaphobia 6/10Dammit that chorus is catchy. It hooked me. Sorry. It's not normally my type of song but I find myself liking it anyway. I don't mind LiLo's part or how she performed it--it could have been anybody speaking her part and it would have been fine in context of the song. I mean, do you really expect a Merryl Streep monologue type of performance in a song called Danceaphobia?
What Are the Chances? 7/10It's a good ballad, but I think only slightly better than average. Definitely better than LALO and Falling Down. It's just a personal preference that I like ballads like Mediterranea and even Universe Alone better than a more straightforward one like this one. I always think "Nice" is coming on when this song starts--it's pretty much the same keyboard intro. I noticed those fake hi-hat rolls too and thought they sounded a bit dated as well! So dated drum machine hi-hats are better than "dated" real hi hats?
Sunset Garage 6/10Decent song. I think it tends to stand out because it is stylistically so different than everything else on the album. It's funny, Simon does that vocal scaling that he does in LNITC ("We're gonna live this niiiight"), but it doesn't bother me here ("Soooo halfway druuuunk"). Hmm. Maybe when the musical scale goes down is not as annoying to me as it is going up?
Change the Skyline 6/10I mentioned it on the other CTS thread that I could "hear" Brendan Flowers singing this song. It's very much his style of melody, especially the chorus. I like the pre chorus Jonas parts, but don't see why his presence was needed. His voice isn't that dramatically different than Simon's. I can understand it if Flowers had done it, but as it is now, it could have been Simon just as well. Another "okay" song. Nothing spectacular but nothing terribly offensive either. It just barely escapes getting axed from my playlist.
Butterfly Girl 5/10I tried to like this one, especially because of everyone's positive feedback for it. I can't really put my finger on what it is that holds me back from fully liking it. I like the bass line and it's got some decent drumming and guitars. I don't really like Anna Ross's parts, but I don't think that's the whole reason I don't like the song. Before I read the lyrics, I kept thinking the chorus said "San Rio Butterfly Girl". I skip it.
Only In Dreams 5/10This one is particularly disappointing because it's from Ronson and Rodgers. I tried really hard to like this one. I really did. But ultimately that last part of the chorus really bothers the hell out of me and gets in the way of me liking it. You know the part--"I don't want to wake up/ whatever that rising notes sound is supposed to be". The chorus is okay up until then, but that last part really kills it for me. It just sounds like a placeholder, like they didn't know how else to resolve that musical line and just did that while they thought of something better. I'm not crazy about the "Only in dreams. Girl/ I'm a part of your. World." thing either. So I skip it now but I feel terribly guilty about it!
The Universe Alone 9/10This is a lovely song. I love the guitar parts in the verses, which I think help the song not get too sentimental and sappy. And I'm one of the people who like the distortion in the end of the song. I think it makes sense and it sounds interesting. I like when Nick creates a noise that makes sense for the song, and is not just another beep boop noise. It sounds a bit organic as well, not so digital. Like I mentioned before, this is the kind of slow song that I like over something like WATC. There's also a quality about it that feels very cinematic. I can "see" it going nicely as a soundtrack to a movie.
Planet Roaring 7.5/10Good song. It gets better with every listen for me. Sadly, it's more of Roger only doing the bass drum. But I like it. In my attempt to be open minded, I tried to imagine this song existing outside of PG, because I think it being associated with PG hurts it since it uses similar aesthetics from the other lesser PG dance songs like the bass only drums and low guitar and bass mix. If it was part of a different album, it would just sound different and unique. In the context of PG, it just kinda slides down and gets lumped together with the other dance songs because they share that similar sound.
Valentine Stones 8/10I like this one too. It's got good bass, drums and guitars, although again, there was no need for the bass to be keyboard bass. I don't think it would have made the song that much less "modern" if it was a real bass. It's got a nice pre chorus too. This one tends to really stick to my mind when I hear it. I like to call this one "Valentine Scones".
Northern Lights 7/10I like this one as well. I like the early 80s drum/bass rhythm (on the 8th notes?) It starts out slow, but once it gets going, it's great. I like that 80s sound. So would people say this is just DD retreading old ground and not showing any growth? I personally don't think so. It has that 80s sound, but not the kind that DD did in the 80s. There is plenty of area to mine in that style without sounding repetitive.
On Evil Beach 5/10I absolutely HATE the "She makes a splash in front of him in front of the entire school" line. It practically kills the song for me. It just sounds so juvenile--like writing about problems of a 13 year old. Otherwise I find this one interesting. It's an interesting calypso beat which is pleasant and it starts out okay. There's also an interesting distortion going on throughout the song that's pretty cool too. But I've been skipping it.
Cinderella Ride 5/10I really don't like the verses. Simon sounds so bored. Not crazy about that strumming guitar (?) during the verses either. I like the chorus though, and it's got some nice sounding snare drums. I think there might be some guitars stuff going on in the chorus but I can't be sure since they've mixed it so low! It's there in the final outro part though. I've been skipping this one too.
Edit: I finally realized what I didn't like about the verses and that strumming guitar--it reminds me of Sugar Ray songs which I hate!
Skipping those songs that I don't like has really helped me enjoy the songs that I do like all the more. I ruined TWA for myself by insisting I listen to every song on the album repeatedly, whether I liked them or not. I was all caught up in the hype and the hoopla, and I hoped that I would eventually come around. But instead it had the opposite effect. Now I can barely listen to the album. I don't want that to happen again, so I've been more careful with this album. I have given all the songs a proper chance and have picked out the songs I like and will continue to enjoy them. So keeping in mind the amount of songs I have chosen to skip, and the overall middle of the road feeling I get from most of the songs, I can't say I love this album. It just has too many minuses to it. I skip 6 out of 17, so not a terrible average. There are some good songs in there that I do enjoy. Like I said, I love the song PG and I wouldn't mind having a whole album full of PGs! So it's not like I want them to keep doing AYNIN albums. I want them to evolve and change. But I'm just not a dance club music kind of person, and I never considered DD that when I first started listening to them in 1984.
I was and am ultimately disappointed in the album. I suppose anything after AYNIN would have been a disappointment. If I ignore AYNIN and see it as a continuation of Astronaut and RCM, it fares much better in my eyes. It has yielded some good songs so it's not all bad. I'm half hoping in a few years I'll listen to the whole album again one day and rediscover the songs that I'm not crazy about today.
It's not a home run for me like AYNIN was, but it's not a total bust either. Just kinda in the middle.
So here is where I rank PG among the other albums:
Excellent: DD ('81), Rio, 7&TRT, SRTR, AYNIN
Great: Notorious, Medazzaland
Good: Paper Gods, Big Thing
Eh: RCM, Astronaut, Pop Trash, Liberty
Bad: Wedding Album
I Don't Even Listen To It And Don't Feel Bad About It: Thank You (except for White Lines)
I don't want my views to come off as completely negative. I'm very happy that DD is still around making new music. I guess I have taken them for granted in that respect. But everyone here talking about this being their swan song, or releasing Reportage as their swan song, JT seeming so despondent and sidelined as a bass player, bringing up people like Billy Joel who doesn't create new music anymore, etc., has made me more appreciative of their longevity and their desire to continue with new material. Reading their interviews it sounds like they are all in it for the long haul (except maybe JT), so there is hope yet that they will be around for at least a few more albums. And I will look forward to them all!