A Perfect Circle - Thirteenth Step
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Free Music Notes for Thirteenth Step
Free Music Review: A Perfect Circle - The Thirteenth Step - sooooooo tasty!!!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
I've waited a while to review Thirteenth Step....still assimilating it all. Remarkable album! Such vast contrast from one song to the next....on a par with Led Zeppelin 4, and should EASILY be considered a classic over time. The Thirteenth Step stands apart from their first album Mer De Noms (another masterpiece), yet embraces the natural evolution any quality band would experience....much like the previous comment about Zeppelin from their earlier efforts to the 4th album (except APC didn't really "borrow" from Willie Dixon he he) and then even further evolved and peaking at Physical Graffiti. The Beatles definitely come to mind in this context, Pink Floyd as well...
I was privy to hear A Perfect Circle at Lollapalooza 2003...three weeks before The Thirteenth Step was even released and knew then and there I'd be listening to the second effort over and over again, just like their debut. 'The Nurse Who Loved Me' in a concert setting sounded awesome and really took from the first albums stylings, and then, when I heard it on the Album, immediately reminded me of the Rolling Stones 'Tears Go By'...and from the difference of the 2 versions, it shocked me...happily...on just how much APC nurtures and evolves its music.
The lyrics from 'Noose' smack of the hypocracy some people take when they find religion and think that since they are 'saved' are no longer accountable for prior actions in their own lives. The lyrics can be applied to more than a few people I know, but since I don't judge and despise being judged, I'll just keep those opinions to myself...
'Pet' was the first song they opened with at Palooza (actually, Lullaby preceded it and then flowed right into Pet....it's the exact opposite on the album you already know..), but again, the chilling lyrics you only begin to understand as you play any song more and more make it all the more eerie and hit very close to home...moral I take from it: NWO 4 Life unless you are part of the machine (...shepard or sheep...time to see Pulp Fiction again ;-).
Was a pleasant surprise to hear so many Rush undertones, and some Tool Undertow-nes(OUCH! DOH!) throughout the album as well, but with all of this diverse music going on within 1 album, it gave me an idea why A Perfect Circle is named A Perfect Circle (and this is only my best guess): It's because they are responsible for bringing many older styles of music into the fold with their own creations, and as Maynard said in concert 'bringing music into the 21st century...' thus completing A Perfect Circle.
Thank you APC for bestowing such a wonderful gift to your loyal listeners and to all who truly have a love and passion for music as a whole ;-D~. If you don't have it yet, RUN and get this album!!!!!!!!
Deciple X
Free Music Review: Thirteenth Step
Hit: 5 Stars
I was invited to go to A Perfect Circle concert with some of my friends and I decided to go. Of course I hadn't listened to them much before, so I decided to buy both CD's since I was asked a couple of months in advance. The first CD Mer de Noms had a couple of good songs on it, but I quickly fell in love with the second CD, Thirteenth Step. The first CD is harder rock than the second CD with the exception of Pet and The Outsider.
After going to the concert I learned that A Perfect Circle is a unique band, but the show was amazing. I say unique because they are like nothing I have ever listened to before. At the concert, the singer faced the back the whole time and never faced the crowd, but as weird as that sounds, it only made me more intrigued. For me it took a couple times of listening to actually start enjoying them. You will quickly learn that this band has talent. The music is quite mellow and the lyrics are pretty symbolic. I personally think that even the name of the CD is symbolic. There are 12 steps to recovery for alcoholism and each song could be thought of as the effects of alcohol or some other substance maybe. All of the songs demonstrate this idea, but the most obvious are Weak and Powerless, The Noose, and Vanishing. The last song, Gravity, makes me believe that there was a decision to stop the substance abuse and take a road to recovery because of the line "I choose to live."
There are three singles on the radio. Weak and Powerless was the first, Blue was the second, and The Outsider was the third. Blue does not have a music video.
To be completely honest, I have a new favorite song from the album every other week. The one song I could do without is number five Vanishing, the lyrics are too repetitive. My ultimate favorite is number three, The Noose, because the words are compelling all the way up to the last sentence of the song which gives me shivers up and down my spine when I actually think about. Number ten, Pet, is one of the tracks that is heavier than the others and it is awesome. I believe that they even put a little humor on the album with number nine, The Nurse Who Loved Me. All of the songs have great lyrics and are so powerful that you will not be able to listen to only one of the songs on the CD; you will have to listen to the whole thing.
All in all, this is a tremendous CD; you should definitely give it a chance. If you are looking for something new and different it will not disappoint you. If you do not like it at first, give it another chance because I guarantee that it will grow on you. Ending up that you like this band, I suggest you give the band TOOL a try, because it is the same singer.
Free Music Review: Standing out in a Monotone Time
Hit: 5 Stars
Look among the other hits playing on the radio or on the charts, you can see that music today is plain. Things are getting boring with the conformity of genres and no one trying to stand out or being different. Rock in particular today isn't getting any recognition for doing anything "great". Everything released by new rock bands is generic. But in 2003 A Perfect Circle released their second album, "Thirteenth Step".
The CD is the works of Maynard James Keenan, Billy Howerdel, Jeordie White, James Iha, Josh Freese with help from Danny Lohner, Paz Lenchantin, Troy Van Leeuwen. As well, a couple of the tracks include the vocals of singer Jarboe. "Thirteenth Step" is a large, collective effort of many talented musicians to make it one of 2003's Standout Rock albums. A Perfect Circle's album has an overall theme under the name "Thirteenth Step", taking the title from the 12 Step Program, the songs all have some sort of message dealing with drug abuse, addiction, life and death, and more.
"Weak and Powerless", one of the singles from the album, starts out with a strong bassline with the message of someone having a problem with alcohol/drugs but they can't fix the problem until they fix themselves. "The Outsider" is another single that was released off "Thirteenth Step" and it's written in the viewpoint of an abuser's loved one, relative, etc. All of the songs if you listen closely enough are written in a certain viewpoint of someone dealing with addiction in their own way or even the drug itself.
The hardest track is probably "Pet", written in the viewpoint of the drug, talking to the abuser. Lyrics stating, "Don't fret precious I'm here, step away from the window". This album just shows you the outstanding music talents every person that helped out on this record has. The lyrics are well-written, the instrumental pieces are all fitting to the song and how the lyrics speak to the listener. On "Thirteenth Step", there is no song I could really call a filler, all are great in their own sense.
One of my favorite tracks has to be "The Noose", starting out with a faint sound of a guitar, you can barely hear. But "The Noose" gives you a strong feeling and just gets you involved with the music. Maynard's vocals on the song, along with Jarboe in the background, complete the powerful and uplifting sound of the guitars, to make the standout track, to me.
If you're looking for an album that you can listen to over and over again and still feel pleased with the quality of the work done on the tracks, buy this album. A Perfect Circle's sophmore album surpasses Mer De Noms and shows that they are more then just Maynard James Keenan's side project.
Free Music Review: Another beautiful APC album
Hit: 5 Stars
Three years after the release of its debut MER DE NOMS, A Perfect Circle's THIRTEENTH STEP sees the light of day. By that time, Troy van Leeuwen and Paz Lenchantin had left and been replaced by bassist Jeordie Osborne White, formerly of Marilyn Manson, and guitarist James Iha, formerly of the Smashing Pumpkins (though he doe not appear on the album). While van Leeuwen appear on part of the set, guitarist Danny Lohner helped out after he departed. Amazingly, despite the changes, the sound is still very much the creation of Billy Howerdel with the unmistakable vocal of Maynard Keenan from Tool. Produced by Howerdel and mixed by the inimitable Andy Wallace, THIRTEENTH STEP is a moodier, tenser, and more atmospheric (if that is possible) recording than its predecessor. Written mostly by Howerdel and Keenan, the songs traverse a particular associated with surrender, loss, having the nature of a person stripped away, and turning in the twilight of those feelings toward a kind of slow transformation into something that can only be called "other."
There are no easy outs and no easy answers, only hard questions throughout "Weak and Powerless," where surrender is necessary but far from desired. The title bitingly refers to the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, but this is not your average recovery outing. Tracks like "Blue," "Vanishing," and "Lullaby" (one of two tracks featuring the amazing Jarboe on vocals) feature a kind of barely restrained menace caught in a trap by rock & roll vulnerability. The wide dynamic swathes that were so prominent on the band's debut are all but absent here. The squalling guitars have taken a backseat to carefully crafted melodies where atmospherics are maximized and pulled taut over the listener.
While not a radical departure from MER DE NOMS, there is a real progression here. However, the explosive, heavier-than-heavy rock-ism of A Perfect Circle is so well known for it is readily evidenced on cuts such as "The Outsider" and "Pet." As moods shapeshift from the sepia-toned murk of "The Package" and "The Noose," the over the top hard rock to the Baroquely scaled "The Nurse Who Loved Me" and "Gravity," with its beautiful guitar effects and crystalline bass line, the listener becomes aware of just how much water has traveled under A Perfect Circle's bridge. THIRTEENTH STEP is the sound of a musical and lyrical maturity that normally doesn't occur until a band's third or fourth albums. Lyrically, musically, sonically, the THIRTEENTH STEP is proof positive that mainstream rock has plenty of life and vision left in it.
Free Music Review: 5 stars... why not?
Hit: 5 Stars
After three years of no new material, and after some speculation that they may never make another record together, A Perfect Circle has released a new album, entitled Thirteenth Step. Essential, A Perfect Circle is the brainchild of Tool vocalist, Maynard James Keenan, and former Tool/Smashing Pumpkins guitar technician Billy Howerdel, except A Perfect Circle focuses more on atmospheric music than on heaviness and complexity. The band debuted in 2000 with Mer De Noms, which spawned the hit singles "Judith" and "Three Libras," and sold over one million copies in the United States. However, since their last album, the band has experienced some lineup changes. With the departure of bassist Paz Lenchantin (who went on to join former Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan in the short lived project Zwan), and guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen (who joined Queens of the Stone Age, but appeared on most of this album), the lineup of their debut was significantly altered. Replacing Lenchantin and Van Leeuwen, is former Marilyn Manson bassist Jeordie White (aka Twiggy Ramirez), and former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha. White played on most of the tracks on Thirteenth Step, yet Iha joined after its completion just in time for an American tour.
The band's sound has not changed drastically, relying on the detuned guitars, melodic vocals and ambience of their first album, but they also have expanded their sound as well. Songs like the 7-minute opener "The Package," "Blue," and "The Noose" still contain Keenan's distinctive vocals, textured guitars, and heavy drumming provided by Josh Freese, but it reflects more on bands like The Cure circa Disintegration, than early Black Sabbath or Jane's Addiction. Even songs like the first single "Weak and Powerless," which strikingly resembles "Judith" off their debut, and the acoustic "The Stranger," show a new side of A Perfect Circle, a sound they only hinted at on Mer De Noms. The band also covers "The Nurse Who Loved Me," by the alternative band Failure.
A Perfect Circle are one of the few "metal" bands out there that keep the otherwise prosaic genre interesting and relentlessly innovative. It's another remarkable addendum to Maynard James Keenan's musical endeavors, and makes Billy Howerdel a prolific composer and a vital guitarist in the music scene. It even benefits James Iha and Jeordie White, who have kept a low profile since their respective bands severed ties with them; it gives the two underrated musicians a new breath of life in the music industry. Thirteenth Step is a massive leap for the band in terms of musical growth, and for the listener it gives them a worthwhile venture through its atmosphere.