Z appreciation thread

ManNamedTruth · May 15, 2008, 02:49 AM

Z is a very special album. I don't want to hear "it has a few songs I have to skip through". Fuck that, its a masterpiece. My first MMJ album and I will always think of it that way.

.Walt · May 15, 2008, 03:54 AM

Nikkogino · May 15, 2008, 07:02 AM

Z is a great album...but I put it below ISM, At Dawn, and TTF....I personally like EU better than Z. But it is still an awesome album. I personally love "Into the Woods." "Lay Low" is also a classic. I'll probably get killed for this though....I was never a fan of "Gideon."

brkndwnbus · May 15, 2008, 07:24 AM

QuoteZ is a great album...but I put it below ISM, At Dawn, and TTF....I personally like EU better than Z. But it is still an awesome album. I personally love "Into the Woods." "Lay Low" is also a classic. I'll probably get killed for this though....I was never a fan of "Gideon."

I am not a fan of "Gideon" either. While I do enjoy listening to this album from time to time, I usually only play "Lay Low," "Anytime," and "Dondante." I like the album as a whole, except "Gideon," but I rank it as my least favorite album. If EU is as good as some of the live recordings, then I think "Z" will remain my least favorite.

I understand your feelings though, True, as sometimes hearing that first album holds a special place. I also go back and forth between TTF and At Dawn as my personal favorite. At Dawn was my first album I got a hold of and TTF shortly after.

Goat Boy · May 15, 2008, 07:53 AM

I'd place it below both At Dawn and It Still Moves. Z has basically zero filler and is a lean mother but lacks the spooked rural twilight feel of At Dawn and the unruly, epic ebb and flow of It Still Moves both of which appeal to me slightly more at this moment in time. Part of this is down to the simple fact that I was backpacking for 6 months with a cd player (pre ipod days) and ten cds one of which was Z so I kinda overdosed on it during that trip. However Z is their strongest track for track basically and their most self contained. If anybody wanted to start with the band I'd point them in Z's direction and tell em to take it from there.

One thing about Z though is I would have liked to have seen the exurberant melodic swirls of Chills and How Could I Know on there perhaps but it's hard to know where to put them as the album is sequenced very well. Perhaps Chills could come before the woozy In The Woods ending the first half of the album. HCIK doesn't really fit in though does it? It belongs on At Dawn probably. It's also their best sleeve by a distance I think. I really dig the artwork and have been meaning to get a giant poster for a while now.

And Into The Woods is absolutely glorious - one of the best songs the bands ever done.

bearass · May 15, 2008, 11:58 AM

get the vinyl it has chills

Penny Lane · May 15, 2008, 01:09 PM

i place 2nd after ISM---i only skip into the woods---cover to cover....stellar album...i think their songwriting improved from AD and TF to Z--(as far as honing the craft of a great song) i've had friends tell me that once they heard Z, they could appreciate it but felt they had to accept the fact that this was a different band--i laugh at that--i love it that it sounds different--- it's like they are narrowly tailoring the (reverby blustery) sound that gained their following while also delving into new territory.

i don't know what any of that meant...Z is a phenomenal album...

Caseydog · May 15, 2008, 02:03 PM

Quotei place 2nd after ISM---i only skip into the woods---cover to cover....stellar album...i think their songwriting improved from AD and TF to Z--(as far as honing the craft of a great song) i've had friends tell me that once they heard Z, they could appreciate it but felt they had to accept the fact that this was a different band--i laugh at that--i love it that it sounds different--- it's like they are narrowly tailoring the (reverby blustery) sound that gained their following while also delving into new territory.

i don't know what any of that meant...Z is a phenomenal album...

I'm with you on this. With the exception of Into the Woods, Z is stellar from start to finish. I find that I listen to it more than It Still Moves. For me, Evil Urges comes in 3rd, but still very good.

ManNamedTruth · May 15, 2008, 02:36 PM

Quotebut I put it below ISM, At Dawn, and TTF....I personally like EU better than Z. "

>:(

ManNamedTruth · May 15, 2008, 02:40 PM

To me, Z is a more successful experimentation and extention of their sound than Evil Urges. I also think Leckie did a better job with production than Chicarelli.

TEO · May 15, 2008, 04:00 PM

WC ROCKS MY FUCKING WORLD!!! :)

PapaJoeBear · May 15, 2008, 04:12 PM

I like Z enough I suppose. The only track that really irks me is Anytime. I will occationally skip the middle of the album, listening to 1-3, than skipping to 8-10. I feel that the sequence of the last 3 songs is possibly the strongest 3 song sequence on any of their albums. Lay Low just destroys, and I often imagine that song being on It Still Moves (it has a similiar feel imo), Knot Comes Loose is a haunting, tragic beauty, and well Dondante is, ....Dondante. Calling that song epic is like calling the sun warm.

Angry Ewok · May 15, 2008, 04:40 PM

IT BEATS 4 U

The DARK · May 15, 2008, 04:45 PM

I think its the best album of the decade so far. Narrowly beats At Dawn. Every song is a rock and roll classic.

ManNamedTruth · May 15, 2008, 05:22 PM

QuoteI like Z enough I suppose. The only track that really irks me is Anytime. I will occationally skip the middle of the album, listening to 1-3, than skipping to 8-10.

Ludicrous, this thread is for the purpose of praising Z.

ManNamedTruth · May 15, 2008, 05:23 PM

QuoteI think its the best album of the decade so far. Narrowly beats At Dawn. Every song is a rock and roll classic.

Very well done, everybody take a good hard look at this post.

Nikkogino · May 15, 2008, 05:56 PM

Why does "Into the Woods" get so much hate....it is an interesting song and the chorus "I went into the woods, where did I goooooo" is so great. I hated it at first but it grew on me.

Nikkogino · May 15, 2008, 05:57 PM

Quote
Quotebut I put it below ISM, At Dawn, and TTF....I personally like EU better than Z. "

>:(

I do agree with you that Philly does suck though.

Angry Ewok · May 15, 2008, 05:59 PM

QuoteWhy does "Into the Woods" get so much hate....

The same reason Highly Suspicious does and will on a larger scale once the album is released. Some people just don't have a sense of humor, is all.

ManNamedTruth · May 15, 2008, 06:15 PM

Quote
QuoteWhy does "Into the Woods" get so much hate....

The same reason Highly Suspicious does and will on a larger scale once the album is released. Some people just don't have a sense of humor, is all.

Its not the sense of humor for me, i like the silly covers and Jim's boots and Oregon Trail attire. I like Into The Woods, but don't like Highly Suspicious.