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The Tragically Hip - Music @ Work Audio CD

A fair review of the The Tragically Hip "Music @ Work" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Tragically Hip reviews here, or go back to the The Tragically Hip tabs.

The Tragically Hip Band: The Tragically Hip
Title: Music @ Work
Rating:
Release Date: 2000-06-13
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: My Music @ Work 2: Tiger the Lion 3: Lake Fever 4: Putting Down 5: Stay 6: The Bastard 7: The Completists 8: Freak Turbulence 9: Sharks 10: Toronto 4 11: Wild Mountain Honey 12: Train Overnight 13: The Bear 14: As I Wind Down The Pines

A wonderfully diverse and grand accomplishment
But I believe in terms of musicianship, lyrics, variety, innovativeness, and sonic excellence, it's second to none in the Hip's discography. Over three years after its release, I'm ready to go out on a limb and say that "Music @ Work" is The Tragically Hip's best record - certainly not a consensus view, given the comments here.

Unfortunately, "Music @ Work" begins with its weakest song, the relatively inane title track - a fairly cynical attempt at a hit single. The next song, "Tiger the Lion," is unquestionably an acquired taste, with its sinister guitar chords and obscure John Cage references. But to me, this is the type of song that makes The Hip great - a gutsy, idiosyncratic reworking of the rock idiom. After that comes one of the Hip's best songs ever, "Lake Fever. " It's simply a beautiful song, with lush acoustic instrumentation, spine-tingling chord changes, and one of vocalist Gordon Downie's strongest performances.

The rest of the record weaves through varied musical territory. There are straight-ahead rockers, like "Putting Down" and "The Bastard," as well as atmospheric ballads such as "Toronto #4" and "As I Wind Down the Pines. " How many bands have written a song from a carnivorous bear's point of view? Not many - but on "The Bear," the Hip do it with tongue-in-cheek aplomb.

The Hip's charmingly peculiar style establishes a sense of continuity that helps guide the listener through their diverse musical landscape. Their Canadian milieu informs their music with a unique cultural and geographical sensibility that sets them apart from other current alternative artists.

As bold and varied as the colors on its cover, "Music @ Work" is a wonderfully diverse and grand accomplishment. For everyone? Maybe not. But for this Hip fan, it's their best.


grows on you
Kinda hard to top Phantom Power. Wasnt thrilled with this one when I picked it up on its release date 3 years ago. But this album grows on you and will find its way in your cd player as often as other Hip recordings. The best all around ROCK band out there today.


obscurity for ogling lyrically and often lazy shiftwork
"Tiger The Lion" 's far-flung abstraction hangs loosely from weakly grasping music. Opens with absurdist juxtaposition imagery welded to fiery music and guitar strong-arms in "My Music At Work". "Lake Fever" is well done, with its hopping percussion and diversifyingly spacey lyrics. "Putting Down" is a mid-tempo typifyingly hip number, lyrics' wild obtuseness fits its fistful of music.
"Stay" is one of the album's top spots, its mellow mood contrasting coolly with Downie's barely restrained howl. "The Bastard's" lyrics are obscurist pedantry and the music is ok. "The Completists"'s shared vocals dilute well while "Freak Turbulence" tries but goes nowhere. "Sharks" I am mixed about, though "Toronto #4" is tonewise and vocalwise pleasantly composed, a rumination on surfacing.
The next four songs "Wild Mountain Honey", "Train Overnight", "The Bear", and "As I Wind Down The Pines" are better titles and occasional glittering phrases than vocals or musical stylings; the lyrics and music cloud one another more often than not.
Overall, the Hip here seem stranded in obscurity for ogling lyrically and often lazy shiftwork musically; a trimming down of the quantity of songs may have lifted the quality.


obscurity for ogling lyrically and often lazy shiftwork
"Tiger The Lion" 's far-flung abstraction hangs loosely from weakly grasping music. Opens with absurdist juxtaposition imagery welded to fiery music and guitar strong-arms in "My Music At Work". "Lake Fever" is well done, with its hopping percussion and diversifyingly spacey lyrics. "Putting Down" is a mid-tempo typifyingly hip number, lyrics' wild obtuseness fits its fistful of music.
"Stay" is one of the album's top spots, its mellow mood contrasting coolly with Downie's barely restrained howl. "The Bastard's" lyrics are obscurist pedantry and the music is ok. "The Completists"'s shared vocals dilute well while "Freak Turbulence" tries but goes nowhere. "Sharks" I am mixed about, though "Toronto #4" is tonewise and vocalwise pleasantly composed, a rumination on surfacing.
The next four songs "Wild Mountain Honey", "Train Overnight", "The Bear", and "As I Wind Down The Pines" are better titles and occasional glittering phrases than vocals or musical stylings; the lyrics and music cloud one another more often than not.
Overall, the Hip here seem stranded in obscurity for ogling lyrically and often lazy shiftwork musically; a trimming down of the quantity of songs may have lifted the quality.


Why do I like this album?
Deconstructing it reveals a basic rock band, with interesting vocals and lyrics. I can't figure it out. The production quality is excellent. It sounds great at any volume, at home, in the car. The tunes get stuck in my head. I don't see why I don't hear this on American radio stations. I revisited "Trouble in the Henhouse" when I dusted off an old CD case, so that prompted me to buy this, their latest offering (at this time). These guys are cool, and this album shows their contiuous improvement. I bought their entire collection, to see how they did it. I still don't know.


You can see a complete list of all The Tragically Hip discography, or go back to the The Tragically Hip tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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