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Music @ Work

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.

Band: The Tragically Hip
Title: Music @ Work
Rating:

Release Date: 2006-05-15
Media: Audio CD

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

strangely uncompelling
I keep returning to it, thinking I missed something, thinking, "This time the genius will reveal itself. For years I've been wanting to love this album. " Now, finally, I am dragged kicking and screaming to the conclusion that there is no genius to be revealed, only sparks of brilliance scattered across a lamentable release by an otherwise extraordinary band. That said, "The Completists" is a marvelous song, "Lake Fever" establishes a deft and irresistible groove, "Stay" is downright moving (before it wanders off into the Zen parody of the final verse), and "As I Wind Down the Pines" is a work of singular beauty, far and away the most emotionally direct and engaging song on the album. As a whole, "Music @ Work" benefits greatly from Steve Berlin's production: the textures are rich, subtle and inventive. But there's something lacking at the core of these songs. Gordon Downie has never been guilty of cozying up to the listener, but this time he goes to ridiculous lengths to keep his distance. "I'm the Islander," he sings on "The Bear. " Indeed he is. But why? Is he angry? Has someone broken his heart? Is it lonely on that island of his? We'll never know. One senses in the willful obscurity of Downie's lyrics a contempt for those who would ask such humble questions. On the title track he sings: "in a sink full of Ganges, I remain- / No matter what you heard. " As in: whatever meaning you find--or think you find--in my lyrics, you won't find me. This petulant need for distance runs through all of the writing, leaving an emotional vacancy inside even the best songs (with the exception of "As I Wind Down the Pines," where in a rare moment of candor we find Downie in "a nest in the hole of / this dead / tree. " In general, the writing feels forced, with Downie's idiosyncratic diction straining to find a place in the melody. This is perhaps what's most disappointing about "Music @ Work," given Downie's extraordinary ability to wed complex and inventive verbal cadences to music (as evidenced to perfection on "Phantom Power"). There's a weariness behind these lyrics, a bitterness even, as of a man seriously questioning the merits of life on the road. At it's worst, Downie's songwriting becomes an act of revenge, as on the abominable "Sharks," a work of punishing futility that seems to have been created as a kind of anti-song. To include a piece like this on the album lends a sad irony to the line from "Putting Down": "I'm starting to fail to know what's best. "
Of course, no review of "Music @ Work" would be complete without some discussion of "Tiger the Lion. " Now there's a song that divides people. I can't say I love it, but I do love the fact that it exists. It's not everyday you run across a song espousing John Cage's aesthetics. One reviewer has written that he can't decide if the Cage references are "unbearable or endearingly earnest. " They sound pretty earnest to me, and that in itself is endearing, given the aloofness that characterizes most of the album. Downie is committed on this one: he's out on a limb, he's celebrating something he believes in, and he's inviting ridicule for doing so. That takes courage. Also, the song is just so damn weird everybody should listen to it at least once. The subject matter, coupled with the slow, heavy, head-banging groove that drives most of the song, creates a totally surreal effect, like a dowsy grad student was suddenly forced to be the lead singer of Deep Purple. Not to be missed.
Hmm. I didn't mean for this review to turn out so negative. I think The Tragically Hip have recorded some of the greatest albums of all time. "Music @ Work" just isn't one of them.
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The Voice That Never Changes
They are a disgrace to the country. This is Canada's worst and most overrated band. I am sad to know they are from here and wish they weren't. The singer's voice sounds exactly like the singer from REM which is another horrid band. It is such an annoying and bland voice. It never changes and sounds exactly the same on every song. I especially can't stand My Music At Work which got so sickening I wanted to literally shoot the song. I wanted to kill a song. I don't know how that's possible but after hearing that song I realized it was. What a completely horrible poopy band. And to think they're the band that is generally mentioned first when Canadian rock music is talked about. Pathetic.

My first Hip album ever...
The band has come a long way from this style of music with the recent release of 'In Between Evolution' and the difference is quite stark. Music @ Work was my first TTH album ever, and remains one of my favorites. The days of 'Music @ Work' seemed to have been simpler times, with simpler, more 'popular' tunes and solid, stick-with-you songs. "The Completists", "Tiger the Lion", and "Sharks" sit high on my favorite Hip songs list. A definite must-have for your Hip listening pleasure. There is just something about song lyrics that actually mean something.

Lose Gord's Doctoral Thesis Song and we're good...
I just don't get why it's there - and I take no real issue with the Hip's other 100 songs, just this beast on track #2 of this otherwise fine CD. As I mentioned praising "Violet Light" I always find "Tiger The Lion" a jarring, disruptive tune that I think puts a lot of people off playing this record through.

This record did not do very well. (Damn that track #2!) Yet it has as many good tunes as their best sellers. I generally skip tracks playing any CD (opinionated as I am) yet most of this CD has me glued to the speakers rather than the skip button.

There are essential tunes on this CD for any Hip music consumer. And they sound great which is a bonus.

Song-for-song, their best work
Music @ Work mirrors the structural strides made by the last release - producer Steve Berlin has been a godsend - while imparting significantly more aural interest. The fact that this altogether excellent album suffered from relatively underwhelming sales confirms one of two theories: either listeners have begun to take the band's dependability for granted, or the multi-faceted system in place to promote quality rock music has faltered though sheer laziness and indifference. Variety is the key; a quick spin through the disk exposes straightforward rave-ups ("Freak Turbulence", the tilte track), moody devastation ("Sharks", "The Bear"), big-guitar bombast ("Tiger the Lion"), and acoustic tenderness ("Stay", "As I Wind Down the Pines"). To be blunt, everything impresses and nothing disappoints.

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.