Follow-up thread to Hybrid Theory : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-1-hybrid-theory.47086/ Meteora : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-2-meteora.47107/ The very first album where LP reinvented themselves, let's go! ---------------- Mine Top 3 Qualities Diversity : it's not everyday you can find songs like Given Up and In Between on the same album. The variety of styles MTM presents to the listener is a richness and one of its main strength. It is also a record that helped broaden my musical horizons, when I was at an age where I'd dismiss, for no valid reason, any music that had a softer tone Production / Mixing: one of the LP records with the best mix. So crisp. And it combines perfectly with the organic approach taken instrumentally. The dynamics are good, the vocals really shine, the guitars have an edge, etc. In summary, it's great! Vocal Performance : the most Chester-focused record, and oh boy, he delivers. From the 17 seconds scream to LTGYA final moments, there are so many epic performances to be found here. Top Issue Consistency : well, I was a bit thorn on this one. At the end of the day, I think every track is solid, so in that light, the record is consistent. On the other end, I always felt the tracklist was a bit of a mess, and could have been improved upon. Ditching songs like ATL, which they worked on alongside NMS, TLTGYA or Valentines Day, and including a "made-as-last-minute-single" track like WID impacts the vision for the record a bit. Meanwhile, having the 4 final songs being mid-tempo ballads doesn't really help making them shine - as they'd deserve - and instead creates a bit of a sleeper end.
This is the first album I listened to once I was out of my parents house, and is a sonic staple in my life, as I associate it with "freedom", also, I worked at a Media production company back then, and we played WID on repeat, and thinking, "well they've gone U2, but hell we love it". Top 3 Qualities: Accessibility: Being softer and more mellow paced, is an easy album to step in before the harder stuff. I love Valentine's Day, LOATR and SOTD, even if these two are incarnations of U2. (because, come on, I love U2). Lyrics: BIO, HHH, IB have great lyrics that click for me. And TLTGYA is awesome, I've come to appreciate the latter more and more recently. Vocal Performance: Given Up, enough said. No, really, this album is a showcase of Chester's abilities and performance. Top Issue: Creativity: There's no re-inventing the wheel here (there it is, indeed, in LP terms, is a new space for them doing "only" rock, and even Mike is singing clean here with In Between and HHH) but style-wise, is well-known territory for mid 2000's. Maybe Bleed it out is more rap-rocking, but nothing else. I'd love to have seen here included some of the demos like Debris and the awesome Asbestos.
Top 3 Strengths of MTM to me: Diversity: A bit of a no-brainer with this album. This is probably their most stylistically varied work, at least sonically from song to song. We go from the strong rhythm driven alt metal of "Given Up" straight into a power ballad, back into rock territory with a rap-rock banger, into an even mellower ballad with "Shadow of the Day"...you get the idea. You liked "No More Sorrow," huh? Have some clean arpeggiated guitar with "Valentine's Day" for a twist! The difference is night and day when you compare this album to Meteora. Songwriting: Maybe not most people's first choice for this album, due to the pretty conventional structures, but I think the songwriting of this album is what really holds it together. Rob's drumming being the anchor that tied "The Little Things Give You Away" together, the ebow demo by Brad for that same song turning into "No More Sorrow"...so on. Rather than the songwriting sticking to a particular formula of the "sound" of the band, each song seems written around a unique core idea first. The song builds around that idea and LP was able to mold them sonically to somehow all sound similar enough to appear on an album together. Outside of that, some of the melodies just really show the band's ability to bring power or emotion while staying true to their core songwriting style—the simple but effective solo on "The Little Things Give You Away" is one of my favorite examples there. The songs are all solidly-written and very melodically interesting, much more so than Meteora's affinity for wall of sound production with very tight vocal melodies (more like rapping with pitch/aggression than real melodic work honestly). Vocal Performance: What more is there to say? Chester is absolutely incredible here. A 17-second one-take scream, the soaring outro vocals of TLTGYA, and all the other songs where he just really puts his voice out there as the song comes to a crescendo ("Valentine's Day," "Shadow of the Day," "What I've Done" come to mind). Also, Mike brings his singing voice to the table in a tangible way for the first time, and though he certainly gets better with each album following, "In Between" really stands out as something special here. Where I think MTM suffers: Consistency: the back half of this album drags a little to me. "The Little Things Give You Away" is one of their best works, but to get there from the last song I think is really a standout ("No More Sorrow"), you have to meander through "Valentine's Day," "In Between," and "In Pieces." IB is extremely low-energy and mellow, which wouldn't be as big of an issue if VD and IP weren't by and large also mellow songs that only really pick up in the last quarter of their runtime. This then leads into the very mellow and drawn out intro of TLTGYA, which has every right to take its time, but can somtimes feel like a drag with the context of coming out of those three previous songs. I also find "Hands Held High" to be pretty weak comparatively with the rest of the album. I think the opening salvo of "Wake" and the five singles is magnificent, but then on the back half the album nosedives, buoyed by "No More Sorrow" and "The Little Things Give You Away."
Nailed it Chris! I absolutely agree with the description of the second half of the album. Couldn't write it better.
I will say that individually, I do like all those songs, especially "Valentine's Day," but the sequencing doesn't do a lot of favors for them to shine when they're all sandwiched between NMS and TLTGYA. In my opinion, of course.
When I listen to Minutes to Midnight with B sides included, I always re-sequence the album to end with No More Sorrow into The Little Things. It's honestly perfection. Been meaning to get to these write-ups. Maybe this weekend if I feel inspired.
Little bump. ATS thread is coming tomorrow Diversity seems to (logically) take the cake on this one, followed by vocal performances and songwriting. At the low end, we have consistency and instrumentation. It's interesting to see how the stats are completely different from one album to the next.
First of all, I adore this album. It’s such a beautiful somber, almost tragic, piece in LP’s discography and such a 180 from Meteora. The vocal performance is incredible on here. This is Chester’s best performance imo and the melodies throughout, from the verses and choruses, are top notch, jam packed of emotional resonance. LP’s choruses have never been so consistently beautiful. Mike also puts in some pretty great performances too. Bleed It Out’s verses are rapid/exciting and Mike’s delivery had a new found confidence never seen before. Hands Held High was a ballsy political statement from a nu metal band that most would never assume Shinoda could carry a verse beyond 4-8 bars. With some really nice storytelling and some added technical nuance with internal and multisyllabic rhymes for good measure, plus a fantastic melody to boot some really beautiful lyrics in the outro, it’s a highlight for sure. And of course No Roads Left for bonus tracks was incredible too. There is a darkness to this album that I find appealing and my biggest unpopular opinion is the 3-peat ballad of Valentine’s Day, In Between, and In Pieces being my favorite run on the album. There’s a somberness, vulnerability, and introspection on those songs that really make it work for me and is probably why I am drawn to this album on a personal level. Never could I relate to LP lyrics more than MTM. I don’t know if I consider this album to have many weaknesses tbh for me. Maybe the lack of electronic elements are missed, maybe Mike could have had a stronger presence, but overall, I think the consistency of how many ballads are on here and the softer approach was a good idea. My least favorite songs in general are the “heavier” tracks like Given Up and No More Sorrow, and both those songs still deserve their placement. Overall, to me, this is an almost perfect LP album.