Apocalypse Please kicks things off nicely as an opening track. It isn't the most engaging song, but it establishes the mood nicely.
Even after all these years, Time is Running Out is splendidly infectious. With a very catchy (in a cheesy way) groove and a great singalong chorus, it is the perfect pop song.
Sing For Absolution uses a different tactic- trading a bit of the catchiness for emotion and subtlety. It also works a treat. Highlights are the contrast provided by the softer verses and the chorus vocals, which are an impressive outpouring of emotion.
On the other hand, Falling Away With You on paper has all the ingredients of a Muse classic. Yet somehow it doesn't work at all, and I have no idea why!
For all the talk of dramatic change in direction for Black Holes & Revelations (BH&R), both Stockholm Syndrome and Blackout could well be from that album. Stockholm Syndrome is a successful experimentation with the glam elements into a song that delivers headbanging goodness. Kudos for the chorus- it would be hard to outdo the fervent energy of the verses, so they've done well. Other highlights are the instrumental section and the huge ending- finally Muse have nailed a sharp ending!
Blackout, like BH&R, features a million overdubs of choirs and violins, and the singer wailing incoherently about something metaphysical... or whatever. It is overblown, silly and fantastic all at the same time.
Wow, what an epic groove for the ages we are treated to on Hysteria. And perfectly matched to the drums and shredding lead guitar. Ok, the chorus merely holds the fort between verses, but nothing could compare to that groove!
The recording has far less "wall of noise" and distortion effects than Muse's previous two efforts, which is a fantastic improvement (previously I had whinged about the high-frequency sounds being muffled, but in hindsight this is pretty easily fixed with some equalisation).
Interlude, this song does exactly what it says on the box, nothing more, nothing less.
The driving energy of Butterflies & Hurricanes and Thoughts of a Dying Athiest is brilliant, like the upbeat songs off Sleeping With Ghosts. My favourite moment is in Butterflies & Hurricanes when the final chorus is adapted to maintain the energy for the end of the song.
Ruled by Secrecy is basically Endlessly without any hooks...
And Endlessly is basically "reinvention" of Unintended (from Showbiz). This is a good thing. As per Muse's evolution, it's a bit more upbeat and complicated, but the beauty is again in the song's simple origins. The build-up in the background is fantastic, providing direction to the song but never overshadowing its simple beauty.
Rant about Muse's evolution
*full rant mode engaged!*Firstly, it seems that looking down your nose at Muse is a popular past-time for music snobs. So it's a bit cheesy and you need to drink the CoolAid to get into the epicness of it all, but I really don't understand the hate. Oh well, it's their loss.
As for my original goal of trying to distinguish between the first three albums, even after listening to them back-to-back, it's quite difficult. Showbiz has some great moments, but it also sounds like the band were still finding their feet. The sound is less extravegant- more like a rock band with occasional keyboard than the electro-rock of later albums. Origin of Symmetry and Absolution are the most similar, sharing a darker and more complex sound. Absolution is the more polished effort, since Origin of Symmetry struggles with the difference between "grand scale" and "noise" at times. As previously mentioned, the jump from Absolution to BH&R isn't as big as people make out, with some of the glam elements of BH&R making an appearance on Absolution.
And picking a favourite of the three albums? That's almost as impossible as naming my favourite album from The Living End. Statistically speaking, by counting the "favourite songs" below, it would be Absolution. It is indeed the polished highpoint (frustrating audio quality gripes aside) of their early style, with wonderful rock-opera moments. Showbiz is a close second, due to its "freshness" and simplicity. Origin of Simplicity sits somewhere between, but is still a fine album in its own right.
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