Jimmy Eat World - Integrity Blues (October 21, 2016) Album • Page 237

Damage is my second fav JEW album tbh. I can understand people’s gripes with it, but something about it really resonates with me. It was also the first time JEW released new music since I became a real fan of theirs and not just a passing one, so that makes it a little more special for me as well I’d imagine.

 

I like Damage more now than I did when it came out, but I can honestly say it’s the only album I was ever disappointed in by them.

 

Damage is perfect. I understand gripes with the production but the songs themselves are fantastic.

 

Damage is great and I always underrate it

 

the production is fine though?

 

just because it's a different production style than they've ever used doesn't mean it's bad

 

Yeah it’s never bothered me but it seems like it’s the most frequently mentioned deterrent to those who aren’t huge on the album

 

Personally, I feel the production is a perfect fit for the lyrical content of the album. I think the production does a great job highlighting the rawness/tenderness of dealing with heartbreak.

 

the main issue with the production is that the vocals have a bit too much of the treble filtered off, so his voice never really pops like it does on other albums. listen to a track on damage immediately after any other song of theirs, and you should notice that his voice is a little darker and doesnt ever really jump out. love the album though.

 

that's the point though? like given the subject matter of the album it almost seems like a given the vocals wouldn't be super bright and up front

 

i actually agree with you, im just kind of playing devils advocate, trying to clarify what it is about the production that puts people off. the songs in isolation simply dont stack up to songs from their other albums on a surface level. but listen to the album as a whole and go beneath the surface with the lyrics and the overall tone of the album, and its a masterpiece imo.

 

i think if they re-released Damage with new production to match that of Integrity Blues or Half Heart (i pick that because the song does sound like how damage COULD have sounded), i think fans of the band who wrote off damage would turn around and be like "holy shit, these songs are actually good!" and that would be a cool thing to have. but the original is still the original and will always have its special place i think. like you said, the production style works for what the lyrics convey.

also, jim's solo acoustic rendition of Please Say No is the most beautiful, emotional performance ive ever been lucky enough to witness. the songs on that album have so much more potential within them than most people realise, i think.

edit:

heres a recording thats not too bad. the quiet, restrained chorus is stunning.

 

Damage wouldn't work with IB style production though it would be weird and overstuffed

 

Damage is my least favorite jimmy album but it's still at least 8.5/10 so

 

Besides static which is about a 7.5-8

 

The thing that really highlights how great this band is for me is how the variety of production styles they have on their albums emphasizes the style of music they play- but they didn't really change their style all that much. Every Jimmy Eat World album still sounds like them and we could probably predict what their next album will sound like, but how they choose to make it sound through the mixing process will give it a bit of a different flavor. Somehow they stay exciting. Wish they would come to the Bay Area soon.

 

Just a man and his guitar. Damn.

 

how'd you have me

 

Well, actually, I listened to a YouTube tutorial about ProTools five years ago and

 

So the TV is on in the background while I bake, and I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard "Invented" start playing. Too cool!

 

I was always a big fan of Damage right from first listen, it just really clicked with me. Invented is my least favorite I think, a lot of songs that still haven't clicked with me. Otherwise this band is a 10 out of 10

 

damage is great and i’ve always thought so. it’s a more poppy and condensed record than either invented or ib but it works so well for the material and the subject matter. one of the breeziest sounding breakup records i’ve ever heard, which actually gives the lyrics the space to hit that much harder

 

Invented is my favourite, probably always will be. Album hits me like no other

 

Invented took me years to get into. But now i love it. Higher Devotion and Littlething are fantastic.

 

oh also i've always kinda loved damage's production. sounds like an unremastered early '90s dinosaur jr record. v about it