I knew there were multiple versions but I wasn’t sure which one I deferred to so I went back and listened to them all. Orensanz is the one I listen to the most.
The elektra version has like a whole extra minute of Adam just making noises that I guess are words, and it’s missing John’s vocals. I think it’s a better quality recording but the weird vocal effects are just not it.
Oh, yeah. I can understand that. Also, update: I went to the record store and they had zero TBS records. I did, however, find the Notes From the Past CD, which has the Elektra version of YOD on it so that's pretty funny.
I remember “having to like” that album because I was so excited about Shaun and John being back. It’s the one I come back to the least by far. Being from Long Island, it’s wild to think there is still this much discourse about who is and who is not a member of this band in 2025.
I remember feeling the same way as you about this. Looking back, it was such a disappointing release after all the hype. The album feels generic overall, with a noticeable lack of John and Adam’s declining vocals being especially obvious. It was notable that he wasn’t taking care of his voice during the promotional period for Louder Now, but the change over a 10-year span was remarkable.
I've been relistening to LN for the first time in years these past few days and it's rly rly good. But i have to say: i'll let you live is a good song but such a weird choice for closer.
That album is solid but the first Terrible Things album is imo the best thing Fred has done outside of TBS (including Breaking Pangea)
Mackey, Semi-Automatic and You Were Right would’ve made S/T a waayyyyy better album. I revisit the b-sides more than most tracks on the whole album.
I felt the exact same way upon first listen. When they put out Happiness Is… I was like “this is the album that S/T should’ve been!”
There is something about the production and guitar tone that they used for the intro to “Sad Savior” that grinds my gears. The part itself is fine, but it just sounds like shit to me.
I think a lot of that is possibly due to the fact that they did most (all?) of happiness is before signing to hopeless (and hopeless seemed very hands off with them, almost to a fault), so it’s likely that’s more in line with what they wanted to make vs. what the label wanted. I know John and Shaun have since said that a lot of self-titled was at the discretion of Warner, and also considering it was put out about a year after they started talking again (and thus likely written and recorded within just a few months of knowing each other again) it just doesn’t feel like they had enough time to really figure it out.
Man, it really is tough to choose a favorite among the versions of this song. The arrangement and Fazzi's harmonies here are so good. Hope he's doing well these days. I definitely listened the most to the piano one back in the day - the audio quality is just a lot better than the other versions at the time. I'd be interested to hear more about it and why Adam is the only singer there, maybe it was tracked between John's exit and Fred joining?
I’ve been revisiting all the albums recently but haven’t gotten to ST yet so perhaps I’ll listen to that today at my desk. That era between New Again and ST is when I really became a massive TBS fan vs a casual fan so that album releasing was a big deal, and I think I have a greater affinity for it because of that. Faith, Best Places, This Is All Now, You Got Me, and Doesn’t Feel a Thing Like Falling are all great tracks but I don’t revisit many of the other songs that much.
I like El Paso but the drum fill in the beginning always makes me chuckle because the drums sound SO bad