What's the consensus of long time fans as their best album? I recently decided to go through their discography and just finished Blue. I think i like Blue sliiiiightly more than s/t but I'm not sure.
Self Titled and it's not even close for me. I highly believe it's because it was one of the first CD's I ever fully listened through on my CD player so it's got nostalgiac precedence.
I think almost everyone, casual and hardcore, lists S/T as their favorite - it’s absolutely insane that any band could drop a debut with that many stone cold classics. Having said that, Out of the Vein is my personal favorite. Dopamine is pretty underrated, too.
Ive never heard a song by them not off of s/t or Blue so im excited that some people hold other albums in high regard
Listen to OOTV right now! Wait until you hear the 1-2-3 punch of “Faster” “Blinded” and “Forget Myself” to start the record! “Palm Reader” is another standout on the record. Also make sure you check out the b-side “My Time In Exile” from the Record too!
I used to say OOTV is my favorite, but over time I've come to realize that Blue is my favorite with s/t closely after or even with OOTV
Technically S/T is their best but OOTV is my favourite Best lyrical imagery he’s put forward, particularly in “Forget Myself” and “Palm Reader”
Blue is probably my favourite. Dead set for first if they hadn't ignored Cadogan's near-perfect proposed tracklist. yes I'm still hella salty about this
Cadogan pushed for them to record the more experimental and forward-thinking songs. some of these did make the album but the ones that didn't (Gorgeous, Light That Hits the Room, Alright Caroline, Sorry etc.) are considered by a lot of fans (hi, I'm one of them) to be top tier 3EB even in rough demo form. instead of listening or trying to meet Cadogan in a compromise, Jenkins pretty much cut him out of the band with his lawyer and put on some of the more boring/generic songs on that album instead (that run from 10 Days Late to Deep Inside which are pretty clearly intended as Top 40 bait). so yeah we end up with this weird album that's half chart pop and half absolutely insane unique rock when we could have had a whole album of the latter, and Cadogan gets kicked out of the band. tl;dr bad choices were made
I understand (and don't disagree!) but imo you can cut those three not-great songs in favour of some all-time classics and still retain said tension between the two sounds. like Wounded, An Ode to Maybe, 1000 Julys all kind of embody that balance within themselves anyway
If you try to cut "Deep Inside of You" I will excommunicate you. Also, I'm pretty sure any A&R person who suggested replacing "Never Let You Go" would have gotten fired.