Nov 8, 2004 4:59:29 GMT -5

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	Gulliver	Right now I'm Offline I have made 350 posts I joined May 2004		I currently have no messenger contact information filled out.	I currently have no social network information filled out.

I just listened to the whole thing for the second time and luckily my opinion didn't change at all (see: The Muse Awakens : First Impressions ;D). It's a great release by one of the greatest bands on Earth (they just have to release a dozen more studio albums just to confirm their greatness

).
My only critical note would be pointed towards... production. No, I'm not going to say it's bad or something! I just would prefer (please don't laugh) a bit more reverb! ;D Yep. Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of "more reverb for the sake of it". (In fact I prefer to mix my own stuff sometimes a bit "too dry"). But I just can't shake off the influence of previous two HTM's releases that have a great deal of lush reverb in their sonic domains, so to speak. Maybe it was added later at the mastering stage by Kit, I don't know (I didn't hear the originals on vinyl) but the results are nothing short of amazing - it adds a great deal of spaciousness and awareness - something that fits really well with HTM's music, imo.
Anyway, so far I listened to The Muse through the air. But sooner or later I'd do this in headphones (I have really good ones by Sennheizer) and maybe then I'd change my mind regarding the amount of reverb on the record... 8-)

Edited Nov 8, 2004 5:57:47 GMT -5 by Gulliver

Nov 8, 2004 6:16:18 GMT -5

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	steamingears	Right now I'm Offline I have made 1,442 posts I joined February 2003		I currently have no messenger contact information filled out.	I currently have no social network information filled out.

Thanks for that second one Gulliver - and for the honest view on production. I've heard that view from a couple of others, although not always in the same words. "Not as sparkling as Crafty Hands" I heard, although he really loves The Muse... I somehow know what you (and he) mean, although I can't exactly explain why. Maybe it has something to do with that "Vinyl-Magic" thing, and in that case a SA-mix would show the Real Muse. Maybe it was the magic of Ken Scott. Both "maybe's" though are conquerred by your opinion that the remasters of the first two sounded more "reverb" than the vinyl-editions. Well, anyway, I rather hear this kind of critical notes from people who understand HTM's music through and through, than reviewers who haven't even heard the first two albums and don't understand the unique sound of the band. They seem to think progressive rock today can only be made with a progmetal-mind with a lot of heavy guitars - if not, than it's too soft. Bwah!

Nov 8, 2004 7:26:14 GMT -5

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	Gulliver	Right now I'm Offline I have made 350 posts I joined May 2004		I currently have no messenger contact information filled out.	I currently have no social network information filled out.

"They seem to think progressive rock today can only be made with a progmetal-mind with a lot of heavy guitars - if not, than it's too soft. Bwah!"

Yeah, that's ridiculous... and sad.
Though... there is always hope that they'll grow up one day.

Nov 8, 2004 13:33:32 GMT -5

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	steamingears	Right now I'm Offline I have made 1,442 posts I joined February 2003		I currently have no messenger contact information filled out.	I currently have no social network information filled out.

Hi Gulliver,

Sorry if I didn't notice it before, but I just clicked on your Homepage and found out you've made a record in 1999 which was released by Mellow Records. I checked out my index on reviews published in the Dutch progressive rock-magazine and saw The Coasts Of Endlessness was reviews in the magazine. I also found this lengthly description home.uninet.ee/~mel/estprog/reviews/r-spg3.htm By the way, was the sample in the Forum member-post from this album?

Well, back to HTM

Edited Nov 8, 2004 13:39:43 GMT -5 by steamingears

Nov 8, 2004 18:11:04 GMT -5

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	Gulliver	Right now I'm Offline I have made 350 posts I joined May 2004		I currently have no messenger contact information filled out.	I currently have no social network information filled out.

Hi steamingears,
I already forgot about that description by Mel Huang...

Thanks for reminding about it!
That sample... no, unfortunately not. It was from my new material which is unreleased as of yet.
But at the moment I have three pieces (mp3) from
that old album on line. I’ll gladly provide links to them on Forum Members Music tomorrow.

Nov 13, 2004 11:51:11 GMT -5

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	Gulliver	Right now I'm Offline I have made 350 posts I joined May 2004		I currently have no messenger contact information filled out.	I currently have no social network information filled out.

Okey-dokey... I am listening to TMA in headphones right now and I feel like the need for reverb slowly yet steadily diminishes... ;D Well, honestly it's hard to tell... some places still sound a bit dry for my taste (for instance I'd put a longer reverb on the sax in Adrift) and others are just fine. One thing is certain though - TMA sounds better (more natural) in headphones, than Crafty Hands. The latter has some kind of a very slight "phase shift" (for lack of better words), which is audible only in headphones... At the same time if listening through my studio monitors (Yamaha MSP5) I a kind of prefer Crafty Hands' sound... That's strange, I know, but this is just the way how I perceive their respective sonic pictures so far...
Anyway, I think it's still too early to make a final conclusion... The music is GREAT, and that's all that matters! 8-)

Edited Nov 13, 2004 13:10:59 GMT -5 by Gulliver