Sorry, But I'm Failing to Emote

I've been a Perfect Circle fan since they released the outstanding album Mer de Noms in 2000, and my enjoyment and appreciation of their music increased when I saw them live over the summer. On Tuesday they released a new album, Emotive, and I'm really questioning what Maynard James Keenan and the gang were thinking.


Emotive

A sticker on the CD cover says that it is a collection of songs about "War, Peace, Love, and Greed," and that description isn't far off. At the concert I attended, I witnessed firsthand Maynard's anti-war/Bush ranting, so I suppose that this album should not be such a surprise. Basically, it's twelve tracks speaking out against the foolishness/evil of war, hate, and discrimination . . . and that's about as deep as it gets.



Emotive features multiple covers of famous anti-war songs, including "Imagine," by John Lennon and "What's Going On," by Marvin Gaye. In fact, only two songs are APC originals, and one of those is a remix of the song "Pet" from their Thirteenth Step album, so it hardly counts. The song "Passive" is quite good, and it's the only song on the album that I've listened to more than twice.



Their "rearrangements" of the cover songs display the typical mix of soft tones and thunder that has become an APC trademark, and it definitely sounds good, but they are still covers. It seems to me that when a band releases a "Brand New!" album, fans should receive new songs, but these recycled anti-war songs are disappointing, and even worse: uninteresting.



In addition, the album feels rushed. I'm guessing that they really wanted to release it on election day. The liner notes lead me to believe that only Billy Howerdel and Maynard James Keenan did any significant work on the album; the other band members played on some of the songs, but this album appears to be more Billy and Maynard than A Perfect Circle. One great thing about the album: the artwork. The "reinterpretations" of World War II posters are especially cool (and by posting a few here, I am not trying to be politically subversive, nor do I support political subversion at any level . . . these posters are really funny, though).



I still contend that Maynard James Keenan has the best voice in rock and roll today, so I'll just wait a few years for the next APC album and hope that it will be a real album.