There's no denying it, Muse's B-sides are not as strong as their album tracks, generally. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Whilst it does mean that this B-side album is nowhere near as good as last year's Origin of Symmetry, it at least means that they are selecting the right tracks for their albums. In this way B-sides albums are a bit of a no-win situation: if they are only average, they are criticised as substandard and if they are excellent the band are criticised for not making them album tracks.
Not that there aren't good efforts here. The aforementioned Map of Your Head is very enjoyable, whilst Shrinking Universe is classic Muse and standout Nature_1 has the strongest tune on the CD. Generally though, this collection doesn't bear the killer hooklines that Origin of Symmetry, or, indeed, Showbiz did, whilst being enjoyable and worth owning, so CD1 gets 3 stars.
The live CD is a different matter. Muse are an intense band. Everything about their music is intense. And intense bands are excellent live. Muse are no exception. Live CDs tend to either be interesting variations on the recorded versions with added intensity but played comparatively poorly, with the singer missing notes, or well played, but no different to the studio recordings. Here Muse manage to avoid either trap, managing to sound live and intense while playing very professionally.
Here you can hear how well the trio work together, with bass more audible than on studio recordings, as they sometimes hit little periods of improvisation. Variations are added to the songs: the guitar riff on Muscle Museum is made more complex, while Micro Cuts is taken at a faster and more natural pace, and epics Citizen Erased and Megalomania hit their peaks and valleys with even more passion than on Origin of Symmetry: one of the finest moments of Hullabaloo being as Citizen Erased quietens down after its loudest sections, with Matt Bellamy beautifully handling the vocals, in a wonderfully exhausted sort of way.
It is credit to Bellamy's fantastic singing that he can manage the incredibly high notes and difficult techniques just as easily live as in the studio. The only time he seems slightly pressed is on recent non-album single Dead Star, though this is fully explainable by the fact that they had not actually recorded it at the time, and so had not benefited from the producer's input over how the song should sound, and they are evidently not quite done working on it at the time of the recording. Still, even this track is fantastic. Therefore, CD2 is nothing short of brilliant, and it gets 4 1/2 stars.
Disc one is Muse's B-sides, some of which deserve to be album tracks, or in the case of Hyper Chondriac Music, singles. Besides that song, the best on here are Map of Your Head, Shrinking Universe (another potential single) and Forced In.
Disc two, however, is where things get interesting. Most likely, you've heard/bought Absolution, and perhaps stolen a few mp3s of previous Muse albums(especially Origin of Symmetry). However difficult it may seem, the studio is NOT Muse's best part (although amazing). THAT, is reserved for their live show. I mean, earlier in the year, Matt (lead vocals/guitar) accidentlly hit himself in the face while playing in Canada for one of the first times. At times like Dead Star and Agitated (which open and close the album respectively) you can practically hear this man rocking out like no other.
This concert was wayyyyyy before Absolution, so there is no "Time is Running Out". However, Muse do a large portion of Origin of Symmetry, with a few oldies thrown in, plus 2 new tracks (which were the singles off this album), Dead Star and In Your World.
Overall, I recommend this if you're a hardcore Muse fan...but if you ARE a hardcore Muse fan, just search online and buy a DVD of this concert, and watch Muse show you why they put out a live album in the first place!
and, because amazon/hmv haven't done this...
DISC ONE TRACKLISTING (B-Sides)Forced InShrinking UniverseRecessYes PleaseMap Of Your HeadNature_1Shine AcousticAshamedThe GalleryHyper Chondriac Music
DISC TWO TRACKLISTING (Live Concert)Dead StarMicro CutsCitizen ErasedShowbizMegalomaniaDark ShinesScreenagerSpace DementiaIn Your WorldMuscle MuseumAgitated
Not that there aren't good efforts here. The aforementioned Map of Your Head is very enjoyable, whilst Shrinking Universe is classic Muse and standout Nature_1 has the strongest tune on the CD. The best song of all is 'Hyper Chondriac Music', an amazing, totally different rendition of Origin of Symmetry's 'Hyper Music' - absolutely fantastic. Generally though, this collection doesn't bear the killer hooklines that Origin of Symmetry, or, indeed, Showbiz did, whilst being enjoyable and worth owning, so CD1 gets 3 stars.
