I just wanted to hold you in my arms

Continuing my trip back through the 2006 album charts.

23/07/06 : Black Holes And Revelations - Muse

Is this peak Muse?  I suspect it might be...

I know and like this album - and I'm quite surprised I've not previously met it.  But, at fourth time of asking the band, we've finally met it and I'm perfectly pleased to revisit their particular blend of bombast.

And yeah, it was nice to listen to it again - the volume was probably a little low, but I can't really blame them for that.  "Starlight" and "Supermassive Black Hole" are probably my favourites, but it all swirls past you preposterously in a way that's very much of its time, but also quite timeless.  If you're not a Muse fan, then there's absolutely nothing here to convert you, but if you're not aware of their output then this is a probably as good as place as any to start.  It's a fine album cover as well - another Storm Thurgerson effort.  And it's another one we own - six for the year already!

For the fourth week in a row, we're at #5 in the charts on their third week of a 44 week run, having spent the first two weeks at #1.  It's also spent 52 more weeks on the charts over the years, with it last being seen in '13.  The rest of the top five this week were Razorlight, Lily Allen and Paolo Nutini (all new entries) and The Kooks taking the final spot.  And the next highest new entry was Ali Farka Touré, all the way down at #34.

Wikipedia has more than I was expecting (189 milliPeppers) and boy is some of it super pretentious.  Nobody expected that, eh?  Apparently, the music has multiple influences some of which I see (Depeche Mode), some of which I don't (Sly & The Family Stone, "the music of Southern Italy") and some of which I've never heard of (Millionaire, Lightning Bolt).  The critics mostly liked the album, although some did think it overblown (NO!  Say it ain't so!) - it did well commercially though getting to #9 in the US and sneaking onto the next five UK year-end lists.  

"Customers also listened to" Franz Ferdinand, Queens Of The Stone Age, Weezer and The Raconteurs - a slightly strange mix which don't really bring Muse to mind.  But who else does bring Muse to mind?  Who would want to be that kind of band?  Except for Muse, they do it very well (and it probably won't surprise you to hear their live show features a LOT of lasers).

16/07/06 - Exactly what I expected
30/07/06 - Not as immediate as I was hoping for

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