RIOT ACT * THE PEAK ALBUM * NO B.S.

13

Comments

  • iOnlyownMymind
    iOnlyownMymind Posts: 2,959
    Riot Act was the last great record the band has put out. Every one of the first 7 is amazing in its own right. I can't say the same with Avocado, Backspacer, Lightning Bolt. Each of those has a few good songs but the albums as a whole are not that great compared to 1-7.
  • jeff2040
    jeff2040 Des Moines, IA Posts: 1,619
    I've always thought Riot Act was their most complete and diverse album. I love how the album has some softer songs, heavier songs, and a few in between. My favorite songs off the album are Thumbing My Way, Save You, and Ghost.
    Sometimes you find yourself
    Having to put all your faith
    In no faith
  • callen
    callen Posts: 6,388
    CrookedTom said:

    To the OP - Oh no no no NO! Music is subjective of course (to a point) but I see Riot Act as their worst album. A (mostly) tuneless, dirgey, slob of a record. Overlong and underwritten. I remember the absolute sinking feeling when I played it through the first time. I stuck with it, out of my love for the band, but it never moved me like their past albums. It has redeeming qulaities though, a great cover, interesting song titles (discounting Love Boat Captain), and 2 classic songs (I Am Mine, All Or None). Love Boat Captain is probably my worst PJ song. Ed's cringe lyrics, an awful chant like chorus. Help Help, Ghost, Save You, Bushleaguer, Half Full, all sound like slicked up demos, lacking any of Ed's wonderful use of melody.

    Things didn't really improve on Self Titled, but it was a little better. I felt they got back on the road with Backspacer, and Lightning Bolt is a magic album, worthy to stand with their best.

    Save you is fucking genius.

    Yield though is the pinnacle.
    10-18-2000 Houston, 04-06-2003 Houston, 6-25-2003 Toronto, 10-8-2004 Kissimmee, 9-4-2005 Calgary, 12-3-05 Sao Paulo, 7-2-2006 Denver, 7-22-06 Gorge, 7-23-2006 Gorge, 9-13-2006 Bern, 6-22-2008 DC, 6-24-2008 MSG, 6-25-2008 MSG
  • 2-feign-reluctance
    2-feign-reluctance TigerTown, USA Posts: 23,462
    Love reading all the perspectives! An opinionated bunch!
    www.cluthelee.com
  • 63schoefflin
    63schoefflin Posts: 2,581
    Probably at or near the bottom in terms of albums for me. And even though I really enjoy a few songs, most seen to be crowd killers during shows... Like Cropduster for example. Great song but it just sucks the life out of the arena live.
    '08- Camden 1-2   '09- Chicago 2; Spectrum 1-4
    '10- MSG 1-2   '11- PJ20
    '12- MIA; DeLuna '13- Wrigley; Pitt; Brooklyn 1-2; Philly 1-2; Baltimore; Seattle
    '14- Denver   '16- Philly 1-2; MSG 2
    '17- Pilgrimage Music Fest (Eddie)
    '18- Fenway
  • vaggar99
    vaggar99 San Diego USA Posts: 3,431
    RA and the tour that followed in 03 were some of my favorite times. From a selfish standpoint, probably one of the best times to be a PJ fan. Most of the world had forgotten about the band, and good seats weren't that hard to get. I even got free lawn seats to Irvine #2 just showing up to Irvine #1. Oh, and the band was really pushing the envelope with bootleg releases (mp3 downloads the next morning, how much more awesome could it be?). I can't say RA is my favorite album, but its pretty damn good. Theres a lot to pick from in their. I'd even venture to call it a Yield sequel. By that I mean, its the only other PJ album which seemed to have pretty equal contributions from all members.
    Thanks to the OP for starting this thread. You taking me back man
  • 2-feign-reluctance
    2-feign-reluctance TigerTown, USA Posts: 23,462
    Agreed with the sonic nature of the record- there is much more to Riot Act than meets the eye. I think you're missing something if you don't invest in a decent pair of headphones and listen to all of the PJ catalog....in the dark....with a glass of red....or whatever the fuck you like!
    www.cluthelee.com
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,665
    ^^^ My pleasure, vaggar99. Always happy to talk about RA. :-)

    One thing to consider- crowd pleasers are not always the best work from a band (or film maker, or writer, or painter, etc). Something that appeals to the largest numbers can be great or it can be seen as appealing to the lowest common denominator. I guess I'm just not impressed by something that appeals to the masses- only by things that appeal to me personally. (I don't mean at all to sound like a know-it-all or snob or whatever. I'm prone to speaking my mind but never with the intention of merely stirring up shit.)

    To tell the truth, I really didn't like RA all that much when I first heard it. It didn't have a sound that gave me instant gratification. But the more I listened to it the more it sunk in. It just sounds to me like a lot more effort, time, consideration, craft and hard work were put into these songs.

    All that said, the PJ album that was easiest for me to get into has always been Yield. So in a way I guess I would say Yield is my favorite but I think Riot Act is their best in terms of peak effort with No Code following closely as well. Just one fan's thoughts, of course.

    And how lucky we are to have a band with so many great albums that any individual top picks are great records. THAT is awesome!
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,665
    2-feign-reluctance said:

    Agreed with the sonic nature of the record- there is much more to Riot Act than meets the eye. I think you're missing something if you don't invest in a decent pair of headphones and listen to all of the PJ catalog....in the dark....with a glass of red....or whatever the fuck you like!



    :-bd
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Bella
    Bella Posts: 120
    Thumbing my way. Does it for me.
    Arnhem'06 Paris'06 Wembley'07 Manchester'09 Dublin'10 Belfast '10 Manchester1 '12 Manchester2 '12 Stockholm '12 Vancouver '13
    Vienna Berlin Stockholm Leeds Milton Keynes '14 Philly 2 nights  '16 MSG 2 nights '16 EV Dublin '17 Amsterdam 1 
    Padova Rome Prague Kraków Berlin '18
  • 63schoefflin
    63schoefflin Posts: 2,581
    Bella said:

    Thumbing my way. Does it for me.

    Constantly flip flopping with Long Road as my favorite song. They need to bring this back out live. Playing it last tour I hope it happens. It's perfect.
    '08- Camden 1-2   '09- Chicago 2; Spectrum 1-4
    '10- MSG 1-2   '11- PJ20
    '12- MIA; DeLuna '13- Wrigley; Pitt; Brooklyn 1-2; Philly 1-2; Baltimore; Seattle
    '14- Denver   '16- Philly 1-2; MSG 2
    '17- Pilgrimage Music Fest (Eddie)
    '18- Fenway
  • pearlgirl52
    pearlgirl52 Posts: 666
    I'm bumping this thread for 2 reasons...

    1) I need a break from the Tour rumors thread.

    2) Riot Act is one badass mother. Listened to it today just because. I mean the opener of Can't Keep? Love. Thumbing my Way. And Matt f@#king Cameron on You Are? Hot damn!
  • pjalive21
    pjalive21 St. Louis, MO Posts: 2,818
    edited March 2016
    I haven't listened to this album in years and have no plan on doing so anytime soon their worst album in my opinion... they sounded bored
    Post edited by pjalive21 on
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,665
    pearlgirl52 said:

    I'm bumping this thread for 2 reasons...

    1) I need a break from the Tour rumors thread.

    2) Riot Act is one badass mother. Listened to it today just because. I mean the opener of Can't Keep? Love. Thumbing my Way. And Matt f@#king Cameron on You Are? Hot damn!

    So true! Maybe not for everyone, but it's still one (if not the) all-time favorites of mine!

    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • chiwhitesox
    chiwhitesox Chicago Posts: 696
    It's complex. It's diverse. It rocks.

    I love Riot Act. For me it's an A+ album along with No Code, Yield, & Binaural.

    Top Notch Music!
    - Chicago G

    chicago98-chicago00-chicago03-east troy03-chicago06-chicago09-east troy11_2-chicago13-moline14-milwaukee14-lexington16-chicago16_1-chicago16_2-chicago18_1-chicago18_2
  • TJ25487
    TJ25487 Posts: 1,501
    I finally just recently appreciate the greatness of RA. It feels like a cohesive conceptual recording. Maybe one where there are no real hits but as a whole it feels creative and complete. Cropduster is the catalyst of the record IMO. It sets the tone.
  • foodboy
    foodboy Posts: 988
    absolutely love riot act. would love to see the whole album played in toronto. have been asking for albums to be played for many years now. saw the ra tour 5 times. the 2 shows at the dte center in michigan were epic in that they played 61 songs in total over 2 nights with only 1 song the same. also guest appearances by steve earle and the zz top dude.to me their peak was avocado. another great album and phenomenal tour.
  • wnh1977
    wnh1977 Iowa Posts: 650
    For me, if you remove "Get Right" and "Thumbing My Way" it becomes a much stronger album. 15 tracks is a bit much... "Get Right" is b-side quality and "Thumbing My Way" doesn't fit, for me, on an album called Riot Act!! Cut those songs and you're down to about 47 minutes, which is about perfect. (By the way, if you cut the 4 "experimental tracks" from Vitalogy, holy shit is that an amazing 10-track/41-minute album)

    I do agree with an earlier comment that the sound/feel of the album was unique for PJ. "Folky" is how that person described it. Not sure that's it, but it's definitely an all-together different feel than 'Avacado', Backspacer or Lightning Bolt. I think "Ghost" is a good track, but the studio version lacks a little punchiness. So, slim Riot Act down by removing the 2 songs I mentioned and make "Ghost" a little better performance... and you have a gem!
    1998: 6/26, 6/27, 6/29
    2000: 8/15, 8/18, 10/9, 10/11, 10/12
    2003: 6/18, 6/21, 6/22
    2005: 9/9, 9/28
    2006: 5/16, 5/17, 6/26, 6/27
    2007: 8/5
    2009: 8/23, 8/24
    2010: 5/3, 5/4, 5/21
    2011: 9/3, 9/4, 9/11, 9/12
    2013: 7/19, 11/16
    2014: 10/3, 10/9, 10/12, 10/17
    2016: 4/16, 8/20, 8/22
    2018: 8/18, 8/20, 9/2
    2022: 9/18
    2023: 8/31, 9/2, 9/5
    2024: 5/18, 6/29
  • Zod
    Zod Posts: 10,910
    iOnlyownMymind said:

    Riot Act was the last great record the band has put out. Every one of the first 7 is amazing in its own right. I can't say the same with Avocado, Backspacer, Lightning Bolt. Each of those has a few good songs but the albums as a whole are not that great compared to 1-7.

    I quite like Avacado. I thought Binaural/Riot Act were OK when they came out, but I remember really liking Avacado right from the get go. I still love that album. When it came out I thought it was a return to form. I pretty much like every song on it (maybe one or two I'm not big on), but it's still pretty good.

    In hindsight I do like Riot Act alot, but I think Avacado is the last great record. There's great songs on backspacer and lightning bolt, but hit/miss ratio is close to 50/50, so not great records, but ok ones.
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,722
    I still put Riot Act and Binaural before it, but I totally agree that Avocado was their last great album.
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata

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