Quote:
Originally Posted by Evil One
I notice the 5 people who prefer Hang Cool Teddy Bear haven't revealed themselves in the thread so far.
Although all the songs on Bat 2 are amazing, I would have prefered Bad For Good or Original Sin instead of GGGTH.
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I am one of the 5. Don't get me wrong, Bat 2 is a fabulous album with some classic tracks.
But a few things make me prefer HCTB:
1. I always felt that if Bat2 was all original music it would have been even better. And yes, I know there are some "rereleases" on HCTB, but Bat 2 to me sounds like an album of 2 halves - amazingly lavish and lovingly prepared new stuff, and then other stuff picked and done more quickly to get the album out. Eg ELTEE and OOTFP are (to me) very similar songs, which I always thought meant OOTFP was picked to speed the release up. Again, I love both tracks, but I think this approach made the album overall slightly less cohesive. HCTB has a concept that flows through all the songs and manages to make it a brilliantly cohesive album, despite, or perhaps because of, all the different styles of music on it.
2. On Bat 2, there are several tracks I tend to skip (and always have done). RARD, LBAGG, GGGTH, IJWQ. Certainly not bad songs, but they just don't grip me. Don't skip any on HCTB.
3. On Bat 2, Meat's voice often seems to get lost in the mix on a few of the songs. On HCTB (like on Bat 1) he is 100% up front the vast majority of the time, just where I like him.
4. Meat's voice on HCTB. To me, it seems to have so much more emotion and power. Perhaps again this is more noticable as he is right up front, but his vocals just blow me away.
5. HCTB is a fresh new sound - a perfect blend of modern and retro rock. To me, Bat 2 was just a touch too nostalgic, a little too safe, and didn't really move the sound on much. HCTB is balls out daring, and I love it even more for that.
Don't get me wrong - I absolutely love Bat 2, it's an astonishingly good record. It's just that HCTB for me edges it for the reasons I list above.