Customer Reviews

Fully Completely

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In answer to the question about whether or not this album has been re-released--the answer is a resounding yes. A CD-ROM element has been added and the disc now includes a few videos that you can access via the 'net.

Now, on to the review. The best band to ever come out of Canada hits its absolute peak (sorry Rush) with this 1992 release. In the three albums leading up to "Fully Completely" the band put out some great music, but was still finding its sound. In the albums since, the band's gotten a little soft--still great, but softer. This release catches the band at it's rockin' best.

Highlights include Courage, At The Hundredth Meridian, and the title track--all of which rock. But perhaps the best tune, in typical Hip form, handles a topic that is truly Canadian--hockey. Fifty-Mission Cap tells the true story of Bill Barilko, a star player for the 'leafs who disappeared after scoring the winning goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Next time the team won a Cup was the year he was discovered. Lyrics don't get much beyond that, but again--the tune rocks!

If you've heard some latter day Hip and are partial to the more mellow tunes, there's a few here too. Wheat Kings, for example, has a Bobcaygeon (from "Phantom Power") feel to it. And Pigeon Camera has a sound so sweet it'll break your heart, even though I have no idea what they're yapping about in the lyrics.

There are other great songs on this CD--hell there isn't a clunker in the bunch--but it'd take too long to go through each one. Bottom line: if you've heard of the Hip and need a place to begin exploring, this is the CD you want.

This is the best album of all time, in my books. Of course I'm Canadian, so that might bias me a bit. Downie is lyrically brilliant. The more times you listen to this album, the better it gets -- I've been listening to it since it was released, and each time hear something different or the meaning of a particularly twisted lyric becomes clear.

Buy it. Listen to it. Understand it.

Let me first say I have never been a Tragically Hip fan. THAT being said I can't ignore this albums perfection.

Albums that have a dark lined undercurrent to them, really speak to me, and Dowie's lyrical prowess here seems to reach into some real angst.

Needless to say as well, and I can't explain why, this is an absolutely quintessential "Canadian" album. The reasons though are not very easy to explain, but if you really want to understand the landscape and the feeling of a country, listen to this album.

That being said, this was without question the "Hip's" most successful album in terms of classic songs. Numerous videos were made from this album, and were staples of the then Muchmusic video program (Courage, At The Hundreth Meredian, Locked In The Trunk of a Car) up in Canada. It made the band household names, and has pretty much solidified them as the domineering band in Canada for years to come (yes more than Rush).

It's strange, many of the songs on here I enjoy immensly, Courage's catchy chorus, The weepy pigeon camera, the tragic Wheat Kings, the madness of Locked in a trunk in the car, to the almost Judas Priest riffing of Fifty Mission Cap.

I constantly have run into many Tragically Hip fans up North and 90% of them tell me this is their favourite album and their best.

I kind of got sick of the band's over-exposure, and the majority of their albums really do nothing for me minus one or two songs. However, this was the album where the band struck gold.

With "Fully Completely" the Tragically Hip made their darkest album to date. Gordon Downie takes the lyrical brilliance of their previous masterpiece, "Road Apples", and fleshes out most of the optimism. In it's place he has inserted a series of grisly, psychotic mood pieces that together produce an album of songs about bodies in the trunk, drowned hockey players, implied incest, doomed romance, and cold winds blowing over your private parts. And strangly enough it all works, because once again Downie and the band have produced an excellent collection of songs. The only thing keeping this album from being a five star effort is the muddy production, very similar in sound to "Up To Here". The only song that would sound at home on the looser, rootsier "Road Apples" is "At the Hundredth Meridian", and not surprisingly it is the album's best song. "Courage" and "Looking For A Place To Happen" kick things off and suffer the most from the production. Until you've heard "Courage" live the song should not be judged. It comes to life on stage, on the album it shows weak signs of life. But it is still classic Hip, as Gordon sarcastically sings "courage, it couldn't come at a worse time". Other highlights are the stark "Pigeon Camera", with it's veiled incest in the second verse and hauntingly memorable melody. "Fifty Mission Cap" is the interesting true story of Bill Barilko, an old hockey player who disappeared on a fishing trip, only to resurface years later. It is a must listen, and is a great example of why Downie can be one of the best story-songwriters around. "Locked In the Trunk of a Car" is another gem, with the most urgent music on the album, and another glimpse into Downie's twisted mind. As the song fades Downie is poignantly screaming "let me out", echoing Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins at the end of his "Cherub Rock". But whereas Corgan was demanding release from the "alternative" music scene, here Downie is demanding release from the trunk, and also maybe from his own demons. "Wheat Kings" is the sole acoustic song on the album, again telling a fascinatingly dark story, again true, about David Milguard. Milguard spent 20 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Downie's imagery invokes a tragic loss of innocence, as childhood imagination gives way to grown up reality. The nation's shift of the blame off of themselves is heartbreaking, and difficult to stomach. There are more strong songs here, but these are the best. This album has about 6-8 great songs, so it is not as consistent as "Road Apples". However, the highpoints on this album are higher than "Road Apples", making this an essential album for Hip fans and rock fans alike.

This is the 'must have' Tragically Hip album. Being a Scot, and having spent a considerable time in Canada I was able to see first hand what this album means to the people. The Hip as they are affectionately known in there native land write songs that express contemporary Canada and Fully Completely is a stand out in terms of breadth of style and pace. Personally the track with most resonance is 'Looking for a Place to Happen', which wonderfully summarizes anyone who is fed up with the same old bar hopping routine. Buy this album if you would like to learn more about Canadian culture, a nice wee bonus is the art work on the album cover pulls out to a nice size poster, which you can put on your wall, if you like - nice.

These guys are absolutely fantastic. They have always been true to their music and are definitely worth the listen. They have a sound to them that has not been duplicated anywhere (IMO) and can only be described as... well... the Hip! :) They'll get your blood pumping with "At the Hundredth Meridian" and they'll touch your heart with "Wheat Kings." Go for it... it's worth the purchase.

It's a shame that Canada's favorite band hasn't made more headway south of the border. Perhaps, it because they leave out all the bubble gum pop that seems to be all the radio plays these days and just stick to awesome music. If you like intelligent hard driving music, this is an excellent addition to any music library.

Gordon Downie's prowess as a lyricist has always astounded me. His songs, from the "inside jokes" that no one outside a small group of people is supposed to get to the lyrics that make me go "What the F^#$ is he talking about?", I always appreciate his genius. This album is chock full of all of that.

There is a bit of a dark side to this album, but there is enough levity and pace to counterbalance it. From the opener to the closer, this album contains enough of the quntessential Hip quirkiness to satisfy the long-time fans, but also has enough mainstream substance to attract the casual fan. The acoustic "Wheat Kings" gently reflects on life on the Canadian prairies, but the songs that stand out on this recording are the rockers - "Looking For A Place To Happen" and "At The Hundredth Meridian" open the album, but it is "Locked In The Trunk Of A Car" that emerges as one of the top rock songs ever to come out of the frozen North with its sizzling guitar solos and great driving beat.

Where to start? The fact that just about every song on this album rocks? Or the fact that it rocks? This might not be the most innovated or complicated album of all time, but it does something that most albums don't, come from the heart and rock. You put it in and listen to the album and let the music take you. This album lays it all out for the listener; from "Courage" to "Eldorado" the Hip hold nothing back. They aren't afraid to play hard and fast or calm or slow. It the album works, fully and completely.

I've had this CD for a couple years but hadn't listened to it for a while. Then I caught a couple live Hip shows recently & dug it out. I am amazed at how good this album is. Like everyone else here says - you need to buy this CD. "Locked in the Trunk of a Car" was a highlight of the live show & the studio version rocks too.