Customer Reviews

Meds

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Some have said this is an album for people who love Placebo, as if it was written for the fans. If there is one band that has proven time and time again through their craft that they are not in the business of pleasing their fans, it is Placebo.

Most Placebo fans would prefer it if Brian was still running around in a dress and about to get a sex change. Most Placebo fans would love it if Placebo played 'Nancy Boy' at all of their concerts. But neither of those is the case any longer.

No. This is 2006. And one can't help talking about MEDS without also talking about how Placebo have changed over the past 10 years.

Brian is father now (hence the line "Out of the womb and into the void" from 'One Of A Kind'). Gone is the bitchy and antagonistic tone in interviews. There are no more stories about Placebo "leaving a trail of blood and spunk" across the globe.

You can't say MEDS is a return to Placebo's roots, because that's what the buzz has been for every album since WITHOUT YOU I'M NOTHING.

What you can say, is that MEDS is a damn fine record, and one that Placebo has every right to be proud of.

It was written fast. It was recorded fast.

Every song has a sense of urgency about it, a sense of being all about the moment.

The opening and title track 'Meds' begins with solo guitar and just Mr Molko's voice, like a bird of prey circling silently far off in the distance, getting closer, getting louder, getting faster, and then it proceeds to swoop down on you like a predator, and by the end you just can't help but be tapping your foot and screaming "Baby, did you forget to take your meds?" The vocals of VV from The Kills add a nice touch to this track. It's good that her and Brian didn't sing over each other like Placebo has done with other duets in the past.

'Infra-Red' is somewhat of a distillation of all the ill-feeling left by past relationships that Placebo has always sung about. "Someone call an ambulance, there's gonna be an accident...Forget your running, I will find you..." That pretty much says it all.

'Drag' is about everything you feel when you're in love with someone and can't help but feel you're a mere insect, a stain on the bottom of their boot, an entirely unworthy speck of dust just lucky enough to even be in your lover's presence.

'Space Monkey' takes you on a trip out of this world.

'Post Blue'...well...I honestly don't know what this one is about. It's just fun to listen to.

'Because I Want You', the first UK single off MEDS, is a pretty damn good piece of pop rock catchiness. The lyrics don't really mean much, but then they're not supposed to. This song is all about grabbing your attention. Mr Hewitt's drumming on this track, however, is pretty fantastic.

'Blind' is, I must confess, my favorite song on the album. Yes, I know Placebo have said it's "a track for girls", but I don't care. Brian's vocals are absolutely stunning on this track, and they really remind me of the highs he can, and does reach during a live performance. Not to mention, the lyrics are simply extraordinary. "Don't go and leave me, and please don't drive me blind, You don't believe me, But you do this every time...If I could tear you from the ceiling, I'd freeze us both in time, And find a brand new way of seeing, your eyes forever glued to mine..."

'Pierrot The Clown' has a sadness about it that just can't be explained. Imagine being horribly abused by a lover and still laying around on the bed silently thinking to yourself, "And if you're ever around, in the city or the suburbs, of this town...Be sure to come around, I'll be wallowing in sorrow, Wearing a frown..." Not to mention some of the best lines, in my opinion, that Placebo has ever put to paper: "When I dream, I dream your lips...When I dream, I dream your kiss...When I dream, I dream your fists...your fists...your fists..."

'Broken Promise'...eh. Placebo really didn't use Michael Stipe's vocals to their "full potential" shall we say.

'One Of A Kind' is one for all the people out there who sat in the back of the class as a student, or who still do. "I'm on a race and I'm doing fine, thank you." Ever felt like that? Then you'll love this.

'In The Cold Light Of Morning' is a track I can only recommend closing your eyes and listening to in a dark quiet room, either with headphones or with the sound pumped way up. It's perhaps the most dreamy and hypnotic of all the songs on this album and it really takes you on a mental journey. The visuals, of stumbling home early in the morning, when the rest of the world is just starting their day and you're ending yours, and hating yourself for it--these visuals are strong enough. But more than what images this track conjures, the piano and drumming and vocals just come together in a perfect anesthetic mix.

'Song To Say Goodbye' shows more of that classic Placebo style by putting a song with the word "Goodbye" in the title at the end of an album (much like literally putting a young man romantically entangled with a ghost on the cover of an album titled SLEEPING WITH GHOSTS). That being said, this song is also a single, and it's far better than 'Because I Want You' because at least the lyrics go to darker and more original territory.

So there we have it.

Placebo's latest magnum opus.

Is it "their best work yet"?

Hell if I know. That's for you to decide.

PS, the bonus DVD is actually quite good. Aside from the "documentary" being way too short, it's quite a nice addition.

Good things about the DVD:

* If you're technically handy, you can extract complete instrumental versions of every track on MEDS via the 'Lyrics' section of DVD

* The included demo songs are actually better than the finished album tracks, if you ask me, and that's only because they really come alive and have a "raw" quality about them that the polished album tracks lack

* HOORAY! We finally get a crystal clear version of one of the best Placebo songs to never make it onto an official release until now, 'Long Division'

Wow. This really took me by surprise. After hearing it was supposedly much more "stripped down" compared to Sleeping With Ghosts, I feared the worst. Granted, Sleeping With Ghosts was my introduction to Placebo, and is much more appealing to me than their earlier work (which I do like, just not as much). I expected Meds to be much more organic and grungy, without the beautiful electronic textures that made Sleeping With Ghosts so warm and interesting. I was completely misled! Meds is far and away the best Placebo yet. There are still plenty of electronic touches and smooth, catchy melodies. And at the same time, it manages to rock your socks off.

The one thing I don't understand is their decision to make "Because I Want You" a single. It seems extremely out of place among the other tracks and is quite bland in comparison. It is by far the worst song on the album, and one of only two that I don't love (the other being the Michael Stipe duet, "Broken Promise").

There are so many other good tracks, though, it's unbelievable. My absolute favorites are the menacing "Infra-Red," the semi-experimental "Space Monkey," and the gorgeous ballad "Pierrot The Clown." Not far behind are "Drag," "Post Blue," and "Song To Say Goodbye."

I can't believe how many people think Meds and Sleeping With Ghosts are Placebo's worst. I couldn't disagree more with these people! Brian Molko and the boys have created a masterpiece. I typically listen to bands that lean slightly more toward the electro-pop or new wave end of the pop spectrum, and some of my favorite bands have released brilliant new albums this year... which is why I'm so shocked to find that I keep returning to Meds. Somehow it's managed to push its way to #1 on my list of 2006 releases. I love it.

This is the third distinct edition of this CD to be released in the US. It follows the original, standard release and a "limited edition" version which came with a bonus DVD. This edition contains three songs (two original tracks that have appeared on UK singles and a cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" that has already been released on CD several times) and an alternate mix not included on either of the prior versions. It also omits one song from prior editions of the album. In other words, Placebo, or more likely their record label, expect you to pay another $12+ to get another two or three songs and, furthermore, to ensure that you don't simply sell, gift, or trade off your old Meds CD, they've omitted one track so that you (theoretically) need to have copies of at least two editions to get all the tracks. And the RIAA wonders why people "steal" music. Maybe it's because they're tired of being stolen from.

All of this aside, Meds is an excellent album. If you haven't bought (or otherwise obtained) it yet, this edition would appear to be as good as the prior editions (and it does contain more music than the prior single CD version). If you have already bought this album, PLEASE stand up to the RIAA and DO NOT buy it again.

This album sounds really good. The quality of production, mix and overall musicianship is great. However, creatively this album falls short of meeting fans' expectations at some points.

First of all, in terms of sound and feel, this album is like a mix of Without You I'm Nothing and Sleeping With Ghosts. And I think this is the bad part about it. This album does not really add anything extemely original or surprising to the rest of the Placebo Catalog. It is a GOOD Placebo album, but not a great alternative rock hit. And the sad thing is, if there was more originality and a better selection of slow songs, it could very well be one of the best placebo and alternative rock albums this year.

This is their fifth album, so one would expect them to improve the changes they've been going through since 2000, (starting with Black Market Music), and start writing more original, deeper and mature songs, but despite the fancy production and some elctronic elements, nothing has changed since the first album in terms of creativity in their song structures.

As a Placebo fan, I liked this record, but have to admit that I was expecting more. Lyrics are immature and meaningless, in general. One can't see the great lyric-writing that was the best part about Without You I'm Nothing, in this album. They had to have better, more mature, more creative lyrics; lyrics that make more sense than telling us how depressed and drugged Brian is; because we already know that, the previous FOUR albums made that crystal clear, they really gotta move on from these subjects. Songwise, Infra-Red, Space Monkey, Drag, Post Blue and Because I want You are typical fast tempo, rocking placebo hits; they are fine but don't expect nothing new. Especially slow songs really bring the tempo down a lot and mess up the album in general (and I think this is always the case with Placebo albums, except for the greatly done, deep and original slow songs in Without You I'm Nothing). Because songs such as Follow the Cops Back Home, Blind and Pierrot the Clown, makes me say "are these songs really needed in this album?" Because they lack meaning and musical catchiness; and they are well below placebo's songwriting average. Instead of these songs, if they'd put faster and better tracks, that could be a great alternative rock cd. The problem with this cd is, instead of a slow hit like "My Sweet Prince", there are those weird and boring songs like "pierrot.." and "follow the cops"; which really messes up the album and makes you wanna skip these tracks. But again, the album is marked by the huge ego of Brian Molko and his whinings about how depressed he is. I thought the duet Broken Promise is a good song but Michael Stipe sucks in that song, he has such a small part in that song and it just doesn't really work,.

Again, for placebo lovers and "depressed teenagers", this is a great alternative rock album, but as a hardcore and old placebo fan, I thought that they had to come up with much original and better material than this, especially three years after the lackluster Sleeping With the Ghosts.

Just about three years have passed since the band's last record, 2003s Sleeping With Ghosts, was released and the band has most definately matured and tightened their sound. Sleeping was very strong yet lacked something that I just couldn't put my finger on. Certain songs stood out (Protect Me, Sleeping, I'll Be Yours, Special Needs) but with time it seems kind of lackluster compared to the first three entries in their catalouge.
Meds, on the other hand, deserves every bit of praise that it will recieve. Singer/guitarist Brian describes this record as a more focused delivery of the themes of times past, and I agree. The sound is clean, the album feels like a whole, and the songs are quality. I would describe the sound of this record as a cold desperation on some tracks and a cool submission on others. The vocal delivery can be very desperate on some tracks, yet on others it feels as though Brian has given in. Musically, Meds feels like winter - maybe even like watching snow fall through a window in a warm room. It's a pretty unique sonic experience. A sorrow that's admittedly okay with feeling down. A banality that's finding its place.
The bonus DVD on the limited edition is a nice addition, especially for the live performance of "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep" with The Cure. This was a real treat for me especially - The Cure is my favorite band and seeing both of them on stage playing one of the greatest Cure songs was wonderful. The documentary is a little short, but it still acts as a decent explanation of the band's direction was with the record and what was trying to be accomplished.
Coming from a fan for nearly a decade, and one who holds their previous work very dear, Meds hits the spot and more. It's not quite as guitar-driven as some of the earlier stuff - the sound feels a little more synthesized, however it's not in an inhuman way, it feels very human - yet followers of the band will surely be pleased and those new to the group can expect to fall in love with one of the best contemporary bands around.

As a Placebo fan of nearly ten years, I must say Meds is the jewel in the crown of Placebo's musical crown. I recall reading in an interview that with this album they went back to their more guitar-driven rock song of the their first self-titled album. I'm glad they did. While I've enjoyed all of their albums, this is probably my favorite. My favorite tracks include Meds, Infared and Because I Want You. All 3 are classic Placebo tracks full of glam, sorry, manic energy and the nasal stylings of the lovely Brian Molko. I recommend this as a great place for any newbie Placebo fan to start and work back from there. Any way you cut it, Placebo is a band that puts out solid albums time and time again. A classic band.

Meds is great, but
BEFORE YOU BUY THIS
be aware that this version of the album omits a lot of the best songs or versions of the songs. The original UK version is by far the best version of Meds.

Try to hunt down a less tampered-with version of the album, if possible.

Wow, ten out of five stars for me as well. I wasn't expecting Meds to be this great. After 3 spins it's become my favorite, topping even their debut album. Placebo was a band I didn't want to like when they started but there's no denying their talent and now they're my favorite band of the past ten years. Totally humble and true to the craft. I can't believe the impressive catalogue of songs they're amassing. There's some great guitar work on this album and as always the bass play is solid and the drumming's amazing. Plus the insert has boobies, what more could you want? I'm glad they haven't accumulated an overwhelming following in the states yet so I can still see this amazing band in a decent sized venue opposed to an overcrowded arena.

This album is discussed in detail below, so here is short and sweet. Yes, the lyrics are not quite what they were on some of the earlier Placebo albums. And there is much here that will remind you of several 80's and 90's bands. But the songs are solid and remarkably memorable, and it hangs together quite well. This is actually my favorite of all of the Placebo albums, and with each listen a different one becomes my favorite for the moment. Definitely pick this one up.

Well i bought this album recently and i must say i find it rather impressive. I own all placebo's albums and whilst isn't as good as 'without you im nothing' or 'placebo' it is far far better than 'sleeping with ghosts'. I like the way it incorporates all placebo's talents which have been seen in earlier albums. Having said that, although musically the album is different - slower - there is still the classic twisted, yet relatable placebo lyrics. Best songs on album: follow the cops back home, blind, pierrot the clown, and infra red. Would reccomend anyone to give this album a try even if you dont like it at first, it will definitley grow on you!
If you are new to the placebo world, i would try buying an older album first so you can see what the real placebo is like before buyin this one. The best album by far is 'without you im nothing'<<<<GET THIS ALBUM BEFORE YOU BUY 'MEDS'!