Customer Reviews

Mr Beast (Bonus Dvd) (Dlx)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I write very few reviews, mainly because I believe musical appreciation is very, very subjective and that written reviews generally do not translate well into something useable for most readers. In any event, I like a lot of different types of music and have seen many different shows, which I will not bore you with here. However, I am so impressed with Mogwai's latest tour that I felt compelled to briefly write my comments and impressions, to use as you see fit.

I had no experience with Mogwai until I saw them live, and now I'm completely hooked. This happens maybe once a decade for me, and usually the band is more well known, and it has always taken me a much longer time to appreciate said bands. I was stunned from the first note of their opening song. I found Mogwai's latest tour and Mr. Beast to be a profound and moving production. For me, their music and production is some of the best I've ever heard. Mr. Beast is now a permanent fixture in my CD players, but it is hard to duplicate the live impact and sound quality of a Mogwai show.

IMHO, Mr. Beast is a natural progression for Mogwai, and is one of their best achievements to date. If you are down with this genre of music, you will not be disappointed with Mr. Beast. Play it very, very loud on a powerful system to approximate their live impact. If you like Mr. Beast, you will love their shows. The only criticism I have of Mr. Beast and Mogwai's shows, as I've commented to anyone who was interested, is that they're too darned short.

IMHO, this is one of the best albums and tours of '06. I wish them every success.

When we first heard Mogwai's Young Team record almost a decade ago, we were knocked on my a--. That was exactly what I had been itching to hear but just didn't know it. Epic near metal post rock, dramatic and ultra dynamic, soft / loud moody indie rock epics. Taking bits and pieces from the Pixies and Slint and other bands that came before but making them into something wholly new and unique.

And thus was spawned band after band, from Godspeed to the current crop of metallic post rock to the brooding instrumental indie rock of bands like Explosions In The Sky. All of them owe a massive debt to Mogwai, and Young Team in particular. After Young Team, Mogwai continued to do what they did arguably better than anyone else, each record a subtle variation on the last, one was more consistantly louder, one was softer and dreamier, the next was a "return to the ultra dynamism of Young Team" the next was something completely new and different. Ultimately though, they all sounded like Mogwai, and if there was such thing as a cd that held 12 hours of music, they all could have come from that single 12 hour album. But who was complaining? Not me. I loved the sound of Mogwai, and didn't want them to change, sure I would have dug another Young Team, but it was joy to get a new Mogwai record every time, that was instantly familiar, but had enough new stuff going on that it kept things interesting.

And so it went for almost a decade, which brings us to Mr. Beast. And on the one hand, it perfectly keeps with the pattern, it's most definitely Mogwai, sonically there's no doubt about that, but on the other, this is a very weird record. For Mogwai at least. To begin with, the songs are all pretty short, none break the six minute mark, most hover at around four, but the devil is in the details, and you know how the devil always has the best music...

The sound on Mr. Beast is much more dense and polished, some songs are straight up guitar heavy shoegazing rockers, some are haunting lullabies with programmed drums and lap steel guitars. A couple tracks sound almost like Coldplay with balls (and bigger guitars), there's lots of piano, in fact the first song is almost entirely piano driven, as are a couple later on in the record, there are some very Flaming Lips moments, lush pop with BIG drums, some bits of Polvo-like angular indie jangle, even some full on metal riffing, but they all sound like Mogwai. And that's the key. It all sounds so effortless, so perfect. Not in a bad way, in that special way that few bands ever achieve. It's like if Mogwai suddenly decided to do a note for note cover of Brooks And Dunn or Pink or Slayer or anybody, it would STILL sound like Mogwai, or if they decided to only play skiffle or bluegrass or polka, you'd still hear it and immediately know it was Mogwai, and it would be really really good.

It's that effortlessness that makes this record so good. Like their records before Mr. Beast, familiar enough to fit comfortably in the canon, new and weird enough to make me love them all over again.

I've been living with Mr. Beast for almost 24 hours now, and I'm still completely stunned. The CD hasn't left my player, whether that's been the one in my car, at home, or on my computer. I'm a Mogwai noob -- I've heard of them before but never really listened to any of their CDs. And now I'm setting aside the Radiohead, the Sigur Ros, and the miscellaneous electronica and ambient CDs I own to make room for the huge sonic space Mr. Beast wants to take up.

The lyrics are few, but that's okay -- glance at the title of each track before the track plays and let it whirl around in your mind like a mantra, and a detailed picture of something will come to mind. I especially like track #6, "Friend of the Night". On this track guitar and drums swap duties keeping time, echoing the ticks of a clock counting down the midnight hours. Meanwhile, piano with generous use of damper pedal takes flight on the melody backed by a guitar that sounds like it could have been wielded by Sigur Ros' J?n ??r Birgisson. The net effect is a perfect track for driving down the streets of an urban wasteland at four in the morning when you know sunrise is just a couple hours away.

The thing you have to understand about Mogwai's music involves
fractals. Their music gives an overwhelming sense of vast
spaces that you are only seeing a part of. Like Clyfford Styll's (hope I'm remembering that correctly) vast and threatening abstractions, small slices of some unimaginable whole.
That having been said, the 'gwai boys have changed the procedure somewhat. Mr. Beast is a quite different record from its predecessors, yet retains some similarities that link it with previous efforts.
It opens with a standard Mogwai gambit, the absolutely luminous "Auto Rock". Reminiscent of Rock Action's "Sine Wave", it's a slow build, piano driven mood piece that rides the signature Mogwai crescendo to an almost tribal ending, Martin Bulloch's drums taking over the ending. The soft/loud dynamic is not as prevalent as it has been, as "Glasgow Mega-snake" and "Folk Death 95" show. The former reaches out of the stereo and pummels you, with only a quiet single guitar intro lending to the soft half of the dynamic. Album closer "we're no here" is another guitar assault, finding Mogwai revisiting its Young Team punk like sound, but tighter, more focused, no less epic, though.
Only three vocal cuts this time around (one spoken in Japanese!)
with "Travel is dangerous" being quite good. Somewhat like "tuner" on steroids. The vocals are once again treated like just another instrument, no higher in the mix than any other.
I'd almost be tempted to say that Mogwai has made their "pop" record. No song is above Five minutes or so, and the epic length of previous records has been replaced by a take it or leave it attitude. There 's no screwing about here, they're out for blood.
It's not the "best" Mogwai record (my money's on Rock Action for that nod), but it rivals their best work and gets 5 stars for the inclusion of an excellent making of doc in the special edition. I'd give the regular album a four, say.

In my opinion, this album contends with any other for the best album of 2006 title. I've been listening to Mogwai for years and have always been impressed with their ability to carve such dense and emotional soundscapes, but even with those expectations this album blew me away (and still continues to). Possibly Mogwai's best to date, but don't take my word for it. Grab this album; you will not be disappointed. Oh yeah, and go see Mogwai live. A total wall of sound in which all of the small details and nuances can still be heard. This is an accurate musical representation of some of the most complex emotions that you've ever felt throughout your life. It's like a language you've never heard before, but you already understand every word. Amazing, amazing, amazing...

Every once in a while I come across an album that really speaks to me on an other level that isn't abruptly recognizable. Mr. Beast is one of those records. It has its loud moments, It has its relaxing and serene moments. And all that is wrapped around some of the more memorable guitar riffs and piano passages I have heard in this type of music. Its the type of record that you would put on at the end of a long boring day at work and just let it carry you away from all the trouble in your life.

Every song on Mr. Beast sounds different, and has different qualities overall from the last. Yet each song and the order they come in manage to string Mr. Beast's song structure together with flowing unity. Yes, some songs on here are in fact slower then most songs some of you might be used to, but don't focus on that, They are all there for a reason; extensions of one another, bolstering each others overall sound and increasing the quality of resonance left in your mind after listening to Mr. Beast. Many tracks share the same dreamy, comfortable feeling which Mogwai pass along from song to song, leaving each song with its own distinguishing features and feeling. The whole album is a feeling like sitting on a hill full of grass on a fair winded day just staring into the sky, totally relaxed, and utterly content.

Mogwai is known to be a mellow, almost atmospheric band. And I think that they have reached new levels with this release. There are times when I just have to shut my eyes to really get the most out of every second, or stare into the cover artwork and let the music control my imagination. The artwork is also fantastic by the way. Sometimes when Im listening to "Friend of the Night" or "Travel is Dangerous" and draw my own conclusions from the cover art. Other times I envision the album cover if it was a moving image while listening; the adults slouching over the table, with sick looks on their faces. The child underneath it, staring up sadly while vomit seeps down the sides of the table and onto the floor. I don't know why thats such a powerful image, but it gave me shivers down my spine the first time I listened and really took a good look at it. My take on the meaning of the Image is showing the innocence of the child, and displaying the guilt(or maybe regret) of the adults. I haven't come across many album covers that really make me think, or make me have the reaction I have with this cover. It fits the music inside of the jewel case like a glove.

..:: Score board ::..
Musicianship - 5/5
Songwriting - 4.5/5
Production/Display - 5/5
Overall - 4.8/5

***Favorite tracks:***
Auto Rock
Acid Flood
Folk Death 95
Travel is Dangerous
Friend of the Night

Having picked up my first and favorite mogwai CD 'Happy Songs for Happy People,' I have only been listening to Mogwai for about a year now. But each day, I have come to appreciate this band more-and-more. When I purchased Mr. Beast, I had high expectations and they were easily exceeded. Each song is joyous and grim at the same time and represents Mogwai's overwhelming musical talent. "Friend of the night" sticks out as the best song on the CD, but it's hard to say that as the album flows so incredibly well.
I wish there was an option for six stars.

i'm a longtime fan of this band, getting into them after i discovered ten rapid. i've pretty much everything they've released. and this the first album by them that i never consider skipping ahead to the next track...a feeling i'll get maybe once or twice on all of their previous works.

but as great as Mr. Beast is, i have just one issue with it: it lacks any 7-8+ minute epics. several of their longer songs are my favorites (MFMK, 2 rights..., helicon 1, ratts...) in fact, only 3 songs here eclipse the 5-minute mark. and the rest fall in the 3 and 4 minute window. they're all very very good, but a few seem to end just a little abruptly, before they can evolve from very good to simply incredible. if they would only extend some of the songs 1 or 2 more minutes each (glasgow mega-snake is a prime example), the album as a whole would be a masterpiece. this leaves me just a little frustrated, as several songs are just gathering their legs before the band decides to end them. it's unfortunate, realizing the real potential that's on here.
nonetheless, it'll likely become my very favorite mogwai album. it's an excellent blend of their earlier heaviness and more recent experimentation with electronics and piano. it just falls 2-3 extended songs short of absolute greatness.

Mogwai have blown the expectations i had for this album into shambles. Not only is this the first great album to be released this year it may even be there best since young team.

Mr. Beast is so well balanced. It starts of with the disonent piano tones of "Auto Rock" and seemlessly moves into the crushing guitar driven "Glasgow Mega Snake" which sounds like one of pelican's wet dreams. The vocals are used very tastefuly on tracks such as "Acid Food" and the spoken word "I Choose Horses" which features the singer of a japanese band called envy.

Mogwai really uped the antie on this album and it shows. This effort shines as much if not more then my other favorite releases of theres such as Young Team and Rock Action. This is less of a rock record and more of a compsitional masterwork. 4 and a half stars.

A beautiful, graceful masterpiece which takes you through the entire human emotional spectrum. From its raging highs to melancholic lows, listening to Mr. Beast is a cathartic experience, much like watching an epic film.

It belongs up there with some of modern history's greatest emotional albums, such as Pink Floyd's The Wall.