Customer Reviews

Short Bus

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

In my mind, Filter has always run about 50/50. Half their songs are real good industrial rockers ("Hey Man Nice Shot" for example) and the other half are 'just ok' at best. The debut album is no exception, but that doesn't stop it from being a great album for industrial fans.

The best song on the album is, of course, Hey Man Nice Shot. Part of what makes it great is the contrast between the slow, quiet verses and the roaring, sonic-assault choruses. The album is eight years old and I still hear that song played in the background of movie commercials (even more often than Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People"). Other great tracks to check out are Under and Gerbil. The rest of the album ranges anywhere from 'just ok' to 'pretty good', but all-in-all makes for a good listen.

On a side note, I somewhat resent Amazon.com's review, which implies Filter is just a rip-off of Nine Inch Nails. As a huge Nails fan, I can tell you Filter does not sound that similar. Trent Reznor neither produced nor contributed to this album in any way. If Filter's sound is somewhat similar, it's because it is, after all, an industrial band, not to mention that Richard Patrick was a member of Nine Inch Nails at one time. Every industrial band has, at one time or another, been accused of being a NIN rip-off, which is entirely unfair. Nine Inch Nails popularized the genre, but does not encompass it. Lead singer Richard Patrick's voice does not sound that much like Trent Reznors; Richard's voice is much higher. I also think Nine Inch Nails is much closer to being what I'd call 'pure industrial', while Filter leans more towards industrial rock. If anything, Filter has much more in common with band like Stabbing Westward and Gravity Kills than Nine Inch Nails.

Getting back on topic, I you do enjoy bands like Nine Inch Nails or Stabbing Westward, Filter is definitely worth a shot.

Filter's 1995 debut album, Short Bus, is a fine example of industrial rock (although Richard Patrick doesn't like the term) at its best. I find the criticism Rich has received regarding Filter's similarities to Nine Inch Nails to be absurd. I am a fan of both Filter and NIN and they are both very different. Trent Reznor relies heavily on electrical methods (which I do not condone at all), whereas Rich's music is a lot more rock-based. "Hey Man Nice Shot" is the song that stands out after the first listen (partly due to the fact that its the first track), but repeated indulgence reveals the raw skills of Patrick and Brian Liesegang (the other main musical contributor to the album). The gritty music and Patrick's often lazy vocals add to the album's edge, the former being highlighted in "Under" and the latter in "Stuck In Here" and "So Cool". A must-buy for people with ears.

This is one solid piece of music. The former NIN guitarist can do a lot on his own. SHORT BUS is better than Filter's second release, TITLE OF RECORD. Their hit, "Hey Man Nice Shot" is one of the best industrial songs ever written (Did anyone else notice that Godsmack stole the bass line from that song to create their hit "Keep Away"?). If you like industrial music (NIN, Ministry, KMFDM), you have no choice but to buy this cd.

Rating: A-
While perhaps Richard Patricks biggest mistake was leaving Nine Inch Nails a couple of years before the release of The Downward Spiral, the advantage for us the listening public is that we got this abrasive mixture of angst and intensity, headlined by the now famous Hey Man Nice Shot. With the first song on the album being the only prominent track from this album that got continuous airplay, which Filter would end up succeding with once again with the ever so catchy (but overplayed) Take My picture, it is for those of you out there that bought Title of Record strictly for that tune alone to do yourself a favor and see how Filter got started, with Short Bus. By no means is it one of the best albums of all time, but it is more a type of portrait of the changing industrial scene which NIN's toppled over with the Downward Spiral, setting huge sales for the band and capitalizing from the hit closer. It is here on Short Bus that we find Richard Patrick, and Brian Liesang, struggling and succeeding thruogh each track by their mixture of live instruments, combined with the manipilation of computers. For those that ever doubted the success of the electronic music medium, look too bands like Radiohead, and OK Computer for a good example of computer manipulated music done right, and to perfection. However back to this album, as songs like Dose, Stuck in Here, It's Over and (my favorite) Consider This have the combined intensity and slower moments that drive this album successfully into your head, inviting you back for more after your first listen. A great album that should really be wher any Filter fan should start off with.

I have vivid memories of lying on the floor in my room after having my teenage heart broken and listening to "Stuck in Here" over and over. I bought this album at the height of its popularity when I was wearing all black, writing bad poetry and practicing Wicca. I grew out of that phase by the end of high school, but every now and then I listen to Filter and it really takes me back. I almost feel like stretching out on the carpet and letting the tears paint greyish streaks of eyeliner into my hairline. Ah, the sweet agony of youth!

As far as the quality of the album goes, my tastes have changed. That said, this was a really great industrial pop album. Once I found out about Skinny Puppy, Ministry and other harder industrial bands (not to mention the weirder art rock stuff I like now), I dismissed Filter as being too soft. However, I still enjoy it when I want the nostalgia factor or some good background noise for housecleaning.

Filter brought out the animal in them with SHORT BUS, one mighty, meaty album that showcases the pure talents of Richard Patrick and Brian Liesegang. The album brought them out of the underground and into the spotlight, and brought them some great success.

The album kicks off with the lead single and full-throttle rocker, "Hey Man Nice Shot", one of the most addictive songs Filter made early on. It stands as one of my top five favorite Filter songs. SHORT BUS keeps going with the cynicism of "Dose" with it's pounding guitars, and other tracks like "White Like That", "Take Another", and the charging "Under" rock with ferocity. One pleasant surprise on the disc, the refreshing "Stuck In Here", turns down the intensity and refreshes us with a bit of the light side of Filter.

SHORT BUS is a wonderful debut from Filter. While there are absolutely no duds on this album, some really need to ditch the NIN comparisons. Richard Patrick may have once been a NIN compadre, but this is his own band. Filter stands on their own, and always will. We Filter fans wouldn't want it any other way.

I bought this album after Title Of Record, and this review is mainly directed at people who are thinking of doing the same.

Okay, first things first, if you liked the poppier moments of Title Of Record more than the heavier industrial moments, then this album definately isn't for you. This album is mainly full of brooding industrial rock, full of dubby basslines and shouty vocals.

In my humble opinion this album isn't as good as Title Of Record. It doesn't have any of the hooks that Title has even in its heavier moments. Whereas Title is a widescreen panoramic colour experience, this album is more monochrome in tone, less open. It's not that it's bad, far from it in fact. It's a great industrial record, but compared with the variety in Title, this can get a little dull. There aren't any really thundering songs like the fantastic Welcome To The Fold, and apart from one or two songs, (such as Hey Man, Nice Shot) there aren't really the dynamics so obviously present in Title.

I find it better to think of this album as a stepping stone to what Filter achieved on Title Of Record. Good, but not as good as I'd expected.

A friend lent me this album in the year it was released('95), and its sound haunted me for a long while afterwards. I was finally compelled to buy it on import, a decision I'll never regret. The first song 'Hey Man Nice Shot' can also be found on the 'Demon Knight' Soundtrack; this track would be rated in my top five and I own 100+ CDs. The diversity of such tracks as 'stuck in here' and 'so cool' show the talent of the band's diversity. Highly recommended.

Short Bus and Title of Record have very little in common. I have both CDs and I tend to listen to one when I'm in a fast industrial rock mood and one when I'm in a slow-paced pop rock mood. Short Bus is better in the aspect of showing the group's hard side, their fast paced songs are riveting. "Hey, Man Nice Shot" is the song that broke Filter out from the depths of nowhere into the spotlight. It is definetly one of their better songs too! I recommend this CD to anyone who likes loud-industrial rock that isn't to heavy metalish. Short Bus is worth the money to buy it.

happy almost 10-year-anniversary, short bus! and yet we STILL hear "hey man nice shot" on the radio.
cool.
anyways, I absolutely love filter to tiny little pieces, but I only started listening to the radio in 6th grade... (4 years ago) so I heard "take a picture" first. I ended up buying "title of record" before "the amalgamut" or "short bus", but I totally recommend all 3. I'll admit, a lot of the songs on this album DO sound alike, which is not necessarily a bad thing. but my personal faves are "under" and "stuck in here". filter lyrics are... sub par, as per usual, but that can be easily overlooked for the overall sound, which ranges from dark, crunchy alt-metal-sounding rock to slow, melancholy... I don't even know what to call it. is there a word for that? (think: "stuck in here", "so cool")

anyways, as with all filter albums (the whole 3 of them) I don't think it's perfect, but the moments where it shines make it definitely worth buying.
or you could pirate the "good tracks" off the internet.
>.>
I won't look. but... hey, you know. give the whole thing a shot. you never know. you might find something you like on it.