Customer Reviews

Showbiz

5 star:		(122)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Despite the recent explosion of dancerock from the UK, Muse is perhaps the most powerful Britpop band to emerge in years. If you want comparisons, they're equal parts Radiohead and Led Zeppelin, with a unique sound that is both melodic and raw. Few debuts are as intense as Muse's "Showbiz."

A steady piano melody ripples by, followed by some steady drumming. That, in turn, segues into the expansive bombastic rock'n'roll of "Sunburn." Matt Bellamy sits in the middle of the song, singing in a trembly voice, "I'll feel/A guilty conscience grow/And I'll feel/A guilty conscience grow." Then he bursts into an anguished howl: "And I'll hide from the world/Behind a broken frame/And I'll run forever/I can't face the shame..." The music crests with it, a panoramic blend of guitar, bass and piano.

And that's only the first song.

The songs that follow are just as powerful, if a bit lower-key. Muse dabbles first in some truly ominous guitar pop, followed by acoustic ballads, and an angsty lament or two. Then, about halfway through the album, things get loud again -- songs like the title track have a wall-of-sound guitar'n'bass melody. In these songs, Muse sounds eerily like a British version of the Smashing Pumpkins.

Good as their debut was, Muse wasn't at their peak with "Showbiz" -- they hadn't quite perfected the epic-guitar thing, and the production isn't at its best. But they are still a compelling listen -- the climax of "Uno" is the sonic equivalent of being hit with a tsunami. For a band that was still defining their sound, it's remarkable.

Chris Wolstenholme does an exceptional job with the driving bass, while Bellamy pulls double, triple and sometimes quadruple duty, playing everything from Hammond to piano. His roiling guitar riffs are absolutely stunning. It takes a special drummer to have an impact with all of that going on, and fortunately Dominic Howard is up to the task.

Bellamy also is the vocalist, and here he shines. Too often comparisons are made to Radiohead's frontman Thom Yorke. However, Bellamy's vocals are more versatile -- he starts off in a sort of trembly voice, sounding sad and vulnerable. Then he lets rip with anguished howls, purrs, murmurs and much more. And he does it in perfect harmony to the music.

With their epic sound and excellent musicianship, Muse have the makings of a rock'n'roll legend. "Showbiz" was their first album and it shows, but even with its flaws, it's a stunning piece of work.

It's fantastic!! I am a huge Radiohead fan (I love Nirvana too), but that definitely doesn't mean that only Radiohead fans will like this CD, as it has a unique sound, and although Matthew's vocals sound scarily like Thom Yorke at times, (which is, admittedly, one of my favourite Muse details) their music differs from Radiohead's music in many ways. As for my favourite songs... "Sunburn" is obviously wonderful, I bought the album after hearing that song on the radio, "Falling Down" (such beautiful vocals), "Cave", "Showbiz" (one of my most favourite ever songs of all time ever, together with "Sunburn"), "Uno" (that song rocks!!! It's so much fun to listen to) and "Overdue". But however much I listen to the final track, "Hate This & I'll Love You", I just can't decide whether I like it or not. It's just one of those songs.

Another thing, I'm not a huge fan of "Muscle Museum". Yes, I do know I'm possibly the only person in the world. It seems to be everyone's favourite. And I just don't understand. I always seem to be different. But anyway, if you've heard "Muscle Museum" and you're not keen on it, PLEASE don't be put off by it, because I'm not keen on it either but I still found the album AMAZING.

Don't let this album pass you by. It's a fantastic piece of work.

Well, Radiohead? I really doubt it.

Muse are close to the genre, alright (as well as many other bands are closer to one or another style), they are from Britain, ok, they even love Radiohead, but the list of similarities rather ends here.

For me, what makes them differ from their brit colleagues is the fact that they have more muscles - the music ones, of course: they sound different from any other since they have their own originality that is supported by their rich bass lines, heavy electric guitars and nice latin ones, and beautiful lyrics. They have even more: they've got the unique spirit of this album, the one that makes me believe they possess a huge talent and a definite future.

Sunburn, Showbiz, Uno, and Unintended are undoubtedly great songs that shape the cd well, however, for me, the real standouts are Muscle Museum and Escape.

Fillip, Cave, Overdue, and Hate This and I'll Love You are each unique in their sound, but overall just show the same perfectness of their creators.

Really worth buying and looking forward to their next album.

I like both bands, Muse and Radiohead, and I don't see why they are compared. They have nothing in common, exept that they make both emotinal music. Although I like Radiohead more, this album is still excelent. This is Muse at their rawest, most emotinal and simply at their best, although this is the least accesible of all their albums. The stand out-tracks are Showbiz, Sober, Cave, Escape, Unintended, (of course) Muscle Museum and strangly enough I do like Overdue alot. Showbiz and Muscle Museum are by far the most exciting tracks on the album, you can really lose yourself in one of those songs. Sober is lyrically a masterpiece, Cave is a first class rock-song, Unintended is more mellow and Overdue is poppy and very catchy. Sunburn is an emotionally great intro. What the hey, they are all great songs on this album, Muse at it's best like I said before. Although I don't recommend this to buy if you're new to Muse. Buy Origin Of Symmetry if you're new. Buy this if you want Muse's masterpiece.

"Showbiz" by Muse has moved me like no other album in recent memory. "Showbiz" contains an amazing collection of tracks that play like a fine rock opera. Listen to these audio samples! Absolutely stunning.

Muse is an absolutely unique band. Although many reviewers are simply comparing their style to other bands (e.g., Radiohead, the Smashing Pumpkins), this is an injustice. Listening to this album reminds me of the great rock musicals of our time: Pink Floyd's "The Wall," the Who's "Tommy," and even a little bit of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Yep, it's that good.

Standout tracks for me include the first single, "Muscle Museum," "Sunburn," "Philip," "Falling Down," and "Unintended." However, this is a rare album in which I listen from start to finish without any track advancing.

I encourage you to buy "Showbiz." You are in for an amazing journey.

The best album of 1999.

I just read the below review from B.D. Love regarding Muse's recent concert at the Greek. I attended the show also and take issue with his assertion that Muse played little of the music live. That is total B.S. Very rarely were tapes used, and that was just because Matt Bellamy (understandably) can't always duplicate the multi-tracked keyboard parts that are on the albums by himself. As far as guitar tapes, I don't what the reviewer is smoking - not once was there a guitar sound that Bellamy wasn't actually playing live. It's highly doubtful that Love was even at the show, so please ignore his review.

I have been dedicated to Muse for almost four years now, since I first saw the amazing video for single Bliss from their second album, Origin Of Symmetry, which was probably the best album of 2001. I bought their 2003 release Absolution on release date, and wasn't dissapointed in any way - again, they'd pulled off what I think was the best rock album released that year. However, I had been somewhat hescitant to buy their debut album, because I had an impression that it wouldn't match their other albums in quality.

I was wrong.

Showbiz features a less matured Muse, certainly, but the quality of the songs is none the less impressive, and with more than 8 excellent tracks on a 12-track CD, this is one you can't go wrong with. Favorite tracks seem to vary a lot between reviewers - which is another proof of the all-around quality of this CD. None of the tracks on this CD is less than good. My personal oppinion on the tracks of this album is as follows:

1. Sunburn. 8/10. Sunburn is a great track, the piano intro is crisp and precise and an excellent opening to the CD. The weakness of this track for me is perhaps that the overall production and arrangement lacks a bit of focus - it's great, but it's not a masterpiece - but still a wonderful song. 4th single from album.

2. Muscle Museum. 9½/10. An instant classic, Muscle Museum has everything it takes - great lyrics, catchy melody and daring arrangement. I have actually heard live versions that surpass the album version (go buy the Hullaballoo CD) but this track was a well-deserved break through for the band. 3rd single from album.

3. Filip. 9/10. This is the first song that shows the more artsy side of Muse. The change in tempo and style is brilliant. Also, the song is more focused than the previous two tracks, though I find the intro and outro lacking - with a bit more finish there, the song would have hit a perfect 10.

4. Falling Down. 8/10. This song took me a lot of time. At first I found it quite horrible due to the nearly discordant harmonies of Matt Bellamies falsetto. However, it's grown on me to become a very dear track. And boy what a voice, he could break a heart of stone any time.

5. Cave. 9/10. This track is much less experimental than the previous album tracks, and more like a mainstream rock song. And it works perfectly. The production is immaculate, and for me this is a much better song than UNO - which other reviewers seem to hold in very high esteem. 2nd single from album.

6. Showbiz. 8½/10. A very complicated track, lots of layers, and almost frightingly scary. I find the track a bit overproduced - less would have been more, the heavy distortion on Matt's vocal actually is a pity I think. Still, it works, and it works excellently, and a certain proof of how tallented a song craftsman Matt Bellamy is.

7. Unintended. 10/10. Probably best song on the album. Lyrics are tear-wrenching in their beauty, Matt's vocal is so pure he could shatter ice, production is immaculate, and there is not a spot to be placed on this track. Listen and cry! 5th and last single from the album.

8. UNO. 7/10. Stands to many fans as a favorite, but to me the song is one of the weaker on the album. The lyrics are good, but the song in itself is way to repetitive, with the same structure being repeated two and four times - even the lyrics start over and a practically repeated. A blows a good punch, but it's not on level with songs like Cave and the other singles. 1st single from album.

9. Sober. 6/10. Weakest song in the bunch. It's not bad, but imo. it should have been left out for B-side release Recess (8½/10) which was much better, both concerning lyrics and music. Sober is a m.o.r. rocker, and has some interesting points, especially in the second half, so it's not a complete miss - but it's below standard.

10. Escape. 8/10. Starting as a quite song, not quite unlike Falling Away, and working into a more rocking track, I think this track is much overlooked. Not the best of the bunch, but works better for me than several of the songs released as single.

11. Overdue. 7½/10. Again a solid rocker, but this one works much better for me than UNO and Sober. A short track, but quite catchy and irresistable.

12. Hate This And I'll Love You. 9½/10. Last but not least, as the saying goes. This one is actually very close to perfect 10, and is my favorite track next to Unintended. The song is not easily accesible, it has a fairly complicated structure, and the shifts from quit to lout and back again are superb. This is really a show of what was to come with songs like Citizen Erased and Butterflies And Hurricanes from later albums. Matt's vocals and piano on the ending part gives me tears in the eyes, it's so beautiful. The album couldn't end on a better note.


On the bottom line, I'll just add that it's a wonderful experience to listen to this album. I'd exchange Sober with Recess for the perfect experience, but even as it is this album stands up to repetitive listenings from one end to another. As every Muse album - highly recommended. These guys are going to be huge!

OVERALL RATING: 9/10

Showbiz is a collection of songs which, when written, cover a long time period and it is obvious that all the newer songs on the album (ie Sunburn, Showbiz, Falling Down) are by far the better songs with much more passion and structure to them. Nevertheless, for a debut album, you won't find one much better than Showbiz. Sunburn captures you with an excellent blend of guitars and piano riff, Unintended and Falling Down are slow ballads where you capture the great variations in Matt Bellamy's astonishingly powerful voice. Cave and Showbiz are two epic rock songs and Fillip and Overdue are simple but very catchy stomp alongs. With a voice comparable much more to Jeff Buckley than Thom Yorke, backed with incredibly catchy riffs and meaty basslines(all kind of influences from the Deftones to tango and Nirvana to spanish guitar licks) , this album is unique despite all the Radiohead comparisons. However, if you are not convinced, the simple answer is to see them perform. They are simply awesome. Much more passion than Radiohead and much much heavier! Their record does not really do them any justice but as all their new songs go, they can only get better and better and a new album is much anticipated to be a masterpiece which will not only provide a variety of delicate ballads and huge epic rock songs but also capture the power of their live performances.

I was at bercy for the RHCP show and there was also MUSE (I already had bought Showbiz). They were genial! I really love their prestation and I would like to know more about them, so please send me all that you have about them at Pastel@libertysurf.fr

If you don't have the CD I just can tell you: Listen it!

This is a somewhat difficult review to write at this moment. I am trying to remember the emotions and feelings that I felt when I first heard this CD, and really had no clue who Muse was. I first heard of Muse through the KROQ (an LA radio station) new music CD that featured Muscle Museum. The rest of that CD wasn't incredible, but from the opening notes of Muscle Museum, I knew I was on to something. I immediately bought the import CD from Amazon and was just blown away with what I heard.

The CD begins with a little piano intro to Sunburn, a song that really shows the musical talent of these young men. The seemless transition between piano and distored guitars is really something to behold. Muscle Museum follows, followed by Fillip, not one of my favorite songs, but again, a beautiful interweaving piano line. Falling Down, Cave and Showbiz are very nice songs (Cave especially), but the next song, Unintended is really the hit song of this album. The first time I heard this song, it brought tears to my eyes, there is so much emotion and complexity to this song, I actually called my brother while listening to this song the first time and told him to by this CD. The lyrics are just stunning, the orchestration and development of the song is just, breathtaking for lack of a better word.

Uno follows Unintended, and while this song definitely is a little bit harsher ("this means nothing to me, cause you mean nothing to me") it still is an excellent song. The CD winds up with some hits (Escape) and some misses (Overdue), but even this misses aren't that far off.

As I sit here and review this CD some five years after I first heard of Muse, I'm amazed at how far they've come musically with their albums that followed Showbiz, but also how mature these gentleman were for being 17 or so when this was recorded. Everyone who likes Radiohead or similar bands should give these guys a shot, truly a masterpiece.