Customer Reviews

In Violet Light

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After the past few albums I was beginning to think The Hip had past their prime. In Violet Light renews my faith with a collection of well chosen songs that make up the most cohesive album they have done in years. Producer Hugh Padgham brings out an energy, clarity and simplicity in the music that seemed to have been lost recently and Gord Downie has never sounded better. Don't expect the over produced, layered approach of Music@Work.

From the storming opener "Are You Ready", through the atmospheric beauty of current single "It's a Good Life ...", the riff heavy drive of "All Tore Up" recalling the energy they had on their earlier albums, to the soaring chorus of "Beautiful Thing" all the lyrical and musical elements you expect from The Hip are there. Including a song about birds.

The added bonus of The Hip Club membership reward card is just one more reason to buy this album. A remarkably simple way to reward the fan who actually purchases rather than copies the album.

"music that can help you feel great" - Use It Up

Now Im a hip fan, but Music at work was pretty forgettable.
Phantom power was an awesome album, but it was like a different band. Trouble at the hen house gave us some killer melodic tunes (gift shop, end of a century) but it died out 5 songs in...
But before that, day for night, fully completely, road apples..Those were hip albums, solid throughout, 100% pure hip, and thats exactly what In Violate light is. The hip's new album has this nostalgic feel to it, you can almost sense The Darkest one being on fully Completely, Silver Jet and All Tore up sound like they are straight from Day for Night.The dire wolfs guitar licks reflect the days of road apples..
All I have to say is, buy this album, Its great, If you liked old hip but not new you will be happy this album has come out, its been a long wait but its here. And If your more a fan of Phantom Power on, this album is not without its slow poetic songs that easily match Bob Caygeon and Lake Fever.
Go Buy this, Stop reading my grammitically incorrect review, go buy this Album.

After a few decent but unspectacular albums (starting with the mediocre Trouble in the Henhouse and culminating in 2000's uneven Music@Work) the Tragically Hip are back in fine form with their latest release "In Violet Light". I've just listened to the album twice but immediately tracks like the first single "'It's A Good Life If You Don't Weaken'", "Throwing Off Glass" and the very aptly titled "A Beautiful Thing" rank among the best songs the Hip has ever recorded.

Perhaps lead singer Gord Downie's solo album "Coke Machine Glow", released last year unleashed a creative fury in he and the rest of the Hip that allowed them to craft such a fine album.

Sidenote: Coke Machine Glow is completely unlike anything the Hip have done, including this release (though it comes closer then any of the previous albums), but it is none the less a recording well worth picking up. If you don't trust me ask Rolling Stone, who called it the best album to come down from Canada since Neil Young's heyday all those years ago.

Fantastic album.

More gritty than the slightly overwrought "Music@work" CD preceding it, this one tries to shoot more from the Hip and succeeds.

What killed Music@work perhaps was "Tiger the Lion" with its pointless academics about "Art In Our Time" and "Purposeless Play" bla bla bla... that one track really derails a disk with many good songs to offer. And with those stupid sonar/whale sounds - I'm sure people must hate such exercises in cleverness.

Violet Light has by contrast an almost stark simplicity, and is over almost before it begins, especially if you are a chronic track-skipper like me. But there is texture and soul on this record, and the oft-mentioned "Darkest One" is a song after my own heart. I have no idea what the lyrics mean, but it's a powerful statement while driving along into a 401 sunset.

"Well the wi-ild are
strong
And the stro-ong are
the Darkest Ones,
You're the Darkest o-one..."

(Tom Petty wishes he wrote such a compelling chorus!)

If you plan to trek out to some lake-side wilderness come warmer weather, this CD is a must buy. This is the perfect music to accompany some late evening drinks under the stars by the fire side (with friends; if its just you and your lady, then be a gentleman and throw on some Marvin Gaye or Coldplay or whatever she's into).

Sorry, I got off track. This is a beautiful CD. It starts off rocking (Are You Ready, Use It Up, Silver Jet) and moves towards classic Hip-style serenity (Good Life, A Beautiful Thing, Leave). Dire Wolf is in my top 5 Hip songs of all time, which (for me) is really saying something.

Take, for example, some typical(ly beautiful) lyrics, from the aptly titled Beautiful Thing:

In ulcerating silence
perspective comes
the way it always does - it's ransom.
So randomly, somebody calls
the phone rings and it brings Niagara Falls.
"It's 3 o'clock in the morning,
You'd better be dyin" and you were
so we talked about the time
and where it went,
unremarkable events,
and how one day took two days
and they got spent.
How you'd continue, carefully in degrees
trying to do one true beautiful thing.

Its not the most radio single-ish music that the Hip have ever done, and it takes a listen or two before you find yourself humming (and then singing) along. But this CD is like my old blue blanket, that makes me feel happy and peaceful and comfortable.

This isn't entry level stuff, but if you really like the Hip, you'll really like this!

This album is great. Anyone who says different must be deaf. Or, maybe they have never listened to The Hip before. To really appreciate this album, I think the listener needs to be a bit more familiar with their style, and their type of music. To anyone listening for the first time, I recommend getting Phantom Power, or Music @ Work. Phantom Power would most likely be your best bet. The Hip is a great band, however this album is more for the expirienced Tragically Hip listener.

However, Not all of the CD is like this. For example, "The Darkest One" is a catchey tune with great vocals that anyone could love. As well as "The Dark Canuck" which is another great song.

This is yet another strong effort from one of the world's great undiscovered bands. While not quite as groundbreaking as 1996's masterful "Trouble at the Henhouse" or 2000's wonderfully diverse "Music @ Work," "In Violet Light" succeeds in building upon the achievements of its predecessors. The songwriting is assured, the musicianship accomplished, and Gordon Downie's vocals and lyrics are as idiosyncratic and satisying as ever. "The Darkest One" is one of the catchiest songs they have written; "It's a Good Life if You Don't Weaken" recalls the subtle beauty of a "Bobcaygeon" or a "Flamenco;" and "The Dire Wolf" is another in a long line of tragic poems, such as "Fifty Mission Cap" or "Nautical Disaster," that move the listener without resorting to rank sentimentality. Perhaps my favorite track is "The Dark Canuck," an epic statement about war and peace set against the backdrop of a drive-in double feature. Almost unheard of in the US, The Hip remains one of Canada's most popular bands. American listeners would do well to emulate our neighbors to the north.

There are some Hip albums that grab you right away - Up to Here for example, and others that grow on you (Phantom Power). I never did really get into Music At Work, and was very worried that they might be losing their knack. Its hard to figure out where they are going - I wonder sometimes if they've moved beyond trying to breakout of Canada - New Orleans, 100th Meridian, Three Pistols - the songs that should have made them house hold names never did - and their style seems to have moved more toward what impresses them and their fans then reaching for the big hit. With that said - there are no songs on this CD that first time hip listeners will react to like they would New Orleans, but instead, for those who are familiar with the hip, who can listen to a recorded track and appreciate it for its quality, depth, and for how great we all know it will sound the first time we hear it live, this is another great album. I personally can't wait to hear "Dire Wolf live - a track which I think ranks among one of their all time greats. This is not their best album and not their worst - although it does have several tracks which are among their best. There are some artistic differences which are more noticeable as well - a flow to the album that other's haven't had... a sine wave almost of alternating high energy/low energy songs capped by beginning and ending songs which were designed to fill those positions. On a final, interesting observation - the Dire Wolf was a Grateful Dead song - probably the second greatest touring band that never made it as big as they should have - and there are some chords in that song which clearly remind you of the dead... It makes me wonder - for all of these years we've compared the Hip to REM, the Doors, Rush, etc... but I think with this album we can start comparing them to the Grateful Dead, the CD has a definite feel of the Dead in their prime- and I'm sure there's at least a few people reading this review who will soon be spending their summer vacation following the tour. Buy this album. Listen to it. If you don't like it, try one of their earlier albums and then try this one again. If you still don't' like it, just give it to a friend and try to recruit a new hip fan. If you do like it - go see them live... that's where the magic happens.

I am NOT a die-hard Hip fan.
For the most part, I have liked them, enjoyed the singles, but not been a "rush out and buy it immediately" kinda fan.
"In Violet Light" marks an important step for the Trag... finally, the acoustic properties of the album can keep up to the material. After hearing the single, and the quality of it, I DID rush out and buy it.
The best sounding Hip album ever, and the songs contained within are also some of the best material they have produced in some time.
I agree with those that say that the Hip are leaning on their past for this one- the guitars and vocals are highly reminiscent of very early Hip, but the experience they have gained in between shines brightly through.
I am a converted, newly affected, Hip fan, now.
If you love good music, especially when it sounds great, then whether or not you are a huge Hip fan, go get this... the production is brilliant.
Way to go, boys.

The Hip's latest release is neither about moving back to the "old Hip" or continuing on the same path that produced the experimental Music@Work, but instead striking off in a progressive direction that hasn't forgotten the power of keeping tracks short, keeping the tempo relatively high, and letting the beautiful lyrics have room to connect with the listener. It may not be the "old Hip," but there's lots on this album to please the old Hip fan. Gord Downie's lyrics are less abstract than in previous releases, but remain more compelling that those of almost any contemporary artist, and will keep listeners finding new meaning in this disc for years. His voice is also in top form; it seems as though his solo experience did him lots of good. The entire band sounds fantastic on the album, and the production allows for a more vibrant feel to the music than on past releases. "It's a Good Life..." is a beautiful song, but not reflective of the rest of the album, so don't expect that In Violet Light will necessarily make you ponder the imponderables: there's just some good, accessible rock and roll here. The catchy "Darkest One" deserves to be the second single off the album, but fans will be particularly impressed by "The Dire Wolf" and its nautical theme and the epic "The Dark Canuck" which builds up nicely, but unpredictably. A softer touch is found on "Throwing Off Glass" from this year's Men With Brooms soundtrack and by "A Beautiful Thing," but the album remains coherent throughout the mood swings. It's a beautiful piece of work that should allow this legendary Canadian group to gain some new fans around the world, while re-energizing Canadian supporters. Give it a listen; this is one part of your collection that will no doubt age very, very well.