Customer Reviews

Widow

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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"The Widow" is the first single that The Mars Volta chose to promote Frances the Mute, their second full-length album. This CD contains it in its radio edit form, which some prefer to the double-length version on Frances the Mute (the last half of which consists of cycling samples played over and over again as a drawn out cool down). Either way, this CD is something you'll want to own as a true The Mars Volta fan, because not only does it contain "The Widow", it also comes with "Frances the Mute", the title track that was missing from the CD for lack of room. The massive track plays for 14:39. If I could compare to any of the other songs from Frances the Mute, it would have to be "Cassandra Gemini", but of a mood more like "Miranda That Ghost Just Isn't Holy Anymore" in the way this song has to both warm up and cool down. How "Frances the Mute" should have fit into the track list of the album is arguable, but many prefer it in the first position, serving as an ominous prologue. No matter what, the song is definitely worth getting your hands on if you're a big fan of The Mars Volta. If you aren't and you don't own any of their full-length CD's, you should pass this up and buy De-loused in the Comatorium or Frances the Mute instead.

Omar said in an interview that the track "Frances the Mute," the fiteen-minute track on this single, was actually his favorite song on the entire _Frances the Mute_ album. Your guess is as good as mine why it didn't make the album or why they didn't put _Frances the Mute_ out as a double-CD, but you really don't have all of _Frances the Mute_ until you have this single. (Any way, that's the part of Volta you love the most: the enigma.) This track has Volta sounding more like Yes than they ever have around the ten-minute mark with some spiky jamming and then some _Tales from Topographic Ocean_ under-sea stuff and a rousing rifforama with Cedric's "this never happened" refrain. It's really a great song, as good as anything they have ever done. And let's just say, without giving too much away, that it makes _Frances_ come full circle both musically and lyrically. Get your hands on it.

Two track CD single that is to store right behind your copy of their 'Francis The Mute' effort (see my review). First, there's the title cut that is actually a non-lp song "Francis The Mute" (14:39) with some rather intriguing lyrics - sort of maybe reminds me of Zeppelin's 'Houses Of The Holy' era and the radio edit of "The Widow" (3:19). Overall, not a bad rarity - but why is this CD single so costly?