The Complex [ENHANCED]

Blue Man Group

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 22, 2003)
• Original Release Date: April 22, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Lava
• ASIN: B00008OWZD
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,183 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Take equal measures of Gallagher and Kraftwerk, mix in a 15-year supply of blue body paint and shake with a double-shot of modern marketing savvy and you might have something akin to Blue Man Group. This ambitious second album by New York performance artists cum entrepreneurs Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton, and Chris Wink expands their central artistic contradiction--mainstreaming the alternative--with a propulsive cocktail of rhythm, irony, self-invented instrumentation, and bona fide song structures that feature turns from guest stars Dave Matthews (the music hall dirge "Sing Along") and Tracy Bonham ("Up to the Roof," and with Rob Swift, "Shadows Pt.2"). The conceit is vaguely reminiscent of the Tubes' tongue-in-cheek ode to '80s corporate rock, "The Completion Backwards Principle," right down to being so convincing the irony often melts away. Fans of their live performances will appreciate its wall-to-wall rhythmic thrust and quirky textures, while aficionados and newcomers alike should welcome its surprising, seductive melodies and mature songwriting. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description
Their first full-fledged rock 'n' roll album, 'The Complex', features guest appearances from Dan The Automator, Tracy Bonham, Esthero, Dave Matthews, & others. 14 tracks including the single, 'The Current', featuring Gavin Rossdale. Lava. 2003.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Big rock sound from the men in Blue, March 5, 2004

By	Scott C. Smith (Beaverton, OR United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Until recently, all I knew about the Blue Man Group was based on their series of odd commercials for Intel. I didn't know anything about their music. "The Complex" blew me away.

This is a rock album, make no mistake. BMG's debut album, "Audio," is more true to their live show that's played in venues like The Luxor in Las Vegas, and is primarily a showcase for the BMG's trademark percussion.

"The Complex" couples BMG's percussion and homemade instruments to a traditional song format, with soaring guitars, a pounding rhythm section, and a big percussive sound.

Along for the ride are guest vocalists such as Tracy Bonham, Dave Matthews, Annette Stream of Venus Hum, and Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale.

Lyrically, the songs of "The Complex" explore themes of alienation and the dis-connect from society that is so common to the cubicle-dweller society that is the norm of corporate America. There are a few cover tunes here, with the best being a rocking cover of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love," sung by Venus Hum's Annette Stream. It's a brilliant rendition, full of soaring guitars, amazing percussion (the synthesizer sound at the beginning of the song is actually PVC tubing, an instrument the Blue Man Group call 'The Tubulum') and energy.

The album concludes with the haunting instrumental "Exhibit 13." If you've seen "The Complex" tour DVD or have gone to BMG's web site, you'll know that "Exhibit 13" is about the Sept. 11 attacks on New York City and some random pieces of paper that blew into a nearby neighborhood.

About "The Complex" tour DVD...buy it! It's amazing to watch everyone involved in creating the show, and to see and hear the Blue Man Group's various homemade instruments.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blue Man Group's New Experiment Rocks!, July 12, 2003

By	"mikemil828" (Colorado Springs, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews

One Day some time ago BMG decided to try a new experiment: How well its wacky array of make-shift instruments would work in a more traditional Rock Album, and let me tell you it works, it REALLY works. Where ever the Blue Man instruments were put in, it 'fits' like if it was mean't to have always been in there, it doesn't really stand out all that much if you were not really trying to listen for them. It does however start to get exhausting near the end of the album. The amazingly complex music would start to take its toll on the person's brain compelling to stop for time being, this is definately not a once over album if you want to fully appreciate what BMG has made.
Herein is a small review of all the songs and my top 3 songs of the album

Above:(9/10)
A very nice start
Time to Start:(9/10)
An exceptionally humerous number,
Sing Along:(10/10)
One of the covers of the album, the Dave Matthews Band really makes this track shine. 3rd Place
Up to the Roof:(10/10)
The female counterpart to Sing Along. Tracy easily make this the second best song IMO
Your Attention:(7/10)
A remake of a BMG song, the addition of vocals kinda makes the song itself easier to swallow than its original format, otherwise....
Persona:(9/10)
Piano Smasher:(8/10)
Pure BMG goodness for those who like their original style
White Rabbit:(7/10)
Maybe its just me, but I didn't quite like this song as much as the rest of the album, worth a hear if you like Esthero
Shadows 2:(6/10)
Another remake of a previous BMG song, nothing special
The Current:(10/10)
One word: Woah.....1st place
I Feel Love:(8/10)
An exceptional rock rendition of the disco classic
What is Rock:(8/10)
This is where it gets tiring if you try to give it a once over, otherwise its up to stuff with the rest of the album
The Complex:(9/10)
The album thankfully gives you a break with this song, its about a person who's made it to the top yet wants more out of life than just success, great song
Exhibit 13:(9/10)
If the listener wasn't told what this song is about, they would just assume its a nice BMG instrumental with many foreign languages. If they were told that its about the many pieces of paper that fell from the two towers. THEN it gains its exceptional strength and creepyness, and could actually move some people to tears.
The Hidden Mandelbrot:(9/10)
An awesome quasi-western-style varient to the mandelbrot family. A nice way to end the album

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rock Concert Movement Number One: The Basic Head Bob, November 4, 2003

By	Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

If you can't see BMG live on the Complex Rock Tour this is the next best thing. BMG is always amazing and by all means see them live if you can. This CD has so much to recommend it from the amazingly layered percussion (at places there are over 50 percussion tracks simultaneously playing) to the wonderful guest vocalists, particularly Tracy Bonham (although I was a little less enthusiastic about Venus Hum).

There really isn't a bad track on the CD, and the CD proves that BMG can coexist in the genres of rock and dance music in addition to their own individual, indefinable niche that only they can occupy. The sounds you hear here are like no other on any other CD, and that's a wonderful and refreshing thing.

"Your attention please. Please yell if you are paying attention."