SHOWBIZ

UK rock trio Muse released their debut album "Showbiz" back in 1999 when I was just 15 years old. Many would say the rest is history now and they would be right. Muse have gone on to be one of the biggest rock bands on the planet and if they do headliners, only top of the bill will do. But was it obvious back in 1999 that they would be as big as they have become? Well, I bought the CD, I think around the time the album came out and on the casing, there is a sticker with taglines from various magazines which are listed below:

"Muse will be huge" - The Guardian "Massive angst-ridden anthems" - Kerrang "Impressive" - Daily Mail "The Future of Intelligent guitar music" - Melody Maker

So, there you have it, even in the very beginning of their career, Muse were hotly tipped by the music world to go the distance and my, my did they do that. I remember at the time reading articles about Muse and many mentioned comparisons to Radiohead who at that point in their career had released Pablo Honey, The Bends and OK computer. They definitely forged a path for offering a different type of guitar music and I have no doubt Muse had been influenced by them. But it felt like Muse were creating their own path too. The riffs were heavier, they had more piano and generally felt like it was more upbeat than Radiohead. Although some would say that's not really hard!

Matt Bellamy's vocal range is also something which set them apart and through this allows him to both have the all-out rock songs as well as the slower acoustic songs. When the album came out and during that period generally, I had two favourite songs off "Showbiz" and they were "Unintended" and "Uno". Two, totally different tracks. "Unintended" a slow acoustic number with such a nice rhythm to it. As I make my way going back through Muse albums, I may unearth more tracks like this from Muse. But it feels like they haven't really done anything as good as this in terms of an acoustic song since, as their rockier and more experimental side has come more to the forefront. But I do hope some of Muse's later albums have deep cuts like this as it's clear to see they are capable of slowing things right down and taking it easy with fantastic results.

"Falling down" and "Escape" are other slower tracks on the album which works well. While "Unintended" stays slower these do pick more as the songs go on. But my other favourite track "Uno" was a highlight for me because this is Muse rocking out with big riffs. Wonderful. "Muscle Museum" would probably have been my second favourite in terms of rockier tracks. But I think one of the key differences for Muse was combining piano with guitars within tracks. When listening to this album recently the track which stands out for me is track 5 "Cave" which does this perfectly. The early parts of the song are rockier with the big riff and chorus. But the true majestic part of this song is the piano bridge before picking back up on the riff. It is so well done and when you think of artists and songs generally there aren't many songs that have a guitar then followed by a piano bridge. And as I say this really set them apart at the time. They combined the two again in opening track "Sunburn" but this time led with the piano. First tracks are so important for engaging the listener and really capturing their attention and the piano hook on "Sunburn" really does this.

The album generally goes on quite a run of great tracks and it's not until you get to the last few tracks you feel it slightly loses steam. But the likes of "Overdue" and "Hate this and I'll love you" still deserve and have their place on the album. Although the latter is a decent track it doesn't really feel like a closer is my only criticism. I.e., it doesn't really have that climax or gentle outro. It just feels like it could have been placed anywhere in the middle of the album.

But overall, this is a very good album and even though I didn't realise at the time just what would be next for Muse and what the future would hold. It's clear many did, and they got it absolutely right. "Showbiz" is an album which shows that Matt, Dominic and Chris are hugely talented and between the 3 of them make some mighty fine music.