frances the mute - Progressive Rock Music Forum

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spectral

Forum Senior Member

Joined: May 04 2005
Location: Vatican City State
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Points: 1422

Posted: August 21 2005 at 15:08

It's an incredible record. It hit me first time, but I had been enjoying The Mars Volta since Tremulant, so Frances was easy to get into. If you've only listened to it once, then you need to give it time. Hell, I'm still listening to it now and I'm finding nuances I had noticed. It combines so many styles and leans on many bands for influences (from King Crimson to Fania All-Stars); it's such an enjoyable record to listen to. As for the "noise", it doesn't bother me. It fact, it works really well in many places; especially as a segue into the next track. I would say listen to it more or even buy Deloused and then listened to Frances. Like all good to things, it can need time to be fully enjoyed, if you're not used to it

"...misty halos made visible by the spectral illumination of moonshine."

pale moon

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Joined: July 24 2004
Location: Netherlands
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Points: 43

Posted: August 21 2005 at 09:23

Deloused is trully a masterpiece, and i think the band will never be able to make a better album. it's just one of the greatest debutalbums out there (in the court of the crimson king comes close too) and it's just like the problem with pearl jam (WHO?!! i hear you progheads say): the never made an album better than their debut "ten." knowing this you can't really expect from these guys to make a better album. i mean: they are still human, ok? wow, an album better than deloused... just thinking about it makes me need to change my pants. back in a sec...

so, ok, well. frances the mute is a great album. when you remove the noisy parts you still got over an hour of quality music. that can't be bad can it?

Scrambled_Eggs View Drop Down

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Joined: December 13 2004
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Points: 287

Posted: August 21 2005 at 09:10

I think it is a great album, though the high amount of noize filler prevents it from being a 5 star album. It's still one of the best albums of 2005.

And I am not frightened of dying, any time will do, I
don't mind. Why should I be frightened of dying?
There's no reason for it, you've gotta go sometime.
I never said I was frightened of dying.

Arsillus

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Joined: March 26 2005
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Posted: August 21 2005 at 09:02

Logos wrote:

76 minutes of sheer brilliance.

Well put.

GFoyle

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Joined: January 06 2005
Location: Finland
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Points: 199

Posted: August 21 2005 at 06:53

I like it a lot more than Deloused, which to me was way too repeatitive. I
hate the noise parts of Frances as well, I always skip them. Actually I think
the album sounds better if you start from the 5th song and the loop to
beginning.

To me it's probably 4 or mayby 3 and a half. I have grow to like it,
something which didn't happen to me with Deloused.

Logos

Prog Reviewer

Joined: March 08 2005
Location: Finland
Status: Offline
Points: 2383

Posted: August 21 2005 at 06:35

76 minutes of sheer brilliance.

The Miracle View Drop Down

Prog Reviewer

Joined: May 29 2005
Location: hell
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Points: 28427

Posted: August 21 2005 at 05:12

Sorry, but I love it a LOT. Actually, I bought the album for $10 and then $6 for the single to be complete

last.fm

MikeEnRegalia View Drop Down

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Honorary Collaborator

Joined: April 22 2005
Location: Sweden
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Points: 21534

Posted: August 21 2005 at 04:46

For me it is a 4 star album, Deloused is MUCH better. It still has some brilliant moments, but also plenty of filler. But considering the length of the album, that's ok for me. Remember that you might pay even more for albums that contain no filler, but are only half as long (Adrian Belew - Side One, anyone?).

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Dragon Phoenix View Drop Down

Forum Senior Member

Joined: August 31 2004
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Points: 1475

Posted: August 21 2005 at 04:42

I have heard it ten times or so by now, and I still don't know whether it is a 2-star, 3-star or 4-star album. Certainly not an absolute masterpiece, but the fact that after so many listenings I still cannot make up my mind, says a lot about the originality and complexity of the album.

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video vertigo View Drop Down

Forum Senior Member

Joined: September 17 2004
Location: United States
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Points: 1930

Posted: August 21 2005 at 03:05

I went to Best Buy two nights ago, and saw "Frances the Mute" by The Mars Volta for $6 and the free single of the song "Frances the Mute." I remembered all the talk on this site of this album, and how the Mars Volta is prog's big new thing.

I was 100% disappointed. practically 1/2 the album was random noises that didn't even sound good with the music. I understand noises to set the setting like in "The Wall" but this album really overdid it. It practically put me to sleep the entire time.

When there weren't random noises the music was overly repetitive, this album lacked a lot despite the virtuosity of the musicians. It was creative but poorly done. The only real compliment I have for The Mars Volta is that the singer sounded good throughout and I enjoyed the spanish/english transitions.

The album is a piece of crap and $6 was expensive for the quality within, but I have only heard it once, and I need about 9 more listens to truly form my opinion and judge it, but I don't know if I want to put myself through that again.

"The rock and roll business is pretty absurd, but the world of serious music is much worse." - Zappa