"Victorian rock"...I LOVE that description! I've always felt that if rock music had been around centuries ago, it would have sounded like early Innocence Mission.
As for the whole new vs. old discussion, I think we can all agree that when the band does something in a style or genre that appeals to us, they do it in a sublime way. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Keith Abbott Sent: Friday, November 12, 2004 8:32 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [im] Re: Taste is the key word. For some fans, it goes even further back to 1986. That's when their music sounded more poppy than "alternative". All the demos that are available for download from back then and of course the elusive Tending the Rose Garden EP really shed light on the fact that the Innocence Mission has changed a lot musically over the years. I'm still not into the whole electronic drums thing that Steve was doing back then. Ick. But some of the music was pretty good despite the electronic poppy sound. And the guys were doing a lot more backing vocals back then as opposed to the debut CD on A&M where it shifted over to Karen. Obviously, not everyone really likes the "alternative" style of the 90s. The folksyness of the latter material is less dated in a way since the genre has been around a lot longer and is more accepted. But I think there are still fans of the more impressionistic style of music that we saw from the band iduring the 90's. Quite honestly, I think that has to do a lot with Larry Klein's studio influence. I know the band really liked the Cocteau Twins, but I'm sure Larry probably pushed them in the right direction at that time. Remember, back then they were HUGELY popular with the alternative crowd. Black Sheep Wall was a top 20 hit on the Alternative charts. If I remember correctly, I Remember Me also was a pretty big hit. Their style was very different than the rest of what was out there at the time. It was far less dominated by drums than everyone else, and also were less dramatic in tempo. One of my favorite terms that came from reviewers was "Victorian rock" which I think pre! tty much sums it up for their style at that time. Simply gorgeous in my opinion. It was like hearing a Monet painting. I think their music today is more inspired chorally from the Church. Like Bach in a way. I think it's less dependent on lush harmonies and melodies in favor of a more refined style. However, songs like When Mac Was Swimming kinda break that train since it sounds unlike anything they've ever recorded before. Anyhow, that's enough rambling for now. :) Keith __________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: unsubscribe im __________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: unsubscribe im
