With inspirado from Pauls thread, thought id share my thoughts on this one.
For me, 2 and a half years without a release should have seen a better effort to release something different from the band. Dont get me wrong, there are some good songs...Namely Selfish Jean,Eyes Wide Open, Big Chair (which i think would have sounded great in place of Get Up on Ode btw) and Colder. But, sadly thats about it. They really couldnt have chose a worst single off it to be the first released in Closer and the follow up of My Eyes wasnt much better either.
I disagree. I think it's a great album. It may not be as atmospheric or cohesive as The Man Who or 12 Memories, but it's still a great album with a lot of wonderful songs, like the The Invisible Band. There's no way I will ever be able to pick a favorite Travis album, but so many songs stand out to me from The Boy -- My Eyes, Eyes Wide Open, 3 Times And You Lose, Selfish Jean, Closer, Big Chair, Battleships, One Night and Colder are all really strong songs, IMO. Oh, and we can't forget Sailing Away. It's a brilliant song.
That being said, it's nice to see Travis changing their sound up a bit for Ode To J. Smith (not that I can fully comment as I've only heard four tracks so far), but I get the general idea and sound of the album. Change is good. We'd all be bored if they put out the same stuff all the time, but it bugs me when the previous album gets dogged as soon as the new one comes out. Not that you can't have your own opinion or anything, but this just reminds me of how a LOT of people were ripping on 12 Memories when The Boy came out. Now 12 Memories seems to be a favorite for a lot of people again.
This thread is interesting for me, and I do have some thoughts. I've been pondering my "relationship" with Travis recently, and in the process, inevitably the 2 latest albums do end up being compared.
I don't agree with the first comment about the lengthy gap between albums being a reason for TBWNN requiring to be better than it was. But I do agree that it was somewhat of a let down.
I also firmly agree that the choice of singles (if single choices are important) was poor. There are much stronger and more appealing tracks on the album.
I know that My Eyes is a very personal song for Fran, but it bugs me. Again personal taste. It also bugs me that the board has adopted the phrase "welcome in welcome in" whenever a newbie posts. Don't ask me why, I can only explain it by saying that it gets on my tits big time!!!!
Maybe I'm being hard, but it stands comparison with the band Athlete, who I love. But I hate the song Wires - which is one of the most poignant baby related song you'll ever hear.
Of all the albums, TBWNN is the weakest for me. However, I do firmly believe that every band produces songs that relate to their lives at any given time (12 Memories also testifies to that). Consequently, I kind of "forgive" the band - if that makes sense- and got over the disappointment.
I personally think that Ode is stronger, less apologetic - the band seems to have reinvented itself, and I love this new sound.
I have a theory about this whole topic in general. I think that you will always love most the album that first gets you into a band. eg the 1st time I heard and fell in love with Travis was the time of The Man Who. It has never stopped being my favourite album.
As soon as I realised that it was their 2nd album, I dashed out and bought Good Feeling, which I also love, not quite as much as The Man, but the honeymoon was now over, and the relationship was consolidating!
For me, TIB was also not great, but I loved 12 Memories, but again not quite as much as The Man.
I don't think it's possible to love every album equally. It's entirely personal which you love best, but I do stand by my idea of the 1st album being the one you'll always love the best.
Sorry to have drivelled on. Suffice to say, imho the reinvention of Travis that has taken place for Ode is fantastic. Bring it on.
I'm surprised to read this about My Eyes. If I HAD to pick a favorite from The Boy, that song might just be it. It's so Travis - thoughtful and heartfelt and the music and melody are just really beautiful. The fact that it was written about Clay doesn't bother me at all. I find it really sweet and I know a lot of people can relate to what Fran is singing about. However, the lyrics aren't so literal that you absolutely have to see it as a "baby song"...it could be about anything you want to make it.
This thread is interesting for me, and I do have some thoughts. I've been pondering my "relationship" with Travis recently, and in the process, inevitably the 2 latest albums do end up being compared.
I don't agree with the first comment about the lengthy gap between albums being a reason for TBWNN requiring to be better than it was. But I do agree that it was somewhat of a let down.
I also firmly agree that the choice of singles (if single choices are important) was poor. There are much stronger and more appealing tracks on the album.
I know that My Eyes is a very personal song for Fran, but it bugs me. Again personal taste. It also bugs me that the board has adopted the phrase "welcome in welcome in" whenever a newbie posts. Don't ask me why, I can only explain it by saying that it gets on my tits big time!!!!
Maybe I'm being hard, but it stands comparison with the band Athlete, who I love. But I hate the song Wires - which is one of the most poignant baby related song you'll ever hear.
Of all the albums, TBWNN is the weakest for me. However, I do firmly believe that every band produces songs that relate to their lives at any given time (12 Memories also testifies to that). Consequently, I kind of "forgive" the band - if that makes sense- and got over the disappointment.
I personally think that Ode is stronger, less apologetic - the band seems to have reinvented itself, and I love this new sound.
I have a theory about this whole topic in general. I think that you will always love most the album that first gets you into a band. eg the 1st time I heard and fell in love with Travis was the time of The Man Who. It has never stopped being my favourite album.
As soon as I realised that it was their 2nd album, I dashed out and bought Good Feeling, which I also love, not quite as much as The Man, but the honeymoon was now over, and the relationship was consolidating!
For me, TIB was also not great, but I loved 12 Memories, but again not quite as much as The Man.
I don't think it's possible to love every album equally. It's entirely personal which you love best, but I do stand by my idea of the 1st album being the one you'll always love the best.
Sorry to have drivelled on. Suffice to say, imho the reinvention of Travis that has taken place for Ode is fantastic. Bring it on.
i think your actually spot on there Tone, what id also say is;
People like us who found Travis on albums like TMW and Good Feeling were initiated to this rock band that played a few lovely ballads. Now, to folk who discovered the band at say TIB or with TBWNN, and to a lesser extent 12 Mems. I think the trend somewhat bucked with Ode. With Ode, were back to the rock wtih a side portion of ballads. This is sure to split opinion.
TBWNN is my least favourite Travis album to be honest. I wouldn't say it was by any means a bad album. A lot of the songs are technically well crafted and pleasant enough but, after the initial hype and novelty of it all, there was nothing much to keep drawing me back. There weren't really any moments where I though "I really feel like listening to My Eyes, One Night" etc... they didn't have that necessary addictive quality about them. I think it's partially to do with a lack of energy on many of the tracks. They just bob along without really becoming exciting. And then there's the fact that, as many of us mentioned at the time, the tracks were a mix that didn't offer more than the sum of their parts as an album; there was no real theme or mood like there is on most other Travis albums.
Closer was one of my favourites though, perhaps Selfish Jean should've been single number 1 but Closer would have to be 2nd. It had a great sound to it - love the guitars, and had a really cool atmosphere about it that most other tracks lacked.
The fact that it was written about Clay doesn't bother me at all.
Doesn't bother me either - it's just not my taste. (And, for the record, I'm a mum who has "welcomed in" a couple of Junior Tonies of my own!!!)
Like MorethanMe, I definitely go for the early, rock driven Travis, who peppered their earlier material with occasional ballads. And Ode harks back to that approach which turned me on to the band in the first place, so I'm a happy girl.
I have a theory about this whole topic in general. I think that you will always love most the album that first gets you into a band. eg the 1st time I heard and fell in love with Travis was the time of The Man Who. It has never stopped being my favourite album.
I don't think it's possible to love every album equally. It's entirely personal which you love best, but I do stand by my idea of the 1st album being the one you'll always love the best.
I partly agree with you. This is mostly the case for bands today but not from the past, particularly if you are familiar with the song catalogue. For me, there is no favourite Beatles record. But for Travis, I love TMW and TIB equally. So I might be the exception to your theory there lol.
. A lot of the songs are technically well crafted and pleasant enough but, after the initial hype and novelty of it all, there was nothing much to keep drawing me back. There weren't really any moments where I though "I really feel like listening to My Eyes, One Night" etc... they didn't have that necessary addictive quality about them. I think it's partially to do with a lack of energy on many of the tracks. They just bob along without really becoming exciting. And then there's the fact that, as many of us mentioned at the time, the tracks were a mix that didn't offer more than the sum of their parts as an album; there was no real theme or mood like there is on most other Travis albums.
Loads of good points here. There was the initial hype and then it sort of went away unfortunately. It's got some good tracks though. Closer/My Eyes/ Eyes Wide Open really shine. I believe the length of time it took to record the album had an effect. In comparison to how long they recorded Ode, there is a noticeable difference in the energy, as Typing said. But they are just documenting what is happening to them at that point in their lives. For TBWNN it was slower paced, so it sort of makes sense as that more relaxed feel is audible there.
