Yanqui U.X.O.

Product Description
'U.X.O. is unexploded ordnance is landmines is cluster bombs. Yanqui is post-colonial imperialism is international police state is multinational corporate oligarchy. Godspeed You! Black Emperor is complicit is guilty is resisting. The new album is just music.' Recorded by Steve Albini at electrical audio in Chicago. Mixed by Howard Bilerman and Godspeed You! Black Emperor at the Hotel2tango in Montreal. Stubborn tiny lights vs. clustering darkness forever ok? Gatefold sleeve. Constellation Records. 2002.

Yanqui U.X.O.,Godspeed You Black Emperor!,Godspeed You! Black Emperor,Constellation,Canada,Experimental Rock,Indie Rock,Pop,Post-Rock/Experimental,Rock,Rock/Pop,Space Rock

Yanqui U.X.O.

Average customer rating:

A Grower
Defining Dull
Glorious Noise!
An Unfairly Criticised Masterpiece
Wonderful new wave of prog-rock!

Yanqui U.X.O.
Godspeed You Black Emperor , and Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Manufacturer: Constellation
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven
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ASIN: B00006RJ1I
Release Date: 2002-11-19

Tracks:

09-15-00
09-15-00
rockets fall on Rocket Falls
motherfucker=redeemer
motherfucker=redeemer

Album Description

'U.X.O. is unexploded ordnance is landmines is cluster bombs. Yanqui is post-colonial imperialism is international police state is multinational corporate oligarchy. Godspeed You! Black Emperor is complicit is guilty is resisting. The new album is just music.' Recorded by Steve Albini at electrical audio in Chicago. Mixed by Howard Bilerman and Godspeed You! Black Emperor at the Hotel2tango in Montreal. Stubborn tiny lights vs. clustering darkness forever ok? Gatefold sleeve. Constellation Records. 2002.

Customer Reviews:

A Grower.......2007-06-01

I own 3 Godspeed You! albums this one, F# A# (Infinity) and Lift Your Skinny fists Like Antennas To Heaven. On the first listens to all of them I thought they were good albums, but never truely grasped how good they were until you listen to them from start to finish. (I think that you must do this with these albums to truely appriciate them.)

With this album the main thing that I cannot decide (from the first listen to now,) is whether it has an upbeat sound or a creepy eerie tone to it.

This album unlike the other GY!BE albums is that there isn't any extracts of speeches in any of the tracks, this may sound petty but this for me was some of the reason why I went back to GY!BE, these speeches were how I remembered the individual tracks and how good they are. They set the tone for the track to come and they fit very well with the songs.

As per usual in this album this build the tracks beautifully. (I find that as soon as the drums become more aggressive you know that the band will soon follow.) But some tracks are very slow to build such as track 3 rocket falls on Rocket Falls, which is over 20 minutes long and takes a while to get anywhere.

I feel is the only down fall of this album is the length of the build-ups in the tracks half way through the album. (Espically tracks 2,3,4 althought the last quater of track 4 builds and mixes into the final track excellently)

At 72 minutes long on one disc you can feel as if it's a laboured listen but I feel that to enjoy this album you need to slug through that and re-listen to the album many times and you will be won over.

This album will never be my favourite GY!BE album. It shall be the least listened to album of theres but you must appreciate the time effort and sheer talent that this band has.

Defining Dull.......2007-03-25

The music on this album is intensely repetitive and boring. I tried mopping my floor while listening to the album, thinking it might be useful at least for that. But no, it is too boring even as background music for domestic chores. The CD clocks in at 75 minutes.... what it contains is so paper thin it might be compressed into five or 10 minutes tops. Do yourself a favor and skip it.

Glorious Noise!.......2007-03-04

It is difficult to express why this ensemble of 9+ musicians from Montreal and their collection of music truly deserves the many five star ratings you read here at Amazon, but the ratings are accurate. This is not hype, this is not a cult following. The five star assessments are completely justified. The sound of Yanqui U.X.O., as well as the other GYBE albums I own, consistently deliver a refreshing dose of sound in the midst of a world chock full of formulaic groups being passed off to the consumer as cutting edge. With so many marketing-driven copycat clones and non-talented hacks with hair gel repeating chorus after chorus of predictable tripe, here is a much needed slap in the face for those of us who love alternative and progressive music. So, what makes Godspeed You Black Emperor so unique? For one, they are talented at their craft. Secondly, they obviously strive to be original. Finally, and most importantly, their compositions reveal a strong awareness of their listener, which is why this artful and glorious noise comes together into such a coherent experience.

Some Sound Metaphors To Consider
In my mind, what makes a great wine or tremendous coffee stand out as a memorable experience is the depth of the flavor profile: The way multiple layers converge upon the palette in waves. This is precisely the method by which "Yanqui UXO" engages the ears of the listener from beginning to end. It might be difficult at first to imagine a combination of so many unique sound elements blending into a salient format, but the complexity and layered sound textures really succeed! I offer you my highly subjective list of sound analogies I encountered throughout this album, sounds reminiscent from my own personal listening past (not presented in any particular order):

+The analog timbre found in early King Krimson (reminiscent of old Mellotrons!)
+ The syncopation and relentless arpeggios of later King Krimson
+ The driving fuzztone and harmonic minor guitar of Hawkwind
+ The gothic romanticism of Dead Can Dance
+ The mind-bending dissonance of the Residents
+ The warm sound textures of Pink Floyd
+ The minimalist tonal modulations of Phillip Glass
+ The gentle ambient voyages of Robert Rich and Brian Eno
+ The acid trip sound experiments of Aphex Twin and Cabaret Voltaire
+ The silent spaces and "chance music" of John Cage

...all of these elements and many others collide into a beautiful yet entirely original soundscape. Other reviewers have previously described GYBE's use of tonal dynamics, especially the "layered build-up-into-cacophonous-release" technique, but unlike others from the so-called post rock genre of music, GYBE does not rely solely upon this device. The group makes many adjustments to timbre and texture along the way, and are fearless and relentless in their pursuit. There is a sense of purpose to their compositions. These musicians really want to take the listener for a ride, they actually want to touch your emotions. At times they are mellow, at other times energetic, and they pull this off without sending the listener through an auditory rollercoaster. Every progression, every shift in direction makes sense to the ears.

Five Stars for sure. Upon my very first listening I thought to myself. "Well, it's about time a group like this came along!"

An Unfairly Criticised Masterpiece.......2007-01-10

This album seems to get the most criticism out of all GY!BE releases, mostly due to the lack of samples (there is in fact, no samples in "Yanqui"), and some songs not building to climaxes. I believe that while "Lift Your Skinny..." is GY!BE's best, and possibly post-rock's best album, "Yanqui U.X.O" is a fantastic piece of work and my second favourite from the band.

Personally I found a lot of the samples rather grating on other releases, especially the samples AFTER climaxes, which seemed completely pointless to me as it just draws out the song. And the argument that this album doesn't have enough climaxes seems a little unfair. There are five tracks on the album, and really only one, "09-15-00 Part 2" lacks a climax, and serves as a 6-minute after-thought to the opening part of the song. I don't see much wrong with this, as the opening song has two HUGE climaxes that are as powerful as anything GY!BE has created in the past. This album also contains one of my favourite GY!BE songs to date, the sprawling "Rocket Fall On Rocket Falls", which starts with a swirling, often trippy section, then giving way to minimalist timpani playing, and then builds to the peak climax of the album. This song is simply stunning and will please any fan of the band and genre. The two-part "Motherf****r = Redeemer" song is a little different from the rest of the album, and the usual GY!BE structure, in that it opens with quite a lot of instrumentation, setting aside the extreme quiet/build/very loud structure. While this is the weakest part of the album, it is still excellent when put into context with other post-rock bands, but not quite up the standards of the rest of this album.

My big point is that I think this album is unfairly treated. It has everything I was looking for in a GY!BE album, and I would go as far to say it includes some of their best work to date.

Wonderful new wave of prog-rock!.......2006-08-10

GodSpeed You Black Emperor are simply incredible. They create melodies that are strongly influenced by the complexity of progressive rock, but they also add twists of post-rock, ambiant and sound clips, which brings you into onto a different reality plane.

This together with "List your Skinny Fists like Antenna to Heavens", are my favority post-rock albums.

Average customer rating:

Unfairly Criticised
Can this band do anything wrong?
Their best work to date (not a dissapointment)
disappointment
Godspeed You! Black Emperor Continues to Amaze

Yanqui U.X.O.
Godspeed You Black Emperor
Manufacturer: P-Vine
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00006JOVC
Release Date: 2002-10-28

Album Details

Japanese Version featuring a Bonus Track Found Only on the USA and European LP Version.

Customer Reviews:

Unfairly Criticised.......2007-01-16

Can this band do anything wrong?.......2002-11-17

Being a huge fan of this bands previous work, it came as something as a shock listening to Yanqui UXO for the first time. The immediate reaction is to question the sound of this record - what has previously sounded so 'on edge' and likely to split your skull open at any moment almost seems muted and flat at first listen. Musically, you won't be dissapointed though. GYBE! still prefer the epic, and throughout the 75 odd minutes, this album switches between despair and hope in some genuinely moving moments. Gone are the field recordings and long ambient stretches, in favour of a more structured and consistent approach. Some nice new guitar effects surface in several movements too. 'Rockets Fall..' in particular seems like a bold step into new territory for the group in terms of sound and structure. Fantastic!

After a few listens though, the flatness percieved at first seems to dissapear and the record opens out and reveals layer after layer of beauty. Yes, it's a somewhat different approach than previous work, but still: this is some of the greatest music you are going to hear this year. Don't be too quick to judge and you will be rewarded...

Now if only we could get Godspeed to tour Australia...

Their best work to date (not a dissapointment).......2002-11-03

i listened to this by myself in the dark with headphones on and had a really enjoyable experience. five stars because no matter what anyone else says i still think this album is epic.

disappointment.......2002-11-01

the sound quality just sounds hideously wrong, and the music seems to be re-treading old ground. i'm a big fan of godspeed's work, but even i can't pretend to like this one. i only gave it 3 stars cause im in denial. check out lift yr skinny fists or slow riot instead, and if youre an old godspeed fan, although this probably wont stop you anyway, at least hear it before you spend your cash.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Continues to Amaze.......2002-10-22

Godspeed You! Black Emperor is a type of band, at least for me, that if they changed too much, they wouldn't be the same, and I would dislike them for that. But, if they stay too much the same, wouldn't it get old? Probably (Well, I don't know...they are really good!). But, what they manage to do on this album is make slight changes from their previous material, but still keep the same feel, which combines to make an excellent, excellent album. The last song, especially, demonstrates change for them, specifically the way the song begins. You'll understand once you've heard it. I put the highest expectations on this album-- how could I not? I'm a too big a of GYBE fan, I guess--but, I was not disappointed at all. I was kind of expecting a Skinny Fists repeat (Which, I guess wouldn't have been bad at all), but I got something different. Something different that's a musical listening experience and easily the best album so far this year. This is a must have for GYBE fans, and a must-to-hear for music lovers.

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