In Violet Light

Amazon.com
Strange experience, the Hip. Since the release of their first EP in 1987, they've steadily become one of the best-loved and most successful rock bands Canada has witnessed (they do shows with Alanis, for Juno's sake!). If you are American, you're probably just discovering them now, without the context of their nine previous albums. So when first listening to In Violet Light you can feel disoriented--as if you happened to watch, say, your first episode of Twin Peaks midseason, having never known there was such a thing. This album exists in a slightly more stylized and dramatic world than the everyday--something like an indie-rock opera starring Bryan Ferry, but without the models. It might take a few listens to understand how Gordon Downie can sound like the Talking Heads ("Are You Ready") and then R.E.M. ("Silver Jet" and "Leave") and then the Smiths ("Throwing Off Glass") while still maintaining his own distinct and consistent voice. But given a few listens, this other world makes more and more sense, and you'll find yourself inhabiting it. --Laura Etling

In Violet Light,The Tragically Hip,Tragically Hip,Zoe Records,Adult Alternative Pop/Rock,American Trad Rock,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,Rock/Pop

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In Violet Light

Average customer rating: Got me totally hooked Going To A Cottage This Summer? Less Shiny Hip, but a great one to get to know while driving The Hip.. production value to match songwriting value A Good Album - But Not For First Timers....

In Violet Light The Tragically Hip , and Tragically Hip Manufacturer: Zoe Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music Similar Items: In Between Evolution Phantom Power Trouble at the Henhouse World Container Day for Night ASIN: B000067BLE Release Date: 2002-06-11

Tracks:

1. Are You Ready
2. Use It Up
3. The Darkest One
4. It's A Good Life If You Don't Weaken
5. Silver Jet
6. Throwing Off Glass
7. All Tore Up
8. Leave
9. A Beautiful Thing
10. The Dire Wolf
11. The Dark Canuck

Amazon.com

Strange experience, the Hip. Since the release of their first EP in 1987, they've steadily become one of the best-loved and most successful rock bands Canada has witnessed (they do shows with Alanis, for Juno's sake!). If you are American, you're probably just discovering them now, without the context of their nine previous albums. So when first listening to In Violet Light you can feel disoriented--as if you happened to watch, say, your first episode of Twin Peaks midseason, having never known there was such a thing. This album exists in a slightly more stylized and dramatic world than the everyday--something like an indie-rock opera starring Bryan Ferry, but without the models. It might take a few listens to understand how Gordon Downie can sound like the Talking Heads ("Are You Ready") and then R.E.M. ("Silver Jet" and "Leave") and then the Smiths ("Throwing Off Glass") while still maintaining his own distinct and consistent voice. But given a few listens, this other world makes more and more sense, and you'll find yourself inhabiting it. --Laura Etling

Customer Reviews:

Got me totally hooked.......2005-06-15

If there ever was an album that could get you hooked on a band, 'In Violet Light' is that album. The lyrics are straightforward, yet laden with double-entendre and deeper meaning. A true poetic achievement from Gordon Downie. (I believe there is even a lyric/poem book published for this album.) A group of us even presented a rendition of "Its a Good Life if You Don't Weaken" at our summer camp as a tribute to a staff member who was diagnosed with cancer, but continued to work the summer. Truly powerful stuff in here!

This is not to say, though, that there are not upbeat, fun tunes that are infused with pure energy and excitement ("All Tore Up", "Are You Ready"). The wordsmithing in some of these songs is really great also.

Going To A Cottage This Summer?.......2005-04-15

If you plan to trek out to some lake-side wilderness come warmer weather, this CD is a must buy. This is the perfect music to accompany some late evening drinks under the stars by the fire side (with friends; if its just you and your lady, then be a gentleman and throw on some Marvin Gaye or Coldplay or whatever she's into).

Sorry, I got off track. This is a beautiful CD. It starts off rocking (Are You Ready, Use It Up, Silver Jet) and moves towards classic Hip-style serenity (Good Life, A Beautiful Thing, Leave). Dire Wolf is in my top 5 Hip songs of all time, which (for me) is really saying something.

Take, for example, some typical(ly beautiful) lyrics, from the aptly titled Beautiful Thing:

In ulcerating silence
perspective comes
the way it always does - it's ransom.
So randomly, somebody calls
the phone rings and it brings Niagara Falls.
"It's 3 o'clock in the morning,
You'd better be dyin" and you were
so we talked about the time
and where it went,
unremarkable events,
and how one day took two days
and they got spent.
How you'd continue, carefully in degrees
trying to do one true beautiful thing.

Its not the most radio single-ish music that the Hip have ever done, and it takes a listen or two before you find yourself humming (and then singing) along. But this CD is like my old blue blanket, that makes me feel happy and peaceful and comfortable.

This isn't entry level stuff, but if you really like the Hip, you'll really like this!

Less Shiny Hip, but a great one to get to know while driving.......2004-11-18

More gritty than the slightly overwrought "Music@work" CD preceding it, this one tries to shoot more from the Hip and succeeds.

What killed Music@work perhaps was "Tiger the Lion" with its pointless academics about "Art In Our Time" and "Purposeless Play" bla bla bla... that one track really derails a disk with many good songs to offer. And with those stupid sonar/whale sounds - I'm sure people must hate such exercises in cleverness.

Violet Light has by contrast an almost stark simplicity, and is over almost before it begins, especially if you are a chronic track-skipper like me. But there is texture and soul on this record, and the oft-mentioned "Darkest One" is a song after my own heart. I have no idea what the lyrics mean, but it's a powerful statement while driving along into a 401 sunset.

"Well the wi-ild are
strong
And the stro-ong are
the Darkest Ones,
You're the Darkest o-one..."

(Tom Petty wishes he wrote such a compelling chorus!)

The Hip.. production value to match songwriting value.......2004-06-29

I am NOT a die-hard Hip fan.
For the most part, I have liked them, enjoyed the singles, but not been a "rush out and buy it immediately" kinda fan.
"In Violet Light" marks an important step for the Trag... finally, the acoustic properties of the album can keep up to the material. After hearing the single, and the quality of it, I DID rush out and buy it.
The best sounding Hip album ever, and the songs contained within are also some of the best material they have produced in some time.
I agree with those that say that the Hip are leaning on their past for this one- the guitars and vocals are highly reminiscent of very early Hip, but the experience they have gained in between shines brightly through.
I am a converted, newly affected, Hip fan, now.
If you love good music, especially when it sounds great, then whether or not you are a huge Hip fan, go get this... the production is brilliant.
Way to go, boys.

A Good Album - But Not For First Timers...........2003-12-31

This album is great. Anyone who says different must be deaf. Or, maybe they have never listened to The Hip before. To really appreciate this album, I think the listener needs to be a bit more familiar with their style, and their type of music. To anyone listening for the first time, I recommend getting Phantom Power, or Music @ Work. Phantom Power would most likely be your best bet. The Hip is a great band, however this album is more for the expirienced Tragically Hip listener.

However, Not all of the CD is like this. For example, "The Darkest One" is a catchey tune with great vocals that anyone could love. As well as "The Dark Canuck" which is another great song.

Average customer rating: So-so by Hip standards just when I was loosing hope... lives up to the TH's best Not my favorite Hip album, but probably the best! great stuff

In Violet Light The Tragically Hip Manufacturer: Fontana Universal ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music ASIN: B000069HQ6 Release Date: 2006-08-08

Tracks:

1. Are You Ready
2. 'Use It Up'
3. Darkest One
4. 'It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken'
5. Silver Jet
6. Throwing off Glass
7. All Tore Up
8. Leave
9. Beautiful Thing
10. Dire Wolf
11. Dark Canuck

Customer Reviews:

So-so by Hip standards.......2004-12-23

The Hip have a certain percentage of uncritical fans who go ga-ga over whatever they do; and some folks just do dig this CD. But the fact is, In Violet Light combines with their previous effort, Music@Work, to mark the low ebb in the career of this remarkable band. Yes, it improves on M@W in that it actually features coherently-written songs with actual, discernable melodies and hooks (including the devastating rumination on Canada's role in an age of teror, 'The Dark Canuck'). But Gordon Downie's lyrics---which are spectacularly revitalized on the subsequest disc, 'In Between Evolution'---remain too scholarly and abstract here, the vocals lack conviction, and the production values sap the band of all the energy and menace that define it. An album to buy if you are already a convinced fan. Otherwise, skip this, and go directly to 'In Between Evolution,' which shows the band snapping back into form and kicking ass on all levels.

just when I was loosing hope..........2004-12-07

An excellent new disc by the TJ, after a decidely mediocre, "Music at Work. Lots of great songwriting with tight music arrangement and Downy sings quite well... Like all Hip discs (except their first few, less complex, ones) it takes some listens to truly appreciate. Great Canadian music?... NO, just amazing music with a distinct Canadian flavour. WOW!!!

lives up to the TH's best.......2004-12-07

The TH manages to cover new ground without losing their foundation... words cannot describe the transcendent moments on several songs (even though I think Downie's voice is, unfortunately, starting to decline... more support is needed).

Not my favorite Hip album, but probably the best!.......2004-03-25

So I am one of the biggest Hip fans, I grew up on Up To Here and Road Apples. Road Apples will always be my personal favorite because the songs bring back memories. I own all the Hip albums, and I have to say that "In Violet Light" really blew me away. It shows how far the band has come as musicians. This album is by far the best produced Hip album, and I can easily see why it won over the music critics. The music is deep and different on this album. The Hip are a band that constantly evolves, every album's sound changing from the last, and I think this album is the best they've ever sounded, "In Violet Light" is an elegant masterpiece for The Hip.

great stuff.......2002-08-11

The tragically hip return after the dense, overproduced Music at Work with a tight yet progressive rock album. Although M@W containded many exellent pieces(most of them in the album's latter half)it was easily the Hip's least focused album to date.

Nowadays, Gord Downie's lyrics are at peak form and he's singing better than he has in years, thanks to help from producer Hugh Padgam. Guitarists Paul Langois and Rob Baker have always penned distinctive, stadium-ready compositions, but these are especially exellent. The rythm section, on the other hand, takes a more precise, lighter approach than on the Hip's previous albums. All the same, Gord Sinclair's energetic bass remains the dominant instrument. Hugh Padgam's production makes this the best sounding Hip album ever, with clearly audible vocal harmonies and a mix that allows the subtle guitar interplay to breathe.

The album is almost an even split between rockers and gentler songs, with six of the former and five of the latter. The most unique songs on the album bookend it. Are You Ready is a startling challenge whose chorus (are you ready, are you ready to love?) came to Gord D in dream. The album coser The Dark Canuck is an 8 minute epic. It begins with an unsettling, subversive first half, possibly written from the point of view of a scared suburbanite. Then at the three and a half minute mark, the band kicks into gear out of nowhere as only the Hip can. With Jonny Fay's huge, joyfull drums at a head, the guitarists pump out nuanced riffs and eastern soloing. Gord D ends on the scared note of an audience at a drive in theatre, watching Jaws. The song seems to be about the effects of war and terrorism on the fabric of our everyday lives, but then that's just my interpretation. Other highlights include The Dire Wolf, a powerfull maritime story, the gorgeous A Beautiful Thing, taken from a children's story, the mile-a-minute drinking song All Tore Up and the boyant, optimistic and ballsy Use It Up.

Truth be told, I've omitted a few favourites here, and that's the whole point. In Violet Light's greatest virtue is it's consistent exellence. It's a deffinite yes for Hip fans, but also a great introduction for the uninitiated to a band head and shoulders above anything else out there.

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Rap Music

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