Date: Fri, 26 Jul 1996 14:29:25 EDT From: Dez (100702.123@COMPUSERVE.COM) Subject: Shark / Miracle reviewed. Throwing Muses 'Shark' ep arrived today. I guess I'll be in a minority who hear this after getting to grips with the album. Anyway, what we have are basically four alternate versions of Limbo tracks. The single version of 'Shark' itself is damn fine. I would go as far to say it's actually the best Muses' single (not that they've ever been a singles band, of course). It seems a little brighter than the album version, and clocks in at around 20 seconds shorter. 'Tar Moochers' is a jaunty acoustic, almost skiffle, version of 'Tar Kissers'. All too bright and chirpy, with none of the dynamics of the original. It sounds a bit like one of those horrible evangelical christian songs, where they all sit around with sickly smiles and forced jollity. No, of course it's not that bad, but stick to the LP version. 'Serene Swing' ploughs through 'Serene' with all the subtlety of Smashing Pumpkins, guitars to the fore, and the song (a classic) gets a bit of a mangling. 'Limbobo' is a reading of 'Limbo' that stretches out for seven minutes, but lacks any of the implied aggression of the original. When I reviewed the LP, I complained that 'Limbo' wasn't long enough. Here it seems too long. Picky aren't I. In truth, 'Shark' apart, this is a collection of markedly inferior versions of some mighty fine songs. Date: Tue, 6 Aug 1996 15:51:55 +0100 From: Andrew Norman (nja@LEICESTER.AC.UK) Subject: Re: Shark / Miracle reviewed. On a couple of listens to this, I'm not keen. It isn't bad, but there's definitely something missing from the Muses these days, that queer, disorienting quality that used to make them so special. This EP just sounds like another American alternative rock band. Perhaps it'll grow on me, but I doubt it.