Date: Sat, 6 Dec 1997 04:14:04 -0600 From: Jeremy L Orr Subject: The curse of the throwing muses ---from Michael Jones: > Yeah, what a disappointment that was...Badly recorded, > devoid of atmosphere, shakily performed, still so > obviously missing Tanya...the FOUR-piece Muses were such > an astonishing live band, that 'The Curse' should be the > only official live release bearing the TM name is such a > travesty... Well, jeez, even I don't think it's that bad...and I never have anything nice to say! It's the only post-_Hunkpapa_ CD of theirs that I ever listen to. It does begin on a shaky note with "Counting Backwards"; Kristin sounds really timid at the beginning of the song, and it shouldn't have even been attempted without a second guitarist (and the song pretty much sucks, anyway). And I cringe every time I hear Bernard play the bassline of "Hate My Way" in the wrong octave. But it gets better and better until the end. "Bea" is simply amazing, and puts the album version to shame...it sounds as if those three people had been playing that song together all their lives. As far as Tanya and her "contributions"...feh. The *real* travesty is that no live album exists with Leslie Langston on bass. A rhythm guitarist is a lot easier to replace (or NOT replace) than a good bass player...and the Muses never recovered from her departure. And _The Curse_ has really nice artwork, too. Date: Sat, 6 Dec 1997 18:35:09 +0000 From: moran Subject: Re: The curse of the throwing muses > As far as Tanya and her "contributions"...feh. The *real* travesty is > that no live album exists with Leslie Langston on bass. A rhythm > guitarist is a lot easier to replace (or NOT replace) than a good bass > player...and the Muses never recovered from her departure. > Hooray! Somebody with brains on the list. Tanya's contributions can be considered two ways: Her guitar playing--as Jeremy pointed out, replacing her is not too much of a problem, especially since Throwing Muses had been reducing the amount of "mathematical guitar" on the albums since the _Chains Changed_ EP, ending it completely with _The Real Ramona_. Her songwriting--I always enjoyed her contributions to the muses albums, but let's face it--she was only good for a couple songs per album. _Star_ was a great album, but those songs were songs she had been writing throughout her stint with the Muses. _King_ revealed that there wasn't much worthwhile there. But Leslie Langston's departure did truly mark the end of an era for the band. The band started out having great songs, great drumming, great bass, and great guitar lines. By the time of _The Real Ramona_ all that was left were good songs and good drumming. I always wondered why Kristin didn't hire someone to replace Tanya on guitar. I don't miss it on the new albums so much, but it means that when one sees them live the renditions of the old stuff can only disappoint. I sure am glad I got to see them before Tanya left--I only wish I could have seen them with Leslie. Date: Sun, 7 Dec 1997 17:31:10 +0000 From: Andrew Norman Subject: Re: The curse of the throwing muses > But Leslie Langston's departure did truly mark the end of an era for > the band. The band started out having great songs, great drumming, > great bass, and great guitar lines. By the time of _The Real > Ramona_ all that was left were good songs and good drumming. That's been my view too - the Muses were never the same after Leslie left. People have put forward defences of Bernard in the past, but Leslie was an essential part of the Muses. I think the gradual move from being three women and a man to two men and a woman had some effect on the feel of the music, too. (Cue debate on gender differences in rock music). I'd be interested to know how the group dynamics changed, the early Muses have the feel of a quartet to me and the later group sounds like Kristin with backing musicians.