My Chemical Romance: The Black Parade Is Dead!

Some albums deserve to played live. You hear them, and you fantasize how great it would be to hear them in concert, start to finish, all the way through. Every bit of brilliance would shine as brightly as it does on the studio record, but it would be combined with the spontaneity and excitement than only a live show can provide. Unfortunately, as live performances of albums like The Wall and Operation: Mindcrime have shown, some live albums are much better left to fantasy.

(Yeah, the studio version of Operation: Mindcrime might've been better left to fantasy as well, but I'm trying to make a point here.)

Music:
Frankly, The Black Parade Is Dead! is a lot better than a live rendition of a concept album has any right to be. The band sounds great, the recording quality is excellent, and there's a ton of energy from both the stage and the audience. I just don't really hear any reason why it needed to be released. Does it add anything to The Black Parade? Not really, other than some chanting from the crowd and an occasional breathless moment from vocalist Gerard Way. And that gets to the core problem with live versions of concept records: the originals are so carefully crafted and created and recorded that there is no room for spontaneity, which just might be the greatest part of live shows.

Don't get me wrong: this is a very good live record. I just don't hear anything that makes this as good as The Black Parade, or even a necessary companion for anyone but the most devoted fans.

Packaging:
The package is perfectly fine for a live record, and it probably deserves higher than a 2.5. There are some good photos, and even a few great ones. The cover is a bit cheesy, but once you look at it for a while, it's actually kind of cool.

The problem is, the package for the original album is one of the best I've ever seen. The regular version of the CD is stellar, yet it's nothing compared to the limited edition vinyl release. The packaging for the limited edition record is, hands down, the best I've seen in nearly 30 years of loving rock music.

This just doesn't compare to that. My 2.5 library card ranking may be unfair, but go pick up the vinyl of The Black Parade and you'll understand where I'm coming from.

Listen if you like: My Chemical Romance

If it were food, it'd be: A frozen gourmet dinner. It's good, but it just doesn't compare to the real thing.

The Pratt Songs Best of 2007

It's time for a list. My favorite CDs from the Enoch Pratt Free Library, in no particular order. I only started this site in June, so I picked ten albums that stand out against the 50-something I've reviewed so far.

Of course, it's not that tough to figure out what I like and don't like, but being a bona fide music dork, I'm a sucker for a nice list.

• Tim Hecker: Harmony in Ultraviolet -- Out of everything I've heard from the library's collection, I don't think there's any other album that I come back to more than this one. As I said in my original review, it's a tough listen that won't sit well with most people, but if you open up and give it a chance, you might be pleasantly surprised.


• Classic Railroad Songs from Smithsonian Folkways -- There is a wealth of incredible music and history waiting out there, and I've just begun to discover it. This, like most albums from Smithsonian Folkways, is a must-hear for anyone who deeply cares about music.


• Blackalicious: The Craft -- It's a great album, in every sense of the word. I've been listening to it since 2005, and I'm still not tired of it.


• Josh Ritter: Hello Starling -- This little blog is actually teaching me to listen to music in a new way. Sure, a clever bassline that snakes through some self-loathing Britpop gem still gets my heart all a'flutter, but I notice simple songs with brilliant lyrics more than I used to. And lyrically, Josh Ritter is about as good as gets for this year's crop of EPFL checkouts.


• Teitur: Stay Under the Stars -- I only gave this one a 3 out of 5, but the first song and his cover of "Great Balls of Fire" refuse to leave my mind. He found something dark and lonely in "Great Balls of Fire," something that most of us never knew was there.


• Marah: 20,000 Streets Under the Sky -- It reminds me of why I started my other blog, and why it's such a shame that I've been neglecting it. It's one of the best albums I've ever heard about city life.


• Brandi Carlile: Brandi Carlile -- I only gave her debut album 3.5 library cards, but I don't know if there's another artist I heard this year who has more potential than Brandi Carlile. I'm excited to watch and listen as her career unfolds.


• My Chemical Romance: The Black Parade -- It's nice when a good but unexceptional band stretches themselves in all the right ways. I don't think anyone who heard MCR's previous albums could have predicted The Black Parade. It's an excellent album that proves these guys are far more talented than any of their peers.


• Mika: Life in Cartoon Motion -- I understand that the album is pop fluff, but it's charming and infectuous pop fluff that's made from some substantial stuff. Mika seems to have a genuine talent and love for music.


• Tanya Donnely: This Hungry Life -- "Little Wing" just might be the best song I heard all year.

Here are a few other year-end lists that you might want to check out:
Rock and Roll Meandering Nonsense
Layla's Classic Rock
Imagine Echoes
Bill and Dave from Rock of Ages

My Chemical Romance: The Black Parade

A few years ago, I decided that MCR was to the '00s what Mötley Crüe was to the '80s. After listening to The Black Parade, I think I sold them short.

There's nothing wrong with Mötley Crüe, mind you. Shout at the Devil is one of the few L.A. metal albums I still like, but their subsequent descent into overtly commercial pop metal bored me. MCR, however, made no such descent. With the help of producer Rob Cavallo, they added a healthy dose of German cabaret and Broadway showtunes to their self-loathing goth/emo persona. It's the same kind of reinvention that The Killers tried with Sam's Town, but MCR struck much closer to their target.

With lyrics that expand on the limitations of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge and guitars that owe more than a nod to Queen's Brian May, "The End" is a strong opener that sets the tone for the entire album. The intensity of the first few tracks peaks on "Welcome to the Black Parade," which is arguably the best song of the band's career. There's a slump in the middle of the album, but it picks up with "Mama" and doesn't stop until the last notes of the cathartic closer, "Famous Last Words." As for weak tracks, "I Don't Love You" and "Cancer" both sound contrived, and "Teenagers" smells of a conniving attempt to score an us-versus-them anthem for disaffected... uh... teenagers.

Music:
Not everyone will like The Black Parade, but it's excellent for its genre. At times the lyrics are interesting, but the generic angst masks whatever concept is supposed to lurk within this 'concept album.' The band chose well when selecting Cavallo as producer, and he helps their experimental side shine without overshadowing their core sound.

Packaging: (Altered by EPFL?)
This cover appears to be different than the real cover, which is a shame because this is phenomenal. The artwork is how I imagine The Wall would've looked had it been designed by Tim Burton. It's one of the best rock packages I've seen in a long time.

Listen if you like: The Used, Hawthorne Heights, Mötley Crüe. If you're a fan of Queen or Pink Floyd, and you actually care about new music, give it a shot but don't hold it to unreasonably high standards.

If it were food, it'd be: A 13-course meal with one common ingredient. Kind of like the Emo Chef or something.