Review:

on 2011-04-30 CharlesMartel Said:

Based on Ray Kurzweils novel, "The Age of Spiritual Machines", you could be forgiven that this concept album is yet another attempt by some boring old pretentious prog rockers meandering off into some personal, spiritual quest for redemption. You could not be more wrong. I am deeply sceptical of all concept albums. But listening to this will sweep away almost all that scepticism. That this album did not get higher recognition than it did was due to a combination of record company stupidity and the bands own pig-headed approach to its marketing. Relatively few were sold and the album bombed. So, sit back and relax. Listen to this for you are about to discover a hidden gem.

First of all, the concept. Like the novel, it deals with the love-hate, or rather fascination-revulsion relationship with machinery and in particular computers. At what point do machines become life and worthy of respect and treatment as such? At what point do machines and humans become so interdependent, so entwined, that thinking of humanity and machinery as separate concepts becomes irrelevant. The hidden track, an unnamed R.K. piece at the end of the final musical track, "The Wonderful Future", helps to both explain this and dispel some of the fears and misconceptions which the premise of the novel and the album have thrown up.

Just in case you are wondering, the R.K. interludes are basically short spoken pieces representing Ray Kurzweils own thoughts on various themes in the concept. I believe it is Kurzweil himself who is speaking. Some reviewers have found these interludes irritating, others, spooky. I find them somewhat eerie but enlightening and challenging at the same time. If these interludes do not get you thinking then there is a comprehension problem you need to deal with in yourself. The only negative is a purely nitpicking one  why does Kurzweil pronounce human as yooman?

Positive reviews have emphasised the scary and dark nature of the interludes. While that is one aspect, deliberate I am sure, it contrasts with the music which I find uplifting and bright, a complete contrast. Take the track "Life", for example. This is exhilarating: life has been created out of a machine. This is not some foreboding Frankenstein moment. This is uplifting, celebratory and life affirming in a way. Then consider two of the other highlight tracks  "In Repair" and "Made to Heal". Think about those two concepts for a moment. Juxtaposed on the album, are not the ideas of repair and heal in themselves juxtapositions? You repair machines and heal humans. Wouldnt it be marvellous if you could repair humans and heal machines? And if you still have any doubts then try listening to "R.K. On Death" and "All My Friends" consecutively. Or when you reach the end, and the last few bars of "The Wonderful Future" drift away, dont switch off and dont fast forward to the denouement. Allow time for what you have heard to sink in and take effect.

And above all when you listen to the album, LISTEN, dont hear.

It is to be regretted that far too much contemporary alternative music is devoid of thought and creativity into their lyrics. There are, however, bands out there who do put some effort into it  Built to Spill and Brand New's latest offering to name two who manage. Our Lady Peace have managed to put just those ingredients into this album. While the band members may have their limitations, they work well with them. The potentially irritating vocal technique of occasional falsetto actually fits perfectly here and enhances the album. It is as if the band have reached the potential limits of their own abilities, and then gone that one step further.

That this album never got the recognition it surely deserved in 2000 when it came out is a travesty. The time has come to begin to put that right. This album deserves a proper re-evaluation. That re-evaluation starts here!
Rating: 9/10