Change (CD)
The Plan has succeeded in confounding all critics and expectations alike with this amazing piece of work. Here you will find their antic tendencies somewhat subdued, in favor of a breathtakingly sophisticated amalgam of '70s art-pop and high-theatric hard rock. In other words, this is classic Plan: just when you thought you had them figured out, they throw another delta into the formula.
| Tracklisting | |
| Disk | 1 | |
| 1 | A Life of Possibilities |
| 2 | Memory Machine |
| 3 | What Do You Want Me to Say? |
| 4 | Spider in the Snow |
| 5 | The Jitters |
| 6 | I Love a Magician |
| 7 | You Are Invited |
| 8 | Cyroscope |
| 9 | The City |
| 10 | Girl O'Clock |
| 11 | 81/2 Minutes |
| 12 | Back and Forth |
| Adam
- Philadelphia, PA, USA |
| It was a spring day many years ago when the original pressing of ! fell into my hands. There were only two copies in the whole city and I had one of them. It was my sweet secret. I had to see them. It was true the drummer can really pull it off. I love you guys. | |
| Aeneas Hemphill
- Vienna, VA, USA |
| The Dismemberment Plan had based their carreer on making awesome albums, whether it pleased their immediate audience or not. After fully fleshing out their crazy, spastic indie-rock fusion on Emergency & I, they took a complete turn. They became mellow, more psychadelic. Although it's less spastic, it's still an astounding record. The bandmembers play as well as they ever did, but differently. Travis ditches the best part of his vocals, the manic song-speak, but really focuses on making his voice sound pretty, which thankfully works. Joe Eisley is definently a highlight, finally having his polyrythmic, funk-driven drumming completely clear for everyone to enjoy. He carries the music along joyously. With this said, the weakest link happens to be the only song without drumming in it. Automatic, although feuled by some great oblique lyrics, is a snorefest, not having enough packed into the song for it to remain interesting for the 4-and-a-half minutes it oozes by. Everything seemed to mimic Jitters, from the odd songwriting to the minimalist sound effects creating a creepy backdrop. Unfortunately, it doesn't work as well in this case. Thankfully, all of the other songs are top-notch, with the funky, jazzy instrumentation and nice songcraft. Overall, this is a really nice record, but not what most Plan fans would expect. | |
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| john
- LA, CA, USA |
| Oh, dear God, Ted Alvarez. Meta-poetry? Let me guess, AMG pulled you out early from grad school where you had been force-fed Derrida, Eagleton, and a bit of Borges, and the DP's album was the first to review.
Then, you got all excited because of it's "deconstructionist" sensibilities toward pop music, so you felt compelled to name-drop some literary theory along the way, which only seems terribly misplaced as you’ve referenced and further demonstrates your anemic comprehension of meta-art. Totally irrelevant in your review and fucking lame as a result.
Do everyone a favor, go finish grad school, then stop writing music reviews. | |
| Peach Black
- Little Rock, AR, USA |
| Can I only give this 4 stars? While I agree that I may not appreciate The Plan as much as those who have been into them from the beginning, it seems unfair that I cannot appreciate this album because I have never seen them live.
It seems to me that they haven't diminished the funk at all, they've merely made a perfect studio album. While I have no experience of the Plan live, it seems as though hearing "Change" live would be a great deal different than hearing the album, so you can't criticize them for not making a spontaneous and thrown-together album like their first one. The chords they use are in advance of any other band I've heard, and how can you listen to a song like "Time Bomb" and say that they've lost their ability to rock?
Shame on you. "Change" is one of the most beautiful records since their last one, and it's been worth the wait. | |
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| roxy
- baltimore/cleveland, , USA |
| the album only tells as much as you can say in 70 some minutes - time and sound aren't ever enough and specifically with this new plan album, there is something that is there but missing. what's gone is the hyperactivity from past works, but what creeps into its place is a frenetic new type of anxiety that rises out of now-audible and even more developed and beautiful lyrics. where as travis' poetry was reduced to catchy singalong lyrics on albums past, it now moves center-ward and we realize what the plan is saying, in addition to how they make us dance. it's not a party album, but without a stunning live presence, would they be a party band? it's rare that you find a place in music where you can both cuddle up with the lyric booklet and taste such candid observations under the covers AND rock out hard on the dance floor later that night. "change" serves it up just so, and while we're still getting used to it, we're by no means mad or disappointed. the jangle remains, the kick is still there, but now we have even more delcious content to augment the form. | |
| W, Laura
- B-more, MD, USA |
| "Change" - that's an understatement. What happened to the rock, the raw energy, and the sense of humor that put Dismemberment Plan records on the shelf of every kid in the Baltimore/Washington area? They just don't sound like they're having fun anymore. I think it's difficult to understand how disappointing the "change" is, unless you're one of the hardcore fans who were there since the beginning. Someone who looked forward to going to Plan shows where kids from Baltimore and DC would dance until they collapsed. Someone who heckled them to play "Can We Be Mature" every time and couldn't wait to scream "How's WASHINGTON?!!!". Someone who will miss their favorite band in the world. | |
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| Jason Nelson
- Cedar Falls, IA, USA |
| This album has been in my player for a week straight now. Amazing, beautiful songs that fill my workdays and make things seem better with every listen. Go get it for your own good. | |
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| Mike Styne
- Binghamton, NY, USA |
| I think I'm just going to throw out all my other CD's. I've found the only one I need. | |
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| Zachary
- Flagstaff, AZ, USA |
| Though it took awhile to get this record out to my remote, expensive record store void, it was completely worth the wait. Makes me feel little bit better that the other CDs released on the 23rd [incubus, dave matthews band] sucked completely. | |
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