Journal For Plague Lovers - Retrospective

[The Gutless Wonder]

Journal would probably still have been beaten by blimmin' Green Day, even if it had been given massive promotion.

[three_days]

Originally Posted by The Gutless Wonder

Journal would probably still have been beaten by blimmin' Green Day, even if it had been given massive promotion.

True but it had far more widespread fan support. It didn't need #1 to establish itself as a success, unlike a certain other album.

[Beat Poet]

Loved it when it came out and still love it now, by far the best album since EMG and my third fave overall. So glad they put it out, it rises head and shoulders above the rest of their 2000s stuff.

[The Gutless Wonder]

Originally Posted by three_days

True but it had far more widespread fan support. It didn't need #1 to establish itself as a success, unlike a certain other album.

Postcards has had plenty of fan support! Someone even wrote to NME to say how great they thought it was. Just because the singles have suffered because the general public have sadly ignored them doesn't mean that Postcards isn't as good as the reviews have been saying!

[Mary Chain]

Still the best.

[Radiomanic]

It almost makes me forget Postcards even exists, but sadly it does. Such a decline in the space of a year!

[Beat Poet]

Originally Posted by Radiomanic

It almost makes me forget Postcards even exists, but sadly it does. Such a decline in the space of a year!

It's amazing how they could let standards dip like that, PFAYM is even worse than LB to me.

[starstruck]

PFAYM is not quite the shit sandwich some of you believe it is, but yeah, JFPL was a masterpiece. that should have been promoted left, right and centre - if anything the band seemed embarrassed about it, recalling the interviews and appearances (an uncomfortable one on Jools springs to mind).

[The Gutless Wonder]

Probably more to do with everything that was going on related to Richey at the time than embarrassment. Some people were being quite hostile towards the band when it was initially announced about what they were planning to do.

[Phil C]

Actually, 'Journal' could have been better if they'd fitted a gospel choir and a trumpet part in somewhere.

Beat Poet: That's why I always think of you as being really negative - I remember you talking about 'Lifeblood'.

Personally I don't see why 'Journal' and 'Postcards' has to be either/or. There's great rock songs on both, and there's string-heavy ballads on both. 'Auto-Intoxication', 'A Billion Balconies', 'Future' and 'Don't Be Evil' could have fitted pretty easily on 'Journal' anyway (with slightly different production), and 'This Joke Sport Severed' and 'William's Last Words' could have fitted on 'Postcards'.

Generally I prefer 'Journal' and hope their next album is more roughly produced and a bit moe rock'n'roll, but I still love 'Postcards' as well.

[beautifuldistortion]

Phil C
Very well put

[Beat Poet]

Originally Posted by Phil C

Beat Poet: That's why I always think of you as being really negative - I remember you talking about 'Lifeblood'.

Yeah, but don't let the fact that I don't like two albums out of ten to be some sort of benchmark for having "blind hate", I already explained all that.

[V.S.E.C]

I listend to JFPL for the first time today since Postcards. Just as Facing page came on it hit me. How the fuck can this band go from this height to such a Feederesque blandness in such a short space of time!?

It speaks volumes that even with Nicky's vocal contributions it's one of thier best albums, and definatly thier best this side of the mellenium (although I personally lo ve Lifeblood!).

[Phil C]

Beat Poet: I know you explained it, but your comment above (i.e. the comment about 'Lifeblood' that really didn't need to be made except to give it an extra kicking) reminded me of what made me think of you as a generally negative poster. I was more heavily involved on the forum in 2004 so it would have made more of an impression than any positive comments you've made about 'Tigers' or 'Journal'.

Personally I find it hard to see how 'Postcards' isn't better at least than 'Tigers' - the lyrics are better by a country mile, there's less direct re-writes of old songs, and they're not just rock songs smothered in generic string parts. I'd always rather have a song where the strings (or gospel choir, or whatever) are integral to the song, rather than added over the top to bolster an average tune (which is what, IMO, happened on 'Tigers').

But then what do I know? I like 'Know Your Enemy' better than either of them.

[Blue Cat]

Originally Posted by V.S.E.C

I listend to JFPL for the first time today since Postcards. Just as Facing page came on it hit me. How the fuck can this band go from this height to such a Feederesque blandness in such a short space of time!?

It speaks volumes that even with Nicky's vocal contributions it's one of thier best albums, and definatly thier best this side of the mellenium (although I personally lo ve Lifeblood!).

I like you.