Members angelhair0 Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 I used to hate them. Now I really enjoy them, and think that their guitarist is extremely creative, and I love the sounds he creates. However, I still don't think he's mind-blowingly talented like the rest of the members. Am I asking to be flamed, or do people actually share this same opinion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members varialbender Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 Thank god I'm not the only one on a Volta-only diet.I'll differ in saying that Omar *is* that band. He does fantastic writing/production/arrangement/everthing for all aspects of everything. A lot of musicians can play better than him, but I think he's a genius.Plus, a lot of what you're hearing might not even be him playing. A lot is Frusciante, just so he can focus on the whole song/album rather than individual guitar parts.disclaimer: does not apply to live performance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Happy_Thom Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 Omar is a huge huge part of mars volta but some of his playing and noisemaking gets on my nerves. The rest of the band is ultra sick, especially the drummer they just got rid of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wacopacco Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 i agree i love the Mars Volta in studio. I think there albums are brilliant. But when i saw them open for the Chili Peppers... they sucked. There was nothing redeeming about that show other than the oscillating delay he was playing with. They completely sucked. I love Viscera Eyes tho, it's a great rock song. They have fun riffs, and a great studio sound. They either need to clean up there stage (they had 2 or 3 guitars, bass, keys, congas, drums, singer), or they need to not play live. If they brought it down to just guitar, bass, drums, keys, singer, then it would probably be good. But when the entire set is forte, it gets real old real fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NITEFLY182 Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 Im tired of the whole "I ran out of {censored} to play an hour ago so Im just raking the strings with delay to make noise" bit that he does. Its boring and lacks creativity yet it shows up on every cd and people rush to imitate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dysorexia Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 I The Mars Volta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members therhodeo Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 I've got Frances the Mute and the only part I dug was the drummer. I tried really hard to like it but just couldnt do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Noise... Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 I really like TMV. And, I have to point out, that Omar writes most of the music. He may play the guitar on the albums, but he wrote the bass, drums, and keyboard.I thought Scab Dates sounded pretty good and all those tracks were live...Also, At the Drive-in kicks ass too. I'm listening to them now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members inscho Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 deloused is pretty freakin' great.....the rest is ass IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Klisk Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 I liked the first album, can't get into anything after that...I think they're fun to watch live, but only on youtube. I'm not so sure that I would actually goto one of their shows.My friend's band did a cover of Son Et Lumiere live this weekend since their timeslot at the show got extended, and ~that~ was {censored}ing awesome. I actually think they did it better than the Mars Volta do their own stuff live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ryan_adelphi Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 Yup, deloused is amazing from beginning to end. Frances has its moments, and amputecalihawo has it's moment(s) IMO. the whole "omar producing everything" is very much like jimmy page... as are cedric's vocals to robert plant. great band! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members allmonochrome Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 deloused is pretty freakin' great.....the rest is ass IMO. QFT, but the Tremulant EP was also pretty great. In fact, I like it best out of all of their work, but after Deloused... it all went downhill fast. very very fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members beardcom Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 their first ep was pretty golden, and i still jam to that first album every once in a while too. mars volta and sparta both slayed on their first eps and went downhill FAST Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Astatine Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 deloused is pretty freakin' great.....the rest is ass IMO.+1 Downhill after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The_Spice Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 I like De-loused, but I think the band suffered when Omar started producing things. Have you listened to his solo stuff? There is a smattering of cool music going on, but the rest is just really annoying, repeating, un-interesting poo... and that is how I feel about Frances (which he produced). The former drummer is a beast, and de-loused is amazing, but other than that I don't care for much of what they have done. I do occassionally wonder whether Omar can lift either of his pedal boards though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members angelhair0 Posted January 29, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 Thank god I'm not the only one on a Volta-only diet. I'll differ in saying that Omar *is* that band. He does fantastic writing/production/arrangement/everthing for all aspects of everything. A lot of musicians can play better than him, but I think he's a genius. Plus, a lot of what you're hearing might not even be him playing. A lot is Frusciante, just so he can focus on the whole song/album rather than individual guitar parts. disclaimer: does not apply to live performance Yea, I think this is what I mean... if he does all the writing, production, arrangement and everything else, then yes, he's got to be a GENIUS. The writing is amazing. Maybe he doesn't want to show off a lot... but he just lets a lot of imperfections show through in his playing... more than I think I would let myself settle with on a studio recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members angelhair0 Posted January 29, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 Im tired of the whole "I ran out of {censored} to play an hour ago so Im just raking the strings with delay to make noise" bit that he does. Its boring and lacks creativity yet it shows up on every cd and people rush to imitate it. HAHAHA!! I was thinking JUST THAT JUST NOW while listening to the end of Frances The Mute. I was thinking "come on... either shut up, or do something cool..." I really love noise, and avante garde {censored} that doesn't make any sense whatsoever to the modern music fan. As long as it's good though. As long as it's creative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members varialbender Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 but he just lets a lot of imperfections show through in his playing... more than I think I would let myself settle with on a studio recording.I love the imperfections. They're... perfect? Seriously, I can't imagine ever liking a cleaned up version of their music. I think the messy parts needed to be messy. There's the occasional section I won't agree with, but I think 99.99% of their recordings are perfect (whether messy or clean). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jalfredprufrock Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 If I want good ambient, I'll pop in Eno or Steve Reich. Omar's "noise" is just that - noise, not ambient music. I dig some of Deloused, but I don't understand the reverence for Omar and Cedric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sainty Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 I used to hate them. Now I really enjoy them, and think that their guitarist is extremely creative, and I love the sounds he creates. However, I still don't think he's mind-blowingly talented like the rest of the members. Am I asking to be flamed, or do people actually share this same opinion? I love nearly everything that they have done. Omar is very good at writing and arranging, his producing still needs a bit of improvement but he hasn't done loads so I'm sure that will improve. As far as his playing goes I like his sounds but some of his playing doesn't seem to have much direction, I know that he is trying to capture a mood or a vibe or a place but sometimes I get nothing from his solos. I admire the mars volta for having no restricitions e.g. an outside producer (rubin). they are a band that are definetly not about satisfying their fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sainty Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 I like De-loused, but I think the band suffered when Omar started producing things. Have you listened to his solo stuff? There is a smattering of cool music going on, but the rest is just really annoying, repeating, un-interesting poo... and that is how I feel about Frances (which he produced).The former drummer is a beast, and de-loused is amazing, but other than that I don't care for much of what they have done. I do occassionally wonder whether Omar can lift either of his pedal boards though. His solo stuff is.......indulgent but i do like to listen to it in a certain mood, it has a really strong vibe, same with de facto. JT is a great drummer, shame it didn't work out. I think they have probably peaked but for me aren't going down yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Luke W Price Posted January 30, 2007 Members Share Posted January 30, 2007 Deloused is in one one of my top ten albums ever.. I think its a master stroke..Unfortunately i agree it all seems to have gone downhill from there. All reeks of middle period Tim Buckley going off on a jazz odysey. (Check the Tim Buckley reference from a 23 year old )I saw them live when they were touring the second album, fantastic live show, though the "look at me play with my analogue delay" sections got a bit much.And again to agree with others post... their drummer is a god, think someone said they sacked him... nutters if so. He played insanely hard and tight for 2 and a half hours when i saw them.I'l always love the first album,,, and heres hoping for a revival.Luke Price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members veil Posted January 30, 2007 Members Share Posted January 30, 2007 I really don't think they should've started producing their own albums by the sophomore release. They're an amazing band with a ton of ideas, but they need to be tempered by a producer of some kind. De-loused was an incredible accomplishment, but you can taste the over-indulgance on the following two albums. Each has great ideas, but you know they could have been better if someone outside of the band was at the helm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CicadaSilence Posted January 30, 2007 Members Share Posted January 30, 2007 Deloused was entertaining, and had a good song to noise/soundscape ratio. Never seen them live, but I don't like going to big shows, so I don't have an opinion on that. I couldn't care less about the newer stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members angelhair0 Posted January 30, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 30, 2007 I'm surprised at all the bad things being said about their later releases. I see your points, but I guess I am attracted to music that is as odd as theirs. Regardless of what Omar is trying to get you to think when he bends down and turns his delay knobs, I tend to just listen and take it in, and forget about the fact that I know what knobs he's turning on what pedals. Just listen to the sounds... if you like them, then you like them. If you don't, you don't. Sometimes I wish I wasn't a musician so I could listen to music without having to think about pedals, model numbers, brands, time signatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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