A Perfect Circle Emotive CD

Coll.Of Songs About War,Peace, Love & Greed.New & Cover Songs

A Perfect Circle: Danny Lohner, Jeordie White (bass guitar); Josh Freese (drums); James Iha, Maynard James Keenan, Paz Lenchantin, Billy Howerdel.
Personnel: Billy Howerdel (vocals, guitar, piano, harmonium, keyboards, programming); Danny Lohner (vocals, guitar, keyboards, programming); Maynard James Keenan (vocals, piano); James Iha (guitar, keyboards, programming); Paz Lenchantin (strings, piano); Jason Freese (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Joshua Eustis (Fender Rhodes piano, drums); Charles Clouser (programming).
Audio Mixers: Billy Howerdel; Danny Lohner; Andy Wallace; Joshua Eustis.
Photographers: Steven R. Gilmore; John Giustina.
Arrangers: Maynard James Keenan; Danny Lohner.
When Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan covered Wings' "Silly Love Songs" as a guest vocalist for the Replicants, it was amusing and well thought out. When Tool covered "No Quarter" in concert it was intense, appropriate, and staggeringly good. And when Maynard continued the tradition with the beautiful recording of Failure's "The Nurse Who Loved Me," it became apparent that Maynard had a penchant for re-recording songs that were of high quality but not necessarily anthems. But then there's the notion of recording a whole album of covers, which immediately sends off red flags that the water may be running dry and the record label is thirsty for a new release. A Perfect Circle's album of covers, eMOTIVe, falls flat and fails to raise the bar set so high by the quality of their previous two releases. Turning some of popular music's most potent songs into a soundtrack ideal for background music at your local teen-angst mall-chain clothing store, A Perfect Circle work their way through 12 songs that would almost be unrecognizable in their current arrangement if one weren't familiar with the original versions of each song. John Lennon's somber, optimistic anthem for peace, "Imagine," is changed from its original major key to a funereal minor key dirge. Marvin Gaye's perfect "What's Going On" is turned into a horrible industrial track that would be permissible on a budget-line compilation but is simply unforgivable in its inclusion here. The same could apply to the butchering of Black Flag's "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie" and a few other numbers. However, the album's sole moment of tranquility and its most effective moments lie in the band's treatment of Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks," and the disturbing a cappella of Joni Mitchell's "Fiddle and the Drum." eMOTIVe is a slight dent in the armor of Maynard's nearly flawless career as a frontman, and it's (hopefully) a mere detour for A Perfect Circle. ~ Rob Theakston
For EMOTIVE, their third full-length album, A Perfect Circle offers up a covers-heavy collection that includes a number of protest songs. What's most striking about this set is the way in which the group reworks pop classics. In the hands of frontman Maynard James Keenan and company, John Lennon's "Imagine" becomes a foreboding lament, and Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" is transformed into an oddly soothing, nearly ambient song. Other standout tracks include a lullaby-like, electronics-laced take on Depeche Mode's "People Are People" and a gently melodic version of "When the Levee Breaks" (almost totally unrecognizable from Led Zeppelin's revered rendition). EMOTIVE also presents two APC originals--the frustration-venting "Passive" and the scathing "Counting Bodies like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums." Although a few tracks feature amped-up arrangements, it's remarkable how many of these tunes are subdued and understated, further backing up A Perfect Circle's status as a dynamic, unpredictable band.

Rolling Stone (p.107) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[They] revisit classic protest hits, jacking up the terror by throwing out iconic arrangements and performing heretical surgery on the melodies."
Spin (p.117) - "[T]he band seems dedicated to big challenges....A Perfect Circle prove that they've got not only good taste, but real bite, too." - Grade: B+
Entertainment Weekly (p.80) - "Sweetly morbid dreams of a better world abound on this politically motivated release..." - Grade: B+
Uncut (p.138) - 4 stars out of 5 -"Unexpectedly impressive, like a 2004 equivalent of Randy California's similarly motivated masterpiece, SPIRIT OF '76."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.102) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[A]pplying minimalist melodies and hypnotic rhythms to a repertoire that seems collectively absurd, but is woven together by the band's singular sonic worldview."