lowregisterhead

[quote name='Blademan_98' timestamp='1350073461' post='1834393'] Around three months ago, my company were asked if we could design and supply a power and data distribution system for a well known band. I came up with a 3D design and after a few tweaks it was accepted. Then I was sworn to secrecy and the band name was revealed to me. I like Muse and I was really proud to be a part of the whole thing. I have been itching to tell people but apart from being forbidden, the negativity around here also put me off (this must be the third anti muse thread!). Finally, the system was delivered and it all works great I have photo's but sadly, again, I have been forbidden from posting them. Without my system, the show would indeed be very dark lol. [/quote] You certainly do a very cool job indeed, without which Muse wouldn't be lauded by many (including, perhaps slightly oddly, Steve Wright) as 'the best live band in the world'. Despite the various machinations on here about the band's current output, I didn't start this thread with the intention of it being in any way 'anti-Muse'. I'm a fan - I'm just struggling a little to get my head around the new material, and would hate it if they ended up being a parody of themselves. As has been demonstrated countless times in the past, in the insular world of rock stardom it's equally easy to veer towards musical absurdity as well as brilliance.

To continue the Queen analogy, maybe this is just their 'Hot Space' album period...

I was listening to Jo Wiley driving home tonight and she played the track 'Madness' from the new Muse album. Is it my imagination, or are they sounding more and more like a Queen tribute band these days? I thought the rather overblown Olympic contributions were a deliberate abberation and could be overlooked, but to my ears the track I heard tonight was tantalisingly close to a pastiche of 'I Want To Break Free', complete with stuttering Brian-May-a-like guitar solo. Don't get me wrong, the song was quite entertaining in its own right, but when Queen spouted their own peculiar brand of full-on pomp rock, there was always a twinkle in Freddie's eye when they did it. With Matthew and the boys, however, to me it just sounds... well, as if it lacks substance, and a bit pompous. I should add that I've had the pleasure of meeting Chris Wolstenholme a couple of times, and he's a lovely man, but maybe they should all sit down together and listen to 'Absolution' again and try and figure out what made it the phenomenal album it was...

[quote name='Mickeyboro' timestamp='1349856841' post='1831255'] Just saw him playing (awesomely) with Joan Armatrading. Played an upright and two fretless five-strings in Precision shape with MM-type pickups. Any clues? [/quote] He has used basses made by an American luthier called Don Grosh - a 5-string jazz bass of Jon's by the same maker was recently for sale in The Gallery. Might have been a couple of those. As well his phenomenal playing on the aforementioned John Martyn tracks, has anyone mentioned 'Wal to Wal', the bass duet with Percy Jones on Brand X's 1979 album Product? Fantastic!