Possibly the best MA-related album...

...I reckons. Outstanding live too, at times it was as good as the best Mostly Autumn gigs I've been to. I hope Bryan has some spare time and spare songs (and time to gig) again.

Not quite sure I'd go that far. It's a good album and has it's moments, but I don't feel it's as strong as Go Well Diamond Heart, and not in the same league as MA's best albums.

The gigs were certainly fun, though. Livvy singing Led Zep's "Rock and Roll" was something to behold. And I remember how everyone sang along to "we run like f*** down the Appian Way". Can't help feeling Josh and Co were one band too far, though, with they, Mostly Autumn and Breathing Space all having overlapping memberships and increasingly blurred identities.

I remember Heather commenting about this in an interview; she said it had got quite dangerous for the bands involved, and I think I agree with her.

It's not up there with MA's best, when I said MA-related I was excluding Mostly Autumn.

I remember Heather saying that too. I agree to an extent, but I'm glad we had Josh & Co. for a while and I didn't have a problem with the identity of any band. The problem is there have always been so many talented musicians and songwriters in Mostly Autumn there's always a good chance they'll have other ambitions and (musical) commitments of their own. We had Odin Dragonfly for a while and Mostly Autumn were taking a bit of a break so I didn't see Josh & Co. being a band too far. I could see it causing some issues internally, but I'd rather be happy with all the great music we've had than talk about inter-band politics.

Personally I think Mostly Autumn tour the same venues/locations too often. I'm not complaining because it means I usually get to see them at least twice a year, but it's always expected that MA will be back at certain venues 'soon' so I think it makes a lot of people less likely to go.

TheAlex wrote:

It's not up there with MA's best, when I said MA-related I was excluding Mostly Autumn.

Even then I would have to take issue, as there is very little in this world that is better than Offerings

Having said that, I love the Josh & Co album and the live show. It would seem a bit pointless for Bryan to do it again now, though, as half his band is Mostly Autumn now!

I can't really get too involved in this thread, seeing as I've not bought the Josh & Co album (and still haven't heard it all, either!). The thing is, I can't say in all honesty that what I have heard particularly inspires me to do so. I'm probably doing Bryan a disservice, but I have a terrible fear that the album will prove to be full of stuff like Pocket Watch and/or Something Better... Am I being ridiculous?

All that said, if it somehow proves superior to any of the Breathing Space albums, I will be well and truly thunderstruck!

I did buy it Dave, but I have very rarely listened to it. And seeing 3 of the gigs, it just didn't have the same umph as the full MA gigs. Its not that I thought it was bad, just not on the same level.

HippyDave wrote:

I can't really get too involved in this thread, seeing as I've not bought the Josh & Co album (and still haven't heard it all, either!). The thing is, I can't say in all honesty that what I have heard particularly inspires me to do so. I'm probably doing Bryan a disservice, but I have a terrible fear that the album will prove to be full of stuff like Pocket Watch and/or Something Better... Am I being ridiculous?

All that said, if it somehow proves superior to any of the Breathing Space albums, I will be well and truly thunderstruck!

Pocket Watch might just be Mostly Autumn's worst song, so I agree with you there. I like Something Better though. It's quite quirky at times...you might not like it, I can see what you're saying, but it is more varied than Pocket Watch and Something Better!

Something Better is quite possibly Mostly Autumn's worst song, but I didn't realise there were other people that thought so. Welcome to the club, Dave

David Meadows wrote:

Something Better is quite possibly Mostly Autumn's worst song, but I didn't realise there were other people that thought so. Welcome to the club, Dave

Something Better is a decent enough song musically (The solo is great) , the problem is the bloody awful lyrics.

Anyway, Pocket Watch is only Mostly Autumn's second worst song. Bright Green is the worst! Pocket Watch at least has a tune....

Bright Green doesn't ring many bells. I'll have to hunt it down.

I don't mind the lyrics to Something Better (or I've never noticed them enough to bother me), but song wise I'd say lyrics have usually been Mostly Autumn's weakest point (when there has been a weak point!). Often there are repeated themes and words, with the themes expressed in the same way as before rather than in a new way. Sometimes I think they should take more time over an album, rather than having a set period where pretty much everything is written, but if that was the case we might not see as many studio albums as we do, which would be a bad thing.

Bright Green is on the bonus disk of "Heart Full of Sky". There were some good songs there, such as "Gaze" and "Broken Soldier", but "Bright Green" is not one of those.

Kalyr wrote:

Bright Green is on the bonus disk of "Heart Full of Sky". There were some good songs there, such as "Gaze" and "Broken Soldier", but "Bright Green" is not one of those.

So it is, thanks. Between making that post and this one I'd pulled out every Mostly Autumn CD and failed to see it.

Judging by the first twenty seconds it's so bad I revoke that 'thanks'!

If it's a competition to name worst MA song...I nominate 'Open road'.

Open Road is just a bit meh, rather than one I automatically skip. The instrumental break isn't bad at all.