Free Nine Inch Nails album - The Slip - Page 2

Alright I guess 'cause it's been on my mind all day (and everyone else has done it):

7). With Teeth - This one really disappointed me. As soon as I heard "The Hand That Feeds" I knew I was in for an album I probably wouldn't like very much. I like Reznor when he's ferocious, and there's nothing ferocious about With Teeth at all. I do enjoy a few tunes on it - "Everyday is Exactly the Same" and "Sunspots" are two that come to mind - but I've listened to the album all the way through probably twice since it came out.

6). The Slip - Really too early to place this one, as I've only listened to it a few times, but I can't say I'm really digging it. I can't place my finger on why, but it hasn't clicked with me yet. "Head Down" is certainly great and I do like "Discipline" and "Echoplex", but I can't say I'll play this regularly.

5). Pretty Hate Machine - Someone else mentioned that the live versions of these songs sound much better. I agree. "Terrible Lie" on All That Could Have Been is one of my favorite live recordings ever. "Something I Can Never Have" still chokes me up though.

4). The Fragile - An albums worth of great material spread across both the left and the right discs. The great is really fucking great ("The Day the Whole World Went Away", "Where is Everybody"), but I find myself skipping tracks constantly and overall there seems to be more mediocre stuff than good material.

3). Broken - I love this ep. Just pure aggression from start to finish. "March of the Pigs" may have been my introduction to NIN, but Broken made me a full-fledged fan. I still pop on "Gave Up" when I get pissed off. Been doing it for 14 years.

2) Year Zero - Maybe 3 songs too long, but after The Fragile and With Teeth made me a huge Nails fan again. "Survivalism" recalls the best of Broken, and "Zero Sum" is one of my favorite closing-album songs. The lyrics could use some work, but an album with some spectacular highs and very little lows.

1). The Downward Spiral - Just a great album front to back. "Mr. Self Destruct" actually scared me the first time I heard it, and "Hurt" broke my heart. This is one of the albums that changed my life, and listening to it lately, after a few years of it collecting dust, it still holds up. I still find it amazing.

I have not heard Ghosts I-IV yet, but I'm gonna get on that ASAP.

Just downloaded it and am on track 1...the first time I seriously started liking NIN was right around when THE FRAGILE came out. I was on a double date with my friend and his girl, and my date who I'd never met before that night. On the way to the movies he put on "We're In This Together", and all of started thumping our heads to it in unison...I fell in love with the girl and Trent Reznor.

After living with "The Slip" for a few days, I'd rate it as a basically satisfying effort - As an album it's just okay, nothing more and nothing less. And I do agree with the sentiment that just because it's free doesn't mean its beyond criticism. It's probably just barely above With Teeth in terms of quality, but it's got enough merit to stay in my Ipod for a while.

Anyway, my favorite NIN records will probably always be Pretty Hate Machine and Broken, with Year Zero surprisingly chilling in 3rd place. The YZ concept really worked for me, and aside from a couple of throwaway tunes, the record was tight as a drum machine.

The Fragile's left disc is amazing, but the almost-entirely bad right disc and weak lyrical content across the entire record weighs the experience down. Still, when it's good, the album is fantastic.

As for With Teeth, well... let's just say you can't win them all. At the very least, I'm glad it exists because it pulled Trent back into writing more focused and pop oriented song structures - And the record's success seemed to revitalize him.