A Perfect Circle: New material in time for the election

With “eMOTIVe,” A Perfect Circle restore rock ‘n’ roll to its revolutionary roots by throwing a 12-megaton musical bomb in the face of the ruling class. Described by APC’s Maynard James Keenan as “a collection of songs about war, peace, love and greed,” the astonishing set blends all-new original material with a provocative selection of cover versions. The tracks chosen bridge three decades of protest songs, spanning an array of genres – hardcore punk and heavy metal, new wave and Delta blues, folk rock and rhythm & blues. Among the insurgent classics reinterpreted on “eMOTIVe” are John Lennon’s “Imagine,” Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” Memphis Minnie’s blues stomper, “When The Levee Breaks” (made famous by Led Zeppelin), Depeche Mode’s “People Are People,” Devo’s “Freedom Of Choice,” Black Flag’s “Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie,” Fear’s “Let’s Have A War,” Joni Mitchell’s “Fiddle And The Drum,” and the Nick Lowe (by way of Elvis Costello) anti-anthem, “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding.” The album kicks off with an explosive take on “Annihilation,” originally recorded by Berkeley aggro-punk legends, Crucifix. The eMOTIVe release is a limited edition special package that includes a lenticular cover.

YAY! I have heard the Imagine track and dig it.



With “eMOTIVe,” A Perfect Circle restore rock ‘n’ roll to its revolutionary roots by throwing a 12-megaton musical bomb in the face of the ruling class.

Bombast lives, man!

What, no cover of Buffalo Springfield’s What It’s Worth? Come on, guys.

I just picked this up from a local chain Dimple Records (it costs $10 for those living in the Sac area who should go buy it NOW). Definitely an album worthy of APC’s name. The last track “Fiddle and the Drum” (#12) is done acapella and really sounds beautiful, in my view the “prettiest” song APC has ever performed. Track #2 “Imagine” is hot, definitely the radio single for the album. The cover of the Mode’s “People are People” (track #7) is interesting; I don’t know how much I like it yet. And finally, track #10 is a revisitation of previous APC work that any fan will get into pretty easily. I know I did.

This is on my Waste share for those involved with the network. It does have the official FBI Anti-Piracy Warning seal on the back though, so watch out!

It is a truly great album.

And the remake of “Pet”, now called “Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums”, is particularly brilliant. I wonder if they were attempting to recreate the chaos of a battlefield through music - it sort of sounds like that was the intent. Pretty damn powerful stuff.

When the Levee Breaks is pretty cool… it’s damn near nothing like the Led Zep original.

Yeah, none of the songs are really anything like the originals. It’s really a bizarre album, but I love it.

Well the album is definately growing on me…
What’s Goin On i really like
Maynards voice is really good on whatever track 3 is called
Don’t really care for Gimme Gimme Gimme
When the Levee Breaks is really cool in a Portishead kinda way
The rest need more listening from me

“Peace, Love and Understanding”

That, Imagine and Let’s Start a War are probably my favorite songs on the album.

Peace, Love, etc was originally an Elvis Costello song if you didn’t already know.

Favorite Elvis Costello song.

I am no fan of covers that are made to mirror the originals. APC’s new takes on many of the songs are very refreshing.

“What’s So Funny 'bout Peace, Love, and Understanding” is actually a Nick Lowe composition.

I wish I could get new Maynard music every couple months. Truly one of my favorite front-men.

I agree to that, Maynard has a really versatile voice. I am just glad to see that he’s not scared to use it more and more

I have often thought about starting a thread titled: “If stranded on an island indefinitely, what one artist’s work would you like to have?”

Maynard easily is my choice.

Thanks for the correction Steve. I may have known that at one time, but I sure as hell forgot.

I was reading the liner notes and noticed that it’s Billy on vocals on track #3 not Maynard… still a good song but sort of disappointed myself by finding out that wasn’t Maynard’s voice singing.

Best Buy had this for $9.99 today if you have not picked it up yet.

How does this album stand up to, say, Mer de Noms or The Thirteenth Step? I was a bit disappointed to learn that it’s mostly covers, which is why I’ve been wary about picking it up.

I am warming up to it, but Imagine (IF you have heard it) is the cream of the crop, IMO. I like that they put their own marks on the songs, but as talented as they are, it is hard for me to enjoy covers of classic songs done by new groups.

People are People is great because of Dave Gohan. The APC version starts up and while it is good that it is drastically different, I do not like it all that much. I doubt Depeche Mode would do a good job with Halo if they tried to do it either.

I’ll listen some more, but it really makes me want to put in their first two CDs or a Tool CD.

Good covers: Rage Against the Machine on their Renegades album.

Tom, don’t let the “they are all covers” bother you. In all honesty, this album is as good as Mer des Noms or Thirteenth Step. And you can find it at many stores for $10 (depending on where you live, of course).