The best A Perfect Circle post, ever

Here's a latter-day band that I really love the shit out of......a (sort of) Tool sideproject, I guess,  A Perfect Circle consist of singer Maynard James Keenan (of Tool fame), guitarist/multi instrumentalist Billy Howerdel, drummer Josh Freese, bassist Paz Lenchantin....various others turn up here and there, including, even, for a spell, Smashing Pumpkins guitaist James Iha.....the thing is, despite all this turnover/instability, these guys did really make some KICKASS albums and if you are not familiar with them, you need to be.....

First was 2000's "Mer de Noms" (French for "Sea of Names").....from what I understand, the songs are baed upon people that Maynard James Keenan has encountered in his life, a LOT of the song titles are simply "names" ("Judith", "Thomas", "Orestes", and more)....ignore the pretensions, though, this is one GREAT album....I hvae always loved Tool's arty "gloom rock", and this takes it about 20 steps further. Tremendous album, if you've never heard it, trust me......

Their secnd album "The Thirteenth Step", is fine as well, dealing with the sad subject of (sigh) addiction, which has likely touched all of us in one form or another.....songs such as "The Package" and "The Outsider" drive this point home VERY well, often times concept albums fall flat, this one does not, raking with Filter's (simarly themed) "The Trouble With Angels" as defnitive works on the subject.

Album #3 is also a masterwork,titled "eMOTIVe" it contains ten covers and two originals.....but once you get into this, the covers REDEFINE the original versions (which is all I've ever asked), they take on material as diverse as Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On", John Lennon's "Imagine", and Fear's "Let's Have a War (So You Can All Die)'" and melding them into a cohesive album.....hard to describe, actually, but each of these three albums easilly merits a **** rating.

They havc just this year released their fourth, "Three Sixty", and I won't lie, I've never heard it, didn't even know it existed until I started this post....it is a compilation of stuff from the earlier three albums, if that sounds like a bit much to you, well, I'm not going to disagree with you, but I will pit up in case anyone wants it.......

What else, what else? An album of acoustic releases, quite creepy and good......, a live boor two, a remix disc.... all of which are worth at least a listen.......undeappreciated band, NOT AT ALL riding the coattails of the legendary Tool (I have NEVER done a Tool post......what have I been thinking? Need to do so and SOON!), but an intellectual extension of the same, which is saying a good bit because Tool is some pretty deep, intellectual stuff as it is......

As always, LET ME KNOW what ya think about these.....again, TRYING to mix things up, TRYING to promote a cross section of the stuff I listen to, NO pigeonholing.......A Perfect Circle, a Rockabilly 4-disc comp, 2 days of Radiohead rarities, the Living Things......am I accomplishing my goal (I hope so)?.......talk to me. tell me what you want. And by the way, check the older post "The Story of the Clash Postscript" from late October, My man Tiltingsuds has posted a few more rare and valuable Clash boots, stuff you WILL want to get.......PLEASE check them out and make sure and thanks to one great friend of the blog, Tiltingsuds!

MER DE NOMS-01 The Hollow/02 Magdalena/03 Rose/04 Judith/05 Orestes/06 3 Libras/07Sleeping Beauty/08  Thomas/09 Renholder/10 Thinking of You/11 Brena/12 Over

THIRTEENTH STEP-01 The Package/02 Weak and Powerless/03 The Noose/04 Blue/05 Vanishing /06 A Stranger/07 The Outsider/08 Crimes/09 The Nurse Who Loved Me/10 Pet/11 Lullaby/12 Gravity

EMOTIVE-01 Annihilation/02 Imagine/03 (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love and Understanding/04 What's Going On/05 Passive/06 Gimme Gimme Gimme/07 People are People/08 Freedom of Choice/09 Let's Have a War (So You Can All Die)/10 Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums/11 When the Levee Breaks/12 Fiddle and the Drum

THREE SIXTY DISC 1-01 The Holow/02 Rose/03 Judith/04 Orestes/05 Three Libras/06 The Package/07 Weak and Powerless/08 The Noose/09 The Outsider/10 Blue

THREE SIXTY DISC 2-01 Imagine/02 Passive/03 People Are People (Live)/04  Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums/05 When the Levee Breaks/06 By and Down/07 3 Libras (live)/08 Gravity (live)/09 Fiddle and the Drum (live)

AMOTION (REMIXED)-01 Judith (Renholder Mix)/02 3 Libras (Feel My Ice Dub Mix)/03 The Outsider (Apocalypse Mix)/04 Weak and Powerless (Tilting My Grave Renholder Mix)/05 The Outsider (Frosted Yogurt Mix)/06 Blue (Bird Shake Mix)/07 3 Libras (All Main Courses Mix)/08 The Hollow (Constantly Consuming Mix)/09 The Hollow (The Bunk Mix)

ACOUSTIC-01 3 Libras/02 Sleeping Beauty/03 The Hollow/04 Thomas/05 A Stranger/06 The Outsider/07 Weak and Powerless/08 Orestes

PROVIDENCE RI 5/3/00-01 Renholder/Hollow/02 Magdalena/03 3 Libras/04 Sleeping Beauty/05 Brena/06 Orestes/07 Thinking Of You/08 Thomas/09 Rose/10 Judith

KELLER AUDITORIUM 1/31/01-01 Paz Violin Solo/Renholder/02 Thinking Of You/03 Magdalena/04 3 Libras Remix/05 3 Libras/06 Brena/07 Orestes/08 Perfect Enemy/09 Rose/10 Over/11 Thomas/12 Judith/13 Ashes To Ashes/14 The Hollow

YPSILANTI MICHIGAN 3/29/01-01 Intro/Paz Violin Solo/02 Renholder/03 Magdalena/04 3 Libras Remix/05 3 Libras/06 Brena/07 Orestes/08 Perfect Enemy/09 Rose/10 Sleeping Beauty/11 Over/12 Thomas/13 Judith/14 Ashes to Ashes/15 The Hollow

Links shortly!