Hullabaloo Soundtrack

Hullabaloo Soundtrack - Muse

Year Released: 2002

Label: Taste

Year bought: 2002

I bought this after seeing Muse at Reading Festival in 2002, where they put on a helluva show, complete with giant grey inflatable balls being launched into the crowd - which we all loved for some reason.

A collection of b-sides and a concert recording, 'Hullabaloo Soundtrack' plugged the gap between 2001's 'Origin of Symmetry' and 2003's 'Absolution'.

B-sides can sometimes act as arenas for bands to try something a bit different, but seemingly not in the case of Muse.

The vast majority of tracks on CD1 are just not particularly remarkable Muse songs. There's lots of Matt Bellamy starting songs singing low and then ending as high as his falsetto will take him, and most of the tunes are awash with arpeggios – as is Muse's style.

There's some pretty heavy rock tunes here, particularly 'Yes Please', which has Marilyn Manson style vocals that are distorted and barely audible.

'Forced In' and 'The Gallery' are decent enough soundscapes, and 'Recess' builds from a watery bass into a suitably swirling mess of guitars and falsetto.

The best song of the collection is 'Map Of Your Head', a beautiful mix of percussive Spanish guitar, shakers, and piano with Bellamy getting his vocal under control to deliver something that feels intimate.

There's a slow version of 'Hyper Music' - dubbed 'Hyper Chondriac Music' - which sounds like something done for a film trailer.

'The Masterplan', this ain't.

CD2 is recordings from concerts on Oct 28/29 2001 at Le Zenith in Paris.

The track listing is odd as none of the group's big singles from that year are there. No 'Plug In Baby', no 'New Born', no 'Hyper Music'.

As live recordings go, it sounds fine. Muse are good musicians and Bellamy can sing, but his falsetto gets a bit much pretty quickly. Not sure why you'd put this on as opposed to the studio recordings.

Muse are a great live band, but you need lasers, fireworks, and giant grey inflatable balls to really make it work.

4/10

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