Amazon.com: For Panic At The Disco's sophomore follow-up to their Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen break-through debut 2005's A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, the band holed up in a Las Vegas studio with renowned producer Rob Mathes. What they created is nothing short of a masterpiece, the 60's pop-inspired Pretty Odd. This time around, the band opted for real instruments and live tracking over Pro Tools software, citing influences as The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, and The Beatles. Says guitarist Ryan Ross in an interview with Billboard, We want to make music [that is] simple and timeless and not too pretentious. The band also did additional tracking at the Abbey Road Studio in London, adding a Beatles-esque flavor to their usual Vegas flare. The song lyrics have moved away from the whole one-liner, sarcastic thing says Ross, in favor of more everyday things. Lead single, "Nine In The Afternoon" has the band showing a healthy dose of maturity, having grown as songwriters and instrumentalists.
Amazon.co.uk: The title gives it away instantly- Pretty.Odd. (don't forget the periods) is not exactly the album that affirmed admirers of Panic At The Disco will have expected. The quartet, then teenagers, hit big in 2005 when A Fever You Can't Sweat Out rode its hit single "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" and its striking video to huge sales, defining their niche bridging emo and theatrical art-rock. Three years later Panic (they've ditched the exclamation mark) return with an expansive album that shamelessly, and very skilfully, takes inspiration directly from the Beatles' bigger budget productions and the baroque classic rock that came in their wake. They must use every instrument in the orchestral palette. But this is hardly a trip to "guilty pleasures" territory, four minute pop tunes polished almost to sterility. Even the catchy, imposing opener "We're So Starving", where they protest "we're still the same band", is playful rather than predictable. "That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed)" offers so many styles it defies categorisation, the darkly comic sixties pastiche "When the Day Met the Night" could wear the vague "sunshine pop" label comfortably and the likes of "Pas De Cheval" and nicely wistful first single "Nine in the Afternoon" stick in the head after a single hearing. Also the token acoustic strumalong is called "Folkin' Around". Whether their fanbase actively craved such a diverse display of ambition is moot, but Pretty.Odd. is an impressive and deservedly popular collection. For once it seems that the public agree with those critics who so often describe lovingly crafted, low-selling tributes to genres past as perfect pop. --Steve Jelbert
Wow! Hats off to these guys for taking a different step in their music. You can tell these guys actually know what they're doing in their music. I love how in their 4th song they find use for a tritone and it actually sounds awesome. I don't own their first cd cause it always seemed like it was just the "popular" kind of music, but my friend showed me this cd and I bought it the next day. The closest band I could probably relate this to is the Beatles, but it's all original music! I listen to all types of music except country and I've been listening to this cd a lot!
Save yourself the trouble and don't purchase it, just DL the singles on iTunes The CD came in great condition and all, played well, original packaging, so the retailer did well, but the actual product? EH. If you like Pop music in general then fine, this is Pop. If you were a die-hard lover of the dark yet fun and super creative lyrics and music of the first album, like me! then you WILL be disappointed. I love the first album and I feel like I lost a friend in P!ATD in this album. If this is the direction they're taking, it's good Pop and all, but it's not the band we came to know. Save yourself the trouble and just get the singles you like on iTunes.
A Break From Emo(tional) Output Honestly, I like emo. But I like that Panic didn't make a follow-up that sounded like a Fallout Boy twin. Everyone keys in on The Beatle's influence but good music is good music. If you're looking for another Fever album, look elsewhere. Track 4 is the standout for me. Solid lyrics, my hats off to poetic genius.
A drastic change in sound from previous album If you get this album expecting more of the Fall-Out-Boy-esque sounds of the debut album, you will be sorely disappointed.
It appears the band was trying for something different, to break away from the style that got them popular in the first place. The horns and the strings gave it a whimsical sound that fans of Rock and Alternative will have a hard time appreciating.
I'm glad I listened through the whole thing before purchasing it, because I would be pretty mad if I had spent the money.
Meh I love Panic at the Disco... but this CD doesn't fly too well with me. There's a couple songs I love, but most of it is just 'meh.' They didn't quite hit the nail on the head with this CD. I'd suggest checking out each song and just buying only the songs you like. Even if you're a die-hard fan, you may regret buying this CD full-price and brand new.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
