| Product Summary | | Label: Capitol Records | | UPC: 00724358107029 | | Release Date: 6/10/2003 | | Buy.com Sku: 60603912 | | Item#: MYDYXV | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 383 | Format:  CD |
|
|
|
|
| Song Listing |  |
Disc 1
| | Song Title | Sample | | 1. Best I Can ~ Queensryche |  | | 2. Thin Line, The ~ Queensryche | | | 3. Jet City Woman ~ Queensryche | | | 4. Della Brown ~ Queensryche | | | 5. Another Rainy Night (Without You) ~ Queensryche | | | 6. Empire ~ Queensryche | | | 7. Resistance ~ Queensryche | | | 8. Silent Lucidity ~ Queensryche | | | 9. Hand On Heart ~ Queensryche | | | 10. One And Only ~ Queensryche | | | 11. Anybody Listening? ~ Queensryche | | | 12. Last Time In Paris - (bonus track) ~ Queensryche | | | 13. Scarborough Fair - (CD single track, bonus track) ~ Queensryche | | | 14. Dirty Lil Secret - (CD single track, bonus track) ~ Queensryche | |
|
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Queensryche: Geoff Tate (vocals, keyboards); Chris DeGarmo (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Michael Wilton (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar); Eddie Jackson (electric bass, fretless basss, background vocals); Scott Rockenfield (drums, percussion). | | Additional personnel includes: Michael Kamen (arranger). | | Producer: Peter Collins. | | Compilation producer: David K. Tedds. | | Recorded at Vancouver Studios, Vancouver, Canada and Triad Studios, Redmond, Washington in 1990. Originally released on EMI (92806). Includes liner notes by Paul Suter. | | This is part of EMI Records "Queensryche Remastered" series. | | Queensryche: Geoff Tate (vocals, keyboards); Chris DeGarmo (6- & 12-string acoustic & electric guitars, keyboards, background vocals); Michael Wilton (6- & 12-string acoustic & electric guitars); Eddie Jackson (electric & fretless basses, background vocals); Scott Rockenfield (drums, percussion). | | Additional personnel: Michael Kamen (strings); B.O.B. (background vocals). | | Engineers: James "Jimbo" Barton, Paul Northfield. | | Recorded at Vancouver Studios, Vancouver, Canada and Triad Studios, Redmond, Washington in 1990. | | Digitally remastered by Steve Hoffman. | | Personnel: Geoff Tate (vocals, whistling, keyboards); Chris DeGarmo (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, keyboards, 12-string bass, background vocals); Michael Wilton (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, 12-string bass, fretless bass); Eddie Jackson (electric bass, fretless bass, background vocals); Scott Rockenfield (drums, percussion). | | Audio Mixer: James Barton . | | Recording information: Triad Studios, Redmond, WA, Vancouver, British Columbia (1990); Vancouver Studios (1990). | | Photographer: Harold Sinclair. | | With the breakthrough success and worldwide respect that Queensryche gained from their conceptual masterpiece OPERATION: MINDCRIME, how could the band possibly outdo or at the least match themselves? Just two years after the release of MINDCRIME Queensryche reinvented themselves (though certainly not for the last time). While many fans were clamoring for a conceptual sequel, the band returned to a song-oriented approach that was more art rock and less metal-edged. | | Now quite far removed from the fantasy and techno-paranoia lyrical themes of their earlier works, the band tackled overcoming social and physical handicaps ("Best I Can"), poverty, and regret ("Della Brown"). Focused much less on the darker side of love that was always so prevalent in their sound, the band was now brave enough to be romantic ("Another Rainy Night" and "Hand On Heart"). While Queensryche lost some diehard metal fans with EMPIRE, the mature sound and tight production of Peter Collins (Rush) saw the band break into the mainstream (and top off at #9 on the Billboard singles chart) with the Pink Floyd-inspired "Silent Lucidity." | | With the breakthrough success and worldwide respect that Queensryche gained from their conceptual masterpiece OPERATION: MINDCRIME, how could the band possibly outdo or at least match themselves? Just two years after the release of MINDCRIME, Queensryche reinvented themselves (though certainly not for the last time). While many fans were clamoring for a conceptual sequel, the band returned to a song-oriented approach that was more art-rock and less metal-edged. | | Now quite far removed from the fantasy and techno-paranoia lyrical themes of their earlier works, the band tackled overcoming social and physical handicaps ("Best I Can"), poverty, and regret ("Della Brown"). Focused much less on the darker side of love that was always so prevalent in their songs, the band was now brave enough to be romantic ("Another Rainy Night" and "Hand On Heart"). While Queensryche lost some diehard metal fans with EMPIRE, the mature sound and tight production of Peter Collins (Rush) saw the band break into the mainstream (and top off at #9 on the Billboard singles chart) with the Pink Floyd-inspired "Silent Lucidity." | | Empire is the largest-selling album in Queensr?che's history. Following up the band's first commercial success (Operation: Mindcrime), Empire couldn't be more different musically. Empire's songs all stand by themselves as tough singles, though arguably "Silent Lucidity" stands head and shoulders above the rest. Empire opens with the frighteningly heavy and catchy "Best I Can," with its twinning of metal guitars and shimmering keyboards and near operatic crescendos. Guitarist Chris DeGarmo's heading up of the project and his focus in keeping the band as far away as possible from the tropes of Mindcrime is, in large part, the key to the album's success as a pop record. While it's true that heavy metal recordings had made the charts, none of them did with the sheer pop glee of Empire, with "The Thin Line" and "Jet City Woman" blazing out of the box and pointing the way to more blues-oriented progressive songs such as "Della Brown" and the title track, with its crunching dual lead guitar riff and overblown bassline. "Resistance," with its complex guitar intro and syncopated runs, is the perfect anthemic metal track to precede "Silent Lucidity," a song that had teens all over the world flicking their Bics during the band's tour and swaying together. Enough said. But if there is a song of hope on Empire, then the track that follows it, "Hand on Heart," is it. This is the greatest one-two punch of mainstream big rock & roll in the 1990s. With its staggered guitar part playing counterpoint to the sung melodies, its lyrics full of determination, aspiration, and promise, and a chorus only a Grinch could hate, "Hand on Heart" carries the quiet affirmation of "Silent Lucidity" and engraves it in rock. "One and Only" is another metallic love song, and once again free of facile, sexist obviousness. Its overdriven guitar parts and Geoff Tate's on-the-edge singing make its insistence on love conquering all a reality -- at least for as long as the song lasts. And finally, "Anybody Listening?," with its fingerpicked minor-key guitars, spare bassline, and almost spiritual entreaty from Tate in the lyric, caps off the album with a call to arms before it's too late. [The 2003 remaster contains three bonus tracks, the Led Zeppelin/"Kashmir"-influenced intro to "Last Time in Paris," a Baroque, psychedelic cover of "Scarborough Fair," and the balls-out rocker "Dirty Lil Secret," a track with the crunchiest, heaviest riffs on the set. This is a hell of a value with amazing sound, liner notes, lyrics, and bonus cuts; it's a Queensr?che treasure trove.] ~ Thom Jurek |
Engineer: James Barton; Paul Northfield |
Musical Guests | | Michael Kamen |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Associated Artists and Works |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 06/10/2003 | | Original Release Date : 1990 | | Catalog ID : 81070 | | Label : Capitol Records (USA) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00724358107029 |
|
| | Professional Reviews | | | Q - 3 Stars - Good - Recommended as one of the top 5 metal albums of 1990. - "..The thinking person's rock album...which exudes craft and intelligence at will without ever sounding pretentious or forgetting mighty riffs and classic melodies.." Q - 3 Stars - Good - Recommended as one of the top 5 metal albums of 1990. - "..The thinking person's rock album...which exudes craft and intelligence at will without ever sounding pretentious or forgetting mighty riffs and classic melodies.." |
|
| |
|
|
