My "No World Order" review

Review by Jeff Baker (Switch to
)
12/07/2009

"No World Order" is the AWATS of the 90's as far as I'm concerned. An amazingly coherent album considering how a lot of the material is 'fragmented' to varying degrees. The way the album is put together it feels like when Lennon and McCartney would take bits and pieces of individual songs and turn them into one song (a la "A Day in the Life" and McCartney on his own with "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey") but Todd seemed to pull this off for an entire album.

"Worldwide Epiphany 1.0", "No World Order 1.0", and "Worldwide Epiphany 1.1" function more as an intro to this album to set the tone for what you will experience when you take in the album as a whole.

The first song proper, "Day Job", is a heart pumping raver. Very hectic.

"Property" would've been right at home on TEPTAE. This one shows off lots of Todd's strengths....tuneful chord changes, exceptional melodies, and his ability to take a subject that would be cliched and done to death in pop music but turns it into 'thinking man's pop'. Todd's gorgeous, layered background vocals have a jarring effect on the '..whoa-oh..aaahaaa...' part on the bridge of this song. They're mixed very dry on that part instead of being absorbed into the atmosphere of the background.

"Fascist Christ" is one of Todd's greatest, snarling, thought-provoking 'angry' songs. Lots of drive on this song but also has a lot of dreamy atmosphere. Some contemplation to go with the anger. I get butterflies in my stomach to this day when I hear the track change into the '..somebody took our god away...' section right before the track ends. Absolute Todd dreaminess.

"Love Thing..parts 1.0 & 1.1" is one of the highlights of No World Order. Entrancing, rhythmic, melodic. Catchy yet deep. Ethereal yet upbeat. "Love Thing" has some of Todd's most effective sustained vocal notes of all time. Like everything about this album, it is thought-provoking yet you can sink your teeth into it.

"Time Stood Still..parts 1.0, 1.1, & 1.2" is one of Todd's most hypnotic, otherworldly pieces. Perfect balance between Todd's ethereal rapping and his dreamy singing on this song. I get goosebumps taking in the whole aura of Time Stood Still. The stereo seperation between the kick drum/snare drum of the programming stresses the hypnotic vibe of this track.

"Proactivity" is a fun little dance romp. Livens things up after the dreaminess of "Time Stood Still" and "Love Thing". "Proactivity" seems to be the computer-geek brother to "Love Science".

"No World Order..1.1" is my favorite track on this album. I usually have to play it at least two times in a row. One of Todd's most uplifting songs. Can't help but have my spirits lifted when I hear this. The chorus of this song (especially during the last couple of minutes) has a very healing effect on me. My only criticism is that I find the long intro to this track to be pointless. I usually start the song when the percussion instruments start on the 'seagulls' part just before the keyboard 'stabs' happen.

"Worldwide Epiphany". A call-to-arms of the spirit. A great Todd anthem.

"Word Made Flesh" is the only piece on the album that has just always went in one ear and out the other with me. Here this track feels like it's trying to be 'hectic' when it just feels 'cluttered'. I don't feel anything when I hear "Word Made Flesh".

"Fever Broke" sums up this album perfectly like how ""Worldwide Epiphany 1.0", "No World Order 1.0", and "Worldwide Epiphany 1.1"" set the tone at the beginning. As a whole "Fever Broke" feels a lot to me like the title track of "2nd Wind". Lots of dynamics. Dreamy parts and exhilarating upbeat parts wrap around each other..........and I think the reprise of "Day Job" at the end works better than the reprise of "Real Man" at the end of side 1 of "Initiation".

"No World Order" has always been one of my 'desert island discs' since I bought it in 1993...at WALMART of all places. This album holds up better to me than the "No World Order Lite" version. "No World Order" is the complete work of art while "NWO Lite" just kind of shows the 'colors' that Todd painted the masterpiece with.

And I think "No World Order" gels better as an album than "The Individualist".

As an aside, I would like to recommend listening to NWO and "The Individualist" on Pro Logic...lots of neat 'surrounds' happen on those two albums when listening on Pro Logic.


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