Minutes to Midnight [PA] [Digipak] by Linkin Park (CD, May-2007, Warner Bros.)

I had the privaledge of listening to the new Linkin Park album (Minutes To Midnight) today, one day before it's release, and it was amazing! Being the super dedicated Linkin Park fan I am, I am very critical of their new music. The album is composed of 12 tracks totaling 43 minutes. The current track Linkin Park and the radio stations are choosing to play is their track titled "What I've Done". This is a huge teaser to what the full album is like. A few super chart topping sleepers are also hiding on this album. You can tell the band decided to create an even more unique sound on top of their already unique music type. A lot of passion has gone into this album and you can tell so with the track titled "Hands Held High". Mike Shinoda, who started a side project of his own titled (Fort Minor) pumped out the song "Whered you go". This new track by him on Minutes To Midnight has his own style put into it ala-Fort Minor. In this track he hits every bar with every thought and feeling you have of your own in music form. As a matter of fact i believe a little bit of everyone can relate to the lyrics in these songs on this album. Despite what most critics are saying about this album "Linkin Park soften up for this album to gain a more mainstream audience", this is far from the truth. Yes there are soft tracks with meaning and emotion in this album. However for each one of those tracks they have one hardcore song to match is ala-hybrid theory. This album offers a mixture soft and slammin.

My Predictions:

Track 5: Shadow Of The Day (pop stations)
Track 7: Hands Held High (hip hop/rap stations)
Track 2: Given Up (hard rock stations)
Track 11: In Pieces (alternative stations)

If that right there does not show the variety of music they have on this album I dont know what will. Overall, this album is their best album yet, hands down!
It hits stores tommorrow 5/15/07. Buy it, i guarentee you will not be dissapointed.

Track Listing:

1.Wake
2.Given Up
3.Leave Out All The Rest
4.Bleed It Out
5.Shadow Of The Day
6.What I’ve Done
7.Hands Held High
8.No More Sorrow
9.Valentine’s Day
10.In Between
11.In Pieces
12.The Little Things Give You Away

Teaser Lyrics From "Shadow Of The Day"

"I close both locks below the window.
I close both blinds and turn away.
Sometimes solutions aren’t so simple.
Sometimes goodbye’s the only way.

And the sun will set for you,
The sun will set for you.
And the shadow of the day,
Will embrace the world in gray,
And the sun will set for you."

It's safe to say that Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight definitely doesn't sound like any of their other albums. The real question is "is that a good thing"? LP debuted in 2001 with a new sound no one thought was possible. They were able to incorporate rock and rap into one sound. Sure it's been done before, but LP made it their niche.

Fast forward to '07, we now have Minutes to Midnight. Produced by the legendary Rick Rubin and Mike from LP. Lemme first say, it's not fair to grade this album after one run-through. The first run-through of the album is mainly spent being in shock of LP's new sound. So after my second and third listening of the album, I realize what they're trying to accomplish.

LP's first two albums and their songs dealt mainly with inner demons and conflicts with those who are or were close to them. With Minutes to Midnight, they've widened their microscope and are taking to heart of what is going on around them. The 2nd track "Given Up" remains true to their original sound (besides the keys jingling in the background). You can say the same about "No More Sorrow". It's the heavy rock sound that people have known them for. It's the other 10 tracks that you notice a obvious difference in LP's sound. Take "Shadow of the Day" for instance. When you listen to it, it sounds very U2-ish. A sound you thought LP would never associate themselves with, but they have. Another one is "Bleed It Out". My first thought when I heard this one was this almost sounds like AC/DC. Then you start to notice their maturity on "Hands Held High" and "The Little Things Give You Away". A handful of critics are bashing these songs b/c, again, it doesn't sound like your traditional LP song. But to me, it shows what has happened over the past few years has affected each member of the band personally. Mike and Chester, respectively, spill out their hearts on both of these tracks. Anyone who loves music has to appreciate that.

Jay-Z once said "Do you listen to music or do you just skim through it". Anyone who skimmed through this cd probably re-sold it on eBay by now, but for those who listened to it and then listened to it again, you notice something. You notice that Linkin Park is conducting an experiment. An experiment to decipher who loves their sound and who loves their lyrics. They knew the ones who just loved their sound, they would probably lose them as fans. Those who loves their lyrics appreciates the band more than ever, b/c now LP is singing more than about personal demons. They're tackling the high gas prices, the "war" in Iraq, the senseless murders, and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Chester sang in "What I've Done" he's "wiping the slate clean with the hands of uncertainty". This explains exactly what they're doing with this album. They're stepping away from the sound that made them famous, uncertain of how it will be received. More than ever they want people to listen to their words. It's obvious b/c they've included their lyrics in the booklet that comes w/ the cd. They sacrificed their claim to fame in order make music that's more relevant. That sacrifice may or may not break this band, but Linkin Park knows these 12 songs will reach a level in their "true" fans that it hasn't before.

We waited almost 4 years for this? The LP JZ holdover was rock solid, but this newest CD is very un-like Linkin Park. This is by far their worst CD. It reminds me of early U2. If I wanted to hear them, that's what I would have bought. Meteora is very similar, in every way, to Hybrid Theory. Minutes to Midnight is more like the horrid Gray Daze album then anything else.

Way too much cursing in this album. The cool thing about LP was that in each CD, they might only curse a maximum of 2 or 3 times. And the curse words were never part of a repeated chorus. I don't mind cursing one bit. It's just that after 3.5 albums from LP, this is WAY out of the ordinary and I just don't want to hear it out of them. Their seldom use of curse words in previous albums created real impact when they finally decided to use one. The F word is thrown around so much on this album it is just sick.

Now, there are some enjoyable tracks to listen to. But know this.. there isn't ONE song on this CD that could bump out a song from the Hybrid Theory album. Not ONE. That is truly sad. How can you call M2M revolutionary when it stinks?

If it weren't for the late song yell-talk by Chester, which just feels downright uncomfortable, "Given Up" would have been an ok track. "Leave out all the rest" sounds like it is a slightly dilluted attempt at another NUMB effort. "What I've done" is an acceptable track, this is the song you have probably heard all over the radio, and yes, it is played out now. "Bleed it out" is the only true new sound on the album, something about it reminds me of PTS OF AUTHORITY, which is a good thing. "No more sorrow" and "Valentine'd Day" are very enjoyable tracks, but are just not the kind of songs you want in your CD's top 3.... if these 2 songs were the 6th and 7th best songs on the CD, then we'd definitely have something here! (But we don't). The best song on the album may be "In Pieces." But again, "In Pieces" wouldn't even make the final cut on the Hybrid Theory album.. so how in the world can LP release an album like this to its loyal fans? I'll tell you why..

LP was dooped by people in business suits. They were told to change their "sound" or else their work would become "indestinguishable." Yes, LP took the bait. Instead of giving the fans what they wanted.. what we were BEGGING for for the last 3.5 years.. they gave in to a handful of know-nothing big-wigs. M2M is SOFT. M2M is the skimpy little brother of Hybrid Theory. But most importantly, M2M is a letdown.

Now, if M2M as bad as Chevelle's new CD? Well no, nothing can be THAT bad. M2M has DECENT songs on it. But I don't want DECENT out of LP. I want something I can't get anywhere else. Hybrid Theory, Reanimation, Meteora, and Colission Course have no equals. LP's old albums made me want to blast the entire CD.. there was no adjustment made to the volume knob.. there was no fast-forwarding through "weak" tracks.. and there certainly was always a certainty that what you were listening to was truly HIP/CURRENT/WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW.

M2M is like a bunch of songs you would find in the dumpster after Hybrid Theory's final cuts. M2M is just plain weak.. it is sickly. It makes me worry that the LP era is over. What is there now? LP had no equal, but now they do, they are equal to softies like Hoobastank and Incubus.

Listen to track 1 and 2 of the Underground Album, then you'll agree that M2M is WAY off base. Sorry LP, this CD STINKS!!

Let's put it this way:

#1 The Debut "Hybrid Theory" = fresh, raw, mix of rock/rap, cool new sound. Something to listen to while working out at the gym; very catching. Can listen to over and over again and not get bored of it.

#2 "Meteora" = disapointing, nothing new, some of the same sound, 1/2 of the album is love/rock ballads. Not worth listening to very often. Original sound lost its edge and creativity.

#3 & #4 = a live album and a remix album. Whatever, these are cop out albums. Who buys a "live" or a "remix" album anyway? Get into the studio and create something new....

#5 "Minutes to Midnight" = Huh? Is this the same band that came out in 2000? Slow rock ballad songs; liberal, leftist babble. Only two semi-rock songs. Not even worth listening to once. Maybe their new marriages are on the rocks...

I wasn't impressed with the single from Minutes to Midnight, however, I still went out to buy the album the day it came out. I kept my fingers crossed about being disapointed. Afterall, Meteora was somewhat of a letdown.

This new album SUCKS.

What were they thinking? Who was this created for - Highschool girls to listen to when their boyfriend breaks up with them?

The album cover is also extremely cheasy. It has all of them standing around in a friendship circle and it is in black and white. Ahhh, how sentimental. That should have been a dead givaway at what I was buying.

It kind of reminds me of Incubus, who's early album SCIENCE rocked with a raw, energized edge. Nonetheless, every subsequent album of Incubus's got worse and worse. They lost their identity and became a cookie-cutter, fuzzy mess. They sounded boring, amatuerish, sophmoric, and stale. Maybe, once the contract is signed they are just doing a job? What happens to the musicians that start out great and end up almost annoying? Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots were the same way.... starting off great and ending up boring!

I can only guess that these guys (Linkin Park) actually enjoy singing and playing these types of songs. I dunno, but imagining these songs being played at a concert, I believe that would put anyone to sleep! Ridiculous.

Maybe they've just made enough money already and become big enough stars they assumed that whatever they put out people will buy....I definately fell for it.

Now, search other reviews and you might hear a lot about "true fans" stick with a band blah, blah, blah. Or maybe you'll hear: "after listening to it a few times I really like it now." Why put yourself through the misery? Wake up kids, that logic is a bunch of nonsense. The way to keep fans is to keep sounding good. It's simple: No good music = no fanbase.

I'll tell you what, next time I'll wait to sample it on Itunes or Napster!

Sad, isn't it?

MCL

Linkin Park is one of my favorite bands, from their demo EP under the band name "Hybrid Theory," to their standout sophomore effort, "Meteora." As such, it's difficult to wait 3-4 years between releases, but the results usually yield something special.

"Minutes to Midnight" is not the case. In short, this Rick Rubin-produced debacle embraces reinvention where none was necessary. So rap-rock is dead? Has that ever stopped LP before from doing their own thing, from collaborations with The X-cutioners to Jay-Z? Wherein their last albums were passionate and cohesive, "Minutes to Midnight" is, dare I say, completely un-redeeming.

Case in point: Though this may sound prudish, Bennington and Shinoda used to pen lyrics sans cursing. And they could get away with it because the content was so passionate that it conveyed enough emotion to forgo statements like, "What the **** is wrong with me?!" This, coupled with an endless succession of songs curried from what could be a new, low form of depressing rock ballads, makes for the worst material the band has ever produced.

If I were to write an open letter to Linkin Park it would say simply this: Be yourselves, guys, and go back to doing what you do best. (And fire Rick Rubin.)