Queensrÿche: Empire - appreciation thread

[Lokire]

I just have to say that "Empire" by Queensrÿche is one of my favorite albums ever. I listen to it at least 2-3 times a week. It's one of those albums that I can't just listen to one or two songs, I have to listen to the whole album, and every song is amazing. Bass playing/tone, singing, guitars, drumming. It's all amazing. Perfect really. I like Operation Mindcrime and their other albums too, but Empire really stands out above the rest to me.

So I wanted to start an Empire appreciation thread. Do you feel the same as I?

[neptoon]

yeah, empire is one of my faves, too...i love that rotosound/spector tone...

[JC Dillon]

I've actually seen QR several times, and while Operation:Mindcrime was an awesome experience (2nd row, "Geoff can you read my shirt!") the Empire show was so great. "Jet-City Woman" is a song that I'll never tire of. Really, like Lokire, the whole album is probably one of the 5 I would take to a deserted island, if I could only choose 5. "Is There Anybody Listening?" What more can you say about an awesome rock song driven by a fretless . "Della Brown" another QR classic. Eddie Jackson rocks that whole record with such an aggresive yet mucial tone. It's without question one of my favorite "bass" records. I saw them with Heaven and Hell a few months ago, and they are still pretty good. Not like they were, but still viable. Eddie Jackson will always be great.

[SC Bassboy]

In my younger years I worshipped Scott Rockenfield. I learned to play drums by setting a TV up in front of my drum kit and playing along with the MindCrime home video. Later, as I started playing bass, I realized what a great musician Eddie was too. Finally got to see them live when they toured with Type O Negative for the "Promised Land" album. Simply awesome.
Man, you guys have got me thinking about Queensrÿche out of nowhere. Gonna have to download some stuff off iTunes.

[Valerus]

Album reeks of epicness.

I still love The Warning more though.

[bassist 4 life]

Empire plus Mindcrime I

fav queensryche albums, im a big fan

[Kyo6JM]

I think Empire sounds really great, I just don't like the actual SONGS that much.

My favorite QR album still remains Promised Land.

[AJ Brown]

For me, Mindcrime is one of the greatest of all time. I just saw QR in Boston 2 yrs ago, and they were just as incredible as I remember when they were on the MC tour.

I learned this one beginning to end when it first came out, and occasionally I throw it on and jam to it for fun. Eddie Jackson was very underrated.

[bassist 4 life]

Eddie Jackson to me is a perfect example of a bassist.
he lays there in the pocket, hes heard, great tone,interesting lines and tasty fills, nothing flashy and wanking, he just gets the job done.
but you cant even imagine one QR song without his playing.



oh, and i think the real reason behind your thread is to show off your fancy "i can put two dots on top of my Ys" ability >.>!
even my itunes cant read those two dot thingies, i end up with Queensr*che

[Lokire]

Really? I just checked and my iTunes shows the dotted 'y' just fine

[Would'e?]

Not my favorite QR album. I prefer Mindcrime and Rage For Order.

My fave track on Empire is probably "One and Only", followed by the title track. "Silent Lucidity" was good the first 10,000 times I heard it. The rest? Meh.

"Jet City Woman" is one of the worst QR songs ever IMHO.

[Kyo6JM]

Originally Posted by bassist 4 life

Eddie Jackson

but you cant even imagine one QR song without his playing.

"Someone Else?" always sounded just fine to me without him.

[RONQUITO]

as of the two preceeding posts...let the trolling begin!

Back to topic: Mindcrime and Empire are my faves, but i wish Mindcrime sounded like Empire, my Lord, that mix with the Spector sounding up front with the drums, what a punch in the chest.

[StevieT]

I love all the Queensryche albums except Mindcrime, I just never got into it. Empire is my fave.
I got to see them live in Chicago last year, Operation Mindcrime II. The guys were hanging in the same bar as us before the show, I wish I would have talked to them!
They put on one heck of a show, I was second row, center stage...I think I got sweat flung on me!

[Ian Perge]

Also a "Rage For Order" fanatic here as well (that album was years ahead of it's time in so many ways) but Empire is still one of my Check Discs when purchasing new audio equipment.

...and "Promised Land" took me about 4 months to "get", but once I did it's been one of my favorite albums of the '90s. I saw them in 2003 on their co-headlining tour with Dream Theater, and while they were okay, it was more than a little sad to see Dream Theater totally play them out of the water on their own songs at the ending "jam" ("The Real World", "Take Hold Of The Flame", "Comfortably Numb")

[rappa29]

Empire is a good album and it broke them out into the 'mainstream'. Excellent production and songwriting that was more 'digestable' to the general public.

Obviously, 'Silent Lucidity' was easier on the publics' ears than 'Suite Sister Mary'

However, Operation:Mindcrime is IMHO one of the best 'concept'\hard rock albums of all time. Great story, great songwriting, excellent production, great talent all the way around...

I can understand and appreciate them not doing another 'concept' album immediately to compliment OP MC. And it was brilliant for them to go in a completely different direction. They had a lot of fans in the hard rock\metal circles with MC and just needed that 'breakthrough' album to reach a wider audience.

All I can say is that I had OP MC in my car deck on daily rotation for pretty much about 2 years! Saw them on the Empire Tour when they played their first set Empire\older songs and 2nd set OP MC in it's entirety! Saw them a few years ago when they played 1st set various hits and 2nd set OP MC in it's entirety with live actors. Both great shows!

I agree, that Eddie Jackson's tone and playing on both of those records was essential to those songs. Can you even imagine songs like "Operation Mindcrime", "Eyes Of A Stranger", "Empire", "Jet City Woman" WITHOUT that Spector\GK growl?

I go back all the way to their EP, Warning, Rage For Order, OP MC, Empire...then faded out after DeGarmo left. But Operation Mindcrime was a great era in my musical life!

[Philbiker]

Only problem with Empire was that it was so big and so great that it was an insurmountable task to follow it up. IMO "Promised Land" is every bit as good, if not as radio friendly, as "Empire". I have the LaserDisc of the videos that came out after "Empire". It contains the older videos (which are somewhere between laughable and embarrasing), and also some live footage from the "Operation Livecrime" shoot.

[Philbiker]

Originally Posted by Kyo6JM

"Someone Else?" always sounded just fine to me without him.

Have you ever heard the full band version of "Someone Else"? It was available as "B-side" on the "Bridge" import CD single. IMO it's better than the (also great) sparse arrangement which went on the record, though the reworked lyrics on the LP version are IMO much better than the full band version. The guitar crecendos running into the verses are amazingly effective, they give me goose bumps.

BTW does anyone here like "Mindcrime 2"? I kind of liked "Q2K" but haven't bought anything else since that.

[Lokire]

Bands used, and people still have/use laserdiscs?

[Philbiker]

Originally Posted by Lokire

Bands used, and people still have/use laserdiscs?

Yes. The "Building Empires" program has been re-released on DVD. I believe the LaserDisc version had the commentary which is on the DVD but not the VHS (which could not support multiple audio streams).

You probably would be shocked at how much I spent for the import LaserDisc of "Operation: Livecrime" around 1996.