Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I - IV CD Review

I have been wrestling with the philosophical question: Does free = good? Would this release get this much media buzz if it were released by either Pelican or Echoes & Shadows. (If anyone is wondering the context, Ghosts is all instrumental and both of the aforementioned bands are great instrumental bands).

Nine Inch Nails released Ghosts I-IV (part I) as a free download on the NIN site. Part 1 includes the first 9 of the 36 track double-CD. The entire album is available as a $5 download, a $10 double CD, a $75 "deluxe" package with CD, DVD, and Blu-Ray copies, and a $300 "ultra-deluxe" edition (which is already sold out).

The whole distribution concept is fascinating as this release generated $1.6M in its first week of release. I'm a big NiN fan and recognize and appreciate Trent Reznor's talent but this is a good, not essential, release. Long-time fans will likely buy this regardless but the curious are better off sticking with the free download. The 36 tracks aren't distinctive enough on their own so that anyone curious won't miss much after listening to the first nine cuts.

For anyone who hasn't heard this disc - it sounds nothing like past NiN work. Anyone expecting "Head Like A Hole" will be severely disappointed. This is a double disc of instrumental work with some middle-eastern flavoring (ala Eno/Byrne "My Life In the Bush of Ghosts"). The problem is that Reznor never challenges the listener in the same manner as Eno and Byrne. There are many tracks where the music just drifts away in the background. Adrian Belew plays some tasty guitar on a few tracks but that isn't enough to save this disc from being much more than background listening.

I'm not planning on parting with this disc but I don't think it will get much future play. With the tracks not being that distinctive, this is the sort of disc that you either listen to start-to-finish or not at all.

To drift back into my day-job...I am fascinated by the online community that has sprung up around this release. NiN created a YouTube channel around this release and there are currently 6,752 members and 1,019 videos.

"To expand the idea of the "Ghosts" project, Nine Inch Nails is inviting anyone and everyone to create visuals to accompany the album's music. In a few months, we'll be gathering the entries we feel are particularly exceptional and highlighting them. There are no rules to this - be as creative as you like. Create a music video, or a short film, or something completely abstract. Use only one track from the album, or use multiple tracks."

Links:
Nine Inch Nails' Website

Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero CD Review

Compared against the last Nine Inch Nails release, the band's latest CD is pretty solid. The band's sound has almost gone full-circle back to the early (pre-Woodstock) days. At one point, it seemed that Reznor was going for more of a "live" full band sound but this disc is a return to Reznor as a one-man show. In commenting on this CD, Reznor said that "[a]ll [songs were] written and performed by me, produced / programmed by me and Atticus Ross."

There was a lot of pre-release hype around this release ('mysterious' websites and flash drives) and Reznor bills this release as a concept album. "What's it about? Well, it takes place about fifteen years in the future. Things are not good. If you imagine a world where greed and power continue to run their likely course, you'll have an idea of the backdrop. The world has reached the breaking point - politically, spiritually and ecologically. Written from various perspectives of people in this world, "year zero" examines various viewpoints set against an impending moment of truth. How does it sound? You will hear for yourself soon enough, but given the point of this document is to provide information..."

I am not sure this release works as a concept album as the music is too similar across tracks. When I think of a concept album, I think of work by The Residents, Biomechanical and Anata. With these bands, the music forces you to pay attention to the story line. With Year Zero, this simply sounds like a well put-together Nine Inch Nails release.

Trent Reznor evidently doesn't see this release as an end-to-end concept as he is only playing a couple songs from this release in the band's current setlist. Here is a recent setlist from one of the band's shows last month in Europe:

01 HYPERPOWER! (from Year Zero)
02 The Beginning Of The End (from Year Zero)
03 Heresy
04 Terrible Lie
05 March Of The Pigs
06 Closer
07 Survivalism (from Year Zero)
08 Burn
09 Gave Up
10 Me, I'm Not (from Year Zero)
11 The Great Destroyer (from Year Zero)
12 Eraser
13 Only
14 Wish
15 The Good Soldier (from Year Zero)
16 No, You Don't
17 Suck
18 Dead Souls
19 The Hand That Feeds
20 Head Like A Hole
21 Hurt

Of the 16 tracks on the CD, only 6 are in the set list for this particular night.

This is a solid CD and well worth the listen for fans of Nine Inch Nails. I don't think this release is going to convert many new fans. Old fans need to know in advance that there aren't any "radio hits" on this release. (None of the tracks compare to "Head Like A Hole" or "Suck")

Links:
Nine Inch Nails' Website