Favourite song on '9' - may include spoilers
 

Well, we can finally listen to it... so what is your favourite track at this early stage?

NB: You can only chose one.

'Twas hard to pick one! Move over O! There's a new album in town ... :D

I'd say mines still Elephant! Though I am loving how Sleep Dont Weep closes the album.

It'll be interesting to re-take this poll when we all have the album and have listened to it many times... to see what tracks grow on us over time.

Mine will change thats for sure. I change top songs tooooo much! =)

Is it just me or does anyone else think that the Tibetan Singing Bowl music at the end might leave the album open to attacks by the critics looking to belittle Damo. The media loves to be nasty and if they could use that to take the piss.

PS. can i change my poll answer?? (j/k!)

I voted for Grey Room!!! but that was soooo hard.... Elephant and Accidental babies were close behind...

It`s really very hard to pick one!
At this early stage I voted for Accidental Babies.
But in time it could change.
Animals and Yoke are close behind.

i voted for dogs but i wanna change to grey room. or maybe the animals were gone. or maybe... ah i give up. i luv em all.

Well I put my vote for Accidental Babies cause I think it's just class, its on constantly on my playlist at work on my pc pissing off my collegue!!
But I think we'll just have to see when I can get my hands on it to see what will be my fav track.

I loooove Accidental Babies. I like the live version better because it sounds more emotional than the studio version.

Yeah, I also went with Accidental Babies, but Animals was just awesome, and I loved Dogs, too. I do agree, though, that Accidental Babies live does have a bit more kick to it. But, that happens, occasionally; on the flip side, I thought that Animals had a strong live feel to it. Wow, amazing, can't wait to own it.

Elephant
Mostly because if I had the kind of writing talent that DR does, its a song that I'd write. Very easy to relate to.

Other favs though:
Dogs
Coconut Skins
Accidental Babies

They say you have a lifetime to write your first album, then a few to write your second one. I think it's true in this case. I mean, we all love Damien, right. But what made the first album so perfect is that each and every song was one of the best songs you've ever heard. I think there is a few good songs on the second... but there is even some I skip. Well, maybe it's just me.
I think I'm sad right now.

Well, actually it isn't, since a lot of these songs are older and are
not necissarily written in the last few years.

Anyone else as impressed as I am that every song is the favourite of a few people? And I think if we had proportional representation you'd see some of the songs with less votes jumping up too... as they seem to be lots of peoples 2nd or 3rd favourites.

I'm really surprised that Dogs and Coconut Skins are not more peoples favourites... they're neck-a-neck for me. (Should that be neck-and-neck? Never wondered about that before...)

I voted for "the animals were gone"
But... I love all of them, everytime I listen to a song I say to my husband, I think that's the best song on the album.. lol.. so clearly, it changes.:)

I voted accidental babies. Though all of them are amazing, accidental babies made me tear up like a baby in Santa Barbara. Every day though I like different songs more and more. Animals Were Gone is obviously amazing, yesterday I was on a "me, my, my yolk, and I" kick, and today Grey Room really stuck with me. I love it when you can hear a song a few times, and something happens in your life for the good or bad, and when you hear that song the next time, the lyrics just click. Love it!

I really love 'Dogs' too... and it only has 2 votes so far?! Maybe it's the name is putting people off... :icon_scra

I think I have changed my favourite to rootless tree-have rarely heard Mr Rice getting so angry....

All of them are bloody awesome. Though, in comparison to the original live version of 'the girl who does yoga,' I think the studio version is less intensive. What made the live version was his fast guitar strumming. It just doesn't seem to have the same effect on me.
Nevertheless, it's just amazing.................absolutely love it!

I voted 'The Animals Were Gone', but everytime I listen through the album it just takes me on another journey and different songs start jumping out at me. Can't wait to properly own this album.

Wow. Elephants is sooooo goood! Always been a fav of myne. And now i have it on the album!!! His voice is sooo good. Really shows in this song. And the end is better in studio than live. the harmonies are just so good! Thank you God for Damien Rice!!!!

I can say that, after two days of listening, there's nothing I'd surely skip.

Well, perhaps Yoke every now and then. Sometimes I think it's great,
sometimes I think it's freakin annoying.

'Rootless Tree' - no question!

But love the Jack Johnson-esque vibe of 'Coconut Skins'

HOW has Dogs only got 2 votes? That's just crazy talk. I can only assume it must be somewhere in the top three or four tracks for most people.

Animals were gone is mine.......

Then ending is so hauting and i wish it lasted longer!

Impossible choice
I went with Grey Room - I like different parts of it everytime I listen- but Elephant is one of my favorite of all his songs- and I could see liking Animals a lot

for some reason i still like the live versions of most of the songs better (dogs, nine crimes) - whether its because Ive heard them before or because the studio ones sound a little to ...smooth? I dont know- but of course the album is great and Ive listened to it several times already

accidental babies.

I also loved the b-side "the rat within the grain"

well, i voted, but i say repost this poll one month after the offical release and see if and how votes change. i guess it'd be hard to track individual preference though. i mean, overall percentages may show up the same, but with completely different people voting for the songs. damn, stats are a nasty business.

The poll specified best "track" which is why I voted "Animals". Favorite song would likely have yielded alternative results because there is actually quite a difference. "Track" to me means best utilization of the studio artform and how it can enhance and enrichen a song (suprisingly "M,M & I" would tie for second) .

As mentioned by many others, I actually do prefer the live versions of most of these songs. Several of these versions initially equalled or even almost topped their live counterparts up until some portion would differ significantly enough ("Elephant" was perfection up until that new Lisa sings along bit) to what had worked so beautifully.

The exceptions to that are "Me, My Yoke and I" which could never acheive such seemingly unfathomable layers live (in fact, it always struck me as a terribly thin song previously) and "Coconut Skins" which is aided by the addition of lovely, tasteful subtle backing instrumentation like maracas, woodblock, tamborine and mandolin. Now until I'd heard the recently improved outro edition, this "Accidental Babies" would have been considered ideal. but now I've been spoiled and can't stand being deprived of that breathtaking alternative endng. I pray that they'll extend it again on the b-side when that one becomes a single!

I disagree however with what Quebec said. Other than "9 Crimes" which I don't despise but definitely remains my least favorite, every one of the other songs qualifies as stellar and worthy of consideration for inclusion in a best list.

That first live performance of "Grey Room" is still stunning enough to keep it one of my three favorite Damo songs and although I adore the addition of the cello and violin (precisely because Lisa completely ruins the isolation of it in the exact way that I'd feared she would) I can't vote for it. Like "Accidental Babies", where he wisely left her off, Lisa simply has absolutely no business being anywhere on this song, let alone turning it into a duet! Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oo!

Sad to say, but the way Lisa is mis-used throughout the album is my only real gripe with its production. On "O" her presence felt essential. She was the other side of the story. A co-narrator. Those were true duets. Now in maybe 4 of these tracks that is the case.

The remainder of the time it's like she's an arbitrary afterthought. She mostly seems like merely some backing vocalist. Half heartedly mumbling, coming in uncertainly as if she's missed her cue or something: a full few seconds behind and out of synch as though they've never practiced it with her before.

Seriously, does somebody know an audio trick for erasing her from the mix? Honestly, if I could just take her parts entirely out of "Elephant" and especially "Grey Room" and perhaps "Rootless Tree" I think they would all be just as good as the live versions for me. Never ever dreamed I'd want to request something like that.

Right now for me it's Sleep don't Weep.

Yeah, I think I know of something, it's called 'stop'. It's included in most of the modern music playback devices.

I voted for Elephant, but it's too early to tell. It could just as easily been accidental babies, 9 crimes, grey room or coconut skins.

Great album. I can't wait for him to come to Toronto.

i'm not sure i have a favorite track yet, but for some reason i'm not really liking 9 crimes--perhaps cuz it wasn't new to me.

on a side note, i was temepted to watch the video for "the blower's daughter" while i was streaming the album and i must say i was right in not having ever watched it before...i just didn't like it.

Me, My Yoke, and I

I'm surprised by the popularity of Animals since it's probably the only track i'm not all that keen on at the moment. I just don't really like the chorus or string melodies very much...

My early favourite is 9 Crimes because I've listened to it about 40 times (thanks to iTunes) and i'm not bored of it. I love the way Lisa sings "how'm I s'posed to hold it" and it still makes me want to cry when Damo sings "no".

Elephant and Rootless Tree come in close behind but to be honest, Animals aside (and perhaps Sleep Don't Weep which is growing on me slowly), I really love all the tracks and am really impressed with the album.

Dogs. by far.