Review Summary: 20 years after its release, Muse’s ambitious debut holds up just as well as their classic albums and remains essential Muse listening
After years of teasing, the massive
Origin of Muse boxset, a collection of early Muse demos, B-sides and remasters of
Showbiz and
Origin of Symmetry, finally has a release date: 6 December 2019. Its release is to coincide with the 20 year anniversary of the band’s debut album,
Showbiz. With that in mind, and before we get to hear the remastered version, I thought I’d take a look at how the album holds up in 2019. The bands’ sound has evolved considerably since 1999, to the extent where a Muse fan at the turn of the millennium is unlikely to recognize certain tracks from 2018’s Simulation Theory as being performed by the same trio. So, how does
Showbiz hold up 20 years on?
Pretty well, in my opinion. That’s not to say some tracks show their age- Muscle Museum, Sober and Overdue especially sound a bit dated in 2019. Despite this, the quality of songwriting and performance from each band member still stands out as a bold first statement. By 1999 the band had already been together for well over 5 years, and it shows: they sound tight, with the drums and bass gelling perfectly and, when combined with Matt Bellamy’s impressive guitar and piano skills and amazing vocal range, they sound way more than the sum of their parts. It’s a testament to the quality of these musicians that as a 3 piece they make more noise than, say, the Foo Fighters, who have 3 guitarists.
Despite the striking performances from all the members, it is Matt’s vocals that steal the show on this album for me. Perhaps it is too obvious to need stating, but
Showbiz showcases Matt’s voice in its rawest, most youthful form heard on any Muse album. While
OOS contains my favourite Bellamy vocal performances,
Showbiz certainly gives it a run for its money. The vocal distortion effects are a-plenty, but not in a gimmicky or over-indulgent way. They take songs to the next level during climaxes, perfectly displayed in the title track and in the choruses of Uno. The falsetto at the end of Showbiz remains one of Matt’s most impressive (which is saying something), and is nicely balanced by the more gentle falsetto near the end of the closing track, Hate This And I’ll Love You.
Showbiz also contains the beautiful Escape; the song’s lyrics are inspired by Matt’s father and is one of the most vulnerable vocal performances Matt has ever given. It also contains some of his most direct lyrics. While songs later in their career had similarly personal lyrics, they tend to be shrouded within more bombastic, Orwellian themes (e.g. on
The Resistance). It is rare for Matt to be so honestly explicit in his lyrics, which makes Escape still stand out in 2019.
Speaking of lyrics, they have never been Muse’s strong point. Defector from 2015’s
Drones gave us some shockers such as, “Your blood is blue, and your mind's turned green, and your belly is all yellow”, and “Free, yeah I’m free, from society, you can’t control me, I’m a defector”. Compare the latter with the lyrics from the title track on
Showbiz: “Controlling my feelings for too long // They make me dream your dreams// They make me scream your screams.” No Bob Dylan, for sure, but much better than the cringe-worthy lyrics all Muse albums put out in the 2010s contain. Even the sillier lines (“I have played in every toilet, but you still want to spoil it”- Muscle Museum) still have some youthful charm to them.
The more stripped-back ballads Unintended and Falling Down are among the best the band has ever released, on a par with Blackout and Exogenesis Part III. They also display the raw beauty of Matt’s young voice, showing that the band did not overly rely on distortion effects to achieve their unique sound.
Showbiz also has perfect opener and closer tracks, which, in my opinion, is a feat Muse continued to pull off until
The Resistance. The delicate falsetto in the bridge of HTAILY followed by the spacey guitar leads is one of the most emotional and powerful moments on the album, rivaling the earth-shattering climax of the title track. Speaking of the title track, it really is one of the most amazing songs I’ve heard on a debut album: its atypical song structure, its constantly intensifying build-up, culminating in an explosive climax of a guitar solo and falsetto wails, all the while sounding too huge to be coming from 3 people, makes it one of my favourite Muse songs.
In summary,
Showbiz stands up as a great debut and among Muse’s best releases. While it doesn’t reach the epic heights of
OOS or
Absolution, it has some of Muse’s most essential songs, including Sunburn, Cave, Showbiz, Uno and HTAILY. It’s better than any album Muse have put out in the last decade. It’s raw yet well-performed, it has excellent song-writing, it contains some of Muse’s best ballads and epic climaxes, and enjoyable lyrics. It laid the groundwork for the albums to follow it in the 2000s, which would propel Muse to international fame. Despite being 20 years old, it feels less dated than more recent albums like 2012’s
The 2nd Law. I look forward to hearing the remastered version and the demos and alternate takes that we’ll get on
Origin of Muse.
