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Official The Tea Party Thread


J2112YYZ
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There's a few of us on here who are big fans of this great Canadian rock trio. I figured since one great Canadian trio has retired, I should do my part to try and bring some attention to this highly underrated one.

 

They've been around since the early 90s. Went on a hiatus from 2005 to around 2010 or so. They came out with a great new album two years ago and it looks like they'll be sticking around. They are great multi-instrumentalists with a lot of very good songs. If you don't know who they are and want to listen to something musically interesting, then give them a try.

 

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bean got me into this group fairly recently, and I'm very glad she did. I love the creative song structuring, the Jim Morrison-esque vocals, the rockin' guitar, the effective incorporation of exotic instruments, and most of all the emotiveness. It's apparent that a lot of feeling goes into their music, which covers plenty of diverse ground. A Tea Party album is sure to feature catchy material, intense material, and affecting material.

 

Here are a couple of my favorite TTP tunes:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv8L8LfgZ_w

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCye7v79Tz0

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Due to the fact I live a few miles from the Canadian border, I was able to pick up a rock station in St. Catherines, Ontario and that's how I discovered the band in 1995. I heard Fire In The Head getting a lot of play and that got me interested. I didn't actually know who the band was the first few times I heard the song. Once I found out who they were, I bought Edges Of Twilight and the rest is history.

 

I think we're the only American city that really embraced them. They play here as often as they can. It feels like the Buffalo, NY region is like a second home to them.

 

Cyclonus, your description of them is perfect.

Edited by J2112YYZ
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A more mainstream sounding song, if you like that kind of stuff:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfaATa-qmG4

 

Here's another great song of the mainstream sort:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFuXLl1Ngn0

 

And here's something more exotic and intense:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeU2erB9U50

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Pulse is a good one.

 

I love the whole album. Transmission was their dark, angry album. The band was going through some deep personal stuff at the time, I can't remember exactly what though. But the result is one of my favorite albums from them.

 

Psychopomp, Alarum, the title track and Emerald are all great.

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Pulse is a good one.

 

I love the whole album. Transmission was their dark, angry album. The band was going through some deep personal stuff at the time, I can't remember exactly what though. But the result is one of my favorite albums from them.

 

Psychopomp, Alarum, the title track and Emerald are all great.

 

I really like Gyroscope on that album as well. It forms a pretty rockin' and formidable one-two punch with Alarum. And then Release is perfectly placed right after them.

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Another remarkable thing about this band beyond their phenomenal catalogue is the killer live show. Over the years, I've had the great fortune to see them live a number of times in a variety of venues, and they've never disappointed. Truly a force to be reckoned with beyond what is captured on their studio albums. I'm so glad they've reunited!
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Oooooo...

 

I remember once thinking Muse were amazing making so much music as a three piece...

 

Now? Not so much.

 

Rush and King's X are even more impressive, and now I find this band!

 

Good stuff in this thread, where shall I start album wise guys?

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All great songs posted so far, guys! I feel like an introduction to the band wouldn't be complete without an iconic one such as "The River" :yes:

 

http://youtu.be/aKLpeNJ9zZo

 

Being that it was my own introduction to the band, I can confirm that it is indeed a great track to get started with. :cheers: It's still one of my absolute favorites on Splendor Solis. That heavy instrumental break blows me away every time.

 

Another remarkable thing about this band beyond their phenomenal catalogue is the killer live show. Over the years, I've had the great fortune to see them live a number of times in a variety of venues, and they've never disappointed. Truly a force to be reckoned with beyond what is captured on their studio albums. I'm so glad they've reunited!

 

I always find it really exciting when they start playing The River at the beginning of a set... and that's just when I'm watching videos of their performances. :o I can only imagine how awesome it is to be there for the experience. Hopefully I'll get to find out.

 

Good stuff in this thread, where shall I start album wise guys?

 

I'll definitely defer to the TTP veterans on this. I'll say that I was fortunate enough to be introduced to them through a series of great tracks from all their albums, and then I listened to the records in their entirety in order--and enjoyed every step.

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Oooooo...

 

I remember once thinking Muse were amazing making so much music as a three piece...

 

Now? Not so much.

 

Rush and King's X are even more impressive, and now I find this band!

 

Good stuff in this thread, where shall I start album wise guys?

 

Segue, when it comes to this band I am admittedly a bit partial to working through their discography in chronological order so that I can follow as their sound develops. I gave Cyclonus a crash course by introducing him to key songs from each album in chronological order, then he branched out into the full albums based on what he liked best. He seems converted so I guess that worked :LOL:

 

That being said, Transmission and TRIPtych are widely regarded as their two biggest albums...and The Edges of Twilight is my personal favourite.

I can't help but feel like you might appreciate what they did with dark electronica elements on Transmission, though if you are particularly intrigued by any of the songs that have been posted so far, I don't think you could do much wrong by starting with their respective album(s)! :)

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:o I've just realized that we've also not posted "Temptation" in here yet, another iconic song:

 

http://youtu.be/Q39q0fT3YiE

 

Temptation is so good. I remember the first time I heard it--I definitely liked it, but I wasn't sure if it would be a favorite because it seemed much more straightforward, both in structure and in flavor, than the other Tea Party tunes I'd heard to that point. Then, before I knew it, I happily had it running through my head all the time!

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Oooooo...

 

I remember once thinking Muse were amazing making so much music as a three piece...

 

Now? Not so much.

 

Rush and King's X are even more impressive, and now I find this band!

 

Good stuff in this thread, where shall I start album wise guys?

 

You would probably love their third album Transmission. It's got a lot of electronic stuff going on but still has some great, unusual musical arrangements. This was the darkest and angriest the band ever was. The album stands out because of that since that's really not their style.

 

If you wanted to start from the beginning that's fine too. Their first album is called Splendor Solis. I'm not sure how easy it will be to find their stuff though. They don't seem to have large distribution outside of Canada.

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The Interzone Mantras hasn't gotten a mention yet but that's my favorite album from them. I know I might go against the grain a bit with the rest of the fanbase but it's an absolutely great, flawless rock album from beginning to end. Overall, I think that album is the peak of the band's songwriting. Everything just came together perfectly on it.

 

I think their newest album is as good as anything they've ever done as well. Sometimes a comeback album can disappoint after a band takes a break for several years. But they returned as strong as ever and didn't miss a step. I wonder if they will go back to doing a new album ever two years like they did before. That means their might be a new album out this year if that's the case.

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Oooooo...

 

I remember once thinking Muse were amazing making so much music as a three piece...

 

Now? Not so much.

 

Rush and King's X are even more impressive, and now I find this band!

 

Good stuff in this thread, where shall I start album wise guys?

 

You would probably love their third album Transmission. It's got a lot of electronic stuff going on but still has some great, unusual musical arrangements. This was the darkest and angriest the band ever was. The album stands out because of that since that's really not their style.

 

If you wanted to start from the beginning that's fine too. Their first album is called Splendor Solis. I'm not sure how easy it will be to find their stuff though. They don't seem to have large distribution outside of Canada.

 

Well that's two votes for Segue liking Transmission! :ebert:

 

J, have you ever heard their self-titled release that preceded Splendor Solis? In a sense it's similar right down to including a few of the same songs, but overall it has a bit more of a blues-rock vibe.

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The Interzone Mantras hasn't gotten a mention yet but that's my favorite album from them. I know I might go against the grain a bit with the rest of the fanbase but it's an absolutely great, flawless rock album from beginning to end. Overall, I think that album is the peak of the band's songwriting. Everything just came together perfectly on it.

 

I think their newest album is as good as anything they've ever done as well. Sometimes a comeback album can disappoint after a band takes a break for several years. But they returned as strong as ever and didn't miss a step. I wonder if they will go back to doing a new album ever two years like they did before. That means their might be a new album out this year if that's the case.

 

Yeah, I think it's unfortunate that The Interzone Mantras wasn't more appreciated by the fanbase as I also think that it is a very strong album. I don't want to speak for him, but I think you'll find that Cyclonus shares a similar sentiment to you. I was recently speculating to him about what may have went "wrong" with that one. As hugely successful as TRIPtych was, it's a polished record and I got the sense that older fans were starting to feel alienated by that. Then The Interzone Mantras came along with the Eastern flair taking a bit of a backseat to Martin's beefed-up guitar...and I can't help but feel like that may have been alright enough until a single like "Angels" showed up and probably didn't help matters for that segment of the fanbase. If those folks were at all dubious about TRIPtych, then I imagine The Interzone Mantras probably confirmed their suspicions about the band's direction. Then if we take a look at the folks who became fans because of "Heaven Coming Down," well The Interzone Mantras on the whole is edgier than that song. Songs like "Soulbreaking" and "Requiem," and to some extent "Angels," would likely have resonated well but perhaps by the time the former and latter came along as singles, the major attention had been lost. And then there are the fans who loved the dark electronica of Transmission (who matter very much in this conversation because the band was huge and growing then)...well they must have really been feeling left behind!

 

Whatever the case, it's just unfortunate that folks were willing to pass up an album with a first single like this:

http://youtu.be/wvpobsKQdZc

 

 

At least the album charted high in Australia relative to the rest of their discography...and this while the Australians are rabid for them in general!

Edited by bean-tor
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I never thought about the sound change on Interzone like that. Good breakdown there.

 

The way I saw it was that the band altered their sound a bit but they were still The Tea Party and were still writing great stuff. I don't think they changed so much with the sound that it should have alienated fans. At the time of it's release, it was received well. I saw them on that tour and everyone was into the new songs. It seems over time that the album has been forgotten about by the majority of the fanbase and the fans focus is on the 90s stuff and nothing else. I've seen them twice since The Ocean At The End has come out and nobody seems to know that stuff at all. It's like 95 percent of the crowd is unaware that they have a new album out. Which is more disappointing to me than the lack of love Interzone has now. At least Lullaby still gets a reaction when they play it. People are completely silent when they play the new stuff.

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Thanks, J! Yeah, the change in their sound doesn't make the albums sound disjointed for me if listened to in succession. But it seems more noticeable when you skip even just one album in listening to a string of them in order. (I bring this up not because it matters in and of itself, but just because the further along in the chronology one gets, the more alienated someone who prefers the earlier sound may feel.) It's hard to please everyone, so when the balance of elements in a band's sound shifts, a few people can get disappointed along the way. Couple that with two markedly different hit singles in "Temptation" and "Heaven Coming Down" on albums sandwiched between the rather different The Edges of Twilight and The Interzone Mantras, and I think we start to see how the fanbase can divide. I guess I should count myself lucky that to me it still all made sense as The Tea Party, as it sounds like it did for you :)

 

As far as the tours go...for the shows that I caught, the crowd was certainly pumped but not quite as enthusiastic on The Interzone Mantras as TRIPtych, which I expected that based on the relative radio play and music television air time. Every time I've seen them after The Interzone Mantras tour, I've felt like the crowd reacted more positively to songs from that album than what I recall from the album's tour itself! I suppose that makes sense, though, since the fans who are still coming out these days seem to be primarily ones who have enjoyed the development or are new enough to have joined liking the current sound :LOL:

 

When I saw The Edges of Twilight 20th anniversary tour, the common remarks I was hearing from other attendees were about how glad they were to be hearing so much older material again and how they had no idea about The Ocean at the End. I'm glad that I didn't have to experience the disappointment that you did with the new material, because the crowd here at least seemed to embrace it!

Edited by bean-tor
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The Interzone Mantras hasn't gotten a mention yet but that's my favorite album from them. I know I might go against the grain a bit with the rest of the fanbase but it's an absolutely great, flawless rock album from beginning to end. Overall, I think that album is the peak of the band's songwriting. Everything just came together perfectly on it.

 

The Interzone Mantras is my favorite Tea Party album as well. There's so much material on that record that really resonates with me, and every song is a good one.

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I get a bit of Jim Morrison vibe from the vocalist sometimes...

 

I really dig this band!

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I was thinking today that The Tea Party might've had an influence on the direction Jethro Tull took back in the mid-nineties.

 

The thought came to mind while I was reading some Martin/Chatwood interviews this morning. They talked about what an honor it was to have Ian Anderson play on The Ocean at the End and mentioned that Ian actually introduced himself to the band way back in 1994. He was a fan of their music and even attended a number of their shows.

 

Then in late 1995 Tull released the Roots to Branches album. I don't know if you guys are familiar with that one, but it has much more of an exotic/Eastern flair to it than anything else the band has ever done. Here's a track from it:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGglFpWOPNs

 

This is hardly a Tea Party rip-off or anything (though the "heavier" parts, like the one at 1:05, do sound to me like the sorts of passages that TTP would come up with), but the Eastern aspect is very evident. And perhaps The Tea Party were part of the impetus that drove Ian to write such material.

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