Placebo Album: “Without You I'm Nothing”

I should have written this a long time ago. I saw Placebo in London in 2001 and was immediately hooked. They were so much different than the American bands that I was listening to at the time (Tool, Rage, etc.). The band produced seering pop rock that just flowed through the throng of sweaty people at the show. So after that, I went out and bought the album. Pure Morning may be one of the catchiest songs ever written. Once you hear it, it sticks in your brain for days and is nearly impossible to dislodge. Not to be overshadowed are great tracks like Every Me, Every You and You Don't Care about us. These songs crackle with electricity and are great to listen to anytime, but for me, especially when driving. But the highlight to the album has got to be the title track. Very emotional and strong. I recomend this album to anyone who's gotten stuck in a rut with today's mainstream music.

Seriously. In 39 years of life I have never listened to an album for the first time and loved every single track, first off, first listening. That is how good this LP is. Not even "Ziggy Stardust" did that for me. My first impression was New Oder collides with The Wedding Present. This album at once rocks you into a frenzy with glorious guitar riffs and chord changes, blistering bass rythyms and synchopated vocal intro's. Then it slugs you in the stomach with it's desperate dark melodies and words. It's a roller coaster ride, and Molkos voice is sheer jagged ice. I am one moment atop a mountain revelling in "Brick" and "You don't Care" and then dredging the oceans of my heart with "Crawl" "Sweet Prince". Like Bowie with "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" Molko leaves us with "Burger Queen". My spirits are lifted and dashed in 66 minutes of the best music I have ever heard. I feel the angst in this album, and yet in the end I am left with a sense of hope. Please God let Placebo live forever. Simply the best album ever made, it saved my life.

I'd have to say that this is one of the more blatantly emotional Placebo albums. You can really tell that Brian wrote some of these songs coming from a very dark place, and I think that he conveys that beautifully. "Burger Queen" & "My Sweet Prince" are excellent examples of the darker stuff, while "Allergic" & "Scared of Girls" show how the well the band can play slightly harder material.

Yes, there are a few songs where it's quite obvious as to who they have been inspired by. Such as "You Don't Care About Us", very Cure. And yes, Brian did wear alot of makeup and women's clothing in those days, and he still wears makeup. But just as with Marilyn Manson people pay far more attention to a band's "image" then they do to actually LISTENING to lyrics and music. This is a very well-done album and I highly suggest it to anyone with an interest in Placebo.

One of the best (and unfairly underrated) rock albums of the late nineties, Placebo`s sophomore release is an enticing, subtle, addictive and overall solid effort worth of praise.

The band`s debut was already a fine rock record, but in "Without You I`m Nothing" the powerful trio expands their sound and adopts a more goth-oriented feel, providing deep, atmospheric and hypnotic music that`s way above most britpop bands around that get more recognition and mass appeal (Oasis, Manic Street Preachers, the Verve, Travis, yawn.....).

While in the debut the group presented a sound that recalled Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins, here they enter a musical universe that is more related to some David Bowie, New Order or Cure material.

The album`s highlights are the ballads, slow and captivating songs where singer Brian Molko truly expressess his emotional and musical range, delivering moments like the melancholic "Ask For Answers", the highly impressive and haunting "The Crawl" and the dark ode "My Sweet Prince". "Allergic (To Thoughts of Mother Earth)" and "You Don`t Care About Us" prove that the trio still knows how to create dynamic and fast-paced rock songs as well.

Why this band doesn`t get more recognition is beyond me, since this record is an excellent effort and should not be on many store shelves waiting for someone to notice it. Its follow-up, "Black Market Music", is also a terrific rock album worth discovering and perhaps Placebo`s best.

Yes, they have many influences, but that's part of their charm. I bought this album wiithout hearing any songs on it, just because I kept meeting people who said I'd like these guys. I must say, they were right. Every song on here totally rocks; the fast ones as well as the moody ones. "Pure Morning" especially grabs me as an outstanding track, but really, there aren't any bad songs. The lyrics/vocals are unique but still amazing. And most importantly, the music is amazing. Imagine Radiohead, old Limp Bizkit minus Fred Durst and DJ Lethal, The Pizxies, and Jets to Brazil, all mixed together in a blender and then put through a filter that removes everything bad about those bands. That's pretty much what Placebo sounds like. I don't have any of their other CD's, but I will buy them soon. These guys are too good for me to own only one CD by them.