Rank the Blue Devils shows of the multi-key era

[MikeN]

Thanks to BD Mediabox, I have recently gone back and listened to the studio recordings of the 2000-2009 shows, so I'm glad this topic came up! I was surprised that, in hindsight, a lot of the stuff I remember not liking at all was quite well done and enjoyable this time.

My list -

2000 (Methods of Madness) - I think this show has a little bit of everything. Taxi Driver has a great "classic" jazz opening, the two Preludes sound like one flowing composition, Scene d'Amour has been stuck in my head for weeks now, and the Wild Ride... oh yeah. This might be the most "conventional" drum corps show on the list, but for me, it's still the best.

2002 (Jazz, Music Made in America) - this show originally met with mixed reviews, but I think the charts stand the test of time quite nicely. House of the Rising Sun was a *great* ballad that year, and Channel One, though abbreviated, was a nice shout out to "Classic" BD. And Ragtime for the opener is still light, engaging and clinically clean.

2003 (The Phenomenon of Cool) - the first 2/3 of the show merit inclusion this high on the list. I though the closer was a design mess and I tend to pretend it doesn't exist, but the opening drum solos are legendary, and the whole tune can be used as a textbook example of how to bring emotion up, down, up and waaaay up. Concerto de Aranjuez for me at the time was an afterthought, but in recent listening I think I've gained a new appreciation for just how smooth that hornline is.

2004 (The SummerTrain Blues Mix) - as the years go on, I think more and more fondly of this show - I think they got the "mix" part right. They wove the tunes together in a way that few of their programs have ever truly done, and made something new out of them. Summertime is a bit crotale-heavy, but A Train... and that drumline... holy cow.

2005 (Dance Derby of the Century) - "One thousand hours!" This one might have gone up in hindsight more than any of their other shows. The concept absolutely wouldn't have worked without the voice work, and the guy they got to do it totally sold the program. While the typical 4-5 song "show" got much more fragmented in this program, they still put out some neat jazzy sounds. (I would have totally taken out the Our Town stuff with the completely random drum feature, but that's a minor nitpick.) I wonder if this might have gone over better had they not told the story backwards, but then I can't figure out how they might have done the show! (p.s. Yowza!)

2001 (Awayday Blue) - another show that went up in the revisiting. It's not the most friendly jazz ever written, but it is not as straight-symphonic as it sounded the first time, either. This show is kind of the Mendoza line for me - the ones above I really liked, the ones below I didn't. It's worth mentioning though, that even as a "meh" show for me compared to the others on this list, compared to the others in 2001 it's quite high up.

2007 (Winged Victory) - I'm really torn on this show. I think it's got elements that are brilliant - the pre-show pit "mood setting" - the initial parts of Pegasus, and the last 1:30. But somewhere in the middle it kind of peters out for me - pretty much from the start of the drum solo up to the finale. It is okay, but not one that I listen to the whole show over and over.

2008 (Constantly Risking Absurdity) - got to see this one live at my only Finals, and... I didn't care for it. As a drummer, I did enjoy the opening, but the "absurd" part never got across to me. Tightrope walking and Chaplin-esque movements just didn't really do it. The visual program never quite meshed with the music, and for me the music was kind of scattershot. (And the studio recording has some uncharacteristic phasing in the Sweeney Todd statments between brass and drums, something I think appears to a lesser degree on the DVD.)

2009 (1930) - After the first two minutes, they've lost me. The middle of the show became a stop-start-stop-pit-start-stop exercise that, by the time they bring it back around to the jazzy feature and then the end, has lost all momentum. I don't think the drill was easy at all, and I'm okay with the chairs, but I think program wise it really was a good start and a good finish with a black hole in the middle. Of course, they've got a bazillion rings and I've got none. Well, a wedding ring, anyways... :)

2006 (The Godfather, Part Blue) - I think the two things that absolutely kill this show for me are the front-loaded drum feature, which becomes fatiguing before the opening horn statment (and I'm a drummer, so that's saying something), and the 2nd "jazz" tune that was simply the main melody restated. I think that was a horrible, elevator-music decision that pretty much ruined the entire program for me, as the first 8 minutes or so then becomes a theme and variations. The Godfather movie, BTW, actually did feature jazz music in it, which I was completely expecting to hear some of going in.

2010 (Through a Glass, Darkly) - visually, it's a neat show, if not a game-changer. There are some neat effects done with the mirrors, and the drill design makes great use of the various smaller-sized stages that the mirrors created. Musically, this show is... ugly. May be well performed, but it's not something I'll ever listen to again willingly. To be fair, I didn't like the original either (I got the album this spring when we found out the program), so it's more Kenton and Graettinger's fault than BD's, other than the fact they chose to play it.

Mike

[DCImonkey]

2000, Methods of Madness

2006, The Godfather, Part Blue

2003, The Phenomenon of Cool

2008, Constantly Risking Absurdity

2002, Jazz - Music Made in America

2004, Summertrain Blues Mix

2001, Awayday Blue

2007, Winged Victory

2005, Dance Derby of the Century

2010, Through a Glass, Darkly

2009, 1930

Edited August 19, 2010 by DCImonkey

[BMBob]

I'm glad to see Methods of Madness getting some recognition in this thread. I'm used to people being a little bit "ehh" about this show, but it's one of my favorites.

[Zeke]

2000

[kelis]

2010

2009

2004

2008

2000

2003

2006

2007

2002

2005

2001

[CloudHype]

2004

2000

2003

2008

2010

2007

2001

2002

2005

2009

[snapcranklepop]

2009-1930

2003-The Phenomenon of Cool

2004-The Summer Train Blues Mix

2010-Through A Glass Darkly

2008-Constantly Risking Absurdity

2002-Jazz Music Made in America

2007-Winged Victory

2006-The Godfather

2005-Dance Derby of the Century

2001-Awayday Blue

[Lance]

Hard one, but I'll try.

List with spacial context:

11. 2005 (Dance Derby)

10. 2001 (Awayday Blue)

9. 2002 (Jazz: Music Made in America)

8. 2006 (The Godfather: Part Blue)

7. 2008 (Constantly Risking Absurdity)

6. 2007 (Winged Victory)

5. 2009 (1930)

4. 2003 (Phenomenon of Cool)

3. 2010 (Through a Glass Darkly)

2. 2004 (Summer Train Blues Mix)

1. 2000 (Methods of Madness)

[Cardman]

1.) 2008: Constantly Risking Absurdity (love it!, love it!, love it!)

2.) 2002: Jazz-Music made in America

3.) 2000: Methods of madness

4.) 2004: The Summer Train Blues Mix

5.) 2006: The Godfather, Part Blue

6.) 2003: The Phenomenon of Cool

7.) 2007: Winged Victory

8.) 2009: 1930

9.) 2001: Awayday Blue

10.) 2010: Through a glass, darkly (This would be my least favorite were it not for 2005's unfortunate vocals. YOWZA!)

11.) 2005: Dance Derby of the Century

I hadn't really thought about it till this thread was started, but now that I do think of it, this has been a pretty bad decade for me liking Blue Devils's shows. Of the eleven, I only really liked the first four as far as music goes. 2006 was ok but not great, imo. Let's hope this next decade is much better.

Edited August 22, 2010 by Cardman