Placebo - Albums Collection 1996-2006 (5CD) [Japanese SHM-CD, Reissue 2013]

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Placebo - Albums Collection 1996-2006 (5CD) [Japanese SHM-CD, Reissue 2013]

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Due to their penchant for androgynous attire/makeup and raw, punky guitar riffs, Placebo have been described by some as a glam version of Nirvana. The multinational band was formed by singer/guitarist Brian Molko (part Scottish and American descent, but raised in England) and Swedish bassist Stefan Olsdal. Both members had previously attended the same school in Luxembourg, but they didn't cross paths properly until 1994 in London, England. Briefly called Ashtray Heart and influenced by the likes of Sonic Youth, the Pixies, the Smashing Pumpkins, and the aforementioned Nirvana, they began filling the vacant drum spot with percussionists like Robert Schultzberg and Steve Hewitt (the latter being the group's only member of English origin). Although Molko and Olsdal preferred Hewitt as their main man (it was this lineup that recorded several early demos), Hewitt opted to return to his other band at the time, Breed. With Schultzberg back on board instead, Placebo signed a recording contract with Caroline Records and released a self-titled debut in 1996. The album was a surprise hit in the U.K., where singles like "Nancy Boy" and "Teenage Angst" became Top 40 hits. Meanwhile, the bandmates themselves became the toast of the British music weeklies and supported their debut by opening for such outfits as the reunited Sex Pistols, U2, and Weezer.

Despite the group's early success, Schultzberg wasn't seeing eye to eye with the other bandmembers, who by this point were able to convince Hewitt to rejoin the lineup, prompting Schultzberg's exit from the band in September 1996. One of Hewitt's first performances with Placebo upon returning proved to be a big one, as David Bowie – a fan of the band, not to mention an influence on its sound – personally invited the trio to play his 50th birthday bash at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1997. The following year, Placebo switched over to the major-label division of Caroline, Virgin Records, and issued Without You I'm Nothing in November. The album was another large seller in England and initially appeared to be the group's breakthrough in the U.S., where MTV embraced the album's leadoff single, "Pure Morning." Subsequent singles failed to match the success of that first song, but Without You I'm Nothing remained popular in England, where it eventually went platinum. Around the same time, Placebo recorded a cover of T. Rex's "20th Century Boy" for Velvet Goldmine, a movie in which the trio also appeared.

The relationship between Placebo and Bowie continued to blossom. Bowie made a special on-stage appearance with the band during a tour stop in New York, and both parties united for a re-recording of the title track from Without You I'm Nothing, which was issued as a single in 1999. Placebo's third release, Black Market Music, added hip-hop and disco elements to the band's tense rock sound. The album was released in Europe in 2000, followed several months later by a re-sequenced American version whose track list featured several additions, including the aforementioned Bowie version of "Without You I'm Nothing" and the band's cover of Depeche Mode's "I Feel You." The recording spawned additional U.K. hits such as "Taste in Men" and "Slave to the Wage."

In spring 2003, Placebo showcased a harder edge with the release of their fourth album, Sleeping with Ghosts. The album cracked the Top Ten in the U.K. and sold 1.4 million copies worldwide. Australian tour dates with Elbow and U.K. shows with Har Mar Superstar followed in 2004. Placebo's singles collection, Once More with Feeling: Singles 1996-2004, was released before the year's end. The 19-song compilation included their biggest U.K. hits and the new track "Twenty Years." Frenchman Dimitri Tikovoi (Goldfrapp, the Cranes), who had mixed selected songs on Once More with Feeling, also signed on to produce Placebo's fifth effort, 2006's Meds. One year later, after landing a spot on the Projekt Revolution tour alongside Linkin Park and My Chemical Romance, Virgin released the Extended Play '07 EP as a simple introduction for new fans to the band's past decade of music.

Steven Hewitt departed Placebo in the fall of 2007, and the band left its longtime home of EMI/Virgin one year later. With new drummer Steve Forrest now on board, the band recorded Battle for the Sun and released it during the summer of 2009. A box set of the band's work for EMI, The Hut Recordings, was released the same day, and an extensive tour kept the guys busy for another year. For fans who couldn't make the shows, Placebo also issued a live mini-album, Live at La Cigale, whose songs were taken from a 2006 performance in Paris. The band returned in 2009 with its sixth studio album, Battle for the Sun, which was produced by Grammy winner David Bottrill (dEUS, Silverchair, Muse). In 2010 Molko and Olsdal announced they had been working on new material, which culminated in the release of the mini-album B3 EP two years later. In 2013 Placebo delivered their seventh studio album, the Adam Noble-produced Loud Like Love.

Greg Prato, Allmusic.com

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Placebo - Albums Collection 1996-2006 (5CD) [Japanese SHM-CD, Reissue 2013]

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Placebo - Albums Collection 1996-2006 (5CD) [Japanese SHM-CD, Reissue 2013]

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The key to Placebo's sound is singer/guitarist Brian Molko, whose impersonation of a woman goes far beyond his appearance and into his singing voice. His trio brings together various influences – the epic, noisy "Chicago sound," late-'70s prog rock, and late-'80s "college rock" – but boils them down into fairly conventional, guitar-heavy melodrama, with the sort of opaque and angst-ridden lyrics usually found in that genre. That's not to say that Placebo's sound is boring; churning guitars and direct, heavy basslines give the album a good deal of strength, and Molko is able to write moving, gritty melodies and fairly clever lyrics. Placebo may sound like a mix between the Smashing Pumpkins and Rush – and the levels of melodrama on the album may stretch far beyond most people's tolerance – but it's well-written and performs enough variations on those genres to keep it interesting.

Nitsuh Abebe, Allmusic.com

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Placebo - Albums Collection 1996-2006 (5CD) [Japanese SHM-CD, Reissue 2013]

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While Placebo's self-titled debut contained mostly elements of '90s alternative (Smashing Pumpkins, etc.), their second album, Without You I'm Nothing, is full of '70s glam rock and punk references. Placebo's rhythm section of Stefan Olsdal (bass) and Steve Hewitt (drums) is impressively tight, but the band's star attraction is undoubtedly androgynous singer/guitarist Brian Molko. Whereas the debut was written solely by Molko, their latest is a bona fide group effort, with Molko still handling the lyric-writing. The swirling anthemic album opener, "Pure Morning," is a self-proclaimed "celebration of friendship with women," and should be a guaranteed hit single, while the racing "Brick Shithouse" merges '90s electro-rock with Sonic Youth punk guitars. "You Don't Care About Us" shows that Molko can easily re-create J Mascis' late-'80s guitar tones, and "Scared of Girls" contains gender-bending vocals from Molko and a tribal-rock accompaniment. With massive success already underway back home in England, Without You I'm Nothing deserves to break through everywhere else.

Greg Prato, Allmusic.com

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Placebo - Albums Collection 1996-2006 (5CD) [Japanese SHM-CD, Reissue 2013]

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After almost five years, the vile, nasty, spunk-filled world of Placebo has refused to go away. Marilyn Manson has turned a satirical eye on his own media status and even Suede have since come to swoon over girls "shaped like a cigarette." Yet it's Brian Molko that's steered his band from premature randiness (Placebo) to fearful regrouping (Without You I'm Nothing) without once batting a makeup-smeared eyelash. Black Market Music finds Molko in such moody lust that his strangled, androgynous wailing rivals anything the band has previously flashed to the world. Whether it's the dripping, slithery punk circle of songs like "Black Eyed" or the choir-boy enthusiasm of others like "Special K" (strangely echoing Midnight Oil's "Warakurna"), Placebo seem to have finally found that sweet wet spot between beauty and perversion. Even at its worst (the "Block Rockin' Beats"-sampling "Taste in Men"), past glories sometimes fail to be repeated with at least grand, postcoital contentment. Because it's hard to hate an album with such fascinating softer touches. In one moment, Molko cries respect to his mother; in another he counsels, "You better keep it in check/Or you'll end up a wreck/And you'll never wake up" – a paternal warning seemingly directed at his fellow hedonists. Of course, there's a thin line between trying to perfect old efforts and stumbling into laughable self-parody. But Placebo now seem more in control than they ever have before. The spectacular "Commercial for Levi," for example, is some perverted, weary take on a childhood lullaby, only one written in a parallel dimension about "spunk and bestiality." True, there's no "Nancy Boy" or "Pure Morning," yet the album's consistency easily outmatches even the highest watermarks of either predecessor. This is a dank, lusty moment in the band's career that is about as good as Placebo "mark 1" can go. They now have the talent, the intelligence, and the distorted arousal to possibly become unstoppable. It's only a matter of time before they finally find love amid the lust.

Dean Carlson, Allmusic.com

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Placebo - Albums Collection 1996-2006 (5CD) [Japanese SHM-CD, Reissue 2013]

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Since the band's 1996 self-titled debut, Placebo has penchant for delivering spiky, stylishly slick pop songs, in particular "Nancy Boy" and "Pure Morning." Brian Molko's femme-like vocals and androgynous appearance is matched with Stefan Olsdal and Steve Hewitt's solid glam-inspired instrumentation, giving Placebo a spot of its own in the typically cheeky Brit-pop scene. Fourth album Sleeping with Ghosts works with the band's post-grunge/experimental desire to keep things campy and emotionally intact; however, Placebo's a bit reserved this time around. While Without You I'm Nothing boasted a glam rock edge and Black Market Music captured more of a punk-glam polish, Sleeping with Ghosts crawls with mopish, gnarled ballads. "Bulletproof Cupid" is a vibrant album opener with classic guitar snarling, but the album's intensity quickly drops when "English Summer Rain"'s flimsy electronic bits lose step with Molko's dismal interpretation of nature. The electric riffs of "The Bitter End" stick with Placebo's frenzied rock style, and "Plasticine" and "Second Sight" are equally cool dark pop, but stand in contrast to the bigger standouts of "Taste in Men" from Black Market Music and "Every You Every Me" from Without You I'm Nothing. Placebo has an undeniable swagger, and any attempt to tame its overconfident character simply doesn't work. The whiny, synth-driven "Protect Me from What I Want" is a perfect example; Molko's sharp wit is much too literal in criticizing social conformity, typically mocking and self-deprecating as in the song "Special Needs." Sleeping with Ghosts doesn't venture out lyrically or sonically, but that's not to say it's a bad album. The members of Placebo, now in their early thirties, move beyond the spit and scowl of their previous albums, and new fans will find Sleeping with Ghosts to be a good record. Old fans, though, might think the band wimped out while growing up.

MacKenzie Wilson, Allmusic.com

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Placebo - Albums Collection 1996-2006 (5CD) [Japanese SHM-CD, Reissue 2013]

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With 2004's release of Placebo's singles collection, the band reaffirmed that it has never quite fit into any particular fad. Their success has been gradual in the sense that their style and sound have progressed naturally with each album. Meds builds upon that notion while also embarking on a new phase for Placebo. Meds is their second coming. Frontman Brian Molko is no longer the glam-chic, gender-bending firestarter he once was. His songs are still angry and twisted in self-reflection and social rejection. Meds doesn't contain the rush to experiment like their previous records do. It's as bare and honest as Placebo have ever been, thanks to French producer Dimitri Tikovoi's straightforward approach in getting the band to make a bona fide rock record. There's a fresh vulnerability here and a sense of danger, too; the album's title track quickly enters this sphere. It's an obsessive moment confronting the social hypnosis and dependence of medication. The Kills' Alison Mosshart lends an anxious vocal backdrop as Placebo deliver an aggressive guitar-driven assault. Meds doesn't stop for breath until its end. Fans should be pleased with the menacing "Infra-Red" and the sexy ensnaring of "One of a Kind," two tracks that showcase Placebo's signature fiery performance style. When they're not deconstructing social expectations, Placebo's storytelling is equally powerful on the more lilting tracks. The shifty slow burn of "Space Monkey" is an epic ballad for the band. Placebo step out of their skin here. A squall of fuzzed guitars, strings, and Molko's brooding vocals strike to knock down the celebrity pedestal that creates a false human image. "Broken Promise," a duet with Michael Stipe, takes similar shape as a dramatic tale of adultery unfolds into a dark, emotional storm. Letting go of toxic relationships on "Song to Say Goodbye," a melancholic closing to Meds, brings the album full circle. To some, Meds might come off as less interesting compared to the slickness of older tracks such as "Taste in Men" and "Every You Every Me." Some may be over Molko's constant analysis of sex, drugs, and desire. What you see is what you get with Placebo and, for the first time in a long time, that vision is clear.

MacKenzie Wilson, Allmusic.com