The Binaural-Riot Act run is the low point in the catalog for me. Where they rank changes but always two of the bottom 3, despite really loving both albums when they first came out. A few major flaws.
1. Few high points. There are some moments on Riot Act I love (Save You, I Am Mine, and Can't Keep in particular) but there are no unconditional 5 star songs.
2. It's a LONG listen. Like Binaural, this is a long, exhausting listen. It's not particularly demanding or challenging (in a way that Binaural, in its best moments, can claim). It just feels like it goes on far longer than its running time, and like Binaural, it is a record that never really manages to pick up any momentum. The dreary nature of so many of the songs certainly adds to this. A shorter record (even by 2-3 songs) would have helped a lot.
3. Too many weak songs. I think the 3 I mentioned above are great. Ghost and Cropduster are also really good. I happen to like Get Right a lot, but it's easy to dismiss. 1/2 Full is a tired retread of Red Mosquito. All or None, rather than serving as an emotional powerhouse closer, just kinda meanders in a listless sort of way (despite sounding great). Thumbing My Way is another somewhat bland and lifeless song, despite strong lyrics. LBC is arguably the most aenimc anthem in the entire catalog, with that terrible title and 'all you need is love' tripe. You Are is a cool idea that goes nowhere. Green Disease feels like juvenille punk posturing. Bushleaguer took a really cool piece of music and ruinied it with a terrible spoken word (eddie doesn't do these well, IMO) and gave up the chance to say something interesting or important about Bush in exchange for name calling and musings abstract enough to be largely rendered pointless. And Help Help isn't that interesting, despite really wanting to be.
4. The best songs were kept off the record (again). No one complains about the all start list of songs left off Ten because what remained was so good. This was a record that REALLY could have used Undone (the best song from the sessions, probably) and Down (certainly better than much of what is on there)
5. Eddie's voice. Despite having great work from mike throughout (this was his last truly stellar album), an excellent sound, and some creative musical moments, one of the major factors that drag Riot Act down is Eddie's tired, seemingly disinterested performance. I've written at length about how it fits the artistic statement of the album, but certainly the songs suffer as a result. Eddie sounds too defeated on TMW or All or None to drag me in, and You Are, 1/2 Full, and LBC need a lot more soaring energy to work. There are times I think his vocals are quite appropriate for the songs at hand (I Am Mine--the way he seems to be struggling to pull himself out of the mud, Save You--a song about exhausting yourself on behalf of someone else, Ghost--a song about disappearing, Can't Keep--where he sounds less exhausted but in a contemplative way--the sound of someone taking a break from a struggle, rather than giving up on one), but too often they don't elevate a weaker selection of songs that require strong performances to lift.
6. It hurt S/T. S/T is such a conscious reaction to how muted Riot Act felt that what was (with some exceptions) a stronger set of songs got sandblasted by the desire to make everything sound as loud and in your face and un-Riot Acty as possible. And while there are a few songs where I maintain that it worked well (the first 3), the rest of the album really suffers for it, in particular Marker, Come Back, and Parachutes--three very strong songs done a tremendous disservice by the production. And I blame Riot Act for that.
Overall this is probably at the very bottom of the list for me.
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