After releasing a best of CD, a live DVD and so on HIM-bandleader and womanizer Ville Valo has by his own account deeply dug into the dusty archive of the band to offer some rare and previously unreleased recordings and remixes to the shopping addicted fans. Uneasy Listening Vol. 1 already dealt with the softer part of the triumphant export from Finland. Now, Uneasy Listening Vol. 2 spends as a counterpart time on the rough side of the band’s œuvre. Regarding the title “Uneasy Listening” I wouldn’t expect a deathmetal-compilation but nevertheless the CD amusingly contains several surprising songs, which could perplex some fan girls.
Featured with a fancy artwork the thick booklet unfortunately offers only little information. If Mr. Valo himself enters his dusty archives he should leave a comment on the selection of songs by liner notes. Anyway, with a total playtime of one hour the capacity of the CD is not exhausted. Mercifully the choice of the tracks not focuses on an accumulation of the biggest chart hits quickly transformed into heavier versions. Instead Uneasy Listening Vol. 2 offers a smorgasbord of tracks in rare or previously unreleased (live-)versions. There is no lack of classics like Wicked Game, Pretending or Right Here In My Arms. These songs are comparatively less exciting. More interesting are the three included cover versions. HIM prove humor with a twinkle in their eye with Rendezvous With Anus, original from the jeans fans of Turbonegro. Aware of its own history and with the use of a Hammond organ the band tackles the Hand Of Doom from Black Sabbath. Sailin’ On from the punkrockers of Bad Brains reaches only a playtime of less than two minutes and marks the heavy climax of the compilation. According to title of the of the record HIM’s own songs belong to the faster kind and cover the whole discography of the Finns like the opener Buried Away By Love or very old songs like Sigillum Diaboli from the first rare EP, which most of the fans probably only know from concerts or from the limited edition of the breakthrough-album Razorblade Romance. All in all the modifications are marginal except Soul On Fire, which is transformed into pure Industrial Rock using dominant electronic elements.
For whom the CD is worth buying? Due to the rare versions die-hard fans buy the compilation either way. People who just want to get an overview of HIM should better buy the regular best-of-CD. Probably the Finns win some new fans with Uneasy Listening Vol. 2, who don’t like the whining tearjerkes. It is also possible that the CD causes less strained faces of metalheads when the girlfriend wants to listen to a HIM-album ;)