Extended thoughts on Joe's Story
I think basically everything that can be said about Joe's Story has already been mentioned in this sub. Yeah, the censoring is kinda cringe, the new songs feel out of place, some of the mixing decisions are weird, but I don't really think that explains why such a negative reaction has spawned out of this album. We need to take a much broader look at this album and the circumstances for that.
It's common expectation, especially in rock circles, that the album is a product of the artist's vision for their music, and the anniversaries are for the fans, showing all the innards and bonus stuff that surrounded the album. This, I think, is the key thing that created such a disconnect between author and audience. Joe's Story is, at its core, not something I think anyone wanted. It's not even that it was a bad reinterpretation, just that it is a reinterpretation of the band's least flawed album, and one which didn't do any big swings to set itself apart. It's fundamentally not for the fans.
Joe's Story is an album made almost exclusively for the band's sake, which becomes more clear the more you dig into the album. There's a lot of very minor changes which seemingly only exist because one of the band members wanted it to be different. You probably know about the removal of the swearing, but did you notice that almost all of Ethan's vocals were rerecorded for some reason? They sound basically identical. I only noticed because I listen to this album too much and his intonation on Vincent is slightly different. Joe's Story is filled with this stuff, and while I don't think it's necessarily bad, it is certainly a little unneeded.
I've spent a while stewing with my emotions on this album, but at the end of the day, I can't bring myself to dislike it. This is 4 guys revisiting their past, and having some fun with it while they do. Was it a little misguided to assume that we'd all love it too? Maybe. But they aren't erasing the past, and they aren't desecrating the band's legacy either. If we agree this is unnecessary, we can just forget about it like we did with MADLO Influences. There's an upcoming album, you know.