5 comments about The Fine Art of Surfacing.

1. I have always been a fan of this band, but am not so rabid that I knew the politics behind their falling from the "American scene". Young and impetuous, they hit America with their British attitude and some of us didn't get it. Oops on both of us. This is as good as I remembered. These guys were a band that brought some brilliant music to the 70's scene when some of us really were tired of Popsicle Toes and Styx.



2. THE ART OF SURFACING is flat-out the BEST Boomtown Rats album in their career, even better than TONIC FOR THE TROOPS, if that's possible - there's not a bad apple in the bunch - so this review isn't about the classic album that I original bought as a kid in 1979 (as well as the single "MONDAYS") - here is my big gripe: if you're going to go to the trouble of tacking on "bonus" tracks to lure in longtime fans, why did the record label make the (lame) decision to exclude what (IMHO) is the best Rats song ever: the B-side to "MONDAYS" single, "ALL THE RAGE"? RAGE is the hardest-hitting, most "punk" sounding song the rats ever produced - all blistering beats, roaring guitars, banging piano, and Geldof's bile-spewing snarl - all under 3 mins. To say it is a tragedy not to have this song included on the CD reissue of the Rat's best and most beloved album is not an understatement. Next time? Still, all the CD reissues are very nice, so collect them all now before they go OOP!



3. The Boomtown Rats made a big leap to art-rock on their third album. They'd advanced their ambitions quickly over two albums, going from punky power rockers to anthems of the common Englander. For "The Fine Art Of Surfacing," they began to go for bigger things. The first single was unlike anything else they'd attempted, the controversial "I Don't Like Mondays." No guitars, just piano and an orchestra. The payoff was a huge international hit everywhere but the US.
   
   It also found Bob Geldof moving on to darker themes. Granted, the first two albums played with themes of suicide and paranoia, but for every "Living On an Island" on "Tonic," there was also a more lighthearted "She's So Modern." On "The Fine Art Of Surfacing," the songs are still often exuberant and hook laden, but thematically, never quite as chipper. It makes for some great songs again, especially "Wind Chill Factor Minus Zero" and "Sleep (Fingers' Lullaby)." "Surfacing" was the last excellent Rats album. While "Mondo Bongo" had its moments, the Boomtown Rats' records after this were never as even or as exciting.
   
   I do have a quibble about the re-master on "Surfacing." It seems to have been mastered way too "hot" for some of the songs. The drums and percussion compress out - especially on "Someone's Looking At You" and "Wind Chill Factor Minus Zero" - and distort. For a re-master, that's bad news.



4. Like many others, I have waited a long time for this to become available on CD again. It is one of my favorite albums. However upon listening with headphones (is there any other way?) the digital noise usually associated with low bitrate mp3s is everywhere. Particularly "Mondays", "Keep It Up", "Nice & Neat" and blatantly on "Episode #3". In comparing it to a CD copy of my own clean record, the sound of that, digitized though it may be, is much better than this release. Maybe we have become so digital that most of us no longer hear these imperfections, but as an avid present-day record listener, I recommend saving your money and putting it towards a quality turntable. Remaster? Possibly. High quality? Definitely not.



5. I saw the Boomtown Rats the first time on the tv show FRIDAYS in 1979 or 1980 and have been in love since.
   Everyone loves "Mondays", but "Diamond Smiles" is my friends all time fave and I will always love "Having My Picture Taken" or maybe "Sleep" or maybe, well, every song on this record is good.
   This is a GREAT album.

5 comments about Kaleidoscope.

1. I love the song TENANT the whole cd is great but that song I can never get tired of. Its got a spooky quietness about it and the guitar pluckings are the best part. You can't go wrong with this. Anyone even curious about this band needs to start with this. The first two albums were more straightforward punk with goth overones. This is were they matured that sound, a must have for post punk fans then get JUJU!!



2. As an avid Siouxsie fan, I love everything by this group. Kaleidoscope is the first album showcasing a completely different sound, setting and theme than the previous Banshees albums. Here is the definitive Siouxsie creating a sound that was and is their own. Kaleidoscope on vinyl was an excellent listen to in 1980 when it was released, and sounds even better today remastered.



3. 
   This has been one of my favorite albums period, and if I had to pick one favorite Siouxsie and the Banshees album, this one just barely wins out over "The Scream" and "Juju", although both of those are excellent, and "Kiss in the Dreamhouse" deserves honorable mention. If you know Siouxsie and the Banshees at all, then I'm sure you know the two singles "Happy House" and "Christine", and they are reason enough to buy it. Really the whole album is very strong, with the exception of "Clockface", which is filler but inoffensive and short. "Christine" is driven by a great bass line and acoustic guitar, with icy vocals from Siouxsie, dealing with a Sybil-like split personality. This album represents a huge leap musically from the artsy punk of the first two albums. There is much wider variety of sonic textures, rhythms, and instrumentation. Drum machines and synth bass are prominent in the bleak "Lunar Camel" and "Red Light", the latter also using a camera shutter sound for rhythm. "Hybrid" and "Paradise Place" have a psychedelic feel to them. "Tenant" is another sparse, bleak. experimental track that is very effective. "Desert Kisses" has a more lush sound with a great vocal by Siouxsie. Only the last track, "Skin" is reminiscent of the sound from the first album, `The Scream", with a more manic feel to it.
   
   Siouxsie and the Banshees often get pigeon-holed into the "Goth" stereotype. Certainly none of these songs fall in the "cheery" or "chipper" category, but, as this album demonstrates, these guys were far more varied and gifted than any of numerous Goth posers that followed them.



4. It's hard for me to think of Siouxsie & the Banshees as post-punk or goth. From the very start there has always been a pop sensibility of the post punk approach to their music. With Kaleidoscope, Siouxsie & the Banshees embrace both never looking back, melding poppy synthesizers and drum machines with punk guitar and bass riffs.
   
   Kaleidoscope is very, very psychedelic like the images you see when looking through a kaleidoscope. Colorful, shifting, fractured, mesmerizing. This is the only S&TB in which EVERY track is as brilliant and fascinating as the last. No filler here at all.
   
   I find with every Siouxsie album there's always one unheard hidden gem for me that stands out. On A Kiss In The Dreamhouse it's Circle. On Hyaena it's Belladonna. Peepshow it's Turn To Stone. On Kaleidoscope it's Lunar Camel. This synth and drum machine driven track is trip-hop before there was trip-hop which proves how adventurous, experimental, influential and ahead of their time S&TB were.
   
   Other favorites are Happy House and Christine of course but also the short but sweet Clockface with Siouxise singing "Wo -oh-wo-oh" over an infectious rock beat. Red Light with its camera snapping effects and Paradise Place, especially when Siouxsie sort of yodels and coos.
   
   Kaleidoscope is the quintessential Siouxsie album and the perfect place for any one new to the band to start. The remastered version of this disc has Siouxsie's voice a bit higher in the mix, the echo effects are smoothed out and all the instruments can clearly be heard. It also contains demo tracks of Christine, Happy House, Paradise Place, an instrumental Lunar Camel called Arabia, Eve White/Eve Black, Desert Kisses, Hybrid, an awesome unreleased instrumental track called Sitting Room and the 7" single version of Israel.
   
   Hands down tied with A Kiss In The Dreamhouse as my all time favorite Siouxsie album.



5. This is a good album and it feels like a transitional album. "Juju" and "Join Hands" and more of the "Goth/Hitchcockian" style while this album leads up more to their "commercial/slo-dive" type style. There are enough songs on it to make it worth having ("Red Light" one of my least favorites). So...what CAN I say? Buy it! Afterall, it IS Siouxsie and the Banshees for God's sake.

5 comments about Juggernaut Rides '89-'98.

1. swervedriver made four consistently wonderful albums before throwing in the towel. and with each album there were concurrent singles and ep's which featured wonderful songs that were just as good as anything on the albums. any real fans out there who recognize these titles? "hate yr. kind" "the director's cut of your life" "year of the girl" "afterglow" "satansville revisited" "land of the lost" "flawed" "out" "laze it up" "volcano trash" "zedhead" "she's beside herself" great songs all. and not to be found here. what's the point? why make a compilation like this? there are demos and super-obscure tracks along with the (shoulda been) hits. this isn't a cd i would recommend to someone who i wanted to turn on to the band and i find it frustrating that they didn't gather ALL the b-sides and hard-to-find material in one place. this is a waste. all i can do is copy the stuff i didn't have and curse the fact that they decided to do this to their fans. maybe they'll get it right next time.



2. My brother an I both have been longtime Swervedriver fans. From their popular American release of Mezcal Head all the way to Adam Franklin's solo release of Toshack Highway. We back tracked and bought up the albums we missed, and even managed to track down a few EP's. We have been fans of the transforming sound of Swervedriver.
   
   Juggernaut Rides is a fitting final chapter for a band that experimented and dabbled ever so precariously on the razor's edge of rock and roll. A double CD release, think of it as the "A-Sides" of Swervedriver, but also packed with many previously unreleased songs. The very best of what the band has to give, PLUS some exciting tracks never before heard on any of their other offerings. The line up is strong, and the tracks flow very well. Adam Franklin's voice is as haunting as it is forceful as it is melodic... easily fitting the tempo and style of whatever the band chooses for its transformation.
   
   The downside to this compilation, is that the songs are played in their "radio shortened" versions. So great songs like "Last Train To Satansville" and "Never Lose That Feeling" feel cut and raped as their long jam sessions at the end of those songs are simply deleted, never to be heard or enjoyed by an audience perhaps listening for the first time.
   
   Juggernaut Rides is an excellent way for Swervedriver to put an exclamation point on the end of a stellar and groundbreaking career.
   
   C. Elliott Anderson



3. As a longtime Swervedriver fan, I of course was very excited when I heard this was coming out. I would easily rank them as one of the greatest and most innovative bands in rock n roll history. It is a bold statement, but few have broke new ground in such a way. The Beatles, Jimi, Pink Floyd, The Clash and yes Swervedriver have made modern music much more interesting. Anyone reading this that hasn't listened to Swervedriver should at least give this or any album a try. For Swervie fans, there are many unreleased gems to find to get you humming new songs. Well worth it to buy a few of these other songs again from past albums. Adam Franklin(lead singer/songwriter) has been playing solo acoustic shows lately and recording under the name Toshack Highway, you should definitely check it out!



4. If you want to get a great sample of the Swervy sound and awesome rare tracks to boot grab this Double album. It covers thier whole catalog quite well even though its missing some real killer tracks, but as a sample it is a good mix overall. Read the other reviews here for the blow by blow, because they have done a bang up job of it there is no need for me to say what they have already. Swervedriver just Rocks in a way that no other band has before or after them so pick this up and enjoy.



5. I love this compilation. I know that some choice morsels are missing here, but, unlike a lot of "greatest hits" collections, this really is quite comprehensive. It's nice to be able to hear the progression of the band through the different eras of Swervedriver on these disks. The term "shoegazer" may fit their onstage persona, but it doesn't do them justice, as their music reminds me of a road movie...free and without agenda.

5 comments about The Mirror Pool.

1. lisa gerrard continues to be one of my favorite female voices and The Mirror Pool ranges from peaceful to comtemplative. its richness is layered and i highly recommend this album.



2. If you're like me, you love half of Dead Can Dance - the half that Lisa Gerrard does. This first solo album is just that. And it's the best work she has ever done. By the time you get to Swans, your mind will already have been blown, and then you'll go that much further.



3. This isn't an "easy listening" experience as there are some frightening moments, where you feel suspended on a cliff sustained only by spider webs. This is my experience of the opening track, and ther are quite a few that have a dramatic and suspenseful edge sustained by discordinant vocalizations. But those uncomfortable moments make the rest of the record shine. I have no idea what language she's singing in--a totally random guess says some ancient aramaic or bedoiun, just call in Foreign with a capitol "F." Maybe she made it up; it doesn't matter. All you need to now is that it will capture your soul and take it on a harrowing yet sublime ride. It's Tribal; it's pre-time. If you like this, check out Jah Wobble's Umbra Summas.



4. I love Lisa Gerrard's voice and her music on some soundtracks is fantastic. But this album is just WEIRD!!



5. I am floored by the power and immensity of this voice. When Lisa Gerrard sings, it is not so much that her voice fills the room as it becomes the very atmosphere surrounding the listener. It is no wonder that Paul Oakenfold chooses her voice to blend with his ethereal mixes to create an experience like touching the numinous. There is no comparison. The range of Lisa Gerrard's voice is simply breathtaking, as evidenced in "Sanvean." Her work as half of Dead Can Dance was awesome, but she stands even more impressively on her own merits.

5 comments about Spiritchaser.

1. Dead Can Dance is one of my favorite bands in the world, and this CD is one of the reasons why they are. Haunting, beautiful, and moving, they take me on a musical journey no matter where I am or what I am doing. Their magic is very rare, and it is something that only some musicians manage to conjure. Dead Can Dance is one of those bands. If you like Dead Can Dance and do not have this CD...Pick it up...it won't disappoint.



2. With all the music I've reviewed so far, I can't believe I forgot Dead Can Dance.
   I just watched Steven King's The Mist and one of DCD's songs is in the movie. The Host of Seraphim off The Serpent's Egg. Anyway.......Spirit Chaser.
   Spirit Chaser was my introduction to the band.
   It was, I believe 1996 and I read a review of this disc and it was very good.
   So I decided to check it out.
   Now, being primarily a metal head I didn't exactly "get" what these two were trying to accomplish.
   I really hated it at first, but as the years pass so do changes in taste.
   I can say this is probably my second favorite DCD disc right after Within the Realm of a Dying Sun.
   It's definitely a lot different from their past releases.
   A lot less goth sounding and WAY more tribal feeling.
   Still amazing, still brilliant.
   My favorite is Indus; Lisa Gerard is probably my favorite female singer on the planet.
   He voice is so unusual, unique and mind blowing, it's hard to describe.
   I can see why she won the Oscar for The Insider and Gladiator.
   Brendan Perry also is a hard one to describe; his voice is very versatile, unique and beautiful.
   Then again doesn't that really sum up DCD?
   They really are one of the few groups that are almost impossible to shove into one musical category.
   That's why I ended up falling in love with this group and especially this disc.
   It may drag in a few places, and like a lot of DCD material, it does get a little repetitive in places.
   But with Perry's music and Gerard's vocals, who cares.
   No one can touch what these two accomplished in such a short time.
   I'm just glad their enjoying continued success apart from each other.
   Spirit Chaser?
   Brilliant, beautiful, exotic, impossible to classify and completely unforgettable.
   This may not be the best place to start if you're new to DCD since it's SO different from their past material.
   I would start with Within the Realm of a Dying Sun or The Serpents Egg. The Host of Seraphim off of Serpents Egg is reason enough to check out the disc.
   Spirit Chaser..........RECOMMENDED!!!



3. This is by far in my opinion the best album DCD has put out. I heard that it's out of print, but I could be wrong. If so I wouldn't waste time not buying it. I think anyone who likes DCD would be extremely satisfied with this piece of work. The sound is similar to the other albums, but much more more dynamic, dark, etheric sounding, yet calmer at the same time. Great for those who are really into trance music!



4. Spiritchaser is Dead Can Dance's seventh and last studio album, and sees them forging deeper into realms of ethnic music. Unfortunately, this is also their least successful album musically, and is a bad place for anyone unfamiliar with the group to start their explorations.
   
   One criticism leveled at recent prior albums by the group was that the duo of Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard appeared to be getting more and more disconnected from one another musically, with albums featuring a succession of "his" and "her" songs. The two appear to be attempting to rectify that failing throughout this album, with more integrated vocals and more of a group feel throughout. There is a greater emphasis on percussion and drumming, as well as the reintroduction of some electric guitar, mostly unheard on the duo's albums since their second album some 11 years earlier.
   
   Alas, most of the percussion is uninspired, and although several songs begin with promise, almost all outstay their welcome: the opening track, Nierika, ultimately becomes repetitive and boring, the exciting opening four minutes of Song of the Stars (featuring Brendan reading an Iroquois invocation over drones and native drumming), gives way to an interminable six more minutes of guitar noodling and chanting, the initially catchy The Snake and The Moon devolves into repetitive vocal refrains, and even the addition of gamelan to the instrumentation of the eight minute long Song of the Nile can't save it from tedium. Worst of all is Brendan's cringe-inducing stab at Caribbean music in Song of the Dispossessed; one keeps waiting for him to burst out in a chorus of "Day-O!"
   
   Along with the beginning of Song of the Stars, two tracks save this album from wretchedness: the middle eastern flavored song Indus, which at over nine minutes is a bit long, but Lisa's vivid singing carries the listener along, and the absolutely gorgeous closing track by Lisa, Devorzhum. This wordless song has been used in at least two movies, and it's easy to see why. Lisa's singing is at its sweetest and most achingly beautiful here, and drifts atop a layer of drones and gentle guitar strings. By itself this song almost justifies the purchase of the album.
   
   An instrumental outtake from the Spiritchaser recording sessions, Sambatiki, was released as part of the 1996 concert tour souvenir book, and also appears on the DCD box set. It features the same drumming, twangy electric guitar and ethnic instrumentation as much of the rest of the album, but somehow works better than most tracks that unfortunately made it on to the final release.
   
   For those just beginning to explore Dead Can Dance, move on now and come back to this album later if you know you love the group and have to have everything they ever produced. A better starting point for beginners would be the live album Toward the Within, the early collection A Passage In Time, which features their pre-1990 work, or the career spanning two disc retrospective, Wake, though this last has some rather odd choices in the track listing.



5. Their last one - and one of the best, for sure. This duo has single-handedly created a genre of its own which they inhabit almost by themselves. And at the last moment they gave as yet a new direction, more into tribal and latin spheres. Nevertheless, this IS Dead Can Dance: Their mood, their melodies, their voices are ever present. Listen to it more than once, more than twice - and you will find them. From "Within the Realm of a Dying Sun" to "Aion" to "Into the Labyrinth" to "Spiritchaser" they have conquered the world and will forever stay with us.

5 comments about Singles.

1. For those wanting to understand what does "britpop" means, this would be their instructions manual - a great place to start. The best career portrait of a band that departed too soon.
   
   For the commited Suede fans, you won't find here anything you already have on your collections, except from a couple tweaks on the sounds (mainly vocals) of a few songs.
   
   Worthy for new ones and old ones anyway!!!



2. If you don't own a single Suede disc, this can be a great place to start. If you're like me, and own them all, you might think you don't need this disc, but you would be wrong! I notice that the version of "Trash" from this disc has a very different vocal of Brett from "Coming Up". I can't put my finger on it, but it almost sounds like a copy cat of Brett, or maybe Brett had been out at the pub and had one too many. Otherwise, it sounds the same.
   
   If you have the albums already, this collection sort of bounces the hits around from album to album. In other words, they didn't go from beginning to end. It might work for the disc, and you, but to me, it would have been a little better programmed at the time the single was released in chronilogical order. (Much less sloppy this way). But no matter. The hits are here.
   
   If you love this disc, you then must hunt down the self titled, DMStar, Coming Up, SFLullabyes, Head Music, and then decide if you'll take the plunge into New Morning. I own them all, and I thought Blur couldn't be beat. Suede proved me wrong once I got over the fact that they were britpop's underdogs and deserved a listen. They transcended britpop into their own sound that the copycats will hopefully copy for decades. I don't see why Suede can't reform tommorrow, but that's up to Brett. But Singles is a good final goodbye and hello to those new to them.



3. In the 70s it was Bowie. In the 80s it was The Smiths. In the 90s it was Suede. For anyone who believes the most compelling and enjoyable rock music comes from Britian than this disk is a must. Of the 21 tracks 13 are great. Yes there are 3 or 4 embarassingly bad songs on the disk but how often do you find 2 great songs, much less 13 on a single disk?
   
   Suede IS Britpop. Merging melody, metrosexuality, and and nifty guitar work Suede is a band with infectious music. "Singles" will give a newbie a good intro to the band. Hopefully it will motivate you to explore the individual disks. There are so many wonderful songs here that to pick out 2 or 3 favorites is impossible. Suede has been compared to a Morrissey-Bowie hybrid. I'm not sure that is correct. Suede's lyrics are too superficial to compare to Morrissey and Brett Anderson's vocals are not as Cockney as early Bowie. But Suede is the British torch bearer of the 90s. If you had to choose only one Britpop disc "Singles' would be it.
   
   Suede's sound is quite diverse. There are instances of power pop, metal, soft ballads, and just plain camp. Suede was the response and antidote to the boring and languid Grunge. Blur, Oasis, Catatonia, etc... followed but never quite measured up. "Singles" shows why.



4. I love Suede (The London Suede) for there hooky, pop style that is still edgy and REAL.

   If you have not heard Suede and like Britpop get ready for your new favorite album.

   FYI. I did notice that the vocals for the song 'Trash' have been changed from the original. It's cool cause it's a bit different though.




5. Wow!!! My only introduction to Suede came from a few listens of their first album, which in its own respect was outstanding, but I was unaware of how well they matured as a band. Most debut bands follow up with mediocre, disappointing albums and songs. However, Suede's songs seem to get better and better with time.

   Suede's music is gritty and hard without abandoning the hooks that make their songs catchy. Brett Anderson's voice is snarly and snide but not devoid of melody or mellifluence. "The Wild Ones" is a great example of this. I bought this album and have listened to it non-stop. Suede meets and even surpasses the fine albums and songs of other great British bands like Oasis, Pulp, and Blur. If you like any one of those, you will most definitely like Suede. Pick this album up if you are unfamiliar with them.

5 comments about Radiohead - 7 Television Commercials.

1. Love Radiohead (especially their paranoid android) but the DVD is just doesn't cut it. It's just got a stereo track only no digitals



2. That is delivered via int'l mail. there was some anxiety of missing this. nothing happens what i worried about but it takes so long time.
   as many people knows this dvd contains radiohead's promotion music video of early songs so fantastic. never regretful, if you have a thoughts to buy this stuff.



3. I LOVE Radiohead. Their music speaks to me. Their music videos, im not too sure. What I love about Radiohead is that their ideas are unique and innovative. It's all there in these music videos, but they aren't executed to well. They're eccentric, which is a good thing, but not exactly brilliant or affective. The music videos I liked were No Surprises (simple, plain, but affective with Thom York's face mouthing the lyrics to the song), and Fake Plastic Trees (strange, lots of bright colors, interesting looking people, it has a somewhat vulnerable feel that's very affective). The rest to me were either just OKAY, such as High and Dry and Just, while others just didn't do anything for me, such as Paranoid Android, Street Spirit, and Karma Police. The good thing is that i liked all the songs though, but just not all of the music videos. This is for major Radiohead fans. If you can rent it like I did, i'd recommend doing that.



4. This is a dvd I watch about once a month. The only downfall is that it only has 7 songs.



5. If I rated each fo these video's as I watched them on T.V. I would most certainly give most of them 5's. maybe a few 4's
   
   Street Spirit's one of my favorite videos' and that along with Fake Plastic Tree's ( a pretty mediocre video actually) are the song/video's got me into radiohead.
   
   The Reason this package gets 2 stars is its just so bare bones. Its a bit of a waste unless your so hard up for something radiohead related. With so Much more video/footage of Radiohead that they could have included, its annoying that something this small would be released. Most of these video's are good for a couple viewings. But there are much better Music DVD packages out there, for around the same cost.

5 comments about Just Enough Education to Perform.

1. I know people think this is very mellow, but hey if they set out to make a mellow album then they did a dam good job! As a teen I try to keep up in the music scene with what is hot an what isn't, E.G. "Chili Peppers" good, "Pussycat Dolls" bad. I was worried that it would be a filler album because I had only heard their singles (which I loved to bits) Have a Nice Day, Mr Writer and Handbags and Gladrags. So I was very pleased when I found that there was only 1 song that I didn't like as much (but I didn't even disslike that one, "Everyday I Think of Money")
   
   Vegas Two Times: Fantastic first song, one of the more rock orientated tracks. 8/10
   Lying in the Sun: A very chilled track, some interesting lyrics. Perfect summer song. 7/10
   Mr Writer: It took me a few listens to get into but could be one of the best songs on the cd. The fact that the song itself is quite different but still manages to impress. For ingenuity, 9/10
   Step on My Old Size Nines: Another summery song with cheery lyrics, no glitches here that put me off. 7/10
   Have a Nice Day: Brilliant song, one that you want to sing along to. It's more of an up-beat pop song than a summer track but genuine instruments, so no techno sounds (which you probably thought when i mentioned pop). 8/10
   Nice To Be Out: Could be a filler but it's not, it only seems that way because it's surrounded by some very impressive tracks. This one is more mellow again, its a shorter track with another summer feel, so it's a good song that you should never tire of. 6.5/10
   Handbags and Gladrags: Couled be a the best song on the album, it is a cover but it is very similar to the origional Rod Stuart creation. I love this track to bits because of the fantastic use of the oboe throughout and the brass section toward the end. 10/10
   Watch Them Fly Sundays: Another rock orientated track similar to the "vegas" track. The verses are quite mellow but ones you can sing to, then the rock kicks in at the chorus. Enjoyable but you may think i've been here before. Nice track by no means a filler, just not different than what you've heard previously on this album. 6.5/10
   Everyday I Think Of Money: The only track I tend to skip (unless i'm in the shower), it's by no means a bad song, it has a catchy beat and very simple lyrics, so it's a marmite song, you like it or you don't. I say i like it, it's just too different to be enjoyable. (my vote) 6/10
   Maybe: Quiite a mellow, summer song, one that I found you can't sing along to just because there are a lot of lyrics and it's too much effort. Maybe a filler, but I don't think so. It's just another slice of the cake, it tastes the same but it's still good. :-)(I made that up!. clever me.) 6.5/10
   Caravan Holiday: Chill song, singalong song. I like it, it's short and doesn't drag. 7/10
   Rooftop: Good track, not at all a filler, a more of a rock approached track, ment to wake you up after the previous chilling tracks. Liking the singing in this one. Cool style. 7.5/10
   Hidden Track (Attatched to the Rooftop track): A very nice rock track, only ment for this album. A very enjoyable song. I don't know why it's a hidden track but hey, at least it's there. 8/10
   
   Average score: 7.5/10
   
   So not amazing but i think it's worth paying watever price it has, unless it's like $100,000. (anything under $20 or around £12 for me). Very good album, as I said there is not one track that I disslike. Even if you are unsure, just buy it, it's going cheap. You won't be dissapointed.



2. Okay, maybe it's just me, but I don't think this is their best. the best tracks on here are probably "Vegas Two Times" "Mr. Writer" or "Step On My Old Size Nines". Lots of these tracks are very pensive, and it sounds like they really wanted to feature the acoustics. If you like their pensive stuff, get this. If you want their harder (in my opinon better) stuff, pick up the other ones



3. There's another song after "Rooftop", and it's terrific. Probably titled, fittingly enough, "Surprise." Don't miss it!



4. Perhaps it isn't surprising that this is Sterophonics weakest album, as Kelly Jones wrote most of this in his darkest hour. However, it is too inconsistent and downright chintzy in places to be truly enjoyable front to back. Cuts like Mr. Writer, Vegas Two Times, and Rooftop rock out like no ones business and are the highlights, as is the sunshine-pop of Have a Nice Day. However, there are dirges like Everyday I Think of Money and downright schmaltz like Caravan Holiday. A good album but certainly their worst.



5. Just because a band is successful and is reflecting on that success and the world they live in doesn't make this album any less enjoyable. This Stereophonics disc has beautiful melodies and reflective lyrics that I play over and over. It may be more polished than earlier discs but it maintains its own charm and beauty, and is well worth adding to your collection. The lyrics present an insightful look at the world and the melodies are truly beautiful. It's also the perfect poolside/beach disc.

5 comments about Road to Rouen.

1. I really enjoyed the record. I didn't even know that it existed until a few months ago, but Im glad that I came across it.
   The title track "Road to Rouen" is full of life. It's got that funky riff that would make any quiet person feel like a pornstar. Fin is the perfect way to end the album. Quiet, somewhat hushed vocals. It leaves me in peace.
   I recommend this record to people who didn't like early Supergrass stuff. It will surprise you.



2. Supergrass have never made a bad album, that's clear enough. But to me personally 'Road To Rouen' is their least satisfying (for want of a better word) one. I can't really put my finger on why and/or I'm not sure if it just the Supergrass template influencing me too much here.
   
   This is definitely not a Bad album, i mean i listened to it again just a few days ago to reacquaint myself with it and I sadly got the same feelings from it as i always have. It seems to not really go anywhere for me, seems to slow burn and nothing close to full. It has nine songs and even one of them is a bit goofy and not really a song. It just kind of made me think that if they only had eight proper songs then it may have been better to leave. Maybe.
   
   Having said all that i do really like 'Low C', it has a lovely chorus. And even the goofy song i mentioned before is fun. But not a song.
   
   If you're new to Supergrass I'd strongly suggest 'I Should Coco' or even if you have the one album by them and wanting to check out another album i'd reccomend 'Supergrass' their 3rd album (they are my two favs :)
   
   All in all Road To Rouen is good but probably their least striking album.



3. This has become my favorite Supergrass CD. It certainly has the best production values and clearly shows how the band has grown as musicians. If you only know Supergrass from "I Should Coco" (great album), you wouldn't think it's the same band. This is definitely more mellow than their previous releases, particularly St. Petersburg and Tales of Endurance, but the title track shows off a harder edge. The collection has a certain mood to it - the kind of disc to listen to on a long drive at night or a lazy Sunday afternoon at home. If you have the chance, see them live - I saw them play these songs before I got the album and they're better than ever.



4. Another solid album from the most consistant band of the last ten years.
   Supergrass doesn't disappoint on this departure from earlier work. This is the darker Supergrass a more adult band. They're not the teenagers that got caught by the fuzz anymore but they can still rock as much as any other band still together. You know its them and you know they're evolving and moving in a new direction but hey aren't we all? I'm just glad to be along for the ride and listen to some awesome music.



5. The Best Supergrass cd out there. The sound of this cd is like no other. It has a "pop" ish feel that captures attention. Amazing

5 comments about Doppelgänger.

1. Describing this release as a MBV/Garbage hybrid is accurate. Though other reviews of Curve's "Doppelganger" have criticized the band for 'recording the same song eleven new ways' (from the "Trouser Press Guide to 90's Rock"), if you like that song to begin with it's not a bad thing.



2. For me the killer track is the first one, "Already Yours". The rest of the album sounds like a variation on the ideas present in this song, with the same basic sound. At the same time, Doppelganger isn't one of those albums that has one good song and nine b-sides; it's listenable all the way through, the kind of record that grows on you. It has a slick production that still sounds big and impressive many years after it came out. The only drawback is that the songs have a uniform sound. The music, the vocal performances, and the production are consistent to such a degree that the album feels like one forty-minute song split into movements.
   
   Doppelganger came out in 1991 and was only a very modest popular success. I am astonished that it wasn't massive. It sounds almost exactly like Garbage, but four years early. The resemblance is uncanny; Curve's lead singer has the same tone as the lead singer of Garbage, the guitars and drums are just as loud. The production sounds like a million pounds, and has only dated insofar as it sounds like a Garbage album from the mid-1990s, rather than an indie album from 1991. Garbage could have released this as their second album, and it would have topped the charts worldwide in 1996. It's odd to think that this was on the shelves at the same time as Jesus Jones and EMF. Curve should have dominated the pop charts. Perhaps they were too loud, perhaps their sound was too precise to duplicate live. They must have seemed a bit out of place on the indie scene, because they sounded very slick. If the record company had had any sense, this album should have been re-released in 1996 with a new cover, some remixes tacked on the end, and presto, brand new album. None of these songs would sound out of place on a film soundtrack today. The drums sound huge, the guitarist chimes his guitars like The Edge, with the solid texture of My Bloody Valentine.
   
   All of the eleven tracks are listenable, although they have a homogeneous sound, with what sounds like the same drum pattern. The lead singer has a bassy, breathy register that merges with the guitars. "Already Yours" is a fantastic pop song, although I believe it was never released as a single. "Horror Head" is just as good. The album sags a bit in the middle, but that could be because of listener fatigue; "Lilies Dying" is very generic, and although "Ice that Melts the Tips" is a good song, I was getting tired of the unvarying vocal style by that point. I cannot recall "Split into Fractions", but the album picks up after that with the faster "Think & Act". The singer pushes her vocal range with "Fait Accompli", not entirely successfully. "Sandpit" is the slow dancing song, although the album's mood is very gloomy and dark, in a non-specific way reminiscent of Garbage, so it's not ideal if you're DJing at a wedding disco. "Clipped" is a good finale but again very generic. "Wish you Dead" and the title track are splendidly ominous and I imagine they are played a lot in goth clubs, probably.
   
   Basically the album's best tunes are loaded into the first half, although if you enjoy the sound, there's nothing to make you swat the tone arm away from the record in disgust. I think Curve got lost amongst all the other one-word indie bands of the period (Lush, Blur, Cake, Suede, etc) which is a terrible shame. I notice that the US Amazon site has far more reviews that the British version; the band's large production style would have gone down well in America, and perhaps Curve made a mistake by staying on the wrong side of the Atlantic.



3. I can't believe it's been almost 15 years since I purchased this CD, as well as saw Curve at Metro in Chicago. I listened to it again the other day, and it still sounds great. Toni's seductively dark but wonderfully powerful voice, accompanied by great guitars and excellent mixes. There are so many good songs on this CD, but for me "Lillies Dying, and Horror Head" stand out. They borrowed from My Bloody Valentine, but influenced many more, Garbage and Rob Zombie to say the least.



4. See where Garbage got their sound from. Good album but Cuckoo and Pubic Fruit are my faves by Curve



5. a precurser to garbage? a post-'loveless' epic? a goth-tinted shoegazer album? 'doppleganger' was all these things and more. my first experience with curve happened on 120 minutes in 1992. i saw the video for 'horror head' and instantly fell in love with toni halliday (what guy who saw that video didn't?). on the strength of that song alone i bought the album. it was one of the better purchases i made when i was getting my budding cd collection off the ground.
   
   at the time i wasn't familiar with my bloody valentine, slowdive, ride and the like, but it didn't matter. it was unlike anything i'd heard up to that point in my life. like most shoegazer bands (though curve isn't really a shoegazer band at all), 'doppleganger' was all about sound and texture. toni voice is often buried in the music, serving more as an additional instrument than a vocal. while this is off-putting to some, the results are often exhilirating. 'horror head' is by far the most accessibe song on the album. toni's vocals, as usual, are icily melodic yet disturbingly detached. she doesn't so much sing as she emotes. while the melodies sound great, there's an undeniable darkness under the surface. much of that credit goes to dean garcia who, among other things, is an exceptional bass player (sometimes i listen to 'doppleganger' solely for the basslines--always unique, always inventive). he's a studio whizz, but also understands that studio trickery can't make a great song. the songs have to be there, and dean's got 'em in spades. and curve didn't insist on living solely in minor-chord land, a move that made curve as much a pop band as a techo/goth/shoegazer/rock band. another whipsmart move from a whipsmart band.
   
   additional standouts (in my opinion) to the outstanding 'horror head' include 'wish you dead,' 'doppleganger,' 'lillies dying,' 'ice that melts the tips,' and 'sandpit.' ah, shoot, the whole album's a standout.
   
   it's true that garbage took more than a few queues from toni halliday and dean garcia. and were there any justic in the world curve would have received just as much attention as garbage did. however, we live in an inperfect and unjust world and since curve split back in 2001, it's doubtful they will ever receive their full due. 'horror head' easily makes an entry in my top ten favorite songs of all-time. it certainly won't appeal to everyone, to be sure, but for hardcore music afficionades, 'doppleganger' exhibits music's vast and infinite possibilities when the majority of today's musicians continually recycle and retread long-tired ideas.
   
   and toni is hot. mercy.