No comments about Love Like We Do.

5 comments about Trad Arr Jones.

1. John Wesley Harding gives us his rendition of The Little Musgrave on this CD. I have heard several versions of it previously, most notably Joan Baez' version, but I was captivated by this version the moment I heard it. He gives a depth of emotion to the song that lasts long after it is over (one of those things that has to be experienced). This version is a bit more stark and realistic - and poignant as the dickens!! Oh yeah... he has some other nice songs on there as well... :) But seriously, get the album, if only for that one song - it is well worth it!
   
   Interestingly, Harding does not read a lick of sheet music - just plays.
   
   So.. give it a listen - let me know what you think...
   
   I highly recommend!
   
   All the best,
   
   Jay



2. Instant goose bumps. Think Elvis Costello or a young Graham Parker singing Childe ballads, seaman songs, English plainsong, and folk rounds with spare accompaniment (variously guitar, mandolin, accordion). Think punks singing their tattoos away at the end of a night of beery-good fellowship. Think Manchester street toughs finding grace and a way home to a world before machines, struggling wity heightened human feelings of yearning, frailty, heartbreak, and about death. Think a regular guy finding English folk in his blood, but no standard folk way to let it out.
   
   Tracks 12-15 use a full electric band and are characteristic of his other work. But they work well here too. [73:18]



3. A total waste of possible talent, this CD is just awful on so many levels. Wes is off-key in many of the songs, and his voice is unconvincing and irregular. In theory this album is a good idea, but the execution is so painful. I've really tried to get into this CD, but in the end, I taped it to the ceiling in my office, so nobody has to listen to it.



4. I have been a fan of Wes for years, but this album exceeded my expectations. These songs are incredible, giving credit to Nic Jones, and the interpretations are wonderful as well. Now I want to go get more of the original work of Nic Jones, if it weren't out of print.

   Buy this album - you won't regret it.




5. I first heard Litle Musgrave on KPFT, Houston Community Radio, on the way to work. So different, a wonderful story line, perfectly executed. I immediately ordered two copies of the CD, one for myself, one for my son-in-law as a Christmas present. The entire repertoire on this album is to the same high standard as Little Musgrave. This has been a wonderful introduction to the Nic Jones style and I shall be delving further into this type of music. Highly recommended!

5 comments about Solitude Standing.

1. This is a pretty good album. The Lemmonheads cover "Luka" on their album "Lick." Vega's original is pretty good, too.



2. Vega's second album, "Solitude Standing", was released in 1987. It revisited the straightforward, unpretentious folk sound and deceptively poetic format of her self-titled 1985 album, producing two fine singles, "Tom's Diner" and "Luka". At a time when folk was largely buried under a mass of big-sound rock, Vega helped rescue it. Pure voice, sweet guitar, lyrics with integrity ranging from the whimsicality of "Tom's Diner" to the powerful social message of "Luka", but with credibility and authenticity in every track. Vega help this listener rediscover contemporary music.



3. When I first heard Tom's Diner it was like I was sitting there next to the artist watching these event unfold as you sat in the window booth. But I was blown away when she sang the whole thing in acapella. Luka I already like from hearing it on the radio. Ironbound and Gypsy stirred up images in my mind of hardship and fleating love. Night Vision took me a few years to figure out...yeah I am a little slow sometimes. But when I got it it was another 'wow' moment. That is what I like about Suzanne Vega's music. It makes me get lost in the lyrics images. Tom's Diner is a prime example. But if you are a person that likes lyrics that don't make you think or imagine then you shouldn't buy this CD.



4. Despite the hype surrounding Tom's Diner and Luka, the rest of the songs on this album firmly stand on their own. The accoustics and artful poetry via Suzanne Vega stand out in her second album with thought provoking compassion. Don't merely fall into the envelope of Tom's Diner and Luka (which, while great songs, are not her only stars). After 20 years this album still holds strong and brings you to the nostalgia of a bygone era.



5. According to sources on the web, the first song in this collection, Tom's Diner, was used as the model piece in the development of the mp3 compression algorithm. Thus, Suzanne Vega has earned the title, "Mother of the MP3." Somehow appropriately, since it is rendered without music in the first cut, music for Tom's Diner is played without words in the last. It is worth the price of the album if only for Tom's Diner. The rest is pretty good too.

3 comments about Oskar Tennis Champion.

1. A cold and psychedellic MOMUS lp that wants to be GERMAN?.. It's true... I love all the Momus albums and I love this one too but this one is different. Nick Curre decided NOT to be the control freak as usual and let JOHN FASHION FLESH "re-produce" this album. Basically, Flesh (of the Super Madigral Brothers) added bleeps, sound effects, bangs, R2D2 noises and a myriad of sounds to Nick's songs. Some people thought Nick's recent work as minimalist electro-pop. It is is some sense but I always thought that even though the drums never hit hard, the melodies and the music was full and complete. OSKAR is very full and very psychedellic sounding. From the first track "Spooky Kabuki", the trip begins. Another psychedellic-sounding track is "Electro Sexual sewing Machine".. It's beautiful. Nick's voice and the keyboard complement each other very well. Standout tracks include "The Last Communist", "The Laird Of Inversnecky", "Electrosexual Sewing Machine", "Lovely Tree" and "Palm Deathtop".

   Unlike "Folktronic", "Ping Pong", etc., "OSKAR" is NOT a catchy album. There aren't many catchy hooks and immediate perverse themes. "My Sperm Is Not Your Enemy" is the typical MOMUS track but and so is "Multiplying Love". They have that Momus perversity that we all love... But the others are filled with odd references, weird situations, and wild themes for the well-read individual. "Beowulf" is a perfect example. We all read "Beowulf" in high school, right? MOMUS puts a weird spin on this tragic hero who is never full appreciated because he is deformed. The wild situations continue. "Lapdog" is about a person who is sent to Antartica and is followed by penguins. "Is It Because I'm A Pirate?" is about a pirate who cannot go on a normal date because he is known for killing and robbing people. No other artist could get away with these songs!!! That's why we love Momus!

   "Scottish Lips" is a cute little tale about silly things that make us love one another.. In "Multiplying Love", Momus asks his lover, why be mad at him for loving anoher girl? "I'm simply multiplying love, there's never enough in the world."

   While the other MOMUS albums INSTANTLY grabbed my attention, this one took some time to grow on me. "Ping Pong" had "I Want You But I Don't Need You". The "Don't Stop The Night" LP had "Hairstyle Of The Devil". The "Folktronic" LP had many catchy songs like "Appalachia", "Smooth Folk Singer" and "Finnegin The Folk Hero Of HTML". The "Little Red Songbook" LP had "Born To Be Adored" and "Symphonies Of Beethoven". Well.. "OSKAR" does not have any of those tracks that INSTANTLY stick in your head... Instead, you have to let the album wash over you and you have to appreciate it.

   "Little Shubert" is in German! and now, it comes to the part of the review. This LP is COLD and wants to be German. The title track is about his Tennis champion uncle who wants to build a part of a city and gets into some weird situations. For the most part, the album has COLD imagery. Snow... snow and snow.. "Lapdog" takes place in Antartica. "Pierrot Lunaire" talks about being "in the bleak midwinter" and "The Last Communist" has that COLD Russian feeling.

   "The Ringtone Cycle" is an instrumental song by Oliver Cobol. It recaps some melodies on the album.

   Overall, "OSKAR TENNIS CHAMPION" is a new kind of MOMUS lp. He's constantly changing and growing and it's a beautiful thing. Flesh did a great job on the "re-production" and MOMUS has a whole NEW sound. It's full, it's wild, it's odd, it's psychedellic sounding without drug use or drug references. IF you are NEW to MOMUS, I suggest getting "Philosophy Of..", "Ping Pong", "Folktronic", "Poison Boyfriend" and "Tender Pervert" first... but every MOMUS album is different and this one is too. While I would not say it is one of my favorite Momus albums, it's well done and over-flowing with literary references, name-dropping, European issues, and it's all wrapped together with Nick Currie's wild outlook. It's new, it's different, it's wild... It's MOMUS.




2. In his boldest stylistic departure since "Howard Hughes" (his embrace of Seattle grunge. Momus's, that is, not Howard Hughes's), Nick Currie AKA Momus presents the sound of ... Bay City, Michigan?! Yes, believe it or not, of all places. For his first album released on his own new American Patchwork label, Momus confounds expectations with this collection of remixes by a 22-year-old with the Warholesque surname Flesh who lives in the birthplace of Madonna and Agent Orange (the Vietnam War toxic chemical, not the band). But in riposte to his earlier lyric "Tell me I'm allowed to play the Fender Jaguar/Like the Velvet Underground" Momus has now fathered (or grandfathered? through the ersatz son named Flesh?) his own take on Lou Reed's legendary METAL MACHINE MUSIC. OSKAR TENNIS CHAMPION is intended to be difficult listening. And in terms of commercial appeal, it makes FOLKTRONIC sound like Madonna! But Momus's own take on Andy Warhol has been "In the future everyone will be famous for 15 people." I'm not sure there are 15 people in the world who would rate this album five stars, but I will - out of respect for Momus's unflinching nerve, and not being afraid to contradict himself. And who knows? Word has it that he's now following in the footsteps of Iggy Pop (whose "Success" he reprised in "Lolitapop Dollhouse"). Momus still has Lust For Life! What will he come up with next?



3. This is the first album Momus has put out since he's moved to Tokyo, and it is very different from anything you might have heard while he was working in Europe and the United States. OTC covers alot of the same ground Momus has explored in the past lyrically, but musically he continues to reinvent himself. Much of the music on this album is kind of non-linear, and yet somehow catchy, and filled with hooks. It is experimental, and thoroughly enjoyable. Other adjectives: witty, sad, whimsical, post-modern, transcendent, etc...

5 comments about From the Choirgirl Hotel.

1. My favorite Tori Amos album to date finds Tori experimenting for the first time with a band. On all her previous efforts, Amos recorded herself and the piano or harpsicord first, and add other musicians' instrumentations later. The album continues to show the songstress challenging herself and her listeners, penning intense songs largely centered around a miscarriage that she suffered; though not all of the songs touch on the subject. The album is completely unforgettable, and these songs will stay with you, even long after you turn the stereo off. Highlights include "Spark," "Raspberry Swirl," "Northern Lad," and "Playboy Mommy." This version also contains the bonus track "Purple People (Christmas in Space)," also available on the "Spark" singles. Though it's a good song in its own right, it doesn't fit with the flow of the album - at least not as the album closer. It does touch on the theme of miscarriage, but it seems just thrown on, as most import bonus tracks do. Nevertheless, it's a nice little added extra.



2. This CD is the singular,most increadibly sexy Tori CD ever!!!Besides that it's one of the best mix of songs I've ever heard on an album.Spark and Cruel are great,Raspberry Swirl is just too cool(and the video reminds me of an exorcism),Black-Dove haunts me,And iieee,well,don't get me started. Tori's first attempt at thechno--A+.



3. Hello, all. I am a big fan of Tori. I have 4 out of the 5 albums and I plan on getting 2 venus + back Chistmas. From the Choirgirl Hotel is my favorite CD and love 9 out of the 12 songs. My favorite song ever is song on this album. Tori Amos sing a v a r i e t y of styles. I Love her music. I highly, highly recommend getting this CD, or any CD by Tori Amos.



4. Ok now dont get me wrong, but this is not a Little Earthquakes album. Little Earthquakes was spectactular, but this is DEFINATELY NOT LE..... and it is great...... why are we comparing this album to LE. LE was probably the best, but this and BFP fall closely behind. THIS ALBUM HAS ITS OWN BEAUTY!!!!

   Consider this:

   Little Earthquakes is a revalation

   Under the Pink is poetry

   Boys for Pele is a collection of short stories that are all bound with a motive of death

   From the Choirgirl Hotel is like a novel, a new begining.. so what if she drifts from that 'girl with the piano'?

   If all her albums were like LITTLE EARTHQUAKES, we would complain how boring it is.

   I feel that TO VENUS AND BACK is NOT a very good album. It was sort of depressing listening to it the first time, because of the pain i felt. I feel that this is just not her. It dosn't connect to us like the other albums do. THe song DATURA has a nice melody, but all it is is a rattling of senseless flower names... and it drags on with a drum rhythm for 8 minutes!




5. as usual, I can find no fault with this Tori Amos cd. she is just awesome, and while none of her albums can compare to another, they are all fab!!

1 comments about Otto Spooky.

1. Momus is always a master of his own musical mash-up (and with much better source material). Bringing in elements of ethnographic music samples and acoustic sounds, he again does an entirely new take on folk and world music, but this time he's on a new experimental bender recalling 60's Joe Meek sonic booms and 70's Krautrock noodling.
   
   Highlights are the French Moroccan "Klaxon" - a Farsi taxi ride through strange domestic rites in Paris; "Your Fat Friend", a jazzy derailed romp that challenges form and keeps you guessing; "Ulysses", a psychedelic bluesy dirge; "Belvedere" - a darkly comic children's song as written by Jacko and Pol Pot; "Bantam Boys" - a medieval hypnotic hymn that is almost unrecognizable that it's even Momus.
   
   While fans might yearn for the ironic flat Analog Baroque of the prior decade, the sounds here are warmer, more acoustic and organic. Besides, with Beck moving into sampling Gameboy noises, it's good that Momus is always ahead of the curve by a few years/decades.

5 comments about Ping Pong.

1. Momus (Nick Currie) is one of the most interesting people in music today. Not because he has some crazily eccentric personality (although that's true too), but because he actually has a ton of ideas in his head, most of which only this guy could come up with. Momus may also be the smartest person in music today. While other genius musicans may put more thought into the music or lyrics that are smart while still being accessable, Momus is more in-your-face smart. The lyrics are sometimes so far over my head, that I just don't want to try to understand.

   The music of Ping Pong however, is pure Casio-pop. He records on a hard disk alone, making all the music on his keyboard and a guitar. It's all very Casio-like and Momus throws in some old video game sounds and some harpsicords (an indicator of his next album's direction) for good measure. The sound is very easy to listen to, but it's the intelligence, almost up-right pretenciousness, content, and sheer length of some songs that would keep them from being played on the radio. It's pop taken to some extremes. Same goes for the lyrics. He indulges in some desires and brings them to the next level.

   As I said, the lyrics are very far out there, but luckily, Momus likes keeping it all in good fun. For example, the second track, "His Majesty The Baby," is about how babies are treated by women. It's like they're kings.... The fact that he rhymes the words "despot" and "taspot" does little to get in the way. The point is made. Once you get past the near word game trickiness of "I Want You But I Don't Need You" it all makes perfect sense. ("I want you, and I want you to want me to want you / But I don't need you / don't need you to need me to need you.")

   "Shoesize of the Angel" is the reversal of an earlier Momus song, "Hairstyle of the Devil," which he admits was a calculated attempt at something radio-friendly, maybe making him a one hit wonder. The idea of the original was that there's a girl you want to get with, but she has a guy already, and it's about this mysterious man's unknown charisma. "Shoesize of the Angel" isn't just the reversal of the idea, that you know the guy is a jerk, but the actual melodies of the original are played backwards. So the comment about it having the bassline from "Rapper's Delight" is completely false. It's just the bassline from the earlier song reversed. "The Age of Information" deals with the loss of privacy that will occur in the future when technology puts all of your history out there. Instead of going to crazy measures to insure that everyone's personal lives remain private, the song reccomends that you act morally good so that you won't be afraid of what people will find out about you. Also, the music in this song is taken to the Casio's ethereal max.

   "Space Jews," although played completely straight-faced, is the weirdest song of the pack. The theory is that Jews are a superhuman race of beings that came from outer space a long time ago. They were sent to improve the human race. That's why they win all the Nobel Prizes... apparently. "My Kindly Friend The Censor" is a witty love song with all the dirty words taken out by the censor. ("I begin to (tabboo verb) you / As you gaze back with a smile / Which almost triggers my (word missing) / But don't (unacceptable)") It's a riot.




2. To my mind this is the best Momus album I have listened to. Musically hilarious, lyrically insane and clever. The anthem for the Internet should be adopted widely.



3. Definitely a deeply satisfying purchase. Momus is an artist worth coming back to over and over, if only to see what's changed. As a huge fan of Nick Currie's early body of work, I found his drift into more electronic forms of music (many years back now!) disappointing at first. But I was rewarded in sticking with it, as I came to realise his music will always be a reflection of the ever-changing whirlpool of modern cultures and classical works that he so relentlessly immerses himself in - and therein lies it's charm.



4. Momus is completely brilliant. If you like blur, XTC, petshop boys, but wish they were more inteligent and checky? Then you will love Momus. Just listen to "His Magesty The Baby." If this does not win you over, then don't buy this album.



5. Lyrics isn't everything. Although they (sometimes) are pretty funny and smart, they will NEVER compensate the poor, poor quality of the music. Momus must have recorded everything on a cheap $20 keyboard. Everything is so pathetic, even the bassline from "Rapper's delight" on "Shoesize of the angel"... Momus should continue only to make music for others (like Kahimi Karie, his songs "Good morning world" and "lolita pop dollhouse" are far better than the junk on this CD)... Forget this one and buy Cornelius' "Fantasma" instead!

1 comments about Wherever You Are Pt. 1.

1. Neil Finn's latest single, "Wherever You Are", forces you to listen a few times before it hooks you. The catchy tune and strong chorus infects your mind and before you know it, you're singing it in your head. Sharon Finn contributes the background vocals beautifully and the whole package is complete. Neil and Sharon make beautiful music together and are generous enough to share it with the world. Definitely a song worth listening to.

5 comments about Holiday Songs and Lullabies.

1. The problem with this recording
   is that a unique vocalist
   attempts a style that is not
   her own and it sounds like it.
   
   I personally know several women
   who are not professional musicians
   who could have done a better job
   on this set of arrangements.
   
   She might have succeeded
   had she arranged the songs
   to accommodate her style
   as most vocalists do when
   attempting to perform
   traditional music.
   
   The final result is not good as music,
   but she gets much due credit for
   an act of love with God, her parents
   and her unborn child as its object.
   
   Objectively speaking it may be her finest
   recording in the spiritual sense,
   but certainly not in the artistic sense.
   
   I'm glad she did it even though
   I don't care to listen to it again
   and I'm guessing Ms. Colvin
   is glad she did it to.
   I'll bet baby Colvin loves it.
   What else matters?



2. I had never heard of Shawn Colvin, but I like Christmas music, so I picked this up.
   
   Weak, thin, shaky voice with limited range. Commonplace arrangements.
   
   Feh. I have close to 100 Christmas albums of all kinds, and this is the second worst of them.



3. Almost 10 years after its initial release, Shawn Colvin's "Holiday Songs & Lullabies" wears well. "Chirstmas Time Is Here" goes down like a fine wine before the fireplace, "Snowflakes in the air, Carols everywhere, Olden times & ancient rhymes of love & dreams to share, Sleigh bells in the air, beauty everywhere." Colvin's delivery is timeless and wistful. She sings "All Through the Night," one of my favorite songs that is not often considered a Christmas song, but my family has often played it at holiday time, "Sleep my love & peace attend thee all through the night, guardian angels God will send thee." It's such a gentle lullaby with Colvin's tender reading. "Love Came Down at Christmas" is another sweet track, "Love be yours & love be mine, love to God and all of us." This quiet CD is soothing and gentle, a perfect disc to play while watching the lights twinkle on the Christmas tree. Enjoy!



4. OK, before any of you Shawn Colvin fans out there slam me, I want to tell you that I too am a huge Shawn Colvin fan, and I eagerly awaited this CD's release. I am also a huge Christmas CD collector.
   
   So I was very disappointed when I listened to this CD for the first time, and pretty much every time since. Shawn was 8 months pregnant with her daughter Caledonia (the Latin name for Scotland) when she sang these tunes, and it really shows. Her voice is normally high-pitched and delicate, but on these tunes it was downright weak and often atonal. Her rendition of In The Bleak Midwinter is particularly grating, as she shuffles through it like she's about to fall asleep. This is most unfortunate in the initial track on the CD, as it ruins the effect of the rest of the CD. Her tone is cheerier but out of breath and staccato in Christmas Time Is Here, and sounds syrupy. To me it is a sacrilegious cover of Vince Guaraldi's masterpiece. Maybe she's trying to sound hushed and gentle, but it's annoying. Many of the songs are sweet but forgettable, and the first two tracks ruin the entire disc for me.



5. Soft, beautiful songs sung by the great Shawn Colvin. Listening to these songs gives you a very cozy feeling. "In The Bleak Mid-Winter" is a classic.

2 comments about The Letter.

1. "The Letter" is the first single from 'Uh-Huh Her' (2004), and really should appeal to the fans of the earlier darker material (as opposed to her last record, 'Stories from the City' (2000)).

   Of the two b-sides here, 'The Phone Song' is a great, somewhat dramatic and atmospheric tune that could have been included on the record. "Bows & Arrows" is a pretty good acoustic tune, but not as strong.




2. "The Letter" is the first single from 'Uh Huh Her' (2004) and is reminescent of her earlier material.

   "The Falling" is a song with some of the best lyrics that P.J. Harvey has penned to date, although it could have benefited from a little better production and included on the LP.