Time is a bit of a luxury at the moment and you will notice as the reviews get ever more swifter. Todays commute CD was the Counting Crows album, Recovering The Satellites.
I was given this and another Counting Crows album by someone that didn’t like the band very much, the other album I quite like, this one, not so much. It’s a bit dull you see, its long, samey, American easy listening rock. It has I am sure soundtracked a romantic scene in Friends or some Meg Ryan romantic comedy. Today it soundtracked me going past junction 6 on the M6. No Meg Ryan, and no comedy.
Like Kev work is ramping up a bit and so the commute CD element of this blog is going to take a break for a few weeks, I have podcasts to listen to. Counting Crows in a nutshell then, 3 out of 10. Must try harder.
A Long December by Counting Crows
Showing posts with label 3's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3's. Show all posts
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Songbird - Review
I had a break from my CD albums over the Christmas period, it has re-commenced now though and I wonder as I write this, do I go with a revisionist version or the truth?
You see the revisionist version would say that today’s CD, Songbird by Eva Cassidy was an ill informed gift, or even an album that I bought in the 90’s as I was aware of the Washington DC underground music scene. That’s the revisionist version of events.
What actually happened was I heard a song of hers, lets say for arguments sake it was fields of gold, in 2001 and I bought the CD. I will be blunt with you here, my wife actually muttered the words, “I fucking despair”, she may have followed this up with her palm going to her forehead. She despaired OK.
You see I hate Sting, I hate that smug look he presents, I hate the work he did with The Police, his solo rubbish, this medieval nonsense that is on TV over the Christmas period, I hate him, his wife and possibly all the Stinglets that him and the obnoxious Trudy Styler have produced. Now if I hate him so much, and his music, I reiterate, I hate the man and his music, but if I hate him so much why did I buy this disc purely off the back of that song?
Mind mojo.
Purely and simply, mind mojo. Someone, possibly Terry Wogan, Terry Wogan in cahoots with the spirit of Eva Cassidy and in all likelihood Sting performed mind mojo and this mind mojo made me skip past Rock/Pop in me local virgin and settle upon Easy Listening, it was further mind mojo that made me pick up Songbird and pay £10 or a figure in the region of, and further more, the final bit of mind mojo made me play it. Bastard Wogan and his mind mojo.
So what of the album? God its sentimental, yes she died, and you cant speak ill of the dead, and I wont, that much. Really though would this collection of covers have made it out of the small clubs of Washington DC with the X Factor style story attached? They aren’t even good covers. They are light jazz covers designed to tug at heart strings. If you lean in close, and turn the volume up you can hear the chink of glasses and the distant cry of scampi for table 13.
She delivers the previously discussed Fields of Gold, but also Songbird and Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Beautiful songs that they are it all seems a little too, whats the word? Poignant? A false sense of poignancy?
Anyway, none of this is Cassidys fault, her physical being didn’t enter in to this pact with Wogan and his mind mojo so I really should be too critical for the recorded output. That all said I may give this to my mum, she would like it. 3 out of 10.
People Get Ready by Eva Cassidy
You see the revisionist version would say that today’s CD, Songbird by Eva Cassidy was an ill informed gift, or even an album that I bought in the 90’s as I was aware of the Washington DC underground music scene. That’s the revisionist version of events.
What actually happened was I heard a song of hers, lets say for arguments sake it was fields of gold, in 2001 and I bought the CD. I will be blunt with you here, my wife actually muttered the words, “I fucking despair”, she may have followed this up with her palm going to her forehead. She despaired OK.
You see I hate Sting, I hate that smug look he presents, I hate the work he did with The Police, his solo rubbish, this medieval nonsense that is on TV over the Christmas period, I hate him, his wife and possibly all the Stinglets that him and the obnoxious Trudy Styler have produced. Now if I hate him so much, and his music, I reiterate, I hate the man and his music, but if I hate him so much why did I buy this disc purely off the back of that song?
Mind mojo.
Purely and simply, mind mojo. Someone, possibly Terry Wogan, Terry Wogan in cahoots with the spirit of Eva Cassidy and in all likelihood Sting performed mind mojo and this mind mojo made me skip past Rock/Pop in me local virgin and settle upon Easy Listening, it was further mind mojo that made me pick up Songbird and pay £10 or a figure in the region of, and further more, the final bit of mind mojo made me play it. Bastard Wogan and his mind mojo.
So what of the album? God its sentimental, yes she died, and you cant speak ill of the dead, and I wont, that much. Really though would this collection of covers have made it out of the small clubs of Washington DC with the X Factor style story attached? They aren’t even good covers. They are light jazz covers designed to tug at heart strings. If you lean in close, and turn the volume up you can hear the chink of glasses and the distant cry of scampi for table 13.
She delivers the previously discussed Fields of Gold, but also Songbird and Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Beautiful songs that they are it all seems a little too, whats the word? Poignant? A false sense of poignancy?
Anyway, none of this is Cassidys fault, her physical being didn’t enter in to this pact with Wogan and his mind mojo so I really should be too critical for the recorded output. That all said I may give this to my mum, she would like it. 3 out of 10.
People Get Ready by Eva Cassidy
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Floatier Than A Floaty Thing Disc 1
Today I confirmed just how ungrateful I am. I played a CD someone did for me nearly 10 years ago, its part two of a two disc set of a particular artist. Today’s CD was called “Floatier Than A Floaty Thing” and it is one half of a lengthy Cocteau Twins compilation.
Before I regale you with my thoughts on disc two, let me bring you up to speed on my relationship and knowledge of the Cocteau Twins.
Firstly, in our house they are called the Cockatoo Twins, this is due to an ex-girlfriend of a friend calling them that in all seriousness. She also said that “you don’t know bo-diddley”, instead of you don’t know diddley. She was like a modern Del Boy. I digress, that’s what they are known as in our house, The Cockatoo Twins.
I know one song by them, just one, I think its called Iceblink Luck. My wife thinks they are no better than Enya. That there ends my knowledge on the Cocteau Twins.
This CD proved they were no better than Enya. It wasn’t shit, it was sub shoe gazing nonsense that had me reaching for the sleeve on more than 3 occasions wondering why the hell are there still 10 tracks to go. There was perennially 10 tracks to go.
It wasn’t offensive, just taxing if you are stuck in a traffic jam (which I was) late for work (which I was) and wondering why the heater wasn’t warming me up (which I was). Therefore it was taxing beyond belief. One song of meaningless singing I can tolerate, then you say OK, that’s good, what else can you do though?
Not much it seemed as 19 tracks later and nary a sail away sail away Orinoco flow in name but certainly in delivery and I am thinking all that they can do is that. I was ready to turn Sir Terry on at one point.
So that all said, not to my liking, but not awful, 3 out of 10. I can’t wait for disc one, whenever that may be.
Iceblink Luck by Cocteau Twins
Before I regale you with my thoughts on disc two, let me bring you up to speed on my relationship and knowledge of the Cocteau Twins.
Firstly, in our house they are called the Cockatoo Twins, this is due to an ex-girlfriend of a friend calling them that in all seriousness. She also said that “you don’t know bo-diddley”, instead of you don’t know diddley. She was like a modern Del Boy. I digress, that’s what they are known as in our house, The Cockatoo Twins.
I know one song by them, just one, I think its called Iceblink Luck. My wife thinks they are no better than Enya. That there ends my knowledge on the Cocteau Twins.
This CD proved they were no better than Enya. It wasn’t shit, it was sub shoe gazing nonsense that had me reaching for the sleeve on more than 3 occasions wondering why the hell are there still 10 tracks to go. There was perennially 10 tracks to go.
It wasn’t offensive, just taxing if you are stuck in a traffic jam (which I was) late for work (which I was) and wondering why the heater wasn’t warming me up (which I was). Therefore it was taxing beyond belief. One song of meaningless singing I can tolerate, then you say OK, that’s good, what else can you do though?
Not much it seemed as 19 tracks later and nary a sail away sail away Orinoco flow in name but certainly in delivery and I am thinking all that they can do is that. I was ready to turn Sir Terry on at one point.
So that all said, not to my liking, but not awful, 3 out of 10. I can’t wait for disc one, whenever that may be.
Iceblink Luck by Cocteau Twins
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