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Named in homage to Buddy Holly’s greatest rocker, Denmark’s Raveonettes have forged small, satisfying changes on twangy garage pop over three records. (Think somewhere between Chris Isaak and the Jesus and Mary Chain.) Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo’s second full-length, Pretty in Black, makes the duo’s influences even more explicit than before with a cover of the Angels’girl-group monster "My Boyfriend’s Back" (co-written by Raveonettes co-producer Richard Gottehrer) and "Here Comes Mary," a ballad that walks almost as closely in the melodic steps of the Everly Brothers "All I Have to Do is Dream" as "Surfin’ U.S.A." did those of "Sweet Little Sixteen." But it’s the new tricks they unpack--the shimmy of "Love in a Trashcan," the disco stomp of "Twilight"--that make this their own music. --Rickey Wright ... Read more

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Garage-rock hero Jack White producing honky-tonk legend Loretta Lynn? And Lynn comparing him to renowned Nashville producer Owen Bradley? Yes, we all know the world is rapidly shrinking, but now we've seen everything. Most stunning of all--they nailed it. For the first time, Lynn has written all of an album's songs, and her lyrics are as cutting and incisive as ever. On the powerful, biting "Family Tree," she brings her babies to the home of her husband's mistress, so that they can see the "woman that's burning down our family tree." Throughout she cunningly tackles tried-and-true honky-tonk themes of love gone bad, drinkin', cheatin', and murder. Lynn even offers a compelling slice of theological fatalism ("God Makes No Mistakes"). White's production--mostly stark and atmospheric--ranges from more-traditional country to straight-up White Stripes, with most tracks falling somewhere in between. White duets with Lynn on the rousing one-night-stand story "Portland, Oregon," but he does not need to sing to leave his personal stamp. At 70, Lynn seems thoroughly engaged and delighted; at times she delivers some of the most emotionally potent singing of her career. A decade earlier, Johnny Cash turned to rock and rap producer Rick Rubin, and the move resuscitated Cash's career. Now, Jack White has done the same for Loretta Lynn, another country legend whose music is simply too raw and honest for the contemporary country crowd. Van Lear Rose exceeds all expectations, a bold collaboration in which artists from two different musical universes forge a memorable work that neither could have created alone. --Marc Greilsamer ... Read more

Reviews (153)

"HAVE MERCY!" and other great songs
Now, let's hear a review from a REAL music fan (one that's not from California, hint, hint).

While Rick Rubin was able to revitalize the Man In Black's career, Jack White has taken the Coal Miner's Daughter and one upped the man with the Texas goatee. He's helped her create the best compilation this amazing woman has ever put out. Even better, they're all originals.

Combining Lynn's beautiful, bitter sweet tone and Appalacian sensibilities (as best heard on the song 'Miss Being Mrs.') with White's revamped, solid, country 'twang' guitar style, the two have made an album that is truer to country music than the vast majority of acts that you would hear nowadays on CMT or your local country radio station. Even when White reverts back to a more garage blues guitar style, such as in 'Portland Oregon' or his solo at the end of the 'Long Black Veil'-esque song 'Woman's Prison', he's still able to do it in a way that oozes honky-tonk. While this is not the same Loretta Lynn that was known 30-40 years ago, she's still able to create music that paints a clear, poignant picture of the world that she grew up in, and holds dear to this very day. Buy, listen, love.

Oh, and don't worry. This will be my only review for this album. Sham on, buddy (you know who you are).

Electric. Fires on all cylinders.
First let me say, that though I have respected the musicianship of both Loretta Lynn and Jack White, I have never bought any of their music before this album. I am not on a street team, I don't have an axe to grind about the state of Country Music or Alternative Rockers, and I don't work for the record company or get a kickback for anything. This album is friggin' awesome. It's electric and it fires on all cylinders. The professional marriage of Loretta Lynn and Jack White couldn't be more perfect. I listened to this for the first time last week and have already bought 4 more copies for friends. I'm the type of person who listens to a new CD and latches on to a song here and there, often skipping around to hear my favorites. This album had me listening straight through again and again and thanking whoever was responsible for bringing this gift to me. Loretta is a storyteller of the highest order and her expressive voice is only surpassed by her brilliant, often hilarious and always affecting lyrics. Jack White lavishes her with the attention her talent deserves, punctuating the rough edges and pulling back for heartbreaking reveals. Just get this CD. Buy more than one. And be happy that the stars aligned and we benefit. I still marvel that in this day and age of overproduction, these two have pulled off a resonant, simple and beautiful album that rocks, is full of surprises and is endlessly infused with plain old down-home charm. I'm officially in love.

Lovely Loretta
After reading a very favorable article about this album in Rolling Stone, I knew I had to buy it. It's wonderful. Loretta's voice is as beautiful as always and Jack White is a great addition. It's the kind of album that grows on you, too. After listening to it a couple of times, you appreciate it even more.

Album of the year
It's hard for musicians to reinvent themselves or do something new and exciting so late in their careers. It's great that Jack White has got involved with someone like Loretta Lynn, because then maybe young people will start listening to older music. All the songs are pretty exciting, a mix of rock and country. Country music never sounded so weird and fun. It is a revolution.

Loretta is Amazing!
You have to listen to this album with an open mind becasuse it is none like Loretta has ever put out, but all songs were written by her, and I have to say I like the entire album. Some of the songs have a rock edge but Loretta keeps up just fine. Some of the songs are as country as you can get. Very good album. I reccomend it. My favorite songs are, Vanleer Rose, Miss Being Mrs, High on a Mountain top, and Mrs Leeroy Brown. They are all different, but its all good music. Great instrumental music as well as vocal. Loretta is Amazing! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Math wiz and multi-instrumentalist John Ondrasik's third album under his rather misleading Five For Fighting rubric shows that he's lost little of the cranky ire that he unleashed on American Town,but this time his targets are a little closer to home. He skews faithless friends and bad habits on the tetchy opening track "NYC Weather report," oddly borrowing from both Guns N' Rose's"Paradise City," and Barbara Streisand's "People" to hammer his ornery point home, before training his sights on the human life span, fleeting relationships, and even Disneyland. But it isn't until "Girlfriends and Angels," that he shows his real brilliance, imagination and grit; Ondrasik finds the exact place where the Beach Boys intersects with the Velvet Underground and plants himself in that spot, spewing out his own hard won romantic philosophies, proving once again that the hunter does indeed get captured by the game. More ribald, sonically inventive, and lyrically edgy, The Battle For Everything, shows that Ondrasik's combative days may be behind him. --Jaan Uhelszki ... Read more

Reviews (113)

Quite an unexpected surprise!
Before buying this CD, my exposure to Five For Fighting consisted solely of the single "Superman (It's Not Easy)," an earnest and irresistible song that became a hit long after it was released in 2000. Based on that song, and having heard the first single of this release, I decided to give it a shot. It is also priced to sell and I hope that this pricing strategy is a sign of things to come as this release is from Columbia Records, which seems to be following the on the footsteps of Universal. Everyone wins.

This release is quite powerful and if there is one uniting element to be found is that John Ondrasik (the main force behind FFF) carries his heart on his sleeve. Many critics despise this type of sentiment and they have clobbered them in their reviews. Some have taken easy potshots and called Ondrasik's voice a more annoying version of Chris Martin from Coldplay, but it seems that Amazon.com reviewers as well as the CD buying public has embraced what I think is a very good release that gets better with each listen.

Although its hard and sometimes unfair to compare artists, most songs here are sung in a fragile growl that to me sound a little like Dave Matthews meets Eddie Vedder meets Adam Duritz from Counting Crows. The arrangements are mostly backed with some very straightforward acoustic guitar and some great piano work that some called Elton-esque.

The release starts out with the gorgeous "NYC Weather Report" which sounds like a second single waiting to happen with its infectious arrangement and melodic yearnings. Other highlights include "The Devil In The Wishing Well." "If God Made You" is gorgeous and one of FFF's most optimistic songs. The first single "100 Years" starts out with a gorgeous piano arrangement (a little Bruce Hornsby) and takes off. It's almost as good as "Superman." "Angels And Girlfriends" goes through several changes and has a Beach Boys like sound with some echoes that sound great. Not a huge message song, but just fun. I love "Dying" and it's probably my favorite song on this release. "Infidel" picks up with a hard riff and presents a definite change of pace from the previous songs and adds a Black Crowes feel to the repertoire. The melody on "Disneyland" is awesome. The 2 songs that follow don't do much for me, although it should be highlighted that FFF has greatly expanded its musical menu. "One More For Love" is another of my favorites; notwithstanding that Rolling Stone magazine compares it to Air Supply-like cheesiness. My only response is that this is coming from a magazine that now used to have Bruce Sprinsteen and other originals on its cover, while these days it's either Hillary Duff or the Olsen twins. Nothing against these girls, but Rolling Stone should not throw stones when it lives in a THIN glass house. I love the strings on "Nobody."

One could argue that FFF sounds a little too much like Counting Crows or other recently successful groups and I can't argue with those who say that, but ultimately I just like it and at worst it's the work of musicians and not a media-created product. Some have criticized the lyrics and although they are not the deepest lyrics on earth, their simplicity or lack of depth (in some instances) does not make it a deal breaker.

I know that my review has focused on some of the similarities that FFF has with so many other contemporaries, but ultimately my thinking is that this release just sounds great and yes, it might remind me of others in parts, but it is certainly not a deal-breaker but rather a solid 4 star effort that keeps growing on me more and more.

The Taste for Five
My favorite track on "The Battle for Everything" is the rock explosion "The Taste." Ondrasik changes time signatures, uses strings percussively, and builds to such a raging emotional guitar storm that the track is unforgettable, "I will be a happy man if you're my sacred son; I could be a dividend if you're my only one." Most of the other tracks are also excellent, revealing new levels with repeated listenings. "NYC Weather Report" sports one of Ondrasik's soaring melodies in a slap-in-the-face reference to the Barbra Streisand signature song "People," "Got to get away from all these people who need people... You know it really makes me sick." "If God Made You" is a melodic track that may err by sticking a bit too fast to the middle of the road but has an intriguing lyric that celebrates the wondrous glory of being in love, "I can't say what I might believe, but if God made you, He's in love with me." "100 Years" most closely resembles the melody of the "Superman" hit and cleverly tracks emotions through different ages. "Disneyland" is another Five for Fighting melodic track, "There I was somewhere West of Tomorrow Land, flying through the stars just like Peter Pan." "Maybe I" is one of the tracks that has grown on me and makes me reach for the repeat button with its dreamy melody, "I never stood before, What's better left unsaid is done, buried & dead; and you're alive." "One More for Love" is another great romantic love ballad. The closer "Nobody" offers one of John O's most passionate vocal performances, occasionally flitting off into a higher register then coming suddenly back to Earth. "The Battle for Everything" has great classic moments and is consistently good throughout. Enjoy!

Please don't ride the iguana
this is a cool album. john osomethingorother is a cool dude homiez. he has more talent than anyoneon mtv(thedevilstation)will ever have. the best song is devil in the wishing well.
See you later, and remember, don't tickle any platypus.

Good music
I have heard about this group while watching NHL hockey throughout their season.
I listened to the album and was suprised in that it has a GREAT vibe to it and it sounds like early Dave Matthews Band.
You will not displeased with it.
It is very good music.

Five for Fighting wins the battle
This CD is great, like all the other FfF albums. Once again there is a lot of great vocals and lyrics, and much piano. I would reccomend this to the alternitive and easy listening people. Probably the best song on this CD is 100 Years, it is probably one of their more "popular" songs, next to Superman. 100 Years is the song FfF is known for, and is on the radio all the time. Another great song that might make you want to buy this is Nobody. It is the longest track on the CD at 5:11. It is a great song about friends. Another good song is The Devil in the Wishing Well. I don't get some of the lyrics on it, but that is a multiple occurence when you are listening to FfF. All of the lyrics are deep and mysterious on some of the songs.

You should definetly by this CD. Its worth the good price. I got it a Wal-Mart for $9.00! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Hitch up your I-Pods, egg-headed hipsters of the future: They Might Be Giants, the out-there band that files its sound under the banner of "Can't We All Just Get Along" is speaking your language. What they're saying is No!, but in a way that's weirdly welcoming, especially to anybody who's over 3 and has a hard drive. No!'s computer enhancements (animation, games, and a sing-along scroll bar) don't assign the strictly audio experience to the so-what pile, but at certain moments they seem necessary--how else are you supposed to decipher a song ("Violin") whose only words are "violin," "hippo," and the ticking off of fractional segments of George Washington's head? Of course, to try to make sense of the 17 tunes contained here may be to miss the point. While TMBG's lyrical and vocal hijinks can be off-putting to grownups prone to self-consciousness about not getting the joke, the generation No! takes aim at needs nothing in the way of validation. Thus the brilliance of baggage-free ditties like "Fibber Island," where the natives strum rubber guitars and sew buttons on cars, "John Lee Supertaster," a rock & roll fantasy following a hero with heightened senses of sweet and sour, and "I Am a Grocery Bag," detailing what's bumping around in brown paper after a trip to the market. With their triumph over the tube (TMBG took home a Grammy for the theme to Malcolm in the Middle and perform and wrote the intro to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart), frontmen John Linnell and John Flansburgh have already infiltrated the family market, sort of. No! finds the band bending to a level lots of other giants might overlook, but without cramping up. Given the right reach, They Could Be Kiddie Icons. -Tammy La Gorce ... Read more

Reviews (106)

Dont cross the street In The middle of NO!
No! is a great kids album. I have all their cds, and even though i'm 11, this is still a great album. They don't have to be Raffi with songs about cute whales, but they have to be Johns, with songs about grocery bags and hippos.Great animations also!

1.FIBBER ISLAND
A good opening. Almost like a folk song.One of the best kids songs about imagination. One of the best flash games also on the
CD.

2. FOUR OF TWO
Another good {yet older} song. TMBG can sing about loving girls and dating, while still making it appropiate {and a bit confusing when they sing about bugs and flying cars} for kids. Great song.

3. ROBOT PARADE
On the "Working Undercover For The Man" they had an hard rock, fast version of this song. On No! it's softer, and more understandable, even though the game gets boring.

4. NO!
The title track. You get to change No blocks to Yes blocks! A good use of electric guitars.{!}

5. WHERE DO THEY MAKE BALLOONS?
One of the best. Sung by their drummer, I think, this song teaches about other countries and their products while asking the age-old question, "Where DO they make balloons?"

6.IN THE MIDDLE, IN THE MIDDLE, IN THE MIDDLE
An old cheesy 60's song, I think. Sorta dull.

7.VIOLIN
Even though the songs consists of the words "Violin-lin-lin","Hippo", "Mop!" and "Speck of dus-dus-dust" and a fraction lesson using George Washington's head {You'll get a presidential surprise!}, it is one of the best songs on the album.

8.JOHN LEE SUPERTASTER
My personal favorite. A rocking tune about a guy that is a supertaster. Has a hilarious intro by John Flansburgh.

9.EDISON MUSEUM
Originally on "Long Tall Weekend", this is still a great, spooky, educational song.The flash thing has the ghost of Thomas Alva telling you about phonographs and stuff.

10.HOUSE AT THE TOP OF THE TREE
My 2nd favorite, and the best game, where you try to save a treehouse by feeding a disturbing,fat mouse thats eating the house. If you dont feed him, the house falls down. The creepy little guy still pops his head out the window and waves at you.

The next four songs are all under one minute long, and, in my opinion, the worst. Anyway, CLAP YOUR HANDS makes you want to dance, I AM NOT YOUR BROOM is about what happens when your broom runs away, while the WAKE UP CALL song is a bit boring because the only words are Bo Bo Do Bo Bo. I AM A GROCERY BAG is about half a minute long, but you get to play with food in the interactive thing.

The last three songs are about sleeping and lullabies. LAZYHEAD AND SLEEPYBONES is a rather beautiful song that can actually somehom make you fall asleep. BED BED BED is a fast, energetic Beastles-esque type song about...you guessed it, BED!
And SLEEPWALKERS is a med-tempo song about people who roam across the nation while they sleep.

In all, this is a good album and I recommend it to everyone.
{Try to find the bonus song on the CD-ROM!!}

-Thomas Neufeld

all sorts of TMBG goodness
For those TMBG fans that were disappointed with Mink Car, I'd definitely not give up on they might be giants, but rather, pick up a copy of No! Sure, that'll mean getting over your pride and buying a childrens' album, but I think you can manage. Yes, No! is made for kids to enjoy, too, but that definitely does not mean that it's bad. Quite the opposite, actually. Almost all of these songs could easily go on a regular TMBG album, and everyone would be more than satisfied. I absolutely adore "Bed, Bed, Bed", "John Lee Supertaster", and "Four of Two", but they're really all great. The animations and games are wonderful, too. "The House at the Top of the Tree" is bunches of fun, and "I am Not Your Broom" is hilarious. Another interesting track is "Where Do They Make Balloons?" sung by Danny Weinkauf, the band's bassist. It's surprisingly very good; a nice variation.
In summation, a very cohesive TMBG album, extremely fun and educational for kids, great songs live, and TMBG goodness all around. I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND BUYING THIS ALBUM. if you're a tmbg fan, you should already have it!

Great for all ages
We bought this to have kids music in the house for my new son, but my husband and I love it!

Attuned to the mind of a child
This album captures the triumphant exuberance of childhood in a way that few other children's albums do. Songs such as "Fibber Island" and "Robot Parade" encourage children to exercise imagination and creativity. In "Bed, Bed, Bed," watching TV is but one of many activities in a full day that includes meeting friends, riding bikes, and playing the guitar. Even better, some of the songs are educational ("Where Do They Make Balloons?", "The Edison Museum") with the spirit of play, not lectures. But best of all, the songs have both simplicity and sophistication to their goofiness to appeal to children and older listeners alike. "Violin" and "John Lee Superstar" are good examples of this.

This album contains no bad language, violence, or encouragement of such, so most parents would not object to the material in this album. While some of the songs ("I Am Not Your Broom") may be interpreted as encouraging rebellion in children, I do not feel they are any more subversive than say, the poetry of Shel Silverstein.

The whimsical interactive sequences mostly require only that you run your mouse over the images, so children who can't click the buttons can still enjoy them. My one-year-old nephew insisted on going to listen to the CD on the computer first thing in the morning for quite a while. I also bought this album for my TMBG fan friends who were soon to be parents, and they were delighted.

Hooray for No!
My little sister got this for her birthday a few years back, and I must admit that I listen to it as much, if not more than her. A friend of our family is a hard-core TMBG fan, so we get a new CD pretty much every birthday or Christmas, or whatever. This is a totally awesome CD! I love the enhancement-you can plug it into your computer and it does all sorts of cool stuff. I admit that I brought it on the way to a sports championship and a few of the guys laughed, but soon found themselves singing along as well. Overall, a HOORAY FOR NO! ... Read more

Amazon.com

With songs equal to those on We Have the Facts and a lush, brilliant production that continues what The Photo Album started, Transatlanticism is easily Death Cab's best record to date. Much attention has duly been focused on doe-eyed singer/lyricist Ben Gibbard, co-star of the Postal Service phenomenon, and Ben's voice is as strange, beautiful, and as strong as ever on these songs, which deal with the difficulties of long-distance relationships. But guitarist/producer Chris Walla once again proves himself to be the band's secret weapon, layering subtle sonic touches throughout Transatlanticism, which is most definitely a "headphone record." This Seattle quartet is one of the only bands to really have picked up the intelligent, emotionally resonant, and guitar-driven indie-pop torch that Built to Spill briefly lit in the mid-1990s (before themselves heading off to the stoner-rock territory). DCFC themselves seem poised to finally break out to a wider audience, and they truly deserve it with this disc. --Mike McGonigal ... Read more

Reviews (98)

Great Album!
This album is certainly a little different than the previous DCFC albums. However, it is by no means worse. Ben Gibbard's lyrics have reached an all time best and the production quality is amazing. The guitar is very melodic. Here's my take on the songs:

New Year (9/10) This song is a great opener. The lyrics are catchy. You will be singing it.

Lightness (6/10) This song is OK. It doesn't strike me as anythign great, but after listening to it a few times, i started to like it. Still a good song.

Title and Registration (10/10) Probably my favorite track. Unique upbeat style and awesome lyrics.

Expo '86 (9/10) Another really catchy song. One of the best.

Sound of Settling (8/10) Another great song, very catchy (as with just about all the songs on this cd).

Tiny Vessels (8/10) VERY melodic guitar, you will love it.

Transatlanticism (7/10) title track. long and quite, but builds up. its a good song but may be an aquired taste for some.

Passenger Seat (10/10) this song gets a 10 for being the prettiest song ever made.

Death of an Interior Decorator (5/10) my least fav song on cd. its ok.

We Looked Like Giants (10/10) SICK song. enough said. my fav right off the bat

A Lack of Color (8/10) this song is a good end. its style is very similar to that of some of the older albums.

Overall, this album is great. I don't know how anyone could rate it so low as some have. My only gripe with it is that the lyrics are all pretty emotional and girl-related, moreso than in previous albums. You WILL be amazed at how awesome the lyrics are tho. Amazed.

Pure magic!
As a die-hard DCfC fan, I've heard all their albums and this one, to me, seems the most coherent and complete. The themes run through each song seamlessly and, despite my heseitation at making a comparison, I consider this their best work yet.

Here are the tracks:
1. The New Year
2. Lightness
3. Title and Registration
4. Expo '86
5. The Sound of Settling
6. Tiny Vessels
7. Transatlanticism
8. Passenger Seat
9. Death of an Interior Decorator
10. We Looked Like Giants
11. A Lack of Color

Now, this will come as a surprise to those of you who know me well, but while the lyrics are amazing, what first caught my ear with this album is the elegance of the sounds. It both starts and ends with what sounds like the noise a computer makes when it's running (the hum), giving it a sense of unity. I think that someone listening to a vocal-stripped version of this album could still tell it's DCfC, but there's a sense of greater freedom and distance from We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes or The Photo Album. When I listen to "The New Year," I get a sense of opening up, where much of We Have the Facts . . . appears closed-off. As suggested in "The Sound of Settling" (track 5), this album proclaims "if you've got an impulse, let it out," clearly and with joy.

On to individual songs. My favorites are "The New Year" (track 1), "Transatlanticism" (track 7), and "A Lack of Color" (track 11). "The New Year" and "Transatlanticism" present two different but convergent views of distance. "The New Year" suggests a solely physical difference, claiming if "the world was flat like the old days . . . there'd be no distance that could hold us back," while distance in "Transatlanticism" appears predominantly emotional. A rift--the Atlantic ocean--isolates the song's narrator from the rest of the world, "making islands where no island should go (oh no)." The point of "The New Year" is that distance can be overcome, while "Transatlanticism" bears the message that "the distance is quite simply much too far." The former has a progressive, moving beat, while the latter settles, resigned, into the simplicity of its percussive chords.

While the album is by no means "happy," its message is progressive. Though "there's a lack of color here," we are told not to worry, that "this is fact not fiction for the first time in years." All the album's elements converge in the final track--the unity, the "cycle [that] never ends" (as demonstrated by the identical sounds at the end of "A Lack of Color" and the beginning of "The New Year"), and "a reason to stay." We are, together with DCfC, facing reality, and part of facing reality is recognizing not only our failings, but our capabilities. Transatlanticism is capable of transcending great distances, and of driving beauty into the human heart.

Sucks
i have never been a fan of this band. they have no catchy songs AT ALL. they really do blow as a band that is "a not so popular band". thats my opinion so take it or leave it.

They aren't sell outs
I am so sick of hearing that Deatch Cab has sold out. They are still making the same music, it isn't any different. It's just that some of the indie kids (i am one myself) can't handle their bands beomcing popular in mainstream music. I am a huge fan of the bands that are suddenly emerging everywhere like Modest Mouse, Death Cab, The Shins, etc., but just because they are popular doesn't mean they have sold out. It is still good quality music, and, despite what you pessimistic indie kids out there think, they have yet to sell out.

yeah
i love death cab but these aren't their best songs. i'd recommend older albums above this. that said, i still really like this album - 'we looked like giants' and 'the new year' are the best songs on it in my opinion. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The infectious twang and pop hooks of Wilco's former efforts may be fading fast, but A Ghost Is Born is still a rewarding effort that demands repeated listening. The group's fifth album extends upon the experimentalism of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot with angular, blues-soaked guitar riffs ("At Least That's What You Said," "Hell Is Chrome"), a handful of sparse, yet catchy tunes (smack dab in the middle of the disc) that will surely keep college radio stations smiling, and a lengthy track that descends into mere static ("Less Than You Think"). Frontman Jeff Tweedy's songwriting continues to evolve: "Hummingbird" is a dreamy Randy Newman-styled love song; "The Late Greats" is a sly ode to the world of pop tacked onto the end of the album (as if using such a fun song on this understated disc was an afterthought). Meanwhile, producer extraordinaire Jim O'Rourke manages to make the most complicated arrangements here sound minimalist and laid-back. All told, it's another great addition to the Wilco canon. --Jason Verlinde ... Read more

Reviews (142)

Been Waiting Too Long
I'd give it four stars in the LP era, where I'd have to listen through the 15 minute static noises of "Less Than You Think". This is a John Cage 4'33-esque commentary on what can be considered music. I won't get into that now, but it's good to listen to it at least once in context of the whole album. Especially since it contrasts very starkly with the straightforward track "The Late Greats," which is probably the closest thing you'll get to Alt-Country on this album. Anyway, luckily we have the skip track button for casual listening. The rest of the album is incredible.
If you like climaxes, this is your album. Several songs start off slow and progress into some pretty hard hitting rock and dissolve into distortion. There are less dings and pings on Ghost than YHF. Ghost is more minimalist, relying more on primal baselines and rythmic sequences that make you sort of lose time within the song, often before hitting you hard with a jam. "Spiders" is the eiptome of this, and probably is the musical version of Tweedy's well-publicized migraines.
Bottom line; the alt-country fans hoping for Another A&M, the pop fans hoping for another Summerteeth, those in between hoping for another Being There, and everyone else who came on board with YHF hoping for more of the same didn't get your wishes. But that's what I love about Wilco, each album is distinctively Tweedy, but there's always something new to keep you interested.

Don't Judge Too Soon
It's a classic mistake -- a big name band comes out with a new album, and critics and fans alike step in immediately to give their first impressions. If there's one band for which that approach is a consistent a mistake, it's Wilco. Like many, I'm frightened of albums that I instantly like; they invariably begin to fade away sooner than later.

"A Ghost is Born" will leave many bumfuzzled out of the starting gate. Similar in overall style and structure to its controversial predecessor "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot", this record depends heavily on brooding atmospherics which envelope the rather conventional melodies. This is Jeff Tweedy's niche; the basic pop song format shadowed and subverted by dissonant, disquieting counter-themes. For those willing to submit to Wilco's own (admittedly wry) internal logic, the rewards will come; doubt will fade like Smarty Jones in the final leg of the Belmont, and the patient listener will be overtaken and surprised by a work of unexpected depth.

Among the better tracks are "Hell is Chrome", which sounds like Paul Simon backed by Dark Side-era Pink Floyd; the breezy yet bittersweet "Wishful Thinking"; and "Theologians," a blue-collar manifesto that supplies the album's thesis with cleverly employed Biblical analogies. But the song that stands out most is "Muzzle of Bees," and astonishingly schizoidal piece whose delicate acoustic elements are trampled by wailing electric histrionics. "Muzzle" best demonstrates Wilco's disparate musical interests while showing off their latently strong musicianship.

Give this one a chance. Odds are it will make regular rounds in your CD changer well into the future.

what are you people thinking?!
This is not going to be so much a cd review as it is a rebuttal to all those who write reviews for this site...including you, Amazon.com.

Okay, forget that Wilco is one of (if not the) most innovative rock (yes, rock) bands that exists today..."Ghost" is simply a very brave and very, very amazing album that any band would sell its soul to even have conceived of, let alone create. What Wilco accomplishes on this album, even more so than YHF, is emotion - hard, raw emotion without allowing the incredible success of said YHF to interfere. Wilco (Tweedy specifically, though not exclusively) is fast proving itself a creative force which relies not on jingles and soon-to-be-radio-slough to sell its albums...in fact, Wilco couldn't care less if it sells albums or not (research your YHF history to see what I mean). Wilco proves to all us earlier non-believers that there still are those artists out there who believe in their music as an extension of themselves, as a reflection of who they truly are, not who their so-called fans wish them to be. They are artists in every sense of the word, meaning they toss critisism to the wayside as the simple opinions of those who can't...or, in the very least, won't. Art does not demand critism to exist, only the critic. So, so-called fans, save all your critisms for the next J-Lo album or whatever piece of trash you're currently reviewing. Wilco is above you all.

Now, on to the achievements of "Ghost" - amazing, spectacular, artistic, and true. That is all.

Okay, this is the Wilco cd I've waited for
I came to Wilco as a fan of the 90's band, Son Volt (and if you haven't heard of them, you are in for treat). After falling in love with those records, I followed Farrar and Tweedy in their musical travels, but Tweedy's records just never quite made it for me. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was okay, but nothing special.

This cd is great. It takes a song or two really get going, but man, it's worth it. The songs are beautiful and dream-like. The lyrics are lovely. The long musical interludes are hypnotic. For me, this is the best Wilco cd by far. Get this one.

Great Music to Fall Asleep to
We have all heard the story before and you will hear it again, about a band that hit it big by being spurned by their record company over what was one of the better albums of the last decade. Problem is that if they had turned this album instead of YHF, I am not sure that anyone would really be complaining all that mcuh.

A Ghost is Born reminds me of the inferior B-Side Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. While I am not one of those Alt-Country Snobs that wishes Wilco would do alt-country again or pine for the days of Uncle Tupelo, I do pine for the Jeff Tweedy/Jay Bennett songwriting and stage presence that is missing on this album. The best three albums by Wilco are Being There, Summerteeth and, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and its no coincidence on each of those albums, Jay plays a crucial role in the music writing process. The problem with this album is that it becomes Jeff Tweedy and the Wilcos. More Guitar strung out guitar solos and ridiculous droning that someone will argue as being some artistic masterpiece. Well Jeff Tweedy is trying to prove something, but you know I just want an album that I can listen to over and over again and not get tired of it.

There are some great songs on this album. Hummingbird is a great song and shows once again that they do still have it in them to write a great pop song. Handshake Drugs sounds like later Velvet Underground material. While I always loved the song it had already been released before (Albeit a different mix). Theologians has also grown on me.

There are a lot of forgettable songs on this album as well. Muzzle of Bees and Wishful thinking just don't really do much for me. Spiders was turned into a huge mistake by making it 10 minutes and do we really need endless nonstop sounds on Less than You think. Maybe you like to listen to bells and whistles nonstop but I surely do not. Im a Wheel is probably one of the worst songs that Wilco has ever written. I rolled my eyes the first time I heard this song live and I was just hoping that they would realize their mistake and make this some odd B-Side.

If you never have bought a wilco album this is not the one to start off with. This band has pretty much done no wrong coming into this album. Each one of their albums they have grown as a band but what we notice more on this album is maybe the dismantling of Wilco. The bands makeup is changing more than Menudo and that has to be worrysome. You cannot have any type of growth when you only have two original members and the others have either been kicked out, fired or just sick and tired of it. ... Read more

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So much has been said about disco-punk's King Midas, New York musician/producer James Murphy, that it's kind of hard to believe that we've had to wait until 2005 for the debut album from his dancefloor project, LCD Soundsystem. LCD's classic triumvirate of early singles--"Losing My Edge," "Give It Up," and "Yeah"--joined the dots between punk-rock, disco, and funk in a way that hadn't been seen since the New York downtown scene of the early '80s, but these are bravely relegated to a bonus disc in favor of a suite of new material that reworks the band's influences in new, often explicit ways: take "Movement," for instance--a homage to the Fall that finds Murphy barking "It's a fat guy/ In a T-shirt/ Doing all the singing!" over punchy analog synths, or the quietly majestic "Great Release," a doff of the cap to Brian Eno circa Taking Tiger Mountain. For all his encyclopedic musical knowledge, however, it's one of Murphy's strengths that he seldom seems uptight about the practice of music-making: it's how he can get away with penning a gonzo disco-punk number and naming it something as fantastically flippant as "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House"--and more importantly, it's why LCD Soundsystem succeeds as a splendid dance record as well as a smart intellectual exercise. --Louis Pattison ... Read more

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While Radiohead saw its stock rising in 1994, it wasn't until 1995's The Bends that it really became a blue chip band. And for good reason. The quintet honed its talent for bombastic Brit Rock, yet still preserved an edge of unpredictability. Even singles like the title track didn't give in to the kind of swooning guitar clichés usually embraced by commercial radio. If the CD proved anything, it was that Radiohead could find solid ground between pop experimentation and the tradition of born-in-the-bone, balls-out rock. --Nick Heil ... Read more

Reviews (432)

Good Music and the Misery of Radiohead
One of the better songs on this album is the very first one, "Planet Telex." It begins with a cold electronic wind sweeping in, then vibrating pianos that few bands would attempt. It turns out "Planet Telex" is dry, heavily layered, somewhat mysterious, very melodic, and overall, quite depressing, with lyrics like "everything is broken" at the chorus. Though "Planet Telex" may not dish out inspiration by the bucketload, it does make for thoughtful, reflective music, indispensible in my own cd collection. Welcome to the world of Radiohead, welcome to the "The Bends."

"The Bends" the song somewhat contradicts the icy opener, sounding nearly classic rock, less robotic, and giving these guys some needed humanity. The two released songs, "High and Dry" and the hopeless "Fake Plastic Trees" begin the cycle of hard and soft songs throughout the album. The high energy "Bones" gets things moving again in a HUGE way. If you haven't heard this massive Radiohead tune, don't let it pass you by. Listen for Thom Yorke hitting the high notes at the chorus and the grinding riff that completely rocks out. "Bones," along with "Planet Telex," are practically worth the price of the cd alone. But there's much more on "The Bends," of course. "My Iron Lung" floats by on a high pitched guitar lick that sounds half sick and anemic compared to the rip-roaring portion of the song that later kicks in. That's a definite technique with these guys on this album. In a different style than Nirvana, Radiohead love to begin quiet and lulling, only to tear things apart later on in the songs. You could call them an electronic Nirvana or aspiring Smashing Pumpkins, though many would call them much better than the Pumpkins.

The last four or five songs definitely bear mentioning, due to their subtle, melodious effects. "Bullet Proof" is a slow and nice sounding song with delicate, behind-the-scenes guitars. "Black Star" follows, fading in with guitars of the same variety, but picking up sonically in a big way; it turns out to be one of the highlights of the entire album. Luckily, Radiohead refuse to rest on their laurels as the album winds down. "Sulk" keeps up the work of the great chiming guitars, nearly like bells ringing to announce the near end of the record. "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" ends "The Bends" on a predictably sour, strange note, with those same tickling guitars.

Though "The Bends" is music for the masses, Thom Yorke's high-pitched voice may not please everybody. Indisputably, however, the music is ultra-catchy and enjoyable, if not hugely downtrodden in parts, especially lyrically. Overall, this is just a well put together album which rocks when it needs to, slows down at precisely the right moments, and places the background and foreground distortion in all the apt places. It's only a little puzzling why Radiohead didn't release some of the more dynamic tunes on this record. This is both easy listening - due to all the hooks in every song - and difficult, due to the depressing aura that infiltrates everywhere. Either way, Radiohead put a lot of effort into this record, finding a way to hold listeners rapt all the way through.

my baby's got the bends
If you're chronically depressed and would like to stay that way, this could be the album for you. For whatever reason, the mood is extremely sullen this time around, and there is not an uplifting song anywhere. But it doesn't matter, because all of the songs are consistently good! That seems to be rare these days, where you buy an album and it turns out that the three hit singles were all it had going for it. Believe the hype: Radiohead probably is the best thing to happen to rock music in the '90s.

"High and Dry" and "Fake Plastic Trees" are slow-moving and depressed, but the mope-rock shtick never gets mushy, and there are some songs that rely on sudden dynamics changes to keep the energy going ("Just," "Bones"). Singer Thom Yorke has become one of my favorite male vocalists, the way he can sound desperate and pleading, then incredibly angry, and his voice stays so beautiful. The rest of the band is rather understated, but they're great, not to mention gritty and experimental. They've got a really amazing grip on dynamics, their sophisticated chord progressions make the catchy tunes durable, and their artistic integrity is almost unsurpassed. No snotty superstar whining about these guys!

In my eyes, Radiohead and their two best albums, The Bends and OK Computer, are a very good reason to hold out any hope for rock music in the coming few years.

Modern Rock Masterpiece!
Radiohead truly prove themselves to be masters of their craft and thoroughly proficient musicians with this release. They do an extremely effective job of creating a sort of mental/emotionally melancholy mood that lasts throughout the album. The highly effective tone of this album is especially personified by the songs 'Fake Plastic Trees' and 'Street Spirit'. These songs have a very melancholy feel to them, yet the album does not feel heavy at all in its texture. Radiohead somehow manages to make truly melancholy songs that feel really light. Basically, listening to this album is a highly impressive intense cerebral experience. The band keeps things thoughtful, creative, and fresh all throughout. One technique that they use to do this is to basically incorporate several stark changes into several songs all while keeping the overall feel of the song consistent. I was turned onto this album around six months ago and I've really grown to respect and appreciate Radiohead as a group since then. I've heard all of their albums after this one and this one is definitely the least experimental, but that also makes it the most accessible to those who are new to the group. This album and "O.K. Computer" are both amazing modern rock masterpieces, but I feel that "O.K. Computer" is slightly greater, even though this is the album that I listen to most often. They are both two of the greatest and most intricate rock albums to be released in the past fifteen years. This is truly thoughtful and intelligent music here that works well as a whole and complete concept from beginning to end, and I encourage you all to take a listen.

Just Beautiful!
I know it's a shame that I just bought this album almost a decade after it came out, but fortunately I did buy it. I can't really say that I am a true Radiohead fan since I don't have all their albums and am fairly ignorant when it comes to their songs, but The Bends is truly a beautiful piece of work. I rarely listen to CDs from beginning to end, but this one is a rare exception. I can actually listen to the whole CD and not be bored with certain songs.The album is filled with absolutely fantastic music and very profound messages.
I must say that I am having a difficult time believing that many people state that O.K. computer is better than The Bends. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe O.K. computer is better, but it will require me to listen to that album for long periods of time before it can, in my humble opinion, equal the beauty and complexity of The Bends.

Radiohead's Best ???
Well... if you haven't heard Ok Computer (shame on you), this would easily be considered their best. But then, ok, so "Ok" probably is their best work, but The Bends is an amazing work on its own. If you like any of Radohead's other albums you will like this one. Undoubtably. No question. Just an amazing album. Nuff Said. ... Read more

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In a promising filmmaking debut, young BYU grad Jared Hess informs this indie tale of an aggressively nerdy backwater teen's foibles with the bittersweet dimensions of the director's own small-town upbringing, making it the dry comic hit of Sundance. Its soundtrack picks up on that earnest awkwardness via dollops of 80's new wave, both underexposed (Yaz' "Only You"; Alphaville's "Forever Young") and otherwise (Bow Wow Wow's "I Want Candy," a faithful cover of "Time After Time" by Sparklemotion), as well as moodier contemporary cuts by Rogue Wave (a live take on "Every Moment"), Figurine in full synth-pop revivalist mode and the nuvo-soul of Jamiroquai and Money Mark. Interspersed with a generous sampling of dialog snippets, John Swihart's shrewd, intimate underscore runs the gamut from "The A-Team Theme" to geek-friendly exotica and nervous cocktail jazz, stitching the score's disparate parts into a memorably quirky whole.--Jerry McCulley ... Read more

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Hot Hot Heat hail from Victoria, B.C., a town best known for imitating the queen's England in the service of tourism. But never fear: the high teas and manicured gardens are all well and good, this band knows that bad manners are what rock is all about. Case in point, the song "Goodnight Goodnight," in which a former girlfriend learns "you're embarrassing me, you're embarrassing you...this isn't goodnight, this is goodbye." There's nothing quite so much fun as a good dis song, and the Heat keeps the fun going on their newest album, Elevator. Virtually every track on the CD is short and sweet with plenty of energetic, poppy goodness. Standouts include "Ladies and Gentleman" (another semiburn: "everybody's got the same story--we never wanted him here, he showed up anyway."), "Middle of Nowhere," "Soldier in a Box"--well, I'll stop before I list them all. --Leah Weathersby ... Read more

Reviews (338)

Rock has returned!
Highlights:

Are You Gonna be my Girl? (sounds similar to Iggy Pop's Lust for Life)
Rollover DJ
Cold Hard Bitch
Get Me Out of Here
Get What You Need (sound familar to any Rolling Stones' fans?)

Jet, part of the old-school rock revival (along with the Vines, the Darkness and others), has crafted an excellent album in Get Born. It has good guitar riffs, an excellent mixing job, and a good balance between hard rocking songs and soft, gentle ballads. Get Born draws influences from many sources, including AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Doors, and Iggy Pop. The end result is an album that is both a refreshing break from the nu-metal/pop-punk heavy rock scene of today and a tribute of sorts to the rock bands of the '60s and '70s. I would highly recommend, if you are a fan of old school rock or just rock music in general, that you should pick up a copy of Get Born.

Jet Is Here!!
Perhaps it is unfair to simply label Jet as a garage rock band. After all, this album holds a lot more variety than say, The White Stripes' Elephant does, or either of the The Strokes' albums. But unlike the Stripes, who manage to make great blues based rock and roll despite having a trained monkey on drums, Jet just sounds like 15 bad cover bands rolled all into one gigantic crappy supergroup.

Are You Gonna Be My Girl is the song that is currently garnering radio airplay, not to mention all sorts of critical acclaim. Call me crazy, but I liked this song better when it was called Lust For Life and Iggy Pop was singing it. Is this what is passing as "quality rock" right now? There's nothing better out there than this? Or are people just that eager to eat whatever radio craps out as "the next big thing?" Cause I'll tell you, Are You Gonna Be My Girl is only the beginning of the suckage and unoriginality to be found on this disc.

The only thing that is bearable on this entire album is Rollover D.J., which while as derivative as the rest of the album, at least has a big fun chorus attached to it, and some nice jangly guitar rhythms. Alas, other than this, its all downhill.

Jet-Get Born
I've read a lot of reviews that say the songs are just like old songs from old bands. And well, they are, but aparently those old songs were popular and this just proves they still are. It's a formula and Jet is just following it, and it works. What is bad is when artists try to remake a song that was popular and now it sounds bad, don't mess with the classics. I like the fast songs best,and the slow songs aren't bad. I don't listen to them because someone told me they were cool. I listen because I like it, and that's it. I had to colorize the cover art on mine though. The black and whiteness just begged to be filled in. Don't bash people cause they like a certain type of music and you don't. Anybody can listen to whatever they want.

If this is creative then the world is becoming a sad place-
I will give the jets a compliment- There music is pretty catchy and the instrumentals are very decent, if not well put together. The vocals are not all that good, they can sing better than me- not that that is saying much. I would have rated the band 3 stars, if they had better lyrics that were more original, creative and deep. I mean- Are you gonna be my girl and Rollover D.J, come on guys don't you have anything better to sing about? Well the one thing that I despise of is that when you listen to The Jets for a long time it starts to disgust you how sexist they are! Some of the comments they make really makes me lose respect for them."Well it's a 123 take my hand and come with me.Is it cause you look so fine that i really wanna make you mine?I said you look so fine that I really want to make you mine." That just sounds really offensive, is he talking about a prostitute? Very disrespectful to women in my opinion.

Unfair Jet bashing
Unfortunately Jet have become the new band to bash in certain circles for no good reason other than the fact that they are successful. It's gotten to the point where I've been asked if I was a Jet fan and my integrity as a music fan was at stake based on my answer. It's alright to not like a band but the endless bagging of Jet i've witness is ridiculous.

All I've got to say is don't dismiss this band because people with a holier than thou attitude say they are fake. There's some good stuff on this album. ... Read more

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Posthumous releases fall into two categories: those which the artist was working on at the time of their death, and those which are gathered from every nook and cranny to keep fans enthused and cash registers ringing. Elliott Smith's from a basement on the hill is of the former variety. It was close to completion at the time of his untimely death. Over the course of the set's 15 songs, Smith's powerful songwriting and production skills are shown in their full breadth. From thickly interlocked chordal guitar riffs ("Coast to Coast") to shimmering melancholia ("A Fond Farewell"), the songs are each brought to their own particular focus by whatever means were most appropriate. There are lush background vocals, keyboard washes, pounding rhythms, and heart rending balladry. This disc is a sad goodbye to richly emotive artist. --David Greenberger ... Read more

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Finally, the world is treated to Mike Doughty's first "full-band" album since Soul Coughing disbanded in 1998. Doughty has clearly morphed from hyperactive ironic hipster to a world-class songwriter with lyrics that are funny ("I want to run away and join the office") and self-deprecating but never emo ("All my life I've been slow and senseless/Not struck dumb I'm just dumb that's all"). If you're looking for faults you can always find them, and to be sure some of the playing is overly "pro" and not as funky as M.D. live. The perfect pedal steel touches throughout are actually icing on this cake, and the drummer dude from N.E.R.D.'s metronomic bashing's hardly a bummer. The songs on the album will be familiar to fans who've seen him live, and thanks to Haughty being recorded over a long stretch of time (the songs themselves honed that way too) it has a "greatest hits" feel to it: all killer, no filler. --Mike McGonigal ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Very nice surprise
I picked up this CD on a whim from a local store on a "new releases" rack just because the sepia toned packaging caught my eye. I looked it over and thought "Hmmm, this looks interesting." I put it back down and two days later I went back and got it and I wasn't really sure why other than I was very curious. Especially about the two songs "Underwater Love" and "Thicker Than Water." I have heard of G Love and Jack Johnson, but hadn't heard any of their music before. On first listen I was incredibly pleased at the music on the CD. The song "My Guru" is by now memorized in my head as is "Underwater Love." The song "Thicker Than Water" is really, really beautiful and fills my head with visions of waves and sand and warm air during a dreary and cold Indiana winter. This is the coolest CD I have bought in a long time and came across it by accident. The only problem is now I have to go track down the Smoke City CD's because I am in love with the sound of the lead singer's voice and her vocal stylings. I recommend this CD very highly. It's a great CD to just chill to. You could call it music to nap by, but I prefer to call it music to imagine by. This has become the soundtrack to my daydreams. Try it!!!!

Good driving music
This is an excellent CD to listen to while driving up and down the California coast. Jack Johnson seems to be getting better and better. And The Voyces have a very interesting sound. G. Love delivers as always.

Road Trippin
I didn't hear of Jack Johnson until I heard On and On at a bar one night and I was floored. After I bought On and On I went out and bought Thicker Than Water and was equally impressed. At first I was thrown off by all these different artists, most of which I never heard of, but after hearing it I was sold. I recently made a trip from Tampa to Boston and back and I listened to this record and On and On for a lot of the trip. The songs are so smooth and put you in a good place.

great music, lame soundtrack
i gav ethis a one star because it only includes about 1/3 of the actual soundtrack from the movie (which includes the music from the awesome extra footage). they should have made this a two-disc soundtrack, because they left out some GREAT tracks. i expected better from jack johnson and the malloys. the stuff thats on here is great though.

The Voyces are in my head.
A friend of mine showed me this movie a while back and I liked the music in it so much that I had to buy the soundtrack. The Voyces song reminds me of Cat Stevens back when he was good. The title track is really good also. I do skip over some of the songs but I will still recommend. ... Read more

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In the three years between this album and its epic-scaled predecessor, The Last Broadcast, Manchester trio Doves were obviously doing something more artistically rewarding than mere touring. It's not that their sense of ambitious scale has waned. It's that it has been refocused inward here toward personal matters and the state of their Northern UK homeland. The title track and thumping, soul-inflected single "Black and White Town" state as much early on. But much more than Doves' subject matter has evolved as well. The album's sonically intriguing mix of influences fuse singer Jimi Goodwin's unabashed hook jones with bottom-heavy club rhythms and the restless, expansive instincts of multi-instrumentalist twins Andy and Jez Williams. Then, all is channeled through the fuzzy aura of too many youthful 3am's at Manchester's famed Hacienda nightspot.

The gorgeous moodiness of "Snowden" and string-drenched, mouth-harp seasoned "The Storm" show how far the band has evolved from its early Sub Sub incarnation/Manchester heritage, even as the bigger-than-life "Walk in Fire" shows just how deep those roots go. It's a magnificent record, one whose sense of scale belies its innate efficiency, and arguably Doves' most wholly satisfying to date. --Jerry McCulley ... Read more

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Singer-songwriter John Mayer fills his debut, Room for Squares, with pep talks to and advertisements for himself. Even when questioning his young life, Mayer's doubts come off glib; not one second of "Why Georgia" convinces that "the stirring in my soul" keeps the artiste awake at night. Between his Dave Matthews-wannabe vocals and the accomplished but bland lite rock of his band, he could be just as easily offering tunes for hire to a coming-of-age network series as making a stand for himself and his worldview. The premise of "City Love"--that Mayer couldn't find his way around Manhattan until finding a girlfriend to root him to the place--is nice but not edifying. "My Stupid Mouth" is similarly fuzzy; letting us in on just what he said to alienate a dinner partner would've gone a long way toward fleshing out the song's pat self-deprecation. Ultimately, Mayer comes off less like a commiserating friend than a blabbermouth who's forever forgetting there's someone else in the room. And instead of whining about a discarded lunch box ("83"), dude, learn to brown-bag it the way the rest of us did. --Rickey Wright ... Read more

Reviews (971)

John Mayer is the next best thing for pop rock
So pop rock might not be an accurate description of JM. I like to call it a little bit of Sting, Dave Matthews, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and some honey thrown in the pot to make what he does. John's music might be ambigious, but the emotion in his voice explains all the convictions that he sings about, and then some. Although the re-mixing on this album leaves a bit to be desired (I was somewhat disappointed by the changes in Wonderland), the addition of 3X5 was very much welcomed. From beginning to end, RFS helps bring out all types of emotions; No Such Thing, the opening track, Love Song For No One, and 3X5 invoking a need to dance, and the sweet but sad St. Patrick's Day instilling a feeling of sadness and sorrow, yet hope for a better day. This is one cd that you would like to have in your collection if you are a big acoustic fan, like DMB or Sting, or just want to find something a little different. Also, for the bit superstitious, try and figure out why there is no #13 track on the cd.

John? or John Mayers Band?
I bought the John Mayer CD the other day just to see if he truly was a DMB wannabe or not. (Dave Matthews happens to be my favorite band by the way.) I put the CD in my car stereo and took off driving. At first I was a bit confused and thought I had accidently bought a new DMB album that I didnt even know existed. (He even had a song on his album named '83') Then as I listened I noticed that Mayer actually has a sound of his own. Even though his singing is remarkably close to that of Dave's, his guitar riffs are more upbeat and have more variation with less strumming and more picking. I thought to myself he is just living a little kid's dream (atleast I always dreamed of being Dave Matthews) and since his music isnt quite as catchy as Dave's he would die out as quickly as he came in. But even if he does it is still fun to listen to a new song once in awhile in between my looping tracks of Dave Matthews Band that I listen to all day long. Especially the song Your Body is a Wonderland. (This song sounds like it would fit in nicely with Dave's older stuff he used to write.) I would recommend this to anyone who likes Dave Matthews, but dont throw out the old Crash CD to make room for this one, because you will soon find yourself coming back to it.

oh god i hate this man.
Jesus this was bad when it was called Under The Table and Dreaming and now its just 10 times as bad under its new name, Room for Squares. This album sucks. Thats all there is to it. No one in their right mind would find this crap good...oh wait I forgot about all those frat boys and girls wearing white hats. Nevermind I guess they need driving music for those long rugged trips in their Ford Explorers to Starbucks.

No such thing, peeps!
John Mayer is a huge Dave Matthews-wannabe, and it's obvious in his voice and music prefs. Overrated, though I do enjoy "No Such Thing."

One of the greatest lyricists of the modern era.
Room for Squares is just brilliant for everyone. It is easy to listen to, sing, along to and relate with.

Every song has a different edge to it and while some critics may feel he is a little self-indulgent it makes a refreshing change to the f-ing and blinding "sung" by rappers and nu-metal bands.

John Mayer is a wonderful songwriter and conveys it all with brilliant tunes and a relaxing voice, almost like he is singing it to you over lunch. It is a different mix, but one that works so well.

If there was only one CD I could take onto a desert island, this would be it. ... Read more