Amazon.com

Long before they were floating in space, Jason Pierce and friends were exploring the far reaches of the pop universe on Lazer Guided Melodies. Essentially four suites, it was an album on which nothing was as it seemed; all was processed and tinkered with, while horns and brass offered glory and fulfillment to the keyboards, guitars, and vocals. It was, really, the new space rock, drugged to oblivion and gazing at the planets, the modern psychedlia. Best heard on headphones, isolated in a darkened room, this was the sound of shapes to come. Chris Nickson ... Read more

Reviews (45)

The sound of demented heaven
Spiritualized gained worldwide critical acclaim with Ladies and Gentlemen we are Floating in Space, and it was deserved, but not because of that album. Lazer Guided Melodies eclipses that record on most levels. The flow on this album is so fluid, it's like listening to liquid white light in the middle of the night. The 12 songs are divided into four tracks, maybe to prevent skipping. But if you could skip, which ones would you remove from the playlist? Cetainly not the lovely-but-sad You Know it's True, with its harp and reverb interplay. Not the upbeat anthem Run which segues effortlessly into Smiles and Step into the Breeze. You couldn't touch the third track featuring Take your Time and Shine a Light, a beautiful couplet which highlights the album. And you'd have to listen to track four which perfectly closes this masterpiece album.

Not enough stars to do this album justice
Lazer Guided Melodies is one of the few albums I can think of that just redefined all expectations for good music. While many people were aware of Jason Pierce's contributions to Spacemen 3, I don't know that many of us were prepared for the epic soundscape that became this album. It is grouped nicely into four suites (the original US CD printing - now out of print - had each track separate) that have an amazing flow. While the song structure really isn't tremendously complex, it's the sounds that are produced that are so amazing. Loops, riffs, patterns, and rhythms (or lack thereof) all combine to make something that can really send you on an aural trip. My personal favourites are 'If I Were With Her Now' (I'd give anything to hear this one live with its hammered dulcimer bit), Take Your Time, and 200 Bars (both with its stumbling from bar-to-bar imagery and because the song is exactly 200 musical bars long - intriguing!). Some people may prefer other Spiritualized albums over this one - and that's fine - but for me this one is to be treasured. A damn fine album!!

not only one of the greatest albums of the '90s...
...but simply put, one of the greatest albums ever. five years before they released the classic "Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space" in 1997, they released one of their first albums. they came out of spacemen 3 in the late '80s and are now in a band Spiritualized. "Lazer-guided melodies" is one of their first, and certainly... their best album yet in January 1992.

the album is formed into "suites". the easiest way to explain it is... that theirs several songs... in one big song. theirs actually 12 songs, formed into four suites. this makes the album much more... to put it, put together. all of the suites go over ten minutes, in the end giving you 61 minutes of a beautiful album.

suite one - [13:08 minutes] (You know it's true/if i were with her now/i want you) is the typically "Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space" love songs, giving you plent of experimental sounds, streaming guitars, and echoes in the background. definitely not the best of the four suites... but its not bad either. ALL of the songs in this album are great, you just simply CANNOT skip a single track.

suite two - [14:44 minutes] (Run/smiles/Step into the breeze/Symphony space) is better than suite one, giving you four songs instead of three. it has a lot more lyrics and rockier songs but giving you plenty of slow and melodic tunes. actually, as each suite goes the album gets better. i say again, ALL of the songs are great and none are bad. but anyways, each suite gets better and better. you can say suite one is the worst, but NOT AT ALL in a bad way. just doesn't compare to suite two, three, and four. of course, leaving the last suite the best. suite four leaves a great ending to the album.

suite three - [14:08 minutes] (Take your time/Shine a light) is even better. "take your time" is brillant... but "shine a light" steals the show. sounds incredibly a lot allike a Pink Floyd song. maybe Comfortably Numb? you hear a beautiful stream of echoes saying "shine a light!". one of the best songs i've ever heard. enough said.

suite four - [18:55 minutes] (Angel sigh/Sway/200 bars) is the most beautiful, phenominal suite of all. just like suite three... the first two tracks are phenominal of course, but 200 bars steals the show. best song on the whole album, maybe even best Spiritualized song? it gives a epic performace, hearing a woman in the background counting up starting with the number 'six' going all the way up to 200... in the middle i had to catch my breath on how beautiful this album really is. amazingly unique.

not only is Lazer Guided Melodies one of the greatest albums of the '90s, its the best spiritualized album out there, and simply put, one of the greatest records of all-time.

Beautiful, sort of transitional, album
Right off the bat, I should say that Spiritualized is easily one of my personal favorite bands ever. And we're a funny bunch - we seem to latch on to one particular album (for me it's 'Ladies and Gentleman . . .'), love it to death, and feel like nothing else Jason puts out quite measures up. So, brilliant as this album is, I just can;t bring myself to give it the highest possible rating.

That said, this is a lovely bit of fuzzy psychedelia. My ears may deceive me, but I do hear a lot of Jason's previous band - the Spacemen 3 - albeit a tad cleaned up, and with more meticulous production. There's little to none of the gospel flourishes, lush orchestration or free-jazz freakouts that show up in Jason's later output. And depending on your tastes that may or may not be a good thing.

What there is, is a collection of lovely, fuzzed-out tracks, insistent even in moments of softness. Jason's voice is haunting, melancholy (though he has yet to plumb the depths of anguish). The songs burble up through layers and layers of fuzz and reverb, tremelo and phaser, and come together into lovely little nuggets of psychedelic fuzz.

Sure, it's not my favorite Spiritualized album, but, like everything else they do, it's rather spectacular.

The consistency of space
I love this album. It's so perfect in consistent mood, tone, and hauntingly beautiful, spaced-out melody. This is the real "pill" or tablet you take when you need it, not LADIES & GENTLEMEN... ... Read more

Amazon.com

The mightiest of late-'80s Manchester ensembles had the world at its feet before entering the long, dark tunnel of litigation. This tidy compilation begins with a few archival indie singles then strides into the glorious but fleeting period that produced gems like "I Wanna Be Adored," "Waterfall," and "Fools Gold." --Jeff Bateman ... Read more

Reviews (34)

Made of Stone? You Bet!
This album is almost as good as their self-titled one (almost). The first two are very early tracks and don't hold up as well but after "Sally Cinnamon" it's pretty solid. Best tracks:Mersey Paradise, Standing Here, What the World is Waiting For and One Love. Enjoy, because theres not much Roses material to buy after this one.

Send to us from Heaven
A collection of songs covering mainly the Stone Roses apex,the couple of years in which they were unarguably the best band on the planet.

In their brief reign they managed to produce music which doesn't fall short in comparison with any of rock's classics.The momentum which they gained between 89/90 is something that no band will ever be able to reproduce,for the Stone Roses at that time passed more as messianic messengers than as rock stars,gathering an almost obsessioned following which hanged on their every words.

It's only a measure of their worth the fact that no one else could have produced lines like"I am the Ressurrection and I am the Life"or"I don't have to sell my soul,it's already in me"without sounding arrogant or ridiculous;indeed these claims perfectly fitted the Stone Roses god like aura.

The compilation focuses on their peak era music seamlessly blending the gems from their first album(in all truth the only amazing song missing from their debut is "This is the One")and high quality B-sides,adding still their early singles,some of them quite distant from their habitual sound(the thrashing guitars of"So Young"and the minimalistic simplicity of the rocker "Tell Me").

One thing is for sure,they posessed the most cohesive band sound ever created with each element of the band connecting with the other with a fluid unity simply outstanding.Moreover Mani's bass,Reni's drums and Squire's guitar were no less than groundbreaking.

Exceptional melodies come one after the other in this milestone in music history.Perfection perpasses every second of their songs in a dazzlingly unearthly way.The World should have been at their feet.

Timeless Beauty
A pretty good collection by one of England's most exciting bands of the last decade.It's almost all here,only lacking Ten Story Love and a couple more tracks from their debut album(yes it was that good)like Elizabeth my Dear or This is the One.Overall their wonderful sound is omnipresent in this compilation with John Squire's shimmering guitar dovetailing with Ian Brown's mystic hushed voice in an outwordly way that only they achieved.Here are the roots from which 90's british music flowered and,really,is there still someone out there that doesn't admit that songs like Made of Stone or I Wanna be Adored are among the best ever created by anyone.

Positively a treasure.
First, some corrections are in order pertaining to at least one of the former reviews. Yes, "complete" Stone Roses is something of a misnomer but it must be recalled that the "complete" refers to their singles from their inception until the last decent thing they have done prior to the mediocre second coming era recordings. Thus it spans from the mid-eighties (85 or 87, depending if one considers release dates, copyright dates or otherwise) up to '91. That being said this compilation does not intend to be a retrospective as such, only a collection of a handful of very important recordings, and any layover between the tracks compiled here and the tracks on their self-titled debut are merely because these are singles. And neither are they abriviated versions as such made for this collection. As "singles," tracks generally need to fit within a certain format. Radio is not necessarily friendly to nine-plus minute anthems such as Fools Gold or I am the Resurection. Indeed, some of the singles from their first album were edited down in the studio but others were actually rerecorded, or in the case of Elephant Stone, recorded as a single prior to the release of their album and then recorded again for their first album.

Now on to the music proper. The tracks are more or less in chronological order, diverging only slightly toward the end where 91's Where Angels Play is plotted prior to the Fool's Gold single and the One Love single. The first two tracks are from the mid-eighties and represent their supposed 'Goth' period, however true or false that categorization might be. I have read more than a few unfortunate descriptions of these tracks, calling them "immature" or "not yet realized." To be sure, So Young and Tell Me are not quintessential Stone Roses, but as a first go it is interesting to here them, and, quite frankly, I see them as being quite good. They are raw and powerful and, as I see it, are somewhat to the Stone Roses as This is Your My Bloody Valentine is to MBV; a gritty, pseudo-punk, slightly dark, and perhaps even fragmentarily reminiscent of a cross between the better goth stuff from that time and the Cramps.

With the next single, Sally Cinnamon, The Stone Roses are beginning to come into their sound: sixties-ish pop with sweet lyrics--the b-side repeats, as if a mantra, the unforgettable lines "I'd rather be no one than someone with no one."

After these early singles Roses fans familiar with the first album - as if a Roses fan could be unfamiliar with the first album - should find themselves in familiar territory. Even the b-sides to some of the album tracks will likely not yeild too many suprises other than the shock of how good some of these songs are. Some of the highlights are Going Down and Mersey Paradise, the former of which pays a nice homage to Jackson Pollack, reinstilling the fact that John Squire's aesthetic sensiblities are fully indepted to the yank ab-exer.

Many of these songs I have heard before on vinyl but because of cost and rarety I was unable to get them. It is a wonderful thing that this compilation exists. At first I was afraid that the number of tracks also contained in one form or another on the first album would diminish my suprise or enthusiasm. Not that I find those songs tired or hackneyed, but rather because I have heard them so many times I feared I might be tempted to skip ahead to the b-side songs. This, however, was not the case. As I remarked earlier, some of the tracks are different from the album version, but beyond that, hearing them in a different context, juxtaposed against their b-sides, is as refreshing an experience as it was when I heard these tracks for the first time over a decade ago.

So, whether you are a hard-core Roses fan, a Madchester revivalist, or neophyte groove-meister, this collection is great to groove to or simply as an historical collection of some rare material of one of the most influential bands that barely made a ripple here in the States. Too bad for us we've collectively bad taste, but let those select few who are disenfranchised with ...poor metal, tired American indie, and all-too-pop hip-hop, rejoice that there is enough interest in the good stuff to warrant the release and continued printings of the Roses.

Fascinating in parts, but not essential
This video is curiously out of its time, being released years after the Stone Roses peaked with the whole 'Madchester' scene in Great Britain. For the fans, there's the fantastic "Fool's Gold" video, an interesting studio take of "Elizabeth My Dear", and their infamous Late Show appearance. But for the uninitiated, there's not a lot here to justify the narrator's obsequious narration and the Blackpool concert that forms the second half will do little to convince a new listener that the Roses were anything but a passable guitar band. Furthermore, the video is lacking some key moments in Roses history like any concert footage whatsoever of the Spike Island event or the performance of "Waterfall" from The Other Side of Midnight (which was captured for the photographs on the inner sleeve of their debut album.) Ultimately, this video feels like it was slapped together by their record company to cash in their fans' fading nostalgia before it disappears altogether and fails to do justice to one of the most profoundly influential bands of the late twentieth century. ... Read more

Album Description

Domestic debut of the Scottish trio's 1986 ambientcollaboration album with Harold Budd for the 4AD label. Contains eight tracks, most of which sound like Cocteau Twins with a moody organ added. Vocalist Elizabeth Fraser sings on 'Sea, Swallow Me', 'Eyes Are Mosaics', 'She Will Destroy You' & 'Ooze Out And Away, Onehow'; the other cuts, 'Memory Gongs', 'Why Do You Love Me?', 'The Ghost Has No Home' & 'Bloody And Blunt', are all instrumentals. Highlyrecommended to any fan of Cocteau Twins or Budd! 1999 release. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Coming down from an unparallelled, orgasmic musical tapestry
If one were to just focus on the period 1984-1987 in the storied musical history of Cocteau Twins, you could say that they were a band without equal, although not much of a "band" anyway, rarely giving concerts, bluffing their way through interviews, and shrouding their music in a haze of bizarre, almost purposely silly numbness. The crucial records "Tiny Dynamine", "Victorialand", "Love's Easy Tears" and this LP (which I bought the day it was released and immediately brought it over my girlfriend's house for backdrop music for the dusky, mellow afterglow of our cosmic sexual experience) are seminal 80's releases that slipped beneath the radar from day one.

Unfortunately, I don't really think alot of "Moon & The Melodies" stood the test of time. I always thought "Eyes Are Mosaics" was sort of a throwaway and doesn't go anywhere, and these days alot of the Harold Budd-directed tracks seem rudderless and "oh-so-ambient" that it's almost embarassing. (One of them, "Memory Gongs", shows up in a different mix on Budd's own LP of the same year "The White Arcades", which suggests that it was a studio shpiel between he & Simon Raymonde that fit nicely as a ten-minute-or-so filler.)

The saving grace of this album is the absolutely spine-crackingly breathtaking "She Will Destroy You", a track that ranks among the Cocteau's best. Liz blabs on about some moth, or creature, or whatever the heck she was writing in her notebooks at the time, and Robin Guthrie sends his guitar straight to the moon, and Budd & Raymonde keep it real in the background with a sparkling, gurgling low-down rhythmness as the ever-present drum machine turns the beat from "Sugar Hiccup" on itself and the entire thing spaces out in a spasm of gargantuan jazz when Richard Thomas of Dif Juz turns it into a cocktail party. Nice stuff.

Extra points for the closing track, "Ooze Out and Away, Onehow", for not being as predictable as the other "ambient" blasts. A fine album.

One of a kind
This is not among my favorite cocteau twins albums, I find Liz's singing and melodies somewhat annoying on parts of this album, but still, it sets a mood that no other record can set, and two of the instrumental pieces are well worth the cost of the cd, memory gongs and why do you love me?...Like some other reviewer said, this is not a cd you can "put away" or sell easily, it has an intangible value that is hard to describe.

A must own for all Cocteau fans
I do not know if 1000 words in enough to describe this album. This album embodies eveything that the Cocteau Twins are - an incredible musical journey that can sound different everytime you listen to it. Harold Budd should have made 100 more albums with the Twins, the chemistry is nothing short of perfection. Sea, Swallow Me has got to be one of the best songs ever written!! If you are a fan of Victorialand, this album takes ambient-like CT to the next level. A must have for any fan of early Twins music.

"Dreambient" music for patient, relaxed people
This release fits right between the Cocteau Twins albums "Victorialand" and "Treasure." Everything is soaked in reverb and the piano is slightly out of tune. As always, the vocals are indecipherable. That bugs the tar out of me because their voices are beautiful. Several tracks have no vocals, and that lets Budd's "dreambient" soundscape come to the fore. "Memory Gongs" has a strong alpha-state mood; there are separate instruments, but they all get blended into one shapeless sound.

You know those Swedish coming-of-age films from 1973 that they only show at 37 o'clock in the morning? These are the love themes from those films.

A few tracks have synth drums. "Eyes Are Mosaics" is upbeat, and I can almost make out some words: "baby your small-time fists will POUND me, POUND me..." "The Ghost Has No Home" has a good cinematic feel. "Ooze Out and Away, Onehow" has more energy than the previous five songs. A couple of songs even have a distant, echoey saxophone.

If you want something catchy with good hooks and easy melodies, this is NOT the album. If you're already a Cocteau Twins (or This Mortal Coil) fan, this is a good purchase.

Cocteau Twins - The Moon & the Melodies: CD review
Another perfect, beautiful album. The music sounds very cold, depressing but it attracts. It's genius album. Btw, to those who like this album, and Cocteau Twins in general, I recomend U 2 buy "The Winter Guest" film by Alan Rickman. No, the soundtrack is not by CT, but the whole mood, sentiment of the film is very alike. ... Read more

Amazon.com

It's easy to get sucked into Swervedriver's sweeping, panoramic guitar rock. On Mezcal Head, the Oxford quartet creates such a vivid feeling of driving through the desert at night that you can almost see the cactuses rushing by. It's an exhilarating and sometimes turbulent joyride, but it's always worth it. Indispensable tracks such as "Duel" and "Last Train to Satansville" spiral with ethereal guitars and propulsive rhythms, while singer Adam Franklin's hoarse voice gives the music a hopeless romanticism and restlessness. This is some of the best and most underrated rock music of the '90s. --Aidin Vaziri ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Swervedriver Set a Very High Standard
Actually, I think I would've given this CD 4 1/2 stars if such a grade were possible. It's a great CD that sports improved production after Raise. It also is a heavier sounding album. The first two tracks blow the roof off! "Blowin' Cool" would have made a wonderful single. It has a very accessible sound, with a catchy chorus and, surprisingly, nice vocals. "Last Train Satansville" was a great single but, here, if goes on three minutes longer than it needs to! The vocals end around the three-minute mark, but the band rides that locomotive for a full 6:45. "A Change is Gonna Come" and "You Find It Everywhere" are two more catchy tracks. "Duress," although a fine song, takes 3:00 to really get going. The final track is another great Swervedriver track but, like "Satansville," the instrumental ending goes on way too long. This jazzy one continues for over six minutes!

This is an awesome album. Without the long, drawn-out tracks, it would rank up to, and maybe even surpass the brilliant Raise! As it is, however, I don't think it's as solid as Raise for the very reason that I have to skip through almost 12 minutes of music to get to the good stuff. Raise set a very high standard. Mezscal Head didn't quite reach it but is damn good and re-established Swervedriver as one of the most underrated bands of the 1990s!

The BEST swervedriver album
I was introduced to swervedriver by a boyfriend... without him really knowing... he and his friends wore their swervedriver T-shirts a lot, so... and swervedriver has filled a hole in my music collection. sure, I had Pavement, Sebadoh, the Pixies, etc etc.. but i have not heard any other rock band that comes close to having a similar sound. A friend of mine thinks that Swervedriver sounds kind've like Guided By Voices, but... I dunno. Swervedriver's unique and Mezcal Head is an album that you'll be playing over and over for years. "A Change is Gonna Come" , ""For Seeking Heat", "Duel", and "Harry and Maggie" are my favorites, but i love the others too... this album is more cohesive than 99th Dream and better-produced than Raise and more interesting that Ejector Seat Reservation (although I highly recommend all of these albums... a good friend has the differing opinion that Ejector Seat Reservation is their best album...) For me, this album is the difinitive Swervedriver album and whenever I am in the mood to listen to them, this is usually the one i put in my stereo. When i was travelling through Paris, London, and Central Africa, this is the album that, whenever I put it in my walkman, I gave a sigh of relief and relaxed and enjoyed... except for some reason my Cameroonian host families didn't like swervedriver at all! they were listening to Eagle Eye Cherry and Baaba Maal! Baaba Maal's cool, but Eagle Eye Cherry! They're getting all the wrong imports!

Hindsight is 20/20
Now a decade past, Mezcal Head still feels fresh and powerful, despite the fact that I know all the words by now...
I loved this album when it was first released, interested only because I was struck by the cover design when browsing Schoolkids on Franklin Street in 1993...(those were the days!)
Can't listen to just one song. I've tried...start to finish, this album holds up. Great stuff. I also recommend 1991's 'Raise'. In comparison, 'Mezcal Head' is more a success as a cohesive whole. Other than that...it's hit or miss with Swervedriver.

Ten years later and still on rotation....
I was never a huge fan of Swervedriver, although I first heard them when they were still releasing singles prior to the release of their debut album. I have the singles, I have the first three albums, and while most of them are gathering dust on my shelf, I still find myself popping 'Mezcal Head' into the player every now and again. In spite of their label as a 'shoegazer' band, and in spite of the reviews that cite their car-culture themes, this album is simply one of the most consistently good, catchy, and rockin' albums I've ever heard. It's a paradise of minor chord harmonies, laid-back vocals, and straightforward rock. I'd have to agree with Amazon's house reviewer that Swervedriver got short shrift when they were new, but what might be more remarkable is that they still sound so good in the 21st century.

Swervedriver at their best
This is an improvement in production over their debut album Raise, but I often can't figure out which CD I prefer. This one is cleaner and crisper and often sounds more like an alternative rock album and not a shoegazer's delight.

I think that from a musical and songwriting standpoint, this CD showcases Swervedriver at their height. But as anybody who has invested a lot of time and money into Swervedriver and Toshack Highway can tell you, the musical and songwriting supremacy is still there. I think that this CD just is more supreme than the other supreme CDs!

Standout tracks are...well...all of them. I personally have a fondness for the chorus in "Duel" and the way Adam's guitar just seems to go into outer space on that part, the drum/guitar combination madness in "For Seeking Heat", as well as the driving insanity of "Duress". "Harry and Maggie" and "Girl On A Motorbike" get a lot of play on my CD player too. ... Read more

Amazon.com

With Everything's Alright Forever, England's Boo Radleys meld their psychedelic guitar sound with oblique pop melodies and dense studio accouterments. Featuring the introspective songwriting of guitarist Martin Carr, the Radleys' mercurial sound shifts through a variety of styles. From the stately flügelhorn on "Spaniard" to the jazzy pop moments of "I Feel Nothing," the group displays a powerful sense of dynamics that puts it in the same class as Manchester shoegazers like the Charlatans UK or the Stone Roses. On "Room at the Top," the band emits a scorching wall of feedback over a strangely muted vocal chant. While not exactly the premier psychedelic ensemble to emerge from England during the early '90s, the Boo Radleys definitely made their mark with this release. --Mitch Myers ... Read more

Reviews (3)

one of the greatest ablums of all time...
for all the shoegazers of the world, ones who love slowdive, my bloody valentine and more, if you haven't heard everything is alright forever and are detoured because of the obvious implications of "rip off", you are dead wrong. yes, the boo's do tend to take on the shoegazing in full effect...but, esp on this ablum, their style is brilliant and all their own. i prefer this ablum even over "loveless" for the mere fact that these songs are crafted perfectly, in dreamy bliss fashion...a sheer masterpiece...the trumpets in the first song alone tell you this loudly..this ablum will expand your mind along with your appreciation for the greatest style of music ever created. and if you can try and find the album "learning to walk" too! it's rare but it's noise lover's dream bye buy by bi

Lovely Masterpiece A Shining Example of Shoegazer Period
Back in '91-'92, what I consider to be the golden age of ethereal shoe gazing bands, was in progress. You had bands like The Drop Nineteens, Spiritualized, Medicine, Lush, Cocteau Twins, Swallow, My Bloody Valentine(without a doubt the best of the bunch), Slowdive, Ride, and then, of course, you had the Boo Radleys. While it is a shameless knockoff of the "shoe gazing" sonic distortion pioneered by My Bloody Valentine, this stands on its own as a beautiful, under-appreciated collection of haunting melodies.Some of the songs are so gorgeous that they have the effect of putting me in a trance. If you want to experience the best of that now long gone period, check this CD out. You'll thank me afterwards.

An ambient masterpiece
Frankly, it took me a few listenings to get into this. The first time I thought the vocals were mixed way too low, and it was just long ambient chords of noise, but after awhile its hypnotic effect got to me, and now it's one of my favorite albums. It's much less bouncy than other Boo Radley albums, but these guys certainly know how to set moods with tape recorders. If you're looking for something to listen to in a cheap but sunny apartment on an endless weekday afternoon, and you're full of the entire world but also nothing whatsoever, this is the ideal hour to spend. ... Read more

Reviews (39)

I Found "A Better Way of Life"!
First the negatives: I don't really understand the concept of Marbles and the brief songs of Marbles I, II, III don't do anything for me, but perhaps I haven't looked close enough at the lyric book in the incredible box-set type packaging of the two disc the Campaign Edition. The Marbles album available now may be more stripped down with respect to the tracks.
POsitives: This album sounds great. The production takes you to "that fantastic place" of Marillion sonic art. Each songs is unique. This album (2 cd version) seems a little too abstract upon first listen; however each song grew on me. Now it's always in my car CD changer. Ian Mosley does some interesting drumming on the slow and catchy "Only Unforgettable Thing". Vocalist Hogarth displays his still incredible vocal ability/ vibrato and at times also shows a Radiohead influence. Classic expressive Rothery guitar can be heard here, but Trewavas'(underrated bassist) is appropriately subdued for this music, while Kelley's again juggling lots of keyboard sounds. "Don't Hurt Yourself" and "You're Gone" are enjoyable on first listen, However I appreciate more the strange timing of "Drilling Holes" and the climax of "Neverland". This album doesn't rock however it is dramatic nonetheless. It's a masterpiece. I recommend it to fans of Radiohead who aren't familiar with Marillion. OK, next album I want to here them rock.

a Marillion Masterwork
I pre-ordered the campaign edition directly from Racket Records with my expectations high, as the band touted this latest effort to be a "peach" of an album. When I recieved my copy, the CD box artwork was stunning to say the least but it paled in comparison to the music within: Marbles is probably the most clever Marillion work, with such diverse use of every band members talents. Like most Marillion albums, Marbles requires many listens to fully appreciate the complexity and beauty of their music. Favorite songs are replaced and then become favorites again, only to be replaced by other tracks. On 1st listen, I was struck by 'Geenie', then by 'Neverland'(beautiful anthematic final track) and now I find 'Don't Hurt Yourself' to be one of my favorites. Some tracks on Marbles are musical "worlds within themselves", such as "Invisable Man" (clever use of synths and organ near the end) and "Ocean Cloud"...this is signiture Marillion. Other songs venture into new ground such as the single "youre gone", having more of a U2 feel, however vastly better both musically and vocally. While I am trepidatious to call any one Marillion album my favorite, I consider this to be a masterwork. The cherry on top of all this is that Marillion have just announced a North American tour!!!

They got it right this time!
I'm a long time Marillion fan and it definitely took me a while to get used to their new style. I own over a thousand CD's and Marillion is probably the band I enjoy the most. Once I started listening to music for what it was and tried to picture what the band idea was, I really opened my mind and can enjoy music on a whole other level no matter what band it is. I've found that there is very little I dislike anymore, assuming its written and recorded by a band.

As far as this Marillion CD, they just took this one to a whole other level. They've exceeded what I expected from them as of let and I feel they are showing what veteran musicians they really are.

Trust me, if you appreciate music as much as I do, you won't want to miss this one. My fav's are Clutching at Straws, AOS, and now this CD!

Man, this is awesome
Many thought this band was finished when the Fish man left. But boy did they grow. I saw them live when Seasons End was released and Steve Hogarth blew me away with his on stage performance.
Ever since then, Marillion has grown into something unique. Steve Rothery's guitar remains as haunting as ever, echoing over Mark Kelly's keyboards and blending with Pete Trewavas' bass riffs. Hogarth's vocal talent, for me, has been what Marillion needed. Fish fits into the old Marillion but Steve dominates the new.

Marbles continues to prove that Marillion have what it took, what it takes and what they need to continue for years to come.

If you are old school Marillion and haven't bought an album since 'Clutching....' then Marbles is a great way of getting you back.

ok
Not worth the long wait. I really enjoy a few tracks but the whole marbles concept is a nusence to the rest of the album. you'll listen to the marbles titled tracks once and skip them everytime afterwards. The effects used for atmoshphere and ambience is pretty mediocre as well as the programming. Sliding the pick across the strings went out years ago, and the vocal sampling sounds like it was put down in one take. After hearing these 12 songs it would be really hard to put out any more cash for the full album. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Sweetness and light
Take the melodic power and the ethereal vocals of the Cocteau Twins, mix it with the guitar crash and punk appeal of bands like the Pixies or Throwing Muses, and you'll get the sound of early Lush. "Gala" is a compilation of three EP which were originally released between 1989 and 1990. The sound is a bit thin and you feel that Lush had to improve their skills yet. But they did the best thing a young band can do: They engaged some well-known British producers who knew how to turn their mediocre performance into little pop gems. Ultimately there's not a single bad song on this album. Killer tracks are "Baby talk", "Bitter", "Etheriel" and the cover version of Abba's "Hey hey Helen". I think this album is must-have for every fan of the old-style 4AD sound. By the way, this is an US-only compilation!

Real "sweetness and light"
Although 1994's SPLIT was by far Lush's best effort, showing a full-circle maturity in musicianship and songwriting, GALA is certainly the best introduction to Lush, as it was the beginning of a seven year career tragically cut short by the death of drummer Chris Acland.

A compilation for the US market of three EPs released in the UK, GALA is a presentation of a new band finding its way musically. It's a fantastic album, although some of the songs are understandably weak due to the uncertainly of its young performers. The production is atmospheric and shimmery, and the complex feedback-drenched songs came to create that particularly fitting adjective "Lush-ious." Brightest highlights are "Thoughtforms," in it's second version (track 7), and "De-Luxe."

Let it breeze away...
Lush were an early 90's "shoegazing" band that I feel were very underrated and didn't get the recognition they deserved. This is their first US release and it's a compilation of EP's that were previously released in the UK. Best songs: Sweetness And Light, De-Luxe, and Breeze. If you like bands such as My Bloody Valentine and Ride, then this is definately worth checking out.

Great mood
I just recently re-discovered this album. Completely off of my general music listening radar - rock to classical to jambands. Want to complete your musical circle? Give any of their albums a shot.

I also believe it was this album that, when played at the same time as the video, "Beyond the Mind's Eye", tracked virtually perfectly. Ahh those were the days. Needless to say, it can be enjoyed in any state of mind.

Buy this album!
I first sampled this album at a record store by ASU over ten years ago...the cover just caught my eye. WOW! I dont know jack about cockteau twins but I think Lush rules! My taste in music has covered rock to electronic to classical and I recently acquired this cd again after many years of absence and it just makes the heart soar to hear all these great tunes again and again.
If you've never heard Lush and want to take a chance on something new, this album is worth the change. You will definitely be impressed! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Still unique in a new age-friendly world they helped spawn, the Cocteaus return to the rapturous style of old after the failed mainstream bid of Four-Calendar Cafe (1993). What was once minimal and meandering is now an ornate spiderweb of riffs, rich beats, and Liz Fraser's ghostly vocalese on beauties like "Serpentskirt," and "Calfskin Smack." --Jeff Bateman ... Read more

Reviews (47)

Simply Magnificent... A Perfect Swan Song
This is the Cocteau Twins final full-length release, and as sad it may be that they are no longer creating music together, what a perfect ending to a wonderful run. This CD encompasses everything that a long-time fan like myself loves about Cocteau Twins. Sweeping melodies, lush soundscapes, both foreign and yet totally accesible at the same time. Some fans have not given this album the same high marks as past efforts and that is totally puzzling. Are we all listening to the same CD? This final effort is every bit as musically enlightned as "Blue Bell Knoll" or "Victorialand." Put this disc on when you have the time to pay attention, late at night, and let the music sweep you away. This is disc is a must have... you won't we disappointed.

One EXCELLENT swan song of an album
All right, people, let's get with the program. This is the BEST Cocteau Twins album since their masterpiece "Blue Bell Knoll". I'm really surprised so many fans would have such differing views but that's the way it goes. Did we all listen to the same album? There's plenty of CT's lush magic here. The second half of "Treasure Hiding" is glorious, "Seekers Who Are Lovers" is inspiring, "Serpentskirt" dark and beautiful. The soaring vocals of "Rilkean Heart" and the gentle melody of "Ups" are also highlights not to mention the throbbing mystery of the album opener "Violaine". I'm glad this is the record they made before breaking up. It's a perfect closer to a brilliant collection of music.

Graceful beauty - aural climax.
My first exposure to Cocteau Twins was via MTV, of all places, back when they played music instead of commercials masking themselves as music. "Postmodern MTV" hosted by Kevin Seal (whatever happened to him?) played the video for "Carolyn's Fingers" from "Blue Bell Knoll," saying it was brilliant. I had to agree - BBK was in my collection the next day.

I have since been fortunate enough to own all of the Cocteau Twins US releases, and a few of their UK releases for good measure. What a gift to the world their career as an ensemble was!

"Milk and Kisses" is an appropriate coda to a catalogue of ethereal, heartfelt masterpieces. Frasier's vocals lilt above the astral guitarwork like wispy clouds on "Serpentskirt," evoking visions of love, lust and loss.

On other tracks, like "Tishbite," her assured stylings portray an inner strength that is positively inspirational. Each track is a journey itself, while being a chapter in a larger, more universal story. Overall, the sound is epic, angelic and hopeful.

Though we may not see another release from this seminal, completely unique band, "Milk and Kisses" is a practically perfect curtain call. Recommended highly!!!

Kisses for "Milk and Kisses"
Let me begin by saying that I've been a CT fan for many years. In my opinion, the best album you can buy is the out-of-print (and hard to find) "Pink Opaque." "Milk and Kisses," however, is one of their best. While not as experimental per se as their earlier work, nor as commercial as "Four-Calendar Cafe," it's still a great showcase of the unique CT sound.

"Rilkean Heart" is one of CT's most poignant songs (the accoustic version, which is not available on this album, is even lovelier). "Serpentskirt," "Tishbite" and "Half-gifts" are also excellent tunes featured on this album.

It's a definate must-have for the dedicated CT fan...like myself.

Abandonned but true
It's a clear fact that a lot of people just ignored the release of this album, and told very loud they hated it wothout having really listened to its songs. Cocteau Twins is a typical band which changed something on its music style during all of ther EP and album releases, but surely without losing its own undebiable essence. In the same way, no-one would compare ¨Victorialand¨ to ¨Garlands¨, or ¨Head Over Hills¨ to ¨Treasure¨, but I must admit that the releases after ¨Heaven Or Las Vegas¨, including ¨Four-Calendar Café¨, are quite similar in a more calm, mellow way which probably irritated a lot of actually exclusive followers of their so beautiful darkest years. Liz' voice sounds more ¨lyrical¨, but the adorable strange atmosphere CT creates in each and every song they prduce still stays that. The highligh is the poetic ¨Rilkean Heart¨, and the single ¨Violaine¨, title track of a wonderful previusly released EP with different mixes/arrangements to some of the album cuts also claimed some attention. ¨Half-Gifts¨ is a no-more-hidden treasure, ¨Ups¨ and ¨Eperdu¨ keep the album's highest point and ¨seekers who are lovers¨ was tyhe perfect key. The only problems with it are the singles choice and the at some level less innovative lyrics, but anyway the music cointained ther is ethereally magical and stays amonge their more relevant stuf. Just because of its beauty. ... Read more

Album Description

2003 4AD reissue of 1982 album remastered by guitaristRobin Guthrie. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

great when wacked out
This disc is great when you're in the hospital being pumped full of drugs and not knowing if you'll make it through the afternoon. It kinda makes you realize that there are far worse places in the world than your own head.

Hear the difference!
The Cocteau Twins' first album stands apart from their others. Much in-line with the dark sounds of the day (Joy Division, The Cure, &tc.), their first effort is much more harsh and noisy than the ethereal "dream-pop" sound they would become known for. Some fans would rather forget this album, some think it's their best. Either way there is no denying this Remasterd version sounds 1000% better than the original CD release, which always suffered from sub-par sound. This is the one to get! ... Read more

Album Description

1994 Japanese mini-album on EMI featuring eight rare tracks:'Stop Whispering' (U.S. Version), 'Thinking About You','Faithless, The Wonder Boy', 'Banana Co.', 'Killer Cars'(Live), 'Vegetable' (Live), 'You' (Live) and 'Creep'(Acoustic). ... Read more

Reviews (19)

beauty
this is a wonderful addition to any radiohead fan's collection. "killer cars" is probably one of the greatest rh songs of all times. the fast version of "thinking about you" makes the cd worth its high price. all of the live songs are great, and thom's solo version of "creep" is very . . . um, tasty. buy this, it's great.

a bit expensive but worth it for the RH fan
This EP import was originally released in Japan after the release of Pablo Honey. It's all unreleased in the USA. It includes Stop Whispering(US version), Thinking About You(fast version), Faithless The Wonder Boy, Banano Co., Killer Cars(live), Vegetable(live),You(live), and a acoustic version of Creep with just Thom. A real gem in your RH collection, but probrably a waste for the people who only like RH's big hits. Live songs are all good and the b-sides are so-so.

Tip
Do yourself a favour and visit www.amazon.co.jp if you want this album for cheaper. It costs about 2,745.00 japanese yen, the equivalent to about 26$ US dollars. It'll take longer to ship to the states, but you will be getting it for less money. Just a tip. :)
Oh, you can also do this with amazon.co.uk and all other imported items...check into it before buying!

Best Radiohead Album Out There
I love this album. I am a huge Radiohead fan...and this album is my favorite. Althought its only 8 tracks long its worth the investment. The accoustic version of "Creep" alone makes this album a worthwhile investment. The tracks from "Itch" are from Radiohead's earlier more rockin', Pablo Honey days. If you only like the band's newer more ambient stuff...you may not enjoy this album as much...but I still say give it a spin...especially if you can pick it up used. If you like Radiohead's earlier work better than definately definately buy it. Its GREAT!!!!

I'm Itching for Radiohead
Sure this import is not cheap. What import is? But, if you love Radiohead like I do, any amount of money is worth it for 8 great songs. Yeah, you've probably heard Creep done acoustic. It's still great to own it on CD. Banana Co and the live version of Killer Cars makes this EP worth your hard earned cash. Buy this only after you own OK Computer, The Bends, Kid A, Amnesiac, Pablo Honey, not in that particular order. And then start saving for Airbag/How Am I Driving. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

It rocks!
A great band with a different sound but the Soup Dragons still sound good even for today and it still rocks!!!, The first track to the last will keep the party going!

Make a special rock party with this album - YEAH !!!
The music of this album has a special atmosphere; it also produces complete new sounds compared with the previous works of the band. It's so nice to enjoy it if one can appreciate the quality of the arrangements and also the recording result : they're a mix of so many noises ranging not only from the different instruments effects but also from special effects directly coming from the 60's version of the Star Trek serials! The songs are object of my passion for the Soup Dragons music. Sophisticated rock it is, with a spice of soul music. Do you rock a la Soup Dragons ?

Great Stuff
The reviewer was quite rough. Not every song on this CD is great, but it has some of the most rockinest music I have ever heard for the most part, especially the first two tracks.

Great Album!! One Of A Kind`
An great POP/ROCK Album, A little rock a little dance and a little regga..but a lot of great music ... Read more

Album Description

Digitally remastered reissue of the Dutch alternative act's 1985 4AD debut with three bonus tracks not on the original vinyl LP: 'A Day' (Remix) & 'Stranger' (Remix) and 'Muscoviet Musquito' from the 'Lonely Is An Eyesore' compilation. 11 tracks total, all digitallyremastered. 1999 release. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

My first CD
My first experience with Xymox was actually their 1989 album 'Twist of Shadows' which I purchased on cassette. After being quite impressed with the entire album I bought 'Clan of Xymox' on compact disc which is, in my opinion, their best and most original work to date. And as mentioned by another fan, the almost 'other-worldly' vocals of Mr. Moorings are what really makes the group stand out. Seems like most people either love or hate this album. For me, it's definitely a classic, and every bit as enjoyable now as the day I first listened.

STOP!
Clan of Xymox was formed in 1983 in Amsterdam (Holland) playing gloomy, gothic, fast beat analog Euro-dance/synth-pop music. The original lineup included Ronny Moerings, Pieter Nooten, Frank Weyzig, and Anke Wolbert. This excellent 1985 debut on the 4AD label is very similar in style and delivery to Alphaville's 1984 debut, "Forever Young". I highly recommend their first three albums to all the 80's music fans.
Following is the album discography for Clan Of Xymox to date:
(Note that from 1988 to 1996 the band had shortened their name to "Xymox")

01. Clan Of Xymox (self-titled) 1985
02. Medusa 1987
03. Twist Of Shadows 1989
04. Phoenix 1991
05. Metamorphosis 1992
06. Headclouds 1993
07. Subsequent Pleasures (1984 EP reissue + bonus tracks) 1994
08. Hidden Faces 1997
09. Creatures 1999
10. Live (2 CD set) 2000
11. Notes From Underground 2001
12. John Peel Sessions 2002

Not-so-humble beginning
Fantastic, moody, beautiful, and capturing a earnest, frightned despair in a way few bands or albums have. Buy this CD if you like goth or synth post-punk.
As of late, the band has morphed into a goth-rock/Sisters knock-off, but check out their first three releases to experience the real deal.

Dated. FAR from their best.
It's old, dated and not very good at all. I love Xymox and their later albums are FAR better than this. It's all pompous, self agonising nonsense with a pretty low production level. If you find it cheap as a 2nd hand give it a go if you must. NOT worth buying new. Trust me, don't be tempted! Notes From The Underground, Xymox Live and Creatures blow this old junk into the abyss. This can be viewed as a demo disc but that's about it. FAR too much boring sampling and clanking noise.

how did this one get lost in the mix?
So it wasn't 'radio friendly', per se. Not due to lack of memorable melodies or catchy, gloomy dance tracks. Clan of Xymox always got ragged by critics because they didn't have an original sound. Maybe that was true--they wore their influences on their sleeve--Ronny Moorings used to tout New Order as the greatest band around and made no bones about wanting to be like them. He was just a bit darker than Sumner and Co. But as the years have passed and all the other bands that made music like this have faded away, people still want these early Clan of Xymox records like crazy. They want them because they're so damn good. Sure, it's a bit o' Cure, a bit o' New Order, with a 4AD glaze, but it goes down so easy. No music evokes wintry atmospheres and that special brand of romanticism that the 80's synth pop bands had quite like Clan of Xymox. Sure, tons of people made music like this in the early and mid '80's, but nobody put these elements together with such grace as Ronny Moorings. Ronny's a bit like Trent Reznor or Billy Corgan--the music is almost always written and performed by him 100%(save for the few Pieter Nooten tracks scattered about). His indulgences are his strength and his voice is, in my opinion, THE definitive goth voice. Oh, I know Pete Murphy, Andrew Eldritch, etc., etc. I love them, too and they're great vocalists. But Ronny has a way with those lower registers and with those impassioned high notes like nobody else plus, a pretty cool way of doubling the low register with the high register to maintain the dark croon and the desperate howl all at the same time. The Clan's instrumentation made them great too. Electronic dance beats, synths, acoustic guitar, and synth strings were almost always the formula, not to mention some cool use of early sampling (further explored on 'Medusa'). With the ever masterful John Fryer at the production helm, this record is a sure bet to please anyone with a taste for the melancholy mirrorball from the time when Joy Division and Kraftwerk were THE patron saints of European music. Eat this one up! ... Read more

Amazon.com

While many of their contemporaries have branched out in intriguing newdirections since their dream-pop debuts, the members of Lush remained committedto a hazy wall of Cocteau Twins guitar, breathy harmonies by Miki Berenyi andEmma Anderson, and a fairly straightforward dance beat. The English quartet'sthird album, Split, isn't an improvement or a departure from Gala(1990) or Spooky (1992). Lush continues exploring pleasant but slightsounds on songs such as "Hypocrite" and "Light from a DeadStar," and it's likely that the group will always be remembered as theopening act on Lollapalooza '92. --Jim DeRogatis ... Read more

Reviews (23)

Split a Letdown
The album Split is a letdown, though certainly worth buying for Lush fans. It would not serve well as an introduction to the band for new listeners.

With the exceptions of standout tracks "Blackout," Lit-up," and "Starlust" most of the album seems to lazily drift with an almost New Age sound. The edge and energy are missing in Split that made their other albums, in particular Lovelife and Spooky, so great. Split sounds too much like Cocteau Twins at their worst.

lush signals their departure...
after initially being repulsed by "hypocrite" because of its shallow lyrics (miki "has been" known to pen some cringe-inducing, unnecessarily bitter lyrics even before this record [see "take" from 1992's "spooky" lp]) and, production-wise, its pop-radio slant, i decided to risk my money anyway and purchase "split" during its first week of release. following one full listen, i concluded that "split" would've been the perfect lush album every rabid fan had hoped for... if not for, of course, "hypocrite", and its atrocious companion piece (in the context of this record), "blackout". mike hedges' production bringing lush's vocals to a decipherable forefront may have scared some die-hards off, but, with the exception of tracks 3 and 4 (the above-named tracks), it (the production) seemed like an honest evolution from that of "spooky", which many chided the band for. however, in retrospect, "blackout" and "hypocrite" seemed to signal which territory the band was heading into... and, despite this glaring forewarning, i was not so apprehensive in purchasing their "lovelife" record and was presented with such wastes-of-time as "ladykillers" (a non-chalant rip-off of elastica's "waking up" which, if i remember correctly, was a rip-off of a stranglers tune anyway). this record was the last lush record to feature the intensely erratic but naive structural quirkiness that so many fans had become accustomed to (ie: "the invisible man" and "lit up"). if one listens to this record (skipping tracks 3 and 4), one may wonder why lush would come up with such watered-down mediocrity as their "lovelife" lp.

one may also wonder why drummer chris acland took his own life (in late 1996) when there was still so much left to say.

Buried Treasure...
but you open this one up, you have a prism in front of the (actual) sun bathing you in all colors of the light spectrum. This is easily my favorite Lush album for so many reasons.
First, this album was completely unlike the editorial written here on this site and was a major departure in the right direction for Lush. This album abandoned the "hazy" style of their previous albums and focused on a much more original style.
Second, this album was the first album that presented a variety of styles in a single release. For instance:

1. Light From a Dead Star: Kind of orchestral, yet still dreampop.
2. Kiss Chase: It's like "For Love" from Spooky x 1,000,000!
3. Blackout: Phenomenal usage of Emma's and Miki's complimentary vocal styles. It's fast too, "Superblast from Spooky, but less treble." For those who don't know, Emma on the backing and Miki on lead vocals.
4. Hypocrite: Quite hard and very loud guitar... distortion!
5. Lovelife: A warm spring day, full of sun and a warm breeze.
6. Desire Lines: It's raining in this room and it's warm....
7. The Invisible Man: Blast from the past, "Lush Spooky" era stuff.
8. Undertow: Extreme bass, slow and hard, yet so bright.
9. Never Never: The one very long song I can always listen to, since it's so gorgeous. Kind of Cocteau "ish," yet a step beyond.
10. Lit Up: So bright and beautiful, you wonder why you have bad days. It's like being surrounded by incandescent light bulbs that are tuned to your liking.
11. Starlust: A trip into outer space with the band and it's very loud out there and things zip by fast.
12: When I die: A very mellow closing song to the album, similar to "Light From a Dead Star," but the "comedown version" to perfectly close out the album.
Third, this album was marketed very poorly. The band played "Hypocrite" on Conan O' Brien, since that was the single. Meanwhile, I had been listening to "Lovelife," which was on my local radio station. This was in regular rotation and I was shocked, by the "hard" style of "Hypocrite" on the show. "Hypocrite" is a decent song, once you know the album, but hardly a good invitation to this album.
Flat out, this album is fantastic! There will be some people who like pure pop music and others that like super hard thrash, this isn't any of those.
What this album represents, is the ultimate form of dreampop for the masses... something that is not nearly as awesome as My Bloody Valentine (Loveless), but rather a cornucopia of something that could please anyone. Unfortunately, Lush abandoned their master recipe after this album was rejected (due to an ignorant consumer group and bad marketing). Instead they became a Britpop "wannabe" 2 years later, then split up.

Probably their best.
I can find things to like on all "Lush" albums, and I do, but I think front to back this is their best disc. It's somewhat of a cross between their earlier "Spooky" sound, and later "Lovelife" sound, or a good mix of shoegazing and britpop. The first few tracks work really well together, and songs like "Hypocrite", "Lovelife", and "Lit Up" are good catchy alt-rock. There's also the two longer and hypnotic tracks "Never Never" and "Desire Lines". Plus the cool track "Undertow" was recently used in a jeans commercial. Overall an excellent disc, and recommended the most after the "Ciao" collection.

When I die
If someone played the closing track of this record at my funeral, I'd be very happy indeed as I floated away, no longer "sitting here in ourselves." This is my favorite Lush record BY FAR. The lyrics, instrumental texturing, and especially the vocal harmonies are like a fabulous drug that washes over you and leaves you spent yet satisfied. I put this record away for a few years then picked it up again the other day and was as moved as I was back in the nineties. I especially love the second song, "Kiss Chase." ... Read more

Album Details

Taken from the Hit Album "Heathen Chemistry". ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Never underestimate Liam's songwriting talents
So, Liam gave us fans a little taste of what was yet to come on Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants with his songwriting debut "Little James". This time he really shows us what he's capable of, with this beautiful love song. It's an acoustic ballad, with simple but meaningful romantic lyrics. A tribute to the feeling of being in love and being loved back. Liam's Lennonesque vocals sound awesome. This song is right next to John Lennon's best romantic songs in my book. Noel also shows us that he can still write beautiful acoustic ballads with "You've Got The Heart of a Star", one of the best acoustic songs he's written in the past few years. It's one of those "B-side-shoulda-been-A-side" kind of songs. And the live version of Columbia is the bomb, kind of different from the original version on Definetely Maybe. It shows us how Oasis can change the arrangements of a song and still make it sound just as good.

Liam's First Single Excellent
Who Needs Noel? Well, maybe that is an overstatement. Liam, however, does a great little two minute ditty on this track. B-sides You've Got the Heart of a Star recall Noel's Singer/Songwriter talents and the live version of Columbia is Spot On! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Scarcely three decades old, the enduring appeal of novelist Stephen King's horror oeuvre has already begun to foster remakes of the films and TV productions already based on his most popular works. This cable TV redux of King's 1975 tale of a small hamlet beset by vampires features an ominous, brooding orchestral and choral score that's a winning collaboration between newcomer Christopher Gordon and former Dead Can Dance mainstay cum film scorer Lisa Gerrard. The gothic seasoning she imparted to her previous collaborations with Hans Zimmer (most notablyGladiator) comes to the forefront on this score's haunting title aria (composed by Gerrard and partner Patrick Cassidy) and tracks like "Bloody Pirates" and "Free in Spirit." But it's the music of newcomer Gordon (Master and Commander) whose sheer scale and ambition belie the small screen format it was written for at nearly every turn. While the individual musical elements that Gordon uses to evoke suspense and horror may be familiar (spanning everything from jarring passages of 20th century modernism that evoke a feverish jam session between Ligeti and Penderecki to dashes of minimalism and spare, haunting passages for piano) the innovative ways in which he combines them make this a score a horror-score lover's creepy delight.--Jerry McCulley ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Haunting and atmospheric
As far as I'm concerned, the album was worth purchasing for the opening piece, Salem's Lot Aria, which sends chills up my spine. The mood of the soundtrack reminds me of Ennio Morricone's score for John Carpenter's The Thing, as well as Elliot Goldenthal's work on Alien 3 and, appropriately, Interview With the Vampire. An excellent horror soundtrack. ... Read more

Album Description

Third single off their critically acclaimed sophomore album, 'The Bends', originally released in 1995, backed with three non-LP tracks, acoustic versions of 'Fake Plastic Trees', 'Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was' and 'Street Spirit (Fade Out)'. Slimline jewel case. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

An essential element of any Radiohead single collection.
Radiohead's "Fake Plastic Trees" is one of the most moving songs ever committed to tape--and certainly one of the best rock "ballads" of the past twenty years. Legend has it that, after recording his vocal for the song in the studio, lead singer Thom Yorke broke down in tears. Hopefully, you've heard this song before and have borne witness to its ability to squeeze and wring emotions out of you like a wet washcloth...but if you haven't, buy this single IMMEDIATELY without reading any further. For those of you who are already privy to the masterpiece of this song and are looking to enhance your Radiohead single collections, however, please read on.

So you get THREE B-sides here; the only drawback is that they're only acoustic versions of previously released, Bends-era songs. But the good thing is that they're all GREAT versions! If I'm not mistaken, only Jonny and Thom appear on these songs. The acoustic version of "Fake Plastic Trees" helps you to appreciate what a daunting task it must be to be a member of Radiohead--a job in which you are forced to try to make Thom's songs sound BETTER than they do when they're played only by him on an acoustic guitar. The emotive dynamics on this version of the title cut are even more pronounced than they are in the full band version, and Thom's voice shines. "Bulletproof (I Wish I Was...)" is also presented in its stripped-down form, but still bears the ambient guitar ramblings that made the studio version so unique. The song is, on the whole, ridiculously underrated, and is one of Thom's favorite compositions. His angelic falsetto during the verse is raw beauty. But perhaps the best of these three acoustic numbers is "Street Spirit". Retaining the quickened pace that was often slowed down in later live performances, it does for the single what the studio track did for the album The Bends: it makes a great record a timeless gem. Once again, Thom's voice is the highlight of the track, floating seamlessly from anguish into requiem. His humming during the bridge sections is particularly enchanting. When he finally sings the song's last haunting line, "Immerse your soul in love," and strikes the final chord on his acoustic, you can only be left with a sense of quiet satisfaction--as though someone has whispered a calming secret to you and left you with a smile. And that's what's great about Thom Yorke's music. And it's what's great about this single, which does a better job than anything else in Radiohead's catalog at showing a good band growing and burgeoning into a legend, their genius frontman leading the way.

This is certainly an ESSENTIAL addition not only to any fan's single collection, but to ANY music-lover's library. The title track's masterful fusion of quiet lullabye and bombastic catharsis, coupled with the brtual honesty and endearing beauty of the three acoustic numbers, makes this record a purchase whose novelty will never wear thin. You won't be disappointed with this one, ladies and gentlemen. Buy now.

The Ultimate Radiohead Single.
words cannot describe this single. unlike many singles with contain ..remixes, radiohead is one band that puts in unreleased or live tracks as b-sides and i will always love them for that. the bends is one of my top 10 albums of all time. and that says a lot for this single. i think the acoustic version of fake plastic trees is also available on clueless soundtrack. but the one song that is worth the price of the single is the acoustic version of street spirits. totally spellbinding. i get chills by listening to that song. it can get scary at times but that version is one of the most engaging live performance ever by anybody. this is one great live performance of a great song from a band with great songs! get this single at all cost.

Simply Amazing
This is an excellent CD Single that starts out with an amazing album version of an amazing song, and then launches into three brilliant acoustic versions of Bends-era songs recorded live at Eve's Club in London. First of all, the CD starts out with the Album Version of Fake Plastic Trees. This is one of Radiohead's best songs, and that's saying a lot, as their body of work is completely stunning. Next on the CD is an acoustic version of Fake Plastic Trees, and it's as good, if not better than the original. Then comes one of the most underrated, and yet still massively appealing songs of the Bends album: Bulletproof... I Wish I Was. On this CD single, it is an acoustic version, and it gives me chills. The CD then closes with a song that leaves me shaking and stunned: an acoustic version of Street Spirit (Fade Out). If you don't already have this CD Single, and you are perhaps teetering on the fence wondering whether or not you should buy it, I highly urge you to get out to Best Buy right now and buy it, because you can find it for a dollar cheaper there than you can here.

It's the acoustic tracks that make ti CD
Wow,

I knew it would be good, and it was just that. A great leading track to the single and 3 fab....live and acoustic tracks make it the bomb.

Good work ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A Promising Start
This album has a lot of promise. The music is great, the lyrics are ok. The main problem i had with this album is something didn't quite seem right about it. The only reason i can see for this is that the music might not quite fit the lyrics on some songs. Whether this is to create weird effect for listeners i'm not sure. For this reason "Evade the Pain" and "Is this the Best it Gets" don't really work for me. My current favourites from the album are "Time" and "Look You in the Eye". I think this band has a lot of potential and they got 4 stars because they stand out from the rabble.

Melancholy Treat
This debut album from Budapest consists mostly of moderate tempo, mild and melancholy tunes. In fact, the best songs on this album are those where John Garrison is brooding over the forlorn aspects of life.

"Is This The Best It Gets" is the opening track, and quite honestly it doesn't get much better than that song - it's a sweetly reflective yet sad tune that's rich in musical craftsmanship and production. Other highlights include "Further Away," a dreamy, soaring melody, and "Save the Day," an acoustical delight representing a glimpse of hope amid otherwise gloomy tracks.

Somehow Garrison's voice isn't as convincing in the couple of songs when he tries to pick up the tempo. There are a few tracks on this album that are expendable, but if you're willing to overlook those, you'll find a number of worthwhile rewards in Budapest's debut, Too Blind to Hear.

Mellow..... Moody, A Wonderful Debut
5 youngsters, from the small Oxford town of Leamington Spa in the UK, have put together a wonderfully rich and textured disc. Mellow and insightfully honest. I get the feeling Budapest's lead singer and songwriter - John Garrison - writes best when he's down in the dumps. Wonderful song examples include their first hit, "Is This The Best It Gets", as well as "Evade The Pain", "Life Gets In The Way" and "Wake Up Call". With a sound somewhere between a mellow Radiohead, Pete Yorn, (the somber side of) Porcupine Tree, and Oasis - the emphasis is on mellow and picturesque 'pop'. For such a young band (formed in 1999), Budapest has all ready has it's fair share of misfortune. The original lead guitarist, co-founder Mark Walworth, committed suicide one week after this album was finished. Matt Parker is his replacement and he is well suited to hold the reigns. "Too Blind To Hear" is a wonderful debut. None of the band members try to out-do each other here... it truly sounds like they just enjoy playing together and creating beautiful soundscapes. Mellow, moody, melodic, insightful, soulful, poetic. My hope is that this negative beginning turns into a beautiful ending.

Brit-pop just won't die
This recording is a great throwback to the days of stylish and unassuming Trash Can Sinatras-esque Brit-pop. It's emotional but not sardonic. Catchy, but not cheesy. I'm sure I'll be singing along to "Is This The Best It Gets" for weeks. You'll hear melodies inspired by Oasis and other insanely popular acts out of the UK, but it's apparent on this album that the attitude was checked at the door.

WOW- great cuts from an up-and-comer!
I came across these guys while looking for live music in my area and they are quite a catch. Their groove and melody is reminescent of Pageant, the Atlanta-based organic rock group that is truly making their mark ... Be sure to pick up a copy of this UK band's first US release... ... Read more

Amazon.com

Sirena, the second album from Cousteau, further demonstrates this group’s debt to Scott Walker, the Tindersticks, and, indeed, any young man who has ever put on a suit, turned the lights down low, and crooned sadly, sonorously, and edgily. Buoyed by dramatic pianos, subtle strings, and even the odd keening steel guitar, these anthems of bruised machismo frame singer Liam's rich and relaxed slides between warm baritone and caressing falsetto. If there's a drawback, it lies in the rhythmic and textural sameness of much of the material. But, at its best--"Nothing So Bad," "Heavy Weather," "Talking to Myself," and the deliciously sensual "Salome"--Sirena is an album of bittersweet bliss and old-fashioned swoon-pop values. --Garry Mulholland ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Another triumph
Cousteau's latest album, "Sirena," is hardly an advance over their first, and that should suit their fans just fine. Once again, there's something here to complement the listener's every mood, especially if you're in the mood to make out. Once again, the music is a combination of influences-Bacharach, Pink Floyd, It's a Beautiful Day-in blue. And, once again, the music is grounded in some of the smokiest male vocals since Scott Walker's solo albums. Indeed, if anything, Liam McKahey's instrument seems to have grown in terms of suppleness and range (hasn't he gained an octave on "Peculiarly You" and "Please Don't Cry"?). Davey Ray Moor's music is by turns effervescent and morose, showing McKahey's baritone to gorgeous advantage. If I have one gripe, it's that the lyrics are once again pretty lightweight, if never less than serviceable. What's Hal David doing these days? Wouldn't if be great to team Moor with David and have Walker produce? Nothing quite as catchy here as "The Last Good Day of the Year" or "Wish You Were Her," but plenty of instantly likeable hooks. My picks for singles: "(Damn These) Hungry Times" and "Have You Seen Her."

Sirena envelopes like warm, plush velvet
Confident, pliable vocals supported by a deceptively simple musical cast of characters hang behind the meter of a song to extend phrases in captivating ways. Lyrically and musically Cousteau/Moreau exude an intelligence and musicianship sorely lacking in today's music scene. Sirena envelopes my soul, heart and imagination like warm plush velvet. I am enchanted.

Good Listen
Can't believe that there's only 10 reviews for cousteau. I stumbled upon Cousteau with their first album and like their songs alot. Their music is very loungey, smokey, and should be listened to with a good drink in your hand. This new album picks off where they left off on their first album and after repeated listens, will have you singing along. There are definite highlights in this album which would be late september rain, nothing so bad, damn these hungry times, heavy weather, and she bruise easy. My favorites however, come from their first album with how will I know, and she dont hear your prayer.

Doing Bacharach Proud
Imagine a man that looks surprisingly like Mike Ness of Social Distortion, dresses like a GQ suit model and has the voice of Scott Walker crossed with Johnny Hartman, and you have a pretty clear picture of Liam McKahey, the lead vocalist of Cousteau. Add in that his amazing voice is the vehicle that brings to life beautifully crafted and orchestrated songs that sound like lost Burt Bacharach standards, and you have an understanding of Davey Ray Moore, the mastermind behind the material. Put these elements together and you have an understanding of Cousteau. Their second album, Sirena continues in the same vein as their first and shows a band that is more accomplished and better than most any band getting airplay today. The first track off the album, "Nothing So Bad" sounds like something written for Dusty Springfield during the Dusty In Memphis sessions - think "Just A Little Lovin'" with a silky baritone.

Cousteau con Gusto
We loved their first cd (eponomously titled 'Cousteau') and had a hunch that this next one would surpass it. Although this is by no means a poor follow-up, it simply lacks the specialness of the first and a song as good as "The Last Good Day of the Year" (whose riff you'd recognize from an oft-played car commercial). Nevertheless, Cousteau continue to make moody, sophisticated, dramatic music that would likely make Burt Bacharach proud and which stands out from virtually anything currently getting air-play. Here and there on the album, drama becomes bombast, but, by and large, the rich, multi-layered production (by leader Davey Ray Moore), arrangements, harmonies and especially the ground-floor vocals of Liam McKahey make for an enjoyable listening experience. And if Mr. Bacharach happens to read this (on a brisk day in Purgatory), might we suggest that he and Cousteau would make for a fitting and interesting collaboration. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Arguably the peak of Brix Smith-era Fall, the rousing, riff-loaded Bend Sinister stands as one of the band's most rounded and satisfying records. With edgy, bubblegum pop mixing with crepuscular experimentalism, the album finds Mark E. Smith flitting between being playful ("Terry Waite Sez," "Riddler") and disgruntled ("Gross Chapel," "Shoulder Pads," and the fuming hymn of hate to the nanny state that is "US 80s and 90s"). Boasting one of the Fall's mid-'80s hits and arguably the group's best-known recording, their take on the Other Half's 1960s amphetamine anthem "Mr. Pharmacist," the CD's an advisable point of entry for Fall novices. Also a favorite of longtime devotees, Bend Sinister is probably the best example of the Fall as a potent rock group. --Taylor Parkes ... Read more

Reviews (3)

slightly uneven but a great record
I've read a few things about how this record is one of their least memorable releases, yet I can't help but disagree. It's certainly more subdued and sparse than their other "big" sounding records, but all the classic Fall elements are still there: twisted lyrics, driving drum and bass, jagged guitar lines, and general goofiness. A treat to listen to!

The sound of a hungover thunderstorm
"~This was the album that drew me into the world of The Fall, and I have never left. It was 1986, I was a sixth-former at Mangotsfield School (near Bristol in England), a nervous, shy, country-dwelling, poetry-loving Smiths fan with a deep interest in Science Fiction, an unhealthy obsession with Kate Bush, and an even unhealthier obsession with "Doctor Who" (an obsession which eventually bore fruit as I went on to write a couple of Doctor Who novels for the BBC in the late Nineties). private universe of imagination was full of horrors of my own making, I could see darkness and gloom everywhere and, though not wanting for anything, the future seemed mysterious, murky, scary and thrilling. What sort of music could take me through these teen-angst years? Kate Bush, as mentioned above, The Cure, The Smiths, David Bowie... but there was something missing. Where was the horror, the terror and thrill of the unknown? The cosy cardigans of Morrissey and the dark forests of Kate Bush"~ viewed safely from the window of a fire-lit room were soon to be challenged by - The Fall."~ etc, put something on the system which changed my life."~ ravening machine set loose; dangerous, yet thrilling; drop-dead cool and totally unconnected to anything before or since. I remember thinking, "How did they arrive at this?" It was from out of nowhere. Listening to it now, 14 years later, has the same effect. Never has a piece of music affected me so much. of dark machines and imagination unfettered. I have every Fall album, and though I like some of them better,"Bend Sinister" is the very heart of The Fall, a glinting, obsidian monolith to which the listener has no choice but beautiful surrender.

Cleanly-recorded display of conceptual brilliance
To me this is a great album (and the last great one they recorded up until 1995).

The music is strange and dark, but retains energy and tight construction. Elements of grunge, surf, prog-rock, goth, pop and other musics surround Smith's poetry. It coalesces much better on this enhanced UK running order than it did on the associated 1986 US LP release ("Domesday Triad Plus").

Not every track here is brilliant, but most are. ... Read more

Album Description

Full title - Grotesque (After The Gramme). 2004 reissue of 1980 album includes four bonus tracks, 'How I Wrote 'Elastic Man', 'City Hobgoblins', 'Totally Wired', & 'Putta Block', from rare non-LP singles. Castle. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Very Good, If Not Great
The buzz among many reviewers of this album has been that The Fall were starting to get their act together, moving out of "cult" status towards wider appreciation, blah blah blah. Well in retrospect it's not as strong an album as "Live at the Witch Trials" or "Dragnet" had been. I think that one reason for that is that each of those albums were done when the band had highly imaginitive drummers in them (Karl Burns and Mike Leigh, who is quite underrated).

By contrast, here the guitars play the same fragile, dissonant type of lines as on "Dragnet" but the band's sound is more straight-ahead and linear, less interesting frankly but more a straight backdrop for Smith's singing/rapping/slurring/barking. Smith, if not his band, was in top form. On "New Face in Hell" and "C-and-C Mithering" he acheives a great and wonderful inertia that I can't compare to anything else, he's really laying a new template for what an angry young man with a microphone can do in music.

On those 2 tracks and on a few others, the band reaches some nice peaks behind the voice. "New Face in Hell" especially is an astonishing example of what a few young guys with instruments can acheive with imagination and perseverance - a great, astonishing groove. But there is a substantial amount of filler on this record. It's about half-great. This is mitigated by the inclusion of 4 impressive single tracks, one of which - "How I Wrote Elastic Man" - is The Fall at peak brilliance level. As well as a silly and brief "self-interview" Smith did in 1980, for completists.

Is the sound quality here better than on previous issues? Yes. Castle/Sanctuary did another great job of putting out a definitive edition with maximal sound quality. ... Read more