Editorial Review

The style known as "anti-folk," as realized by practitioners like Ani DiFranco and Billy Bragg, is derived from a punk aesthetic, and thus tends to be spare and confrontational. But while Regina Spektor's music is anti-folk in the way it subverts the traditional coffeehouse vibe, it's less interested in rebellion and more concerned with the joy of eccentricity, melody and surprise. Read more

Reviews (30)

Clever, quirky, touching--- amazing
I think she is just brillant. I've seen her live once now-- and she just sets the room on fire with talents. I have loved her since the moment I fell upon Soviet Kitsch and I am addicted to "Begin To Hope". I simply can't listen to it enough. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. I think I may have "Samson" on repeat for the next century or so.

good second
I saw Regina Spektor play recently in Los Angeles. It was at the El Rey Theater. It was sold out. There was an excitement in the air, which you imagine there was for the Beatles. Regina Spektor has a lot of young female fans. Maybe it was some girls who saw her play a few years ago opening for the Strokes or Kings of Leon? Anyway I have seen her play a few times now, and the audiences are getting bigger and more enthusiastic. This is the sort of audience that you get for Bjork or Joanna Newsom. Everyone is quiet and on the edge of their seats. They hang on to every word. The first album was quirky and sort of fit in with the anti-folk thing. This record is a more planned out thing. It's a better-produced record. There are some really poppy songs like "Better." This sounds like a hit for anyone else. This record has more experience behind it, and Regina has grown up a little bit. She sounds really good. Not a weak moment on here. Even Nick Valensi of the Strokes appears on a song.

I like it but i don't love it
Regina Spector is getting a lot of publicity these days. She is all the rage. She also is definitely not in the mainstream and this is an acquired taste.
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Subjects:  1. Anti-Folk    2. Pop    3. Rock    4. Rock/Pop    5. Singer/Songwriter   

Editorial Review

When the Be Good Tanyas released their heralded debut disc, Read more

Reviews (2)

Beautifully Rendered
What a treat it is to find a band like this.I'm the type of guy who will search for good bands on the internet, through reading reviews and such and I do believe I have found a great band here.
Gorgeously Atmospheric Mature Alchemy
I've had the new album "Hello Love" on repeat since I got it in the mail a few days ago. It's wonderfully atmospheric, lonesome and gorgeous.I think it stands up well to the previous albums, lending a bit more mature aspect to the alchemy. The only thing I am disappointed about is that their website hasn't been updated yet! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bluegrass    2. Canada    3. Contemporary Folk    4. Country    5. Folk    6. Neo-Traditional Folk    7. Pop   

Editorial Review

Resembling at times a soft-sung Robert Plant, Buckley was an intuitive vocalist capable of dizzying arabesques and choir-boy sweetness. He is joined here by a tight band for 10 tracks highlighting his stylistic range--Pearl Jam bluesy on "Eternal Life," impossibly serene on Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," art-school noisy on "So Real," Led Zep daring on "Mojo Pin." Unorthodox, this was the debut of '94. Read more

Reviews (533)

Moving...
How else can you describe the combination of his beautiful voice and well written music?I can't add anything to the volumes that have been written about this album already.An album with well over 500 reviews that is holding a 4.5 star average must have something going for it.
Born to Croon
Jeff Buckley sounds like what Marc Bolan would have sounded like if Bolan had taken Perry Como as his musical muse.Seriously, think about Marc Bolan trying to sound like a '50's crooner and you'll know what Jeff Buckley sounds like.

Genius
Gone to soon. What would he have become we will never really know and we are not better off because of his untimely death. An artist with creative vision and the talent to back it up. There is so little of his original music available it is difficult to really understand were he was headed and were his creative would have eventually taken him. The multiple albums of his original music has captured his songs in different stages of develoment and arrangement such that no two versions are completely the same and document his development.
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Subjects:  1. Adult Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Alternative Pop/Rock    3. Folk-Rock    4. Pop    5. Popular Music    6. Rock    7. Rock/Pop    8. Singer/Songwriter   

Editorial Review

Irish troubadour Damien Rice doesn't so much reinvent the folk genre on this lush, impossibly mature debut album as push its boundaries in several compelling musical directions at once--all the more remarkable considering the album was largely self-produced and home-recorded. His songs revolve around familiar, bittersweet concerns of life, love, and their attendant frustrations, but delivered with conspiratorial intimacy on melodic wings (like on the graceful "Cannonball") that Rice seems almost embarrassed to share. If there's anything like a template here, it's "The Blower's Daughter," the song that first attracted the interest/stewardship of film composer David Arnold (whose guest production provides "Amie" with expansive cinematic elegance) and became a massive Irish hit. His plaintive vocal, embroidered by the mournful solo cello of Vyvienne Long, is suddenly brightened by an instrumental flourish and Lisa Hannigan's vocals--before just as quickly wafting on the breeze. With touches that range from "Day in the Life"-styled string collages to the dizzy, exhilarating neo-operatic excesses of the 16-minute "Eskimo," Rice's musical palate here is as adventurous as his songs are grounded in emotional intimacy. Read more

Reviews (312)

Magical
This has to be one of the most beautiful CDs ever recorded. Damien's vocal range is vast; his musicianship excellent; but it's the crafting of songs at which he truly surpasses most artists. Haunting, sensitive, flowing, crashing...(If I have one criticism, it's the mixing levels - at times, his vocals are drowned. In concert, when he lets rip, you really feel the power of his vocals/music, which, unfortunately, doesn't come over quite as well on the album.) A truly magical album.

This album is amazing
This is one that sways the soul. Damien Rice's timing and melody just reach into your gut and extract every piece of love and sorrow that you ever felt.
One of the most impossibly beautiful albums ever released
Although I knew "The Blower's Daughter" from the film CLOSER and "Delicate" from LOST, Damien Rice has until recently been unexplored territory for me.What I didn't know is that his album O is not a disc with only one or two great songs, but one of the most from-beginning-to-end brilliant albums of recent years.Vocally Rice reminds me of a lot of other performers.Jeff Buckley and Ryan Adams spring to mind, there is even something of the very young Leonard Cohen in the songs.But this album is more consistently brilliant than anything released by those singers.He isn't quite the singer that Jeff Buckley was (but then who is?), but he is a much better songwriter.His songwriting reminds me somewhat of Hayden, but it is much more dramatic, lush, and expressive and his singing is in an entirely different league.There is also a soft serenity to the music that is nearly as gently calming as the best of Iron and Wine.Actually, Rice and Iron and Wine's Sam Beam write songs that evoke many of the same feelings, though Rice is a far stronger vocalist (though it has to be granted that Beam is perhaps unrivalled as a lyricist today--I think you have to go to people like Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan to find a demonstrably better lyricist than Sam Beam).
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Subjects:  1. Alternative Folk    2. Contemporary Folk    3. Contemporary Singer/Songwriter    4. Folk & Traditional    5. Folk-Rock    6. Ireland    7. Pop    8. Popular Music    9. Post-Grunge    10. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

Given these tumultuous times, one would expect Ani DiFranco to confront strife head-on, but on this, her 18th album, she tunnels beneath the headlines toward deeper emotional, psychic, and institutional conflicts and causes. She begins by channeling her inner Joni Mitchell, pouring out a quartet of jazzy confessions lightly dusted with electronica, musique concrete, and keyboard drone, but urged forward by Todd Sickafoose's warm acoustic bass. His throbbing, be-bop lines are this spare but somehow atmospheric album's musical soul. As DiFranco's voice bobs and weaves around those rhythms, the personal poetry makes the politics hit harder--and vice versa. She celebrates marginalia and makes peace with a world in flux. She conveys the heat of across-the-café infatuations and grows anxious over her subconscious desires. When she locks her sights on contemporary culture, she sends a scattershot spray against celebrity cults, network news, biotechnology, Yucca Mountain, stolen elections and, of course, patriarchy. But she's a gifted enough poet and musician to keep the album from collapsing into radical rhetoric and psychobabble. The spoken-word title track begins in Hiroshima and ends in a declaration that feminism is not about equality but about "reprieve"--an amnesty from fear and hate, in other words, and an affirmation of life. In the context of a death-driven culture, her decision to bear children, "to split herself in two," becomes the most "radical thing you can do." None of her manifestos, however, would ring true if it weren't for her imaginative, even playful singing and her ever-more accomplished acoustic guitar playing, sometimes classically graceful, sometimes purely urgent. Read more

Reviews (16)

Another masterpiece!
It seems Ani Difranco is getting better and better as she grows up. This particular record is mellow, deep, thought provoking and musically brilliant.
More of a Man Than Most Men Will Ever Be...
Invariably a looming epitome of political awareness and self-reliance, the very pregnant Ani Difranco is in rare form with her latest studio album "Reprieve." Quite a varied collection, and the first after what has been for her a long absence (the outstanding "Knuckle Down" came out in January 2005), Difranco sounds revitalized and acutely in touch with herself. In each lyric and guitar strum resides a sense of purpose and unquestionable passion.
Brilliant
Ani rocks.However, this CD is even better than the rest.The songs are woven together perfectly, with funky techno sound-effects hinting in the background, each song digitally mastered, gently flowing to the next.During one particular song, we even hear a dog barking, far way...This entire collection is amazing, both as a compilation of songs, as well as individually.I received the CD in the mail a few weeks ago, right when it came out, and I have literally been listening to it non-stop ever since.It's downloaded to my IPod, my ITunes, and on both my computers; I keep the actual CD in my car's stereo.And I can't seem to get enough of this music, even after listening to it, time and time again.And unlike CDs of other artists, I loved this CD immediately.It's simply brilliant.SHE is simply brilliant.I never knew she could get even better than her other music, than her other CDs.There is something unique about this one: it's literally a work of art.She has risen to new heights, folks.Amazing stuff... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Folk    2. Anti-Folk    3. Pop    4. Rock    5. Rock/Pop    6. Singer/Songwriter    7. United States of America    8. Urban Folk   

Reviews (52)

Soviet Kitsch CD review
Regina Spektor is similar in style to Tori Amos. This CD is a blend of piano and vocals.

Classical piano meets punk
Regina's eclectic piano compositions and voice are completely different from anything else I've ever heard.I would definitely recommend it!

female Randy Newman
Nutshell: if you've enjoyed Randy Newman's singer-songwriter albums (setting aside the soundtrack work as a separate category), especially his earlier ones, then you will very likely enjoy all of Regina Spektor's work, including SOVIET KITSCH.
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Subjects:  1. Anti-Folk    2. Pop    3. Rock    4. Rock/Pop    5. Singer/Songwriter   

Editorial Review

Oh to be free and frivolous, like Stuart Murdoch and his extensive cast of players as they engage Read more

Reviews (83)

A new swagger
Confident and sparky, 'The Life Pursuit' is the sound of a less self-conscious band hitting their stride on their 7th album. Their sound continues to expand, taking in Motown and even funk in addition to their standard folk, 80s indie and 60s guitar-pop influences. There's nothing here as revolutionary as between-album single 'Your Cover's Blown', which saw the long-overdue union of 60s pop and punk-funk, but 'We Are The Sleepyheads' is a leaner and less epic version of that same union, and there's a touch of bluesy funk to 'The Blues are Still Blue', and a swaggering glam to 'White Collar Boy'. 'Another Sunny Day' and 'Dress Up In You' are classic Belle & Seb, harking back to their best upbeat and downbeat tracks respectively; the latter is one of their most gorgeous since 'Sleep The Clock Around'. Most surprising is the 'Song For Sunshine', which features a Stevie Wonder-esque synthesiser and is white-boy soul of the first order. But the best track is the joyous 'Sukie In The Graveyard', which is brilliantly playful, with amusing lyrics a driving sound that sparkles with major-key pop melody. Though perhaps not their very best album, 'The Life Pursuit' is certainly Belle & Sebastian's most expansive and confident to date, despite slightly thin production after Trevor Horn's huge addition to 'Dear Catastrophe Waitress'. For those that have always wanted to hear them do the upbeat pop thing more, this will be perfect.

Absolutely Fabulous!
I'm a long time Belle & Sebastian fan, I've been listening to them since Tigermilk, and I just cannot get enough of this album.It's my favourite album of theirs to date, and it's also the very best album I've heard so far this year.It takes all the elements that have made this band so wonderful over the years: Witty lyrics, Bacharach-esque melodies; but there's a new sense of humor and fun, and even some funky 70's glam rock swagger to boot.It's the most fun album that I've heard in ages, and it just makes me want to get up and sing and dance.Amazing that a band so known for it's retro mod sound has come out with one of the freshest sounding albums of the year.

snobyyyyy
first of all this album is good, its really good actually, its Belle and sebastian good.i can say that it is my opinon that this is not their greatest album, but its smart and funny and poppy and catchy (everything i love about this band).so there that is, this album is good
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Subjects:  1. Chamber Pop    2. Indie Pop    3. Pop    4. Rock    5. Rock/Pop    6. Scotland    7. Twee Pop   

Reviews (13)

Fresh and innovative
I can't decide if this is happy music that sounds sad, or sad music that sounds happy. I am absolutely captivated by this cd. His haunting voice, unbelievably comforting and soothing though it's hard to understand a word of what he's singing. The instruments all blend very nicely together. It does get a little repetitive at times but oddly enough, at the end of the cd I'm craving more. Postcards From Italy is hands down the best track on the disc. But really there isn't one single song on this cd that I don't like. It's nice to come across something as catchy as this, that sounds different that the latest humdrum of our time. Cheers to this new artist. Looking forward to more!

Don't understand the hype
While I admit it is an interesting concept to incorporate this brass style music with an indie/rufus wainwright twist. One can't help but be bored to sleep with the same sound over and over. An ambitious undertaking yes... but unfortunately Neutral Milk Hotel was way more eclectic with the use of the brass and DID NOT OVERUSE it like beirut does. Every time I put this on I feel like I'm part of some international parade looking for a way out

Stunning.
If you like Goran Bregovic or Johnny Cash or Roy Orbison or David Byrne or Mostar Sevdah Reunion or Zlatne Uste, you'll like this music; if you like all of the above, you'll love it. It's that simple. Indie crooning plus Balkan brass music. How come nobody ever thought of this before? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Folk    2. Indie Rock    3. Pop    4. Rock    5. Rock/Pop   

Reviews (47)

Classic at its best
Just purchased this album yesturday and was very excited to find out how perfect it was.My wife is not yet a fan of Sufjan's, so I am going solo to his only appearance in LA in October to see him, but the wife actually says that she kinda digs this album.So its definetly Sufjan but its more acoustic and more banjo than his newer stuff which is great.Check it out if you can find it until its re-released...

Like Iron and Wine, but more spiritual
From the banjo on the first song to the lyrics "Son of Man! Son of God!", Sufjan pulls together an album worth remembering.Highlights include: All The Trees..., To Be Alone With You, Abraham, We Won't Need Legs to Stand, and Seven Swans.At times poetic, at times prophetic, and at times just lush and beautiful, Seven Swans will grow on you more and more with every listen.With its gorgeous overt Christian lyrics and folksy songs, Sufjan has proven that he is an upcoming singer/songwriter that means business.In an industry flooded with such perverse imagery, Sufjan gives us the word of God and the observations of an imperfect man who recognizes God's perfect power.Whatever the subject, Sufjan can tackle it head on without compromising who he is.For fans of Iron and Wine, this CD is a must have.

Excellent
This was my intro to Sufjan Stevens, and it was a wonderful place to start.I was at first a little turned off by the Christianity themes, references, etc., but I couldn't deny that I loved the music (and oddly enough, The Transfiguration, perhaps the most blantantly Christian and certainly most Biblical, is my favorite song).Perhaps not as... impressive as Illiniose, but if you enjoyed any of his other albums, you should certainly get this one, too, or if you're just checking it out, at least listen to the samples so you know what you're getting into, or rather, just get it.You'll be pleased with this purchase. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Folk    2. Americana    3. Indie Pop    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Rock/Pop    7. Singer/Songwriter   

Editorial Review

Although this is officially singer/fiddler Carrie Rodriguez's solo debut, her musical mentor Chip Taylor--with whom she has recorded three previous discs of duets--is an integral ingredient. Taylor wrote or co-wrote all but one track and is also the album's producer. With Read more

Features

• Enhanced

Reviews (5)

great debut
this is the record nora jones was supposed to make. adult music. complex and very listenable. it keeps getting better. highly reccommended.

A Texas Fiddler Expands Her Horizons
Carrie Rodriguez is well known to me because of three excellent CD's she made with her collaborator and mentor, Chip Taylor, songwriter, professional gambler, and uncle of Angelina Jolie.The style of the two was mostly down-home folk and country.Carrie's Texas fiddle and twangy voice fit the music.
Great Album
Haunting and Mysterious and Original - a great album.Every track is solid.I really like this cd. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Country-Rock    2. Alternative Folk    3. Americana    4. Country-Folk    5. Pop    6. Rock    7. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

Blessed with the voice of a wispy angel, Elliott Smith creates sad little pop songs, which, like the work of Nick Drake (to whom he's been compared) threaten to disappear into the night air. Several of the tracks here were featured in Gus Van Zant's movie Read more

Reviews (117)

Mr. Smith's Best.
I have owned this album for a few years.I always liked it, but I just didn't give it the time it deserved.When I bough XO earlier this year, I absolutely fell in love with Elliott Smith.I played that album a million times, as it was immediately accessible to me.I was convinced that it was better than Either/Or.However, when I decided that I would give Either/Or another spin, the greatness of that album jumped right out at me.I heard the songs like I had never heard them before, and as I kept listening to Either/Or, the songs kept getting better and better.Either/Or is my favorite because it is not as heavily produced as XO, which gives the songs more meaning to me, but it is more diverse than Roman Candle or his self-titled album.The songs are more somber and subdued than his songs on XO, but they are not as flat-out depressing as his earlier stuff (which, don't get me wrong, is still amazing).His lyrics on this album ring even truer to me now than those on XO.It just took me an extra step (XO) to get to this masterpiece.My advice for new listeners is to start out with XO, and then when you need another Elliott Smith, immediately buy this one. Once you fall madly in love with this album, all of his other albums should be greatly enjoyable to you as well.

Alamada, and pictures of me.
I didn't understand this album at first. I didn't understand why everyone liked Elliot Smith, and this was my first introduction and this is the best Elliot Smith album. I am so glad I kept it on my computer because about 6 months later I heard it again and listened to it again and again. Not pretentious like I had thought but real. and smooth. Alamada, pictures of me, ballad of a big nothing, and speed trials are the best songs. Elliot Definitely inspired by Beatles and Beach Boys. Elliot seems like someone who fits in perfectly yet doesn't. Elliot keeps it honest but not in a "look I am being honest way." I don't want to make it all about Elliot, as I don't like to make music neccesarilly completely about the person or bring it up so much like some critic but this album really does make you feel in touch with him,. maybe it is a sydrome of all people that died young or killed themselves as I feel the soul of Cobain, Joplin, and so forth.....but I feel like I stabbing myself in the chest when listening to this music. it's all relative. anyway this review sucks and I don't care if you agree.

The best of the best.
I can not praise this album any more than I already have to
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Subjects:  1. Indie Pop    2. Indie Rock    3. Pop    4. Popular Music    5. Rock    6. Rock/Pop    7. Sadcore    8. Singer/Songwriter   

Features

• Limited Edition
• Special Edition

Reviews (10)

Quality Oddities...
I was introduced to Regina Spektor rather late in the game, apparently, this being the first album of hers that I've heard. When I listened to it the first time, I was, of course, amused (if not a little perplexed) by the grunting and other such vocal acrobatics. But as I came to know each individual song better, I began to understand that the noises are part of a bigger soundscape. Regina Spektor is eccentric, yes, but she is also incredibly talented - not only as a singer, but also as a songwriter.The album is an array of different styles and musical ideas, all executed very well. I think it is obvious that Regina Spektor thought long and hard about how the music would reflect the lyrics and vice versa, putting her a step ahead of many of the other songwriters out there who use the same chord progressions and musical styles over and over and over again. This music is challenging, requiring more from the listener than just a pair of earphones and a quarter of their attention span. Many of the songs conjured up memories from my classical music training and my study of art songs with their compact thematic structures and text-painting. For example - the grunting in `Apres Moi' isn't just there as a rhythmic icebreaker. To me, the grunts sound like she is being hit in the stomach, but no matter how many punches she takes she "must keep on standing."Each song on this album is a successful work of art. Some tracks may strike the listener more than another, depending on their likes and dislikes, but if you enjoy smart, different and intriguing music, this CD will not disappoint.
Regina's Back Again!
These days, anti-folk is in and Regina Spektor is the queen of the scene. If you like your music with tons of vocal surprises and fun, unexpected rhythms, then "Begin To Hope" will be nothing short of spectacular. Just open your ears and open your mind, let Regina do the rest!

Step down, and wecome to planet Earth
This is not important. An egocentric voice, not very willing to communicate with the listener. I have tried but most of it is just passing me by. I like voices trying to make a personal style but she seems more interested to imitate someone else. Whoever that can be does'nt make me more happier about this kind of acting. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anti-Folk    2. Pop    3. Rock    4. Rock/Pop    5. Singer/Songwriter   

Editorial Review

Modern folk and blues rarely sounds as inventive and colorful as the Wood Brothers' spare, soothing studio debut. Currents of jazz, pop, and country also ripple through these 12 lovely arrangements built around Chris Wood's upright bass (previously heard in Medeski, Martin & Wood) and Oliver Wood's gentle acoustic and electric guitars. It's not simply that the brothers' sweet, high voices have the genetic gift of close harmony: they're in absolute synch creatively, too. So when one's singing lingers over a lazy phrase in a number like the languid ode to living "Chocolate on My Tongue," the other hangs back on his instrument until just the right, complementary moment. Drummer Kenny Wollesen, who plays on a handful of tracks, is on the same wavelength--never rushing or pushing the Woods' behind-the-beat sensibility. And the rich dark tones of the bass and, in particular, slide guitars perfectly illuminate their unhurried stories about spiritual discovery and the trials of life. All of which makes Read more

Subjects:  1. Acoustic Blues    2. Alternative Folk    3. Americana    4. Contemporary Folk    5. Pop    6. Rock    7. Rock/Pop    8. Traditional Bluegrass   

Editorial Review

Gillian Welch has captured the ethos of mountain music in a way that few lowlanders have managed, and that's just a little disconcerting. Outsiders aren't supposed to be able to infiltrate tight-knit clans. Producer T-Bone Burnett creates intimacy by recording Welch live with a small cast of supporting players, including Welch's partner, David Rawlings. While many of the songs are built around duo acoustic guitars and two-part harmonies, Burnett spices up a few of them up with some neat tricks, mixing an upright bass above the vocals on "Pass You By" and getting a fat, dirty sound out of three instruments. Welch's vocals, meanwhile, are stoical and matter-of-fact as her songs, which are infused with a repressed dread and contrition that's utterly convincing. White gospel tunes like "Orphan Girl" and "By the Mark" feel as if they were culled from hymnals, yet they were written when Clinton, not Coolidge, was president. Read more

Features

• Original recording reissued

Reviews (70)

melancholy
True Gillian Welch sound and soul...but a bit more melancholy than I expected. Good for those times when you want to feel quiet and philisophical...not good for those days when you just want to dance!!!

very much enjoyed
Gillian Welch has a beautiful voice and sings bluegrass country music well. Our whole family has enjoyed it.

Splendid
This is truly a "splendid" CD, I had not heard of Gillian Welch until Amazon reccomended it several times. I finally listened to the sample tracts and really liked her voice. This is a great addition to anyones music collection,especially if you are a folk song lover.
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Subjects:  1. Alternative Country    2. Alternative Country-Rock    3. Americana    4. Folk & Traditional    5. Neo-Traditional Folk    6. Pop    7. Rock    8. Rock/Pop    9. Singer/Songwriter   

Editorial Review

One of the most striking debut albums ever released, this disc instantlyestablished Chapman as a musical force, and with good reason. Immediacy, integrity ofpurpose, and unqualified artistry are apparent in nearly every song. And while "Fast Cars"remains Chapman's best-known work, "Talkin' Bout a Revolution" is that rarest breed: asong which is both topical and timeless. Any exploration into Chapman's work shouldbegin with this at times stunning effort; it's a disc of remarkable uniformity and claritythat Chapman has yet to improve on. Read more

Reviews (92)

Hmmm...does 5 stars say it all?
This is probably one of the first albums I heard that I ever really listened to in my life, and I was always thinking how on earth this could be coming from an artist who at the time was barely known? This type of music is rare in CD release, and it is so astonishingly potent, so brutally truthful, and one of the greatest things for Chapman should ever be remembered. Staying out of the spotlight only made me want to know this person more, and I feel I can relate to her a bit through her music. I doubt that ANY artist can reach the harsh reality in here with much success, and I think it was this debut alone that launched Tracy to superstardom. From poetic lyrics to stories of plain life and its painstaking lessons, it is the deep introspection here that keeps me reutrning. My absolute favorites on this are "Talkin' Bout a Revolution" and "Fast Car", a couple of the very few songs that I can NEVER get tired of hearing for as hard as I try. All the music here is worthy of listening, and I always used to find myself stealing this disc from my parents to take to school with me it is sooo pleasurable:). My experience here is of great satisfaction and high recommendation to the point of coerce.

Absolutely stupendous!
Can't stop listening to it, this album is absolutely stupendous, moving, terrific.Tracy Chapman is one incredible musician.

Caters to a Niche
Some previous reviewers have lamented the fact that Tracy Chapman is not a recording superstar.I, for one, am baffled at how Chapman could expect anything more than isolated niche success in her endeavors.This album highlights both her strengths and her shortcomings brilliantly, and for some it will hold immense appeal, while not so much for others.
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Subjects:  1. Adult Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Alternative Folk    3. College Rock    4. Contemporary Folk    5. Folk & Traditional    6. Pop    7. Popular Music    8. Rock    9. Rock/Pop    10. Singer/Songwriter   

Editorial Review

A ghost, a band, a troubadour. Easily the strangest co-op project ever, and easily one of the finest and most evocative albums of the year. British socialist and folkie Billy Bragg was given unprecedented access to Woody Guthrie's unrecorded lyrics. Teaming up with alt-country band Wilco and quoting from more than 50 years of country, folk, and rock music, Billy and company bring Guthrie's politics, poetry, and morality to the end of the century and prove he's as necessary now as ever. Read more

Reviews (124)

Woody Guthrie Lyrics to Billy Bragg Tunes
You'll find yourself singing along after the first listen. California Stars and Ain't Nobody that Can Sing like me are new favorites for me.

Something to Bragg About, for Wilco ,too.
This is an example of the brilliance that results when two great talents join forces to write music and record the lyrics of American folk music icon, Woody Guthrie.Bragg and Tweedy collaborate seamlessly to set to music the words that Guthrie wrote over 50 years ago, and it still sounds fresh today.

Fantastic
This is a reply to those reviewers who think that Guthrie "really wasn't all that left-wing" or that Bragg is, by comparison, too "didactic" or "rabidly left-wing" (as some would have it).The fact is that Bragg can't imagine being as politically radical as Guthrie was, not because Bragg is a closet liberal, but because Guthrie was a part of a radical movement in the United States the likes of which is simply not to be found in the U.S. or Britain nowadays.
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Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Folk-Rock    3. Pop    4. Rock    5. Rock/Pop    6. Singer/Songwriter    7. Urban Folk   

Editorial Review

There are several schools of thought about Syd Barrett, the early leader of Pink Floyd. Some think he was a genius songwriter, even when he was utterly whacked out. Others think he was just a druggie tosspot (those people are wrong).If you subscribe to the former school, you need to hear Belle and Sebastian, who seem to inhabit a musical universe close to Syd's. Songs seem to fly off the cuff, as attractive as a summer day when you were 16. We're not talking self-conscious strangeness here, but just natural, organic weirdness with melodies that make these songs work. Read more

Features

• Original recording reissued

Reviews (168)

Damn, Where's the minister
Belle and Sebastian's "If You're Feeling Sinister" is an album of extroardinary folk songs that becomes an extraordinary experience when you listen through your heart. The lyrics are a thoughtful ballad of pain, hate and tyranny. Each song will drive you wild with the soft yet brilliant guitar strum and a dark and cold voice that is somewhat uplifting. Stuart Murdoch would be the ringleader of this circus and I like it... This album was a part of what I stood for in the 90's and still is listenable today because of the jagged edges that made me simultaneously happy on each listen.

Good, but not their best
Many self-proclaimed "indie people" will tell you that this is hands down, the best album by Belle and Sebastian.I've concluded through years of dealing with people like this that they purposely choose obscure and odd-sounding music and claim it is "awesome" to try to showcase themselves as more understanding and knowledgable about music than you could ever be.Those are the people that love this album more than the other ones.Don't get me wrong, this is a good album.But it is much softer and, at times, simply weirder than the 2 albums that I enjoy, "The boy with the arab strap" and "Tigermilk."The people that love this album will tell you those records are bad, and their reasoning basically boils down to the fact that those albums are instantly accessible and enjoyable on their face.You get immediate gratification listening to those albums.This one, I feel like I am straining to enjoy it in the way that I enjoy those.I shouldn't have to feel like that.Musical elitists will tell you otherwise.

haters
this Cd is simply amazing. W/e you do, do not listen to these people saying every song sounds the smae, because quite frnakly, they dont. Belle and Sebastian speaks about world issues, and life stories thorugh their lyrics, and they deserve to be recognized. Everyone of these people who talk about how the songs sound the same, should stop listenign to belle and sebastian waiting for some poppy catchy radio song, becuase this is not that type of band. They make beautiful music and they deserve recognition because every one of their cd's is absolutely amazing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Chamber Pop    3. Folk-Rock    4. Indie Pop    5. Indie Rock    6. Pop    7. Rock    8. Rock/Pop    9. Scotland    10. Singer/Songwriter    11. Twee Pop   

Editorial Review

Recorded mildly better than his debut (Read more

Reviews (67)

Desert island pick #1!
"Self-Titled" is without a doubt, Mr. Smith's finest hour.Many people feel that this recording is too sullen---but I think it is beautiful in a spiritual way.Elliott Smith was the most gifted songwriter of his generation.Upon first listen I was not as impressed as I was with Roman Candle & Either/Or, so it stayed in its case for a couple of weeks.After a couple of weeks went by Ithought I would give it another whirl after watching "The Royal Tennenbaums."I was, and still am, completely addicted to this cd.I need almost like oxygen.It is without a doubt my favourite recording of all time.As soon as "Needle in the Hay" begins with that doomed, yet heavenly A minor chord--Mr. Smith takes you on a ride.Every s