Sea Music

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
On Sea Music, former Del Fuegos frontman turned kid's music songster Dan Zanes performs a set of old sea shanties in a rough-hewn but charming manner. He takes songs that have been worn smooth from constant use, artfully scuffs them up, and restores them to their former "ragged but right" glory. His performance of "Shenandoah," for example, features some fine Leadbelly-style 12-string guitar picking and an anguished vocal that almost erases the memory of the polite, formal choral arrangements that usually smother the song. And his "Sloop John B" sails along on jaunty banjos and mandolins rather than the slick harmonies of the Beach Boys' version. These shanties were originally created by sailors as work songs, and consequently they have choruses that are perfect for singing along. Zanes is joined on many tracks by an enthusiastic chorus of kids who are obviously having a wonderful time belting out the sometimes salty lyrics. As with all of Zanes's recordings for children, adults are likely to find themselves listening to this wonderful music even when the kids aren't underfoot. --Michael John Simmons

Sea Music, Music, Dan Zanes & Festival Five Folk, 14 traditional maritime songs performed by dan zanes and his ragged but harmonically precise circle of friends. these are raw, spirited, acoustic versions of tunes from the long gone days of sail., Children's Folk, Folk, Pop, Rock, Sea Shanties, Traditional Folk

One Cell In the Sea
Average customer rating:
One Cell In the Sea
A Fine Frenzy
Manufacturer: Virgin Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000QCK99E
Release Date: 2007-07-17

Tracks:

Come On, Come Out
The Minnow & The Trout
Whisper
You Picked Me
Rangers
Almost Lover
Think of You
Ashes and Wine
Liar, Liar
Last of Days
Lifesize
Near To You
Hope for the Hopeless
Borrowed Time

Amazon.com

A Fine Frenzy is actually just a fine young singer-songwriter from Seattle, born Alison Sudol. A self-taught piano player, on her debut album she pairs sweeping orchestral arrangements with dreamlike lyrics inspired by the classic works of fantasy writers like CS Lewis, EB White, and Lewis Carroll. Add to that a propensity for frilly shirts and cryptic song titles such as "The Minnow & the Trout" and you half-expect to find a back alley Joanna Newsom. Instead Sudol specializes in accessible pop epics, the kind of songs that fit perfectly over the end credits of a great Hollywood tearjerker. Despite the gentle melancholia that runs through "Ashes and Wine" and "You Picked Me," each tune arrives wrapped in an exuberant melody and topped by the singer's commanding voice. On the disc's standout moment, "Almost Lover," she shows she can do simplicity as well, musing over a sublime piano medley, "Shoulda known you'd bring me heartache/ Oh, most lovers always do." --Aidin Vaziri

Amazon.com

Tracks:

Atlantic
Is It Any Wonder?
Nothing In My Way
Leaving So Soon?
A Bad Dream
Hamburg Song
Put It Behind You
Crystal Ball
Try Again
Broken Toy
The Frog Prince

Amazon.com

If U2 hadn't already released a pair of career retrospective discs, this British trio's second album would neatly do the trick in one. Not much of a surprise since Keane spent a good deal of time supporting Bono and company following the release their breakthrough debut, Hopes and Fears. From the melancholic "Crystal Ball" to the sinisterly beautiful "Is It Any Wonder?" (a blatant homage to "Zoo Station"), Keane have perfected their forebear's dark stadium-rock formula on their second album, all the more miraculous considering it was once again done without guitars. If Under the Iron Sea sounds considerably edgier than its predecessor, that's because it was recorded while the band was on the verge of splitting. But the friction has also given Keane a renewed sense of purpose, breaking the mid-tempo monotony with vibrant material such as "Nothing in My Way" and "Try Again": soaring songs that make the band sound unsinkable. --Aidin Vaziri

Album Description

"Under The Iron Sea" was recorded at The Magic Shop in Soho, New York, and back at Helioscentric Studios, near Battle.

In making this record we tried to confront all our worst fears, to ruthlessly scrutinise ourselves, our relationship with each other, with other people, and with the world at large, and to make a journey into the darkest places we could find.

It made for an incredibly intense atmosphere during the writing and recording of the album, and the resultant songs and sounds very much reflect that. In the songs we created a kind of sinister fairytale-world-gone-wrong, a feeling of confusion and numbness represented by a dark place under an impenetrable iron sea. To express all this we created entirely new sounds by putting an old electric piano and various analogue synths through many different combinations of vintage guitar effects pedals, creating soundscapes that range from the percussive to vast oppressive walls of distortion.

We were writing, singing and performing with a drive, intensity and fury that is almost unrecognisable from our previous music.

It was important that this album had a strong visual presence too, and the start of that was the collaboration with Irvine Welsh on ¡®Atlantic¡¯ offered somebody who both inspired us, and found his own inspiration in our music.

His resulting film echoes the importance of that visual identity we strove for.

We wrote Under The Iron Sea because we needed a record that was going to make us feel alive again.

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely fantastic singles.......2007-06-27

While the album does have a few forgettable tracks, the singles are amazing and worth the cost of the CD. Fans of Coldplay will be drawn to this band and should definitely give Keane a chance.

Really like it.......2007-06-25

Got it after hearing Blake Lewis sing one of their songs, Somewhere Only We Know. I love listening to this in my jeep..fun, carefree cd.

Great band!.......2007-06-20

I love the singer's voice. The lyrics are pretty good too. Great sound for a 3 man band.

Another one for the heartbreak can[n]on.......2007-06-04

Not for nothing did HOPES AND FEARS' breakout "Somewhere Only We Know" include the line "This could be the end of everything". And not for nothing did the b&w simplicity of that record's graphics give way to an icy blue Siberian landscape, inscrutable feminine faces, broken soldiers lying in the snow.

With their propulsive, shifting rhythms and mesmerizing, serpentine melodies, the best songs on IRON SEA are shoutouts to the heartbroken -- tumbling mixes of incredulity, anguish and rage -- and this is one of those discs you will play 5000 times in a row the next time it happens to you. Hey, you did it with "Every Breath You Take" -- but the stalker self-pity that was thrilling when you were a kid and everything was crystal clear no longer seems so useful at an age where things are a leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetle more complicated.

Musically, Keane has mastered the art of baroque-pop in a way that only a few have: their songs have the standout quality of being consistently surprising and perfectly inevitable at the same time.

So it isn't perfect and it won't change the world, but IRON SEA is a minor masterpiece -- a swirling, complex companion to Basho's great, stark haiku, just as true and just as uncomforting:

I think of the day before I met her
When it seemed
I had no troubles at all

Under the Iron Sea is Golden.......2007-05-22

I am not a fan of Keane. In fact, I hated their first album and did not notice when the second album released. However, after hearing "Is It Any Wonder?" on the radio (about 200 times) I thought I would check it out. The sound seemed to have more edge; it captured more of a rock feel, and I liked that. Not to mention, I don't know who can't relate to the lyrics of "Is It Any Wonder?" these days.

I ordered the album and when it came I popped it into my stereo and sat down. I listened to the whole CD. Then I listened to it again. I was dazzled by the intersecting rhythm lines, key changes, the poor lyric scansion that seems to rhyme even though it shouldn't, and the tenor of Tom Chaplain's voice. This album has depth. It encompasses a sound that has been established by the Beatles and has evolved up through bands like Cold Play and Radio Head; Yet it has a little irreverence, giving it a feeling of angst that makes it more interesting to listen to. It's industrial enough to sit in the "Rock" section of your local record store, yet it's still technically a "Pop" album.

I highly recommend this album. It truly is a fresh sound and feel. It will appeal to rock folks, as well as pop people. If I were on the panel for album of the year I certainly would've voted for this one!

Average customer rating:

Can't stop listening to this CD!
Record of the Year
very nice
Nice Debut
Joyful

40 Days
The Wailin' Jennys
Manufacturer: Red House
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Firecracker
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Taking The Long Way

ASIN: B0002IQGMQ
Release Date: 2004-08-10

Tracks:

One Voice
Saucy Sailor
Arlington
Beautiful Dawn
Untitled
This is Where
Old Man
Heaven When Were Home
Ten Mile Stilts
Come All You Sailors
Take it Down
Something to Hold Onto,
The Parting Glass

Amazon.com

The Wailin' Jennys--Cara Luft, Nicky Mehta, and Ruth Moody--are three Canadian singer-songwriters with already established careers who first got together for a one-shot gig in 2002 and, to their surprise, discovered that their voices blended in an almost magical harmony. They decided to put their solo endeavors aside for a while to see where this gift would take them, and the appealing folk-pop vibe of 40 Days is the result. They perform an eclectic selection of material, including covers of John Hiatt's "Take It Down" and Neil Young's "Old Man" plus lovely versions of the old English folk songs "The Parting Glass" and "Saucy Sailor." However, it's the original songs that stand out most. As you would expect, each Jenny has a distinctive voice and writing style, but the amazing vocal harmonies help Luft's spiky, rock-inflected songs, Mehta's poetic and mysterious meditations, and Moody's lively Celtic-tinged melodies blend into a seamless whole. --Michael John Simmons

Album Description

"40 Days" represents the exciting US debut of Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta and Cara Luft...three young Canadian performers whose harmonies and songwriting have been called "spine-tingling," "angelic," and "breathtaking." The group was formed more-or-less as a lark...all three Winnipeg women were established solo artists and admired in Canadian folk circles for their singing and gifted songwriting...and the so-called "supergroup" was meant to last for one night only at a local folk club. As fate would have it, the audience went crazy for them performing in that configuration and a Canadian folk phenomenon was born. With their stirring voices and richly emotional original songs, the Jennys have created one of the most memorable and tantalizing first albums in a long time.

Customer Reviews:

Can't stop listening to this CD!.......2007-07-05

We were first introduced to the Wailin' Jennys on A Prairie Home Companion last year and found their songs and their sound to be so memorable that we purchased tickets to see them in concert locally this past May. We have since purchased both the 40 Days and Firecracker CDs, and just can't recommend them enough. Incredible harmonies in beautifully written, inspiring, timeless songs.

Record of the Year.......2007-03-23

If you've not heard this album, you're missing a masterpiece. The harmony is stunning, the song selection fabulous, the arrangements are subtle,tasteful and appropriately understated, and the overall production a huge success. It's my best find from last year and one of my all time favorites albums ever.

very nice.......2007-01-15

i had heard this cd as a background music for a running set of home pictures. perfect. plan to do the same. also nice to play on my day off cleaning days. crank the music and go. the lyrics are perfect. enjoy

Nice Debut .......2006-11-10

A folk group, which calls Winnipeg, Manitoba home. Nice blend of songs, beautiful arrangements. Of particular note is the cover of Niel Youngs song "Old Man." Worth the price for any folk music fan.

Joyful.......2006-11-05

Having come across the Jenny's quite by accident while listening to the Garrison Keiler Radio Show on BBc Radio 7. Their harmonising was sublime and prompted me to get on line and buy all their CDs immediatelly. To say I have not been disappointed is an understatement. These girls are the best.

Average customer rating:

All goes on and on and...
YUM
Best Album Ever.
Meh.
Mangum's voice

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Neutral Milk Hotel
Manufacturer: Merge Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (33 1/3) (33 1/3)
The Gulag Orkestar

ASIN: B0000019PA
Release Date: 1998-02-10

Tracks:

The King Of Carrot Flowers Part 1
The King Of Carrot Flowers Part 2 & 3
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Two - Headed Boy
The Fool
Holland, 1945
Communist Daughter
Oh Comely
Ghost
Untitled
Two - Headed Boy Part 2

Amazon.com's Best of 1998

Just from the opening seconds of Neutral Milk Hotel's second album, you know it's going to be special: the acoustic guitar strum is catchy beyond belief, and Jeff Magnum's intonation lends credibility even to a line like "When you were young, you were the King of Carrot Flowers." Listening to In the Aeroplane is like stepping through Alice's looking glass; you enter a fantastic new universe that, while it doesn't always make sense logically, feels like the home you never had. --Randy Silver

Amazon.com essential recording

Led by Jeff Magnum, In the Aeroplane over the Sea finds the Neutral Milk Hotel assemblage loosely performing a series of narratives backed by folksy acoustic guitar. But from that springboard, a quiver of instruments (horns, organs, accordions, saws, banjo, zanzithophone, etc.) are layered into a sometimes rootsy, sometimes lo-fi, and often psychedelic mix. Contrary to most pop experimentalists, NMH songs stretch way past the two-minute mark: "Two Headed Boy" transforms from a Guided by Voices-ish romp into a New Orleans big band funeral march, "The Fool" is as catchy as anything Poi Dog Pondering ever produced, and "Holland" builds up to a crescendo of saw, Uillean pipes, a chorus of voices, and fuzzed-out guitar. Simply irresistible. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

All goes on and on and..........2007-07-15

It's great. There's not much else to say in 2007 that hasn't already been said already...certainly one of the top ten of the last decade.

If there's one track that I don't think gets enough love it's the Untitled track. No lyrics but just an awesome blast of bagpipes and organ.

YUM.......2007-05-11

I cannot help but feel this is the most _indie_ album in my collection. Each song, in general, uses little more than an acoustic guitar and carefully paced vocals, yet each song attains an atmosphere and, in some cases, intensity not easily achieved even with more complex instrumentation. For instance, the first track 'The King of Carrot Flowers' begins with an oh-so simple acouatic guitar strum, yet the tight rhythm and easy flow of the chord progression is immediately enticing. Add to this the somewhat oblique lyrics (which fit the style of music and vocal delivery to a tee), and a brilliant building structure culminating in the second part of the track, and you have a veritable tour de force in the first two songs!

The stark and deliberately simplistic nature of the music could be offputing, but there is actually a fair deal of diversity and the unexpected present here. 'Oh Comely' my favourite track, does begin with the trademark acoustic strum, yet unfolds into so much more over eight minutes, with horns, vocal crescendos and sparse interludes all incorporated. Also, the suprisingly rocking 'Ghost', the excellent untitled instrumental (which revamps certain musical themes from throughout the album) and the dreamy psych of 'Communist Daughter' complement the more conventional 'Two Headed Boy' the title track, and 'Holland, 1945'.

What I want to get across then is the fact that, even though the musiacl approach is almost deliberately simplistic, and the lyrics rambling and nebulous, the sheer weight of songwriting here carries the whole thing through. The record is just unbelievably consistent, the melancholy, slightly deranged atmosphere is unique and interesting, and the songs have an insular, personal quality that ensures they are very endearing. So yes, I think it's a classic.

Best Album Ever........2007-05-09

The previous reviewer implies that when Mangum yells out "I love you Jesus Christ", he is making an ironic joke. This is not a joke for the listener to be in on, it is one of many challenges presented to the listener (the liner notes and other interviews make this clear). That Mangum does love Jesus Christ and is willing to put this on the line is a part of this album's genius. This album is wrought with metaphor, symbolism, surrealist imagery, fear, and compassion. One thing it does not contain in irony. Mangum, unlike some of his peers, is beyond this as a lyricist.
The first several times you may hear this album you may want to dismiss it. Many people dismiss the Diary of Anne Frank as some book you get assigned in [...]. Mangum did not dismiss it as such. The book made him immensely sad. He had many questions about the Holocaust and why it had to happen; why Anne had to die? It was with these questions that he sat down with his guitar to write this album. I think he got some answers...

Meh........2007-04-15

Neutral Milk Hotel's 1998 album seems to have gotten a second wind over the past two or so years. Judging by some of these elitist reviews, the culprit of influence is none other than our good buddies over at[...], every pretentious hipster's favorite website in the whole wide world.

I mean, just LOOK at some of these reviews. You'd think these people found Jesus or something. But, no. It's just a bunch of skinny nimrods with bed-hair collectively tainting whatever reputation this album had with their masturbatory essays. I agree with the reviewer below me: GET OVER IT, PEOPLE.

The truth is, this isn't a great album and it's not a bad album. It's just something good to listen to every once in a while. Hey, at least it's better than the Shins (who outright suck).

The thing is, if this is your favorite album, you desperately need to discover more music.

Mangum's voice.......2007-04-11

I just wanted to nitpick a little... though the reviews for ITAOTS are mostly gushing (as they should be), it surprises me how often people mention that Jeff Mangum "doesn't have a good voice," or somesuch. True, he doesn't have a voice I'd cast an opera around, but his phrasing, warbling (for lack of a better term), and intensity are superb, he's fun as hell to sing along to, and he has the lung capacity of a sperm whale (threw in that sperm reference just for you, Jeff). I just wanted to bring that up and make the point that the vocals are one of the album's greatest strengths, not its only weakness. As the featured review says, they become endearing after awhile.

Average customer rating:

Best Album Ever
Depressed Beck
Gotta love Beck
perfect antidote to ease a chaotic mindset
Beck reallly needs to give up scientology

Sea Change
Beck
Manufacturer: Interscope
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Information

ASIN: B00006F7S4
Release Date: 2002-09-24

Tracks:

The Golden Age
Paper Tiger
Guess I'm Doin' Fine
Lonesome Tears
Lost Cause
End Of The Day
It's All In Your Mind
Round The Bend
Already Dead
Sunday Sun
Little One

Amazon.com

Beck is bummed. Really bummed. And if song titles such as "Lost Cause," "Lonesome Tears," "Already Dead," and "Nothing I Haven't Seen" don't make the point, his achingly sad lyrics and Sea Change's unerringly downcast sound do. While 1998's Mutations--arguably the singer-songwriter's masterwork and Sea Change's spiritual cousin--was filled with unflinching self-examination, moments of levity were found in songs like "Tropicalia." Not so on Sea Change. Beck's woozy, almost narcoleptic delivery seems to amplify the set's sense of ennui. But sad isn't necessarily bad, and despite the somber tone, there's much to praise, not the least of which is the return of producer Nigel Goderich (Mutations, Radiohead), who wraps Beck's gloom in a dreamy, warm blanket of soft strings and floating bleeps and gurgles. Like Daniel Lanois, Goderich is all about vibe, and even Beck's most bare-bones songs benefit from billowy atmospherics. That's especially true of "Paper Tiger," a restless, slowly building epic improbably propelled by a languid orchestra and Beck's expressionless drone. The inky black feel of "Round the Bend"--a glacially slow dirge with muffled vocals--may be the darkest thing Beck's ever written, not counting the very grim "Already Dead." Whatever's going on in Beck's world, at least we know he's purging, which, all things considered, may be better for his soul than ours. --Kim Hughes

Customer Reviews:

Best Album Ever.......2007-07-17

This is music that touches the soul. Sea Change is a masterpiece. It is not a typical quirky beck album (which I love), but a more serious and focused version of Mutations taken to the 100th degree of excellence. This is Beck's finest album as a single work of art bar none. Beck pours himself into this album and bares himself for all the world to see. And anyone who hears it will be the better for it. Oh yeah, and we find out that Beck can really sing when he wants to.

Depressed Beck.......2007-07-05

After the half-joking, intentionally overblown crunchy junkyard funk of Midnite Vultures, Beck returns to folksy roots rock on Sea Change. One immediately thinks reinvention, but this is really only two or three degrees removed from his on-the-quick Mutations record. If you came for fuzzy rockers like "Devil's Haircut" or the sort of dancey beats he honed on "Mixed Bizness," look elsewhere. Beck is at his most world-weary and despondent here, like a romanticized paean floating through melancholy folk and sadsack blues. If you're looking to party, stick with Odelay or Vultures (or even Mellow Gold), but that doesn't mean that this is a bad record. If for nothing else, Sea Change is his most reliable record since Mellow--there are no failures or mistakes (even his near-masterpiece Odelay had a couple of those).

Start to finish, it finds a sound and rolls along its gentle, mournful waves all the way to the finish. But there are few bright spots (and not just in an emotional sense). "Lonesome Tears" has a heart-tearing rush and sonic building conclusion, "The Golden Age" floats by like a darkening cloud, and "Lost Cause" is a gorgeously desperate plea (which, like many songs on here, is aimed at one or more of his former celebrity significant others). Few others are worth remembering--always listenable, but rarely exemplary--but the album as a whole deserves to be spun at least a couple of times.

Best cuts: "Lost Cause," "Lonesome Tears," "The Golden Age," "Round the Bend," "Sunday Sun," "Little One," "Paper Tiger," "End of the Day"

Gotta love Beck.......2007-06-27

A laid back Beck album, but still fantastic. If you enjoy musical experimentation with great lyrics, you'll love Beck!

perfect antidote to ease a chaotic mindset.......2007-06-18

have you ever felt like you're about to totally spaz out and everything is out of control? Put this album on and it will cure your ailment better than any drug. Some moments on this album reach the kind of transcendent peaks you hear very rarely on any album - the geniunely haunted Round the Bend, the yearning of Little One and the understated humor of Lost Cause. Plus, if you ever need a cheap and automatic laugh, just take a look at the album cover - you can read many things into it but chiefly, I think Beck is trying to tell us - "Man, that chick just blew my mind".

Beck reallly needs to give up scientology.......2007-05-21

There are few albums as great as 'Sea Change,' because in no other albums does Beck royally suck my derriere. With mayonnaise.

Average customer rating:

Not impressed....
A great collection, but only of real value to collectors.
An Excellent Compilation of Early Cure
I Give You Exhibit A
A compilation in need of remastering

Staring at the Sea: The Singles
The Cure
Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Singles 81>85

ASIN: B000002H3O
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Killing An Arab
10:15 Saturday Night
Boys Don't Cry
Jumping Someone Else's Train
A Forest
Play For Today
Primary
Other Voices
Charlotte Sometimes
The Hanging Garden
Let's Go To Bed
The Walk
The Lovecats
The Caterpillar
In Between Days
Close To Me
A Night Like This

Amazon.com

Big and moody, Staring at the Sea compiles some hits and near misses of these excavators of the dark soul. Beginning with their earliest hits--the sparse "Killing an Arab," the aptly tedious "10:15 Saturday Night," and the charming "Boys Don't Cry"--this collection stops before the comparative giddiness of Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me.

Musicians first, brooding art types second, The Cure's unique instrumentation doesn't get the credit it rightfully deserves. The thrashy, trash-can break in "Jumping Someone Else's Train," the sprightly synthesized recorder of "Close to Me," and the techno-pop disco lines in "Let's Go to Bed" and "The Walk" are downright brilliant in their effectiveness and simplicity. A string of money shots if ever there was one. --Steve Gdula

Album Description

Stunningly brilliant is the only way to describe the new Wired Remorse album appropriately titled "The Ides of March." The album whose theme of backstabbing and revenge comes thru as loud and aggressive as anything since Siouxsie and the Banshees "JU JU" or Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures." While the tribal drum beats will remind one of Dead Can Dance, Killing Joke or even Bow Wow Wow. The minor guitar barrage and whaling singing should force you anticipate the best "old school" album in years!

Customer Reviews:

Not impressed...........2007-04-10

I read another person's review on the "Best of The Cure". He said that it wasn't even close to being as good as "Staring at the Sea". He was wrong. I was very bored with Staring at the Sea. I wish I would have gotten the Greatest Hits instead.

A great collection, but only of real value to collectors........2006-08-23

For quite a while, "Staring at the Sea: The Singles" was an essential package of music by the Cure and a fine introduction to their catalog-- in recent years its value has been minimized by the appearance of the "Greatest Hits" compilation, a retrospective spanning the band's career on Fiction Records. For collectors though, the opening track, "Killing an Arab" is worth the price of admission.

Often the center of enormous controversy, "Killing an Arab" (composed about Camus' "The Stranger", a fine read if you haven't had the chance) has become the unloved stepchild of The Cure-- it was left off the "Greatest Hits" album even though it's one of their most recognizable songs, it didn't make the rarities disc of "Three Imaginary Boys" (like all the other singles from that era did), and as an a-side was excluded from "Join the Dots". The piece itself, with its Middle Eastern swirl and disaffected vocal is fantastic, and really one of the great early Cure songs. Fans of the band will definitely want to hunt down this compilation just for this.

As an overview of the group, it certainly does a reasonable job up until 1985, fro mthe band's very early singles, soaked in post-punk primitivism but with an air of careful thought, one more fantastic than the other ("Killing An Arab", "10:15 Saturday Night" and "Boys Don't Cry") to their early developments in exploring the sounds that would establish their reputation ("Primary", "Hanging Garden") to some of the great pop songs they'd eventually be equally well known for (the vastly superior single mix of "Close to Me"). Still, with the band having been in existence for another 20 years, there's a lot more to cover, and "Greatest Hits" does a much better job as a career retrospective.

If you're new to the band, get the "Greatest Hits" record, it's a great overview. If you're a diehard, get this one for "Killing An Arab".

An Excellent Compilation of Early Cure.......2006-07-13

This was the 1st Cure album I had bought, and I really wasn't sure what to expect. The only songs I was familiar with were "Boys Don't Cry", "In Between Days", & "Close To Me". Wow! Everysong is great, and very diverse styles & moods as the album goes on. After that I had gone out & purchased just about all of their albums. My only gripe is that it needs to be remastered! How about a 20th Anniversery re-release???

I Give You Exhibit A.......2006-06-03

Although their legions of fans would beg to differ and albums like "Disintegration" and "The Head on the Door" make a compelling argument to the contrary, The Cure have always been, first and foremost, a singles band. Need proof? Exhibit item A: "Staring at the Sea -- The Singles."

Here we have 17 songs that make the case, and make it very strongly. Sometimes these singles were dark and brooding ("Charlotte Sometimes," "Jumping Someone Else's Train," "Boys Don't Cry") sometimes they were surprisingly upbeat and catchy ("Let's Go To Bed," "The Love Cats,") sometimes they fell somewhere in between ("In Between Days," "Close to Me") but always they were solid pop songs that pushed the boundaries without sacrificing listenability.

Yes, "Staring at the Sea -- The Singles," makes its case flawlessly and as if that wasn't enough there is Exhibit B -- the additional 18 tracks on "Galore: The Singles 1987-1997."

A compilation in need of remastering.......2006-05-06

For some odd reason or the other, I had suddenly had an interest in The Cure. I determined that Greatest Hits simply had to be missing too many good tracks, I instead picked up this and Galore at the same time.

The album is an interesting look at the progression of the early Cure from punk rock to new wave. One can hear the band grow into more complex arrangements and more elegant lyrics. While the beginning and the end of the album are incredibly strong, it is the middle of the album the suffers the most. Seemingly, the hooks that grabbed you with "Boys Don't Cry" disappeared into a sort of drone. However, with "Let's Go To Bed", the songs begin to pop out and grab you again.

However, that is not to say that the middle part of the album is lacking. Given a few listens, a few of the songs do show themselves as strong, like "Charlotte Sometimes", a few still show themselves as weak, like "Other Voices".

From the highs ("A Night Like This") to the lows ("The Caterpiller"), the album does give the best overview of The Cure's early career.

While the best of the music has aged very well, one part of this album has not - the sound. The master used is from the early days of CDs, and this album's mastering shows off every fault that the CD has in terms of sound. The sound can be lifeless on some tracks ("Killing An Arab"), too cold ("Love Cats"), too harsh ("The Forest", "Charlotte Sometimes"), and at best is just acceptable ("In Between Days"). The sound does harm the music, and frankly, it is in serious need of a remastering job.

However, while the sound is terrible, it is a price one has to pay in order to get a quality over-view of their early period. Forget "Greatest Hits", which boasts superior sound but has a pretty poor selection, and pick up both this and Galore if you are looking for an overview of The Cure's career.

Victory at Sea (Music from the Original Television Series)

Average customer rating:

Victory at Sea
What memories!
Victory At Sea CD
FYI
Disappointing

Victory at Sea (Music from the Original Television Series)
Richard Rodgers
Manufacturer: RCA Victor
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Rodgers: More Victory at Sea
Victory at Sea - The Legendary World War II Documentary (History Channel)
Victory at Sea
Selections from Victory at Sea and Other Favorites
Grofé: Orchestral Works

ASIN: B0000064X9
Release Date: 1992-08-11

Tracks:

The Song Of The High Seas
The Pacific Boils Over
Guadalcanal March
D-Day
Hard Work And Horseplay
Theme Of the Fast Carriers
Beneath The Southern Cross
Mare Nostrum
Victory At Sea
Fire On The Waters
Danger Down Deep
Mediterranean Mosaic
The Magnetic North

Customer Reviews:

Victory at Sea.......2007-06-08

Just like the TV series. At my age I still remember the series and WWII.

What memories!.......2007-03-28

Anyone who lived through WWII will bond with this CD. The first time I heard the music, I was with the Red Cross providing entertainment for the wounded patients at Walter Reed Army Hosp. in Washington DC shortly after the war. Of course, our Navy did tangle with German subs & ships in the Atlantic, but to me Richard Rodgers' music spells the conflict on the other sea, which resulted from the Japanese devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. Mr.Rodgers was a genius in composing this music. There is no mistaking the sound of the big guns going off, the torpedo attacks, the anguish of all personnel, and then - victory. One hears several singable melodies, the most popular & memorable being the one that later became a hit popular song: "No Other Love Have I." To this day, my heart aches when I listen to this CD. Much of it, of course, is in the minor mode, til ...a VICTORY! This music reminds me of the tremendous sacrifice made by so many thousands of our American youth, one of which was my pure, 20-year-old cousin, killed on Luzon in May 1945. This is a prize CD.

Victory At Sea CD.......2007-01-04

The quality of the digitally remastered music on this CD is far and above what I was expecting. The entire CD plays flawlessly without so much as a hint of unwanted background noise. My experience in purchasing this CD was very good. Shipment was almost immediate and delivery prompt. I can find absolutely nothing to complain about and am very happy with my purchase. Thanks a million.

FYI.......2006-11-10

Original lp was released in 1956; performance by members of the NBC symphony orchestra. Vol.2 of V at S was released in 1959 and Vol.3 in the early
1960's and performance is by the RCA symphony orchestra. Note: Arturo
Toscanini was conductor of the NBC symphony from 1937 until 1954. Under his direction, NBC was considered to be one of the finest
symphony orchestras in the world. When Maestro Toscanini died in 1957, the
orchestra disbanded 5 years later.

Disappointing.......2006-11-08

I grew up with an LP recording of the Boston Pops playing most of the tracks found on this CD. While this particular recording may be closer to the original, I found the tempos plodding and lacking in energy. The strings sound muddy and weak and at times the general sound reminded me of a good high school orchestra. This recording is just not doing justice to the music. I find it disappointing.

Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys

Average customer rating:

Fun--but not great
aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Disappointment would be an understatement
Zzz...
another set of hopes are smashed

Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Anti
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Orphans [Fold-out Digipak with 24-page booklet]
American Sea Shanties and Songs
Shanties & Songs of the Sea

ASIN: B000GGSMD0
Release Date: 2006-08-22

Tracks:

Cape Cod Girls - Baby Gramps
Mingulay Boat Song - Richard Thompson
My Son John - John C. Reilly
Fire Down Below - Nick Cave
Turkish Revelry - Loudon Wainwright III
Bully In The Alley - The Old Prunes
The Cruel Ship's Captain - Bryan Ferry
Dead Horse - Robin Holcomb
Spansih Ladies - Bill Frisell
High Barbary - Joseph Arthur
Haul Away Joe - Mark Anthony Thompson
Dan Dan - David Thomas
Blood Red Roses - Sting
Sally Brown - Teddy Thompson
Lowlands Away - Rufus Wainwright & Kate McGarrigle
Baltimore Whores - Gavin Friday
Rolling Sea - Eliza McCarthy
Haul On The Bowline - Bob Neuwirth
Dying Sailor to His Shipmates - Bono
Bonnie Portmore - Lucinda Williams
The Mermaid - Martin Carthy & the UK Group
Shenandoah - Richard Greene & Jack Shit
The Cry Of Man - Mary Margaret O'Hara

Tracks:

Boney - Jack Shit
Good Ship Venus - Loudon Wainwright III
Long Time Ago -White Magic
Pinery Boy - Nick Cave
Lowlands Low - Bryan Ferry w/Antony
One Spring Morning - Akron/Family
Hog Eye Man - Martin Carthy & Family
The Fiddler/A Drop Of Nelson's Blood - Ricky Jay & Richard Greene
Caroline and Her Young Sailor Bold - Andrea Corr
Fathom The Bowl - John C. Reilly
Drunken Sailor - Dave Thomas
Farewell Nancy - Ed Harcourt
Hanging Johnny - Stan Ridgway
Old Man of The Sea - Baby Gramps
Greenland Whale Fisheries - Van Dyke Parks
Shallow Brown - Sting
The Grey Funnel Line - Jolie Holland
A Drop of Nelson's Blood - Jarvis Cocker
Leave Her Johnny - Lou Reed
Little Boy Billy - Ralph Steadman

Amazon.com

Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski hatched the idea for Rogue's Gallery while filming "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"--that idea being to cast genteel rock superstars like Bono, Lou Reed, Bryan Ferry, Andre Corr, and Sting to reinterpret gritty seafaring standards for an exhaustive 43-track double-disc set produced by Hal Wilner. Throw in a bunch of credible folk stars (Loudon Wainwright III, Richard Thompson), their offspring (Rufus, Teddy) and a string of other curious characters (Jarvis Cocker, Antony) and what results is one of the strangest compilations in recent memory, if not exactly the most historically authentic or, well, digestible. Nick Cave embraces the role just a little too hard on "Fire Down Below," while Ferry can't help but sound like he's singing for the cast of "The Love Boat," but cut through the chaff and there is some real bootie here: Bono's "Dying Sailor to His Shipmates," Jolie Holland's "The Grey Funnel Line" and "Boney" by a mysterious tramp called Jack Sh**, which must be some kind of anagram for Johnny Depp. --Aidin Vaziri

Album Description

While working on the two "Pirates Of The Carribean" films, Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski became fascinated with the lore and fable of the pirates and sailors who ran the high seas. Enter legendary producer Hal Wilner, who brings his knack for matching maverick musicians with extraordinary material. Artists on this double disc set include Bono, Sting, Nick Cave, Bryan Ferry, Lou Reed, Richard Thompson, Lucinda Williams, Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, and many more. "Rogue's Gallery" offers a look at the hardships, the horrors, the lusts and lurid depths, and the crystal beauty that led men to the sea in ships for hundreds of years.

Customer Reviews:

Fun--but not great.......2007-07-03

What a concept--a pirate song co-produced by Verbinski and Depp inspired by the "Pirates of the Carribean" series. It should be great and in places, it is. The big question I came away with is--who is Jack Sh**? That one definitely has me guessing.

I won't belabor the song content or the production value. I think the most notable reviews have got that down pat, although I'm not marking down as far as they have because I'm giving points for originality being a fan of Spike Jones and some other truly demented people.

One thing to note: this is not a CD you'd buy if you were looking for something to amuse your kids. Some of the content is very bawdy and Mom and Dad would have some serious 'splaining to do to the little pirates. There's both some language and some situations that are more twisted than a Hangman's knot.

aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhhhh!.......2007-06-09

Some of the songs are quite good(mellow)others a little odd. Its what I expected, but not what you would expect.

Disappointment would be an understatement.......2007-06-04

It is not unusual to find sea shanties performed by not the greatest musicians or singers in the world. It is not unusual to find shanties sung by people who have difficulty keeping perfect pitch, or tempo. But at least they understand what the music is about, and sing it with heart and enthusiasm and a love for the genre.

Hal Wilner should stick to whatever genre it is that made him know enough to be approached by labels, because he clearly has no understanding, and less enthusiasm for *this* genre.

If you love lively music from the maritime era, you can only be bitterly disappointed by this collection. Out of 43 tracks, I found 15 that were salvageable. Sort of.

I've already tossed this onto the pile to go to the resale shop. It wasn't worthy the cost of shipping.

Zzz..........2007-04-04

I have to admit that I have no idea what kinds of music the pirates sang aboard their ships. I know it probably wasn't "yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me," but I expected something different than this. I think my expectations have been colored by groups like The Pogues, Flogging Molly, The Tossers, and the Real McKenzies. I have an annual Pirate Party and I was hoping to find some good music here to get people in the mood for a treasure hunt or pirate liar's dice, but instead, the music on this CD is something I'd put on if the party went on too long and I wanted to encourage people to leave. Some of it is actually awful and the rest is too slow and plodding to inject much energy into any situation.

I appreciate what was attempted here (contemporary artists paying homage to sea chanteys in the spirit of our romanticized version of the pirate era) but it just doesn't really work. The effect is similar to what would be achieved if the London Philharmonic Orchestra attempted to play rap "music" with Luciano Pavarotti rhymin' while flashing gang signs.

another set of hopes are smashed.......2007-03-29

the selection of titles attracted me. The quality of the arrangements, the voices, and the music---are all quite bad.

It is VERY sad that these same titles, could not have been produced for quality. They sound like a nightmare.

Average customer rating:

Infectious Music
Sunrise Oversea and Grand National - JBT
I can't pick a favorite song
Not as good as I had hoped
a betterman

Sunrise Over Sea
John Butler Trio
Manufacturer: Lava
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Three
Grand National
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Living 2001-2002
JBT

ASIN: B0006IQM6C
Release Date: 2005-03-15

Tracks:

Treat Yo Mama
Peaches & Cream
Company Sin
What You Want
Damned To Hell
Hello
Bound to Ramble
Seeing Angels
There'll Come A Time
Zebra
Mist
Oldman
Sometimes

Amazon.com

Though they've steadily built a stellar live reputation via stateside opening slots for The Dave Matthews Band and others, guitarist/vocalist/songwriter John Butler and band have had a more star-crossed history in the U.S. record market. Released here a full year after its successful Australian bow and appended with a truncated version of his '02 debut album's expansive, conscience driven "Betterman," Sunrise is essentially a second (if well-deserved) attempt to introduce Butler's earthy finger-picking, banjo and slide guitar intrigues to American audiences. While the California-born musician has too easily been lumped together with jam-band icons like Matthews (and, more curiously, breathy pop poseurs like John Mayer), Butler's guitar work has a focused fervor that draws heavily on American roots, be they Appalachian folk, Delta blues or even Southern-fried rock. His lyrics may still revolve tightly around familiar themes of self-revelation and righteous, save-the-Earth/corporate-condemning angst, but the string-haunted "What You Want" and "Bound to Ramble"s hypnotic, Appalachia-by-way-of-the-Outback folk-dirge argue that Butler's messages sometimes aren't half as interesting as the music he frames them in. The gritty, roots-evoking sounds here clearly aren't trying to reinvent the wheel, merely make it spin in Butler's own distinctive groove. --Jerry McCulley

An Interview with John Butler

Amazon.com Music Editor, Peter Hilgendorf, got a chance to sit down with John Butler a few hours before his showcase performance at the 2005 South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, TX.

Amazon.com: How's South by Southwest going so far?

John Butler: We just got here last night so we're just pacing ourselves and looking forward to playing and happy to be here.

Amazon: I saw Robert Plant's keynote interview yesterday morning and thought it was really good. He had a great self-depricating sense of humor. One story he told was about donating money to stations that promise they never play "Stairway to Heaven" but also play old blues records, which I thought was really quite funny. He spoke about some of his favorite artists--Willie Dixon and Son House and talked about the "blue note" that they all hit. And he how this magical note first occurred to him when he heard Elvis Presley as a kid.

I'm wondering if you think about the "blue note"? And when did that kind of sound first hit you?

John: I haven't listened to many old-school players, I think I listened to a little bit of Mississippi John Hurt, little bit of Son House. I mean I probably listened to their albums like maybe three or four times all the way through and that's maybe about it.

But the blue note factor though is still a very cool thing. I guess what turned me on to that, I think it was probably more Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. The recordings when they got those guys together was sweet, you know?

So like I say, it's kind of one of those beautiful places on the fret bord in the vocal world, you know, where it's just in-between, just the bomb, you know? And some people do better than others, I think I'm just starting to discover it more than anything, you know?

Amazon: And you felt like you've been there? You've hit it?

John: A few times, I don't live there. You know, because I mean specifically what a blue note is, is that kind of, you know, bass note, isn't it?

Amazon: Somewhere in between the third and the fifth?

John: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I've hit a few of those, you know? With conviction. But not a lot, you know, I can't say I've hit a lot of those. As I say, I'm just beginning my relationship to that. And you can't really be thinking a lot to have a relationship with it, I reckon, so you know, I don't think about the blue note very much, I just… It's the art of playing, it's getting to that place where I'm not thinking, and then usually there's a couple that pop up in the process. But you've got to love it when it happens.

Amazon: That's great that you can recognize that something's happening at the moment and something's happening on this recording.

John: Yeah, definitely. It's a beautiful thing.

Amazon: Tell me some of your thoughts on your new record, which is now your third full-length, how is it similar to some of the other things and how is it a departure?

John: Well golly, how is it similar? Gosh, you know, it's just…it's me as usual kind of speaking my mind and my experiences and my stories, you know? That's always going to be a common denominator with everything I do, you know?

I guess it's also a development of some ideas and sounds that I thought really belonged together and really would be a beautiful marriage, like kind of the blues/country/folk/reggae thing? They kind of all sound really good together, I reckon.

I love the reggae beat, you know, a good one job could always go good to a country song, you know? (singing sounds) And they just go right together. So you know, I love those marriages of reggae/blues and reggae and hip-hop, and bits in between, you know? Hillbilly Ska, whatever you want to call it. I like it.

It's on that album, and I really heard things when I was writing songs, and I heard all these things coming to together, it wasn't so much I needed to have a fusion album, it was just that I heard those influences coming together in a way that was really harmonious, and so I really went out to make sure that what was in my head was achieved on disk.

And I worked with some great players then, Nicky Balmer on drums, Michael Barker on percussion, and Shannon Birch on double-bass and electric bass, and they were just awesome! And it's what I'm most proud of, and it's the best album I've ever done, you know? Mind you it's only my third, but it's really… I think some albums you can almost cringe when you listen back to them, and I really enjoy listening to it and I'm really proud of it.

Amazon: I think at times this record is very lush.

John: It's very rich.

Amazon: It really is. And a great number of your contemporaries, be they the North Mississippi Allstars, or even as far out as the White Stripes, or back into Big Head Todd, or back out to the Black Keys, you know, people showing a similar blues influence, throwing in some jammy-reggae style. But, they're not doing much with string arrangements like what you're doing on a song such as "What You Want." I think that's one place on the record where you really kind of set yourself out, and really that song seems really less to me. Talk about what led up to that?

John: Well first, I don't see us as being kind of a blues act, I mean we definitely are roots influenced, but it's like…I mean that song in particular it's really obvious that we don't really pigeon-hole ourselves very much. I mean that song, I heard strings when I wrote it, you know? Like just really lush chords just by themselves, really rich and really…what's the word? Just really somber chords.

And then I heard these strings and so me and the bass player got together and went out to make sure that we could get them on the album. The bass player has played in symphony orchestras, so he had a lot of experience with writing music and arranging it, and I knew what I wanted to hear. So it kind of was a very trial by process, I guess you can say, as far as, you know, things didn't work and we just kind of kept on going until it was the right thing.

And yeah, influenced by, I guess Led Zeppelin, and the Verve, or Coldplay and things like that, just those really wide sounds, you know? Very rich, you know?

So yeah, that's just what I heard. When it comes to an album, I just really, whether we're a trio or whatever, I really feel like, you know, it's about painting the picture, and when the picture's complete then it's complete. It's not about, hey man, we're a trio, we can only have three instruments, that's probably a little bit limiting to me as an artist, you know, who just wants to get out what's in my head, you know? And I love working in a trio.

So yeah, there's lots of lushness on the album, and what I was really proud of as well, that was the first time I've ever arranged a thing, so that was really cool.

Amazon: Well What kind of things are you doing when you take that out live as a trio? You know, are you feeling like you need to kind of focus on being lush? Or are you just letting that be the record when you're performing live?

John: Well Well we…I had an idea of maybe for… to have a Hammond player, so I worked with a Hammond player for awhile. And that was cool for things like "What You Want" which he kind of did the voicings of the strings, but with a Hammond. You know, he could have easily done string sounds, but that wasn't right, not for what we were doing. If you want strings you get strings in, you know?

We did that for awhile and that was cool, but I found it um…he was a great player, I had a lot of fun playing with him, but electronically it was a bit too much competition for the trio. Like my 12-string is very lush and widely harmonic, it has a huge harmonic range, and then it goes through a Marshall as well. So there's all these overtones that are going on, and then you mix that Leslie speaker sound with it, you know, a Hammond, which is extremely much the same way, and I think we were stepping on each other's toes a bit.

Definitely there's things on the album I like to hear, and so if I want to hear them I just sometimes make it happen on my guitar as much as I possibly can, you know? And if I can do a chord and stick in maybe what I heard the strings doing and the voicing in-between chords sort of like that, I try to do it, you know?

And other times you have to go, hey, well that's the album and this is live, you know? And I want to play with the Hammond player or quartet in the corner, you know? So it is what it is.

And there's a beautiful thing that happens with live, which is oral distortion (laughing) which makes things sound really good, you know? When you have overtones of a guitar and cymbals and a double-bass and drums, and they start, you know, reflecting around the room and making your ears virtually distort, it's amazing what kind of padding happens live, you know? Like the padding which is strange, and all those things that are used for it. It's amazing what kind of padding can happen from just the mesh of harmonics, you know? There's still a full sound, it's just a different sound I guess.

Amazon: Talk about what's going on back home? Tell me about some of the shows and what it's like to be John Butler on your turf.

John: Well, it's different than here, you know? I mean we're a lot more well-known over there, and you know, we've paid our dues over there a lot longer. So it's different, you know, we play bigger shows, you know? Get better slots and blah, blah, blah. It's all relative really. We love coming over here and playing small shows, we love intimate shows as well, you know? And it's nice to go with a cocktail kit and a small battery-powered amp and play at a radio-station, we really love doing that! So it's all good, you know?

I love Australia and I love playing there, but I love playing everywhere. We just love sharing our music, that's what made me want to leave my living room, and then leave my town, and then leave my state, and then leave the country, just because you just want to keep on sharing. I still go back to all those places, you know? But yeah…Australia's great!

And I have a beautiful family over there, and it's a beautiful country. I am intrinsically linked to that land, I love it. Even though I wasn't born there, it's where my roots are. It's a really beautiful place and it's really nice not to be connected to another country in a lot of ways. The isolation is just a real cool thing, you know? And it also hinders government policy as well, but yeah, it's a beautiful country.

Amazon.com: Who are some of the artists who we should be keeping our eyes on from that part of the world? Who are some of the people who you would like to come over, maybe who you'd like to bring over on a tour the next time you're here? Any secrets you'd like to divulge of the Australian music scene?

John: There are some great acts. The Cat Empire is a great act. Bomba is a great act for the reggae band. A young lady named Missy Higgins, she's doing really well over there, she's got a hit single and is a good musician on top of it, which is a nice change. Powderfinger, you probably have heard of them. They've got this great new album, I don't think it's come out here.

Amazon: Yep, Hollywood Motel was recently released in the U.S.

John: I think that's a great album. And they're a great band, they're great guys. There's a guy named J.V. Rudd who's doing some cool stuff, you know? There's lots of inspiring acts.

Amazon:Let's get back to your record. I won't choose anything in particular here, but I'd like you to tell me about a song or two on the record, you know, pick any one and tell a story of the song.

John: "Bound to Ramble" is a song I'm really proud of for lots of different reasons. For one, because it's really slow, and playing really slow and basic is difficult for me. And I just captured the whole vibe. And that's a story about… I bought a van and I took my first tour out of the state of Western Australia to go on the road with a band called The Waifs.

And I drove across the plains, about three days drive, and then met the guys and played Victoria, all over Victoria and Sydney. And then I drove up to Byron and played a gig up there. And then I drove over the top end, across, up to Darwin, and then across the Brim where I was going to meet my band. So I kind of circumnavigated the whole country. And it was a magical time, you know? I drove across by myself and it was a really beautiful time.

The really interesting thing was, I wrote a song called "Betterman" in between Darwin and Broom. And that was about my ex-lover and how much she taught me, and there's this really letting go process of our relationship in this song. And we'd been apart for a year or so, and I wrote this song as… It was really strange because when I met with the Broom, I met my wife. That's where we met each other and connected and fell in love.

So that's a story about traveling this whole land and meeting my woman, and then this onward journey, this gypsy life that we lead.

Yeah, it's a huge part of my life, I tour all the time, that's what I do. Me and my family go on the road a lot and we're a real team, you know, and I work with my wife, with the business, and stuff... It's a story just about us, me meeting her and me just being on the road with her and I was always on the ramble.

We just nailed that song, that was the song, how that was recorded and how I heard it in my head. Or not even how I heard it in my head, how I heard it in my head, times that the band ended up… how they saw it and what they brought to it, and it's just something I'm really proud of, that we nailed that song.

A great time, you know? That drive and then meeting this woman that I fell in love with, got married and had a baby with, you know? And uh yeah…it's a beautiful thing.

Amazon: So driving from Sydney to Byron Bay to your show in Brisbane and then getting to Darwin, we're not talking about two-hour drives here.

John: No, we're talking about like week drives or something.

Amazon: How are you filling that time? Are you pulling off into little towns and setting up on the corner? Or are you just walking around and checking it out? I mean you love to play, are you bringing it to some of those remote areas of the country?

John: Well at time, no, I was just doing a lot of driving. And I'd stop off at interesting places and I climbed some rocks. I was fortunate to see some beautiful things, you know, up in the northern territory, some beautiful rock paintings, and be in some very sacred places at dusk, you know? And had some really beautiful times, you know?

Stopping by animals on the side of the road that had interesting feathers and that weren't alive anymore and collecting feathers and stuff like that. So yeah, just kind of really sucking up nature and the gifts it had to offer really.

Amazon: So it seems like you probably derive quite a bit of inspiration just from the land and from what's growing and living in Australia.

John: Yeah, I mean the land's really important to me. And beyond the land and beyond the country. The earth is really important to me, you know? It's what made me, you know? Other than my mom, it made me, you know? And it's what…what sustains life on this planet is this whole beautiful thing that's going on, you know? I have a deep respect for it, and an interesting relationship with it that is hard to put into words. But I find I draw a lot of inspiration from it and I find a lot of meaning and a lot of sense I can make, to be watching patterns in the environment in and around me and how that affects my life and how I can make sense of my life through it.

Amazon: Anything that you can point to where you really feel like you had a moment in a particular song that's pulled straight from this feeling?

John: Oh, things like "There'll Come A Time" or "Treat Yo Mama", I mean they're all songs about a relationship, an intrinsic relationship between man and earth, land and environment, and at the same time the overwhelming need to respect that relationship and to… I don't know, what's the right word? Rekindle it, I guess, and also just nurture that relationship. There's a lot of secrets to be learned from there, you know.

So yes, "There'll Come A Time", "Treat Yo Mama" those are the main ones, really. "Company Sin" as well, which is really an Australian kind of song in a lot of ways, you know?

Amazon: A message for the homies?

John: No, not for the homies, but a song that was…a series of stories I've been told by a lot of my aboriginal friends, about sacred land and places to go and places not to go. About tradition and what happens if you do. It's called "humbug", bad luck, or the curse, you know? Humbug? That's a really uniquely Australian story and it uses words like humbug and getting sacked and all these Australian kind of relationships with land and respect of land and respect of culture, and indigenous culture, you know?

Amazon: Do you feel that's part of your mission to inspire listeners to be aware of these things?

John: It's my mission as a human being to just be active and make sure I contribute to this planet in a positive way, and not be another liability. You know, whether that means supporting active groups like the Wilderness Society, or supporting humanitarian groups like Refugee Action Coalition against the mistreatment of refugees in their countries. Or funding certain, you know, actions, whether it be, you know, the Global Rescue Blockade in Tasmania, which is like the world's largest tree-sit done with Greenpeace and the Wilderness Society, and we funded a lot of that, to do that.

So I make sure I stay active as a human being and then I document it with my music. And if through speaking my truth, you know, I feel like I'm adding in some ways to the greater truth.

I think it's a fine line to then go, hey folks, I'm going to tell you what's going on, you don't know what's going on, I'm going to tell you what's going on, so you can be like me and be informed. I think that's really condescending, and it pushes a lot of people away, and it's really rude! Because there are a lot of informed people out there. So all I can do is kind of teach by example, you know? And really just look after what I'm doing, and speak my truth.

And I know just through watching my forefathers in music that, you know, if one person comes from the heart and speaks the truth, and he chooses the morals into this, to their ethics, it speaks usually for a lot of people, you know?

Amazon: That seems like very much a working class thought process--a one-person-at-a-time approach.

John: Yeah, I mean you've got to be pretty grounded, otherwise you just become a flake, you know, and really unrealistic. And you've got to stay active, and it's all about us individuals, you know? All about people-power, and it's about, you know, thinking globally and acting locally and all those other clichés, you know?

Amazon: I have to apologize…this discussion is reminding me of one of my favorite films of all time, an Australian picture called The Castle.

John: (laughs) It's about Mabo, it's about land rights, it's the vibe!

It's just one of the best movies ever! I'm glad you get it.

Amazon: I wanted to end it on that great note…

John: I'm glad you got it, because I watch those things sometimes I go, I wonder if Americans would understand this? Because it's pretty kind of inside humor, you know?

Album Description

Sunrise Over Sea may be the John Butler Trio's American major label debut, but it's hardly your typical introduction to a new artist. The album's mesmerizing 13 tracks deliver a perfect eclectic blend of blues, reggae, classic country, Appalachian folk, funk, rock and hip-hop beats in a form and style that can ony be classified as...well, the John Butler Trio.

Customer Reviews:

Infectious Music.......2007-07-13

I just picked this up on a whim...and it KNOCKED me out! The tunes are catchy, funky, rhythmically fresh and all around cool. I'll definitely get more JBT discs. He's a bit of a hippy, and I've long outgrown that, but this is just something I know will always be a pleasure to hear.

Sunrise Oversea and Grand National - JBT.......2007-06-13

Fabulous music. It is really hard to pick a favourite song... Catching a live performance by JBT....PRICELESS!!!!

I can't pick a favorite song.......2007-05-20

I first heard of the John Butler Trio on KGSR, Austin. They've since played at the Austin City Limits Music Festival and South by Southwest. Their music is rock, blues and funk fusion with an Aussie twist. If you need music that's different, you will want this CD.

Not as good as I had hoped.......2006-06-26

The music on this CD was not nearly as good as I had hoped for...Too much similarity from song to song...

a betterman.......2006-06-08