Beggars Banquet

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
Opening with "Sympathy for the Devil," the Stones' infamous we-are-evil poem, this all-original 1968 album began a quality streak almost unmatched in rock & roll. Mick Jagger begins writing from the working-class hero's perspective--especially on the anthem "Street Fighting Man" and "Salt of the Earth"--and Keith Richards buttresses his partner with rock-solid slide licks recently graduated from the School of Old Blues Records. "Jig-Saw Puzzle," which inexplicably never became a hit, is the only known instance of Jagger's describing the Stones' individual personalities in verse. --Steve Knopper

Amazon.com Music Reviews
Beggars Banquet is among the Stones two or three greatest albums, so it's also among the very best rock & roll albums ever made. Though known for its twin anthems of social decay, "Sympathy For The Devil" and "Street Fighting Man," it's actually the album's gritty yet beautiful acoustic country and country-blues numbers--"Dear Doctor," "Prodigal Son," "No Expectations," "Factory Girl"--that has helped Beggars stand up so effectively... read more

Beggars Banquet

Tracks:

Fake Empire
Mistaken For Strangers
Brainy
Squalor Victoria
Green Gloves
Slow Show
Apartment Story
Start a War
Guest Room
Racing Like a Pro
ADA
Gospel

Amazon.com

With Boxer, the National have reached four albums into their increasingly lauded career, never hurrying the tempo, never over-reaching in volume or instrumental density. Instead, the quintet's balanced on a pin, emotionally austere, if not utterly downhearted, finding brilliantly dusky ways for Matt Berninger's lovelorn voice to mesh with a pair of unobtrusive guitars and, here, an occasional phalanx of piano, horns, and strings. The tunes roll off slowly, Berninger's lyrics hugging the instruments with a sad brawn, rough-hewn as the drums and bass toy with angularity (try "Mistaken for Strangers," for one) but end up woven by that voice. Drummer Bryan Devendorf presses the songs forward repeatedly, as on "Start a War," where he gently thumps the time as the acoustic guitars frame and dot the melody, coalescing as the drums starkly chisel the melody. Nary a distortion pedal is harmed on Boxer, giving the National a magnetism so forlorn that you can't stop listening. --Andrew Bartlett

Album Description

The follow-up to 2005's "Alligator" is filled with lush arrangements and sees the band incorporating new instrumentation and expanded musical elements such as piano, trumpet, and more prominent background vocals.

Customer Reviews:

Love at first listen..this is one beautiful album!.......2007-07-09

Beautifully crafted and tempered gem by a band reminiscent of Tindersticks. "Boxer" is a special album...rich, lush and atmospheric baroque pop. Every track is a keeper. In my top 5 for 2007.

4.5 Stars... The National keeps getting better and better.......2007-07-06

The National (originaly hailing from Cincinnati incidentally, before moving to New York in the late 90s) have slowly but surely building their indie-music resume since their outstanding 2001 self-titled debut album. After their 3rd album, 2005's "Alligator", now comes the eagerly anticipated new album.

"Boxer" (12 tracks, 43 min.) shows the band progressing again with, at times, magical results. The first 4 tracks of the album are in my opinion the best the band has ever been. The opener "Fake Empire" starts off very calmy before slowing bursting into almost-epic sounds. "Mistake for Strangers" is a coulda/shoulda be hard-charging radio single, which reminds me of Joy Division, of all bands, as is "Brainy", which is followed by my favorite track of the album "Squalor Victoria", which features some lush orchestral instrumentation on top of the intense drums and piano, what a way to cap a perfect initial third of the album. After that, things level off a bit. "Apartment Story" is another hard-charged song that works great. Interesting to note that Sufjan Stevens plays piano on "Racing Like a Pro" and "Ada". The closer "Gospel" is the perfect summary of the album: quiet, yet charged, it captures the mood.

If mainstream radio would be a bit more open-minded, the National might break big. Given the sorry state of radio these days, I very much doubt it. But it doesn't detract from the intrinsic beauty of "Boxer" as an album, and the National keeps winning more fans with each tour. I just love this slow-burner mood piece that this album is. Highly recommended!

potential record of the year 2007.......2007-06-29

Honestly...I think I like this record more than the first two (and probably third) Interpol albums. I also like it more than the National's last record, "Alligator", which was GREAT.

This record is SOOOOOOOO much more than just some Joy Division rip-off. There is a boatload of Americana and folk influence to this record...along with a biting critique of modern American urban life. Great songs about relationships and about our place in the world.

I saw these guys play at the Duck Room in St Louis and they were incredible. I really hope this band blows up because of this record...I listen to it as a whole so much that I cannot even pick a favorite song!

Keeps Getting Better.......2007-06-28

The first notes of this album blew me away; this album starts strong with "Fake Empire," a confusing and beautifully tempoed (if that's a word) song. As with other National albums, this one does take some getting used to, off the bat I really enjoyed "Slow Show" and "Ada," but now I'm getting into
"Apartment Story" and "Racing like a pro." I would probably recommend getting "Alligator" first if you are new to the National, but this album is stellar.

Growing.......2007-06-19

After discovering The Alligator last year and listening to the song Secret Meeting with the "..I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain.." echoing thru the rest of the album I decided to go a little further and explore their previous works.

Cherry Tree with the theme "about today" automatically owned me the first time it hit my cd player.

Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers revealed me "Slipping Husband", just repeating itself in the stereo until that little moment where he throws his tongue out to unleash "..Dear we better get a drink in you before you start to bore us..".

There are some rare cds that have the ability to just keep growing inside us and reavealing each time yet undiscovered moments of true joy. The National is just the band that allways share with us this kind of cds. It's for me, their trademark. They grow inside you.

Boxer is not different. It just started growing in me play after play and revealing already his first singular moments of true joy.

Truly a must for any music fan.. 5*

Average customer rating:

A CLASSIC! THE STONES IN TOP FORM AGAIN!
WOW, this remastering!!
proof that british rock has guts
Beggar's Banquet is a Feast!
CLASSIC

Beggars Banquet
The Rolling Stones , and Rolling Stones
Manufacturer: Abkco
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00006AW2J
Release Date: 2002-08-27

Tracks:

Sympathy for the Devil
No Expectations
Dear Doctor
Parachute Woman
Jigsaw Puzzle
Street Fighting Man
Prodigal Son
Stray Cat Blues
Factory Girl
Salt of the Earth

Amazon.com essential recording

Opening with "Sympathy for the Devil," the Stones' infamous we-are-evil poem, this all-original 1968 album began a quality streak almost unmatched in rock & roll. Mick Jagger begins writing from the working-class hero's perspective--especially on the anthem "Street Fighting Man" and "Salt of the Earth"--and Keith Richards buttresses his partner with rock-solid slide licks recently graduated from the School of Old Blues Records. "Jig-Saw Puzzle," which inexplicably never became a hit, is the only known instance of Jagger's describing the Stones' individual personalities in verse. --Steve Knopper

Amazon.com Music Reviews

Beggars Banquet is among the Stones two or three greatest albums, so it's also among the very best rock & roll albums ever made. Though known for its twin anthems of social decay, "Sympathy For The Devil" and "Street Fighting Man," it's actually the album's gritty yet beautiful acoustic country and country-blues numbers--"Dear Doctor," "Prodigal Son," "No Expectations," "Factory Girl"--that has helped Beggars stand up so effectively through the years--that and the fact that Keith Richard's lyrics here often come as close to sincerity as he's capable. When he sings "Let's drink to the hard working people," for once you almost believe him. --David Cantwell

Customer Reviews:

A CLASSIC! THE STONES IN TOP FORM AGAIN!.......2007-07-11

The Stones started to really shine with this album. It was the peak of their creative genius! "Beggar's Banquet","Let It Bleed","Sticky Fingers" and "Exile On Main Street" should be in everyone's top 100 albums of all time! Though this album is more acoustic than most efforts by the Stones,there are some classic jammers including Sympathy for the Devil, Street Fighting Man and the forgotten Stray Cat Blues!

WOW, this remastering!!.......2007-06-07

OK, so it doesn't say so, but this is the "DSD" remaster just like the Let It Bleed remaster is. I won't comment on the album; a million reviews and words-of-mouth have cemented its reputation already. But I had to post on here about the remastering: it is THE best remastering I have EVER heard on a classic rock album. If you want to be blown away by the difference that sound quality can make, just listen to "Sympathy for The Devil" twice back-to-back: first on Forty Licks, then on the DSD remastered version of Beggar's Banquet. I've probably heard "Symapathy for The Devil" over one hundred times in my days, and there are tons of small details that I absolutely never heard before I listened to this version. I'm just glad I didn't get suckered into buying an SACD player, because this Beggar's Banquet re-release shows me that the same kind of phenomenal sound quality is possible from conventional CDs. Jody H. Klein, you deserve a Nobel Prize for this project!

proof that british rock has guts.......2007-06-06

the stones sixties output was the perfect balance for the beatles more friendly sound.. The stones had a very earthy, bluesy , rocking sound.. one of their best albums where there sound comes across in an almost perfect fashion is 'beggars banquet'... It contains some of their most socially confrontational material including the hard hitting anthem of an opener 'sympathy for the devil'.. this somehow beautifully merges with the much slower contemplative 'no expectations'.. indeed this serves as a formula for many upcoming stones releases (sticky fingers is the perfect example).. 'dear doctor' shows the stones flirting with country western... another big track on this album is 'street fighting man' another hard hitting rocker.. again the rockers are balanced out as it is followed by more acoustic bluesy music.. you can clearly hear the influence of the blues legends that the group loved so much particularly the ones that worked for chess studio like howlin wolf.. beggars banquet is indeed a banquet of classic stones material.. the main delight for me is in discovering some of their acoustic tracks which have gotten little or no radio play.. and also it is nice to see their work as it was intended in the context of an album...something their best of collections have greatly destroyed.. This is a band at its peak..

Beggar's Banquet is a Feast!.......2007-06-05

This is a "must have" release mainly because it includes, "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Street Fighting Man." It also marks the Stones' first serious venture into Southern R&B and blues written by them.

CLASSIC.......2007-05-24

I like the singles from the stones yet I never bought any stones music until I hear Beggers Banquet. I was 18 years old and blown away by the album. I became a big fan after that.

Average customer rating:

yes, i will marry you
This is a debut, really?
Daring Innovative and Original

Marry Me
St. Vincent
Manufacturer: Beggars Banquet Us
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Reminder
Our Love to Admire
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ASIN: B000RGSOR8
Release Date: 2007-07-10

Tracks:

Now, Now
Jesus Saves, I Spend
Your Lips Are Red
Marry Me
Paris Is Burning
All My Stars Aligned
The Apocalypse Song
We Put A Pearl Into The Ground
Land Mines
Human Racing
What Me Worry?

Album Description

St. Vincent is the moniker of singer/multi-instrumentalist/composer Annie Clark and this is her debut full-length. She's opened for such diverse acts as Television, Jose Gonzalez, and Sufjan Stevens, and she's an inventive and versatile guitarist who has also performed with avant-garde composer Glenn Branca. On this record, she writes cinematic pop epics that feel at times like Paris in the 20s before all the fun ended. Or, conversely, an orchestra of pure modernity - a new American music, informed by jazz, gospel blues, Southern folk music, and classical composition but, in the end, an animal original unto itself. She's been compared to everyone from Bjork to Kate Bush to Jeff Buckley, and her beautiful voice melds perfectly with her intricate guitar work.

Customer Reviews:

yes, i will marry you.......2007-07-12

st. vincent is a breath of fresh air.
i saw her open for john vanderslice in chicago and she almost stole the show (almost, i love you john).
anyway, buy her album and help support a great musician.

This is a debut, really?.......2007-07-10

This was the first I'd heard of St. Vincent, and this album really hit the spot. There are tracks whose lyrics feel sincere, not crafty, in their quirkiness, which makes her more interesting and less "delicate poetess-y" than similar-sounding artists, like Rachel Loshak maybe; and then there are other tracks that are straightforward and beautiful (e.g., "All My Stars Aligned" -- my favorite, for now). And she can sing. Which is often not something you get in this genre. Having been listening to Scout Niblett and Joanna Newsom for my feminine fare, St. Vincent is a welcome addition indeed!

Daring Innovative and Original .......2007-07-10

I've followed Annie's career for several years and this is her best work yet. This is not Avril Lagvigne's cutesy pop. If that is what you want, then pass on this disc. Annie has blended a huge number of influences and distilled them into something truly unique. Her sound can't just be compared to 1 or 2 or 10 different artists. It is deep and complex yet simple and pure. This music for musicians and you will hear something new every time you listen. 5 Stars.

Average customer rating:

well, it looks like the NME got something right
For once, the hype is deserved.
The last great album I discovered in 2006
Have to buy it all over again.

Someone to Drive You Home
The Long Blondes
Manufacturer: Beggars Banquet Us
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Our Earthly Pleasures

ASIN: B000PSJCSI
Release Date: 2007-06-05

Tracks:

Lust In the Movies
Once And Never Again
Only Lovers Left Alive
Giddy Stratospheres
In the Company Of Women
Heaven Help the New Girl
Separated By Motorways
You Could Have Both
Swallow Tattoo
Weekend Without Makeup
Madame Ray
A Knife For the Girls

Tracks:

Fulwood Babylon
Five Ways To End It
Never To Be Repeated
All Bar One Girls

Customer Reviews:

well, it looks like the NME got something right.......2007-06-29

I think this album, and this band, are fantastic. They are the perfect mix of dancy, girly, and British-ness. Having heard a bunch of the singles, I was not disappointed in this at all. This band mixes all sorts of genres together, from post-punk to disco to britpop to 60s girl groups, etc. They mix all these together to make something that works QUITE well in both studio and live setting.

The singles on this LP are all great: once and never again, giddy stratospheres, and separated by motorways. However, I think the songs "Lust in the Movies" and "You Could have Both" are better than any of those songs. I think that is a rarity these days in our Ipod / Youtube music business.

By the way, this band was GREAT at the Subterranean in Chicago. Their singer is a total fox. I eagerly await something else from this band and hope they are not a Northern English amalgamation of some fads. It's really a shame that Jarvis Cocker does not like the singer's voice. I love it...she is one of the few singer currently that sounds better live than on vinyl (or CD).

For once, the hype is deserved........2007-06-09

The Long Blondes' Someone To Drive You Home is consistently catchy and enjoyable all the way through. "Lust In The Movies" starts it off with a kick and things don't let up until the CD ends. The four singles are:

1. Once And Never Again
2. Giddy Stratospheres
3. Separated By Motorways
4. Weekend Without Makeup

These four songs were all previously available on UK singles. The versions on Someone To Drive You Home are all rerecorded. This may come as a frustration to people who fell for the original single versions (as I did). It doesn't take long to appreciate these new versions, though. Either way, the songs are catchy and fun to sing along with. The music is poppy, but there's a lyrical dark streak lurking just beneath the surface.

This CD would be worth it for those four songs alone. My personal favorite song isn't one of the singles, though; it's "You Could Have Both", which features male and female voices singing simultaneously. It's got a very Pulp-y sound to it. (It's also nice to hear a reference to The Apartment in a pop song.) The remaining songs are all highly enjoyable, so what we're left with is a rarity in modern music...a CD that is solid all the way through without any of the duds and throw-away tracks that plague so many releases these days.

For once, the hype is deserved.

The last great album I discovered in 2006.......2007-06-07

This was not only the last great album I discovered in 2006 but it turned out also to be one of the best. This album is not widely known in the US due to it still not being available as anything other than an import. It is not even available on iTunes and other music download services. Hopefully 2007 will see a correction. I have to confess to not knowing a whole lot about the band. Most of the songs are credited to guitarist Dorian Cox and The Long Blondes, which probably means he writes the songs, presents them to the band, and they all hash out the final form. What is surprising about this is that the band has a distinctly feminist slant on things. They seem in many ways to be the English answer to the Riot Girl bands in the U.S. You could easily do a triple bill of Le Tigre, Sleater-Kinney (alas, if only they were still together), and The Long Blondes and have no clash of values or viewpoint. The band has much of the same brassiness of Third Wave inspired feminist rock, yet the songs are written by a guy. Well, perhaps not so bizarre. The turning point in strongly empowered female characters on TV occurred with BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, created by a male feminist, Joss Whedon. So why can't a guy write songs that represent a female take on things?

If Dorian Cox writes the songs, Kate Jackson sells them. And man, does she ever sell them. With this album she instantly joins the ranks of the most compelling female frontwomen in rock. She has a great voice, with plenty of power when she needs it, but capable of subtlety as well. They have her voice far forward in the mix, where it belongs. I love the way she manages to do so many things vocally in "Heaven Help the New Girl," and does them all well. If you compare her with, say, Karen O. of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kate doesn't have all the tricks that Karen can pull off, but she has a much more powerful voice and a wider effective range.

But what really puts this band over the top for me is not just that they come with a great set of well-written songs and a phenomenal singer to sing them, but that the Long Blondes are a great band. Screech Louder on drums, Emma Chaplain on guitar (and back up vocals), Reenie Delaney on bass (how refreshing to have a chick on guitar and a guy on bass for a change), and Cox on lead guitar are a tremendously tight, inventive, and skilled. Sometimes when you have someone as good as Kate Jackson, there is a talent gap between singer and band, but that certainly is not the case here. This truly is a band, with everyone contributing enormously to the final project.

The highpoint of the album for me is "Weekend without Makeup," in which a woman chronicles how stale her relationship has grown. It is a subject that has been dealt with in countless songs, but it seems so fresh here and the notion of defining a weekend by the fact that she doesn't need to put on any make up really speaks volumes. All in all, though, the album has a number of really strong cuts. "Lust in the Movies," "Once and Never Again" (in which the singer tells a 19-year-old that she really doesn't need a boyfriend but should instead focus on life without the need of one), "Giddy Stratospheres," "In the Company of Women," "Separated by Motorways," and "Heaven Help the New Girl." The album may fade ever so slightly by the end, but these days most bands put their strongest material in the first two-thirds of the disc.

I do want to quibble with a criticism that the previous reviewer made of the album. He or she indicated that this album is "derivative." This is a criticism that is frequently made by people of one album or artist or another. But I have to confess that it is a criticism I've never been able to make any sense of. There are two sides to my perplexity, one general and one specific. Take the specific first, I listened to this album multiple times and not once thought "Wow, this is derivative." Of course there are a host of moments where the album recalls other performers. At various points the band reminds me of outfits as diverse as the Smiths, Pulp, Joy Division, and Blondie, but sometimes even some sixties girl groups. But I absolutely promise any prospective listener: you will not listen to this and think that they are ripping off any other bands' riffs. They certainly are not more "derivative" than any other band at work today. Which leads to the more general side of my perplexity: given the fact that we now have over fifty years of rock and roll informing any rock album today, how is it possible for any band to be anything other than derivative? Even the Beatles were derivative, aping a host of American R&B bands and artists. Later they came under the spell of Bob Dylan, who was himself inspired by a score of American folk, blues, and rock performers. Everyone borrows from everyone else. The question is not whether something is "derivative" but whether their particular derivation is any good. And this stuff here is dynamite. If it were boring, that would be another matter. I really don't intend to jump all over the previous reviewer. Honest, I don't. But this is an instance of aiming a largely irrelevant criticism at an absolutely first rate band. At least he and I can fully agree on one thing: this is one of the best albums of 2006.

Have to buy it all over again........2007-06-07

First Jarvis Cocker's solo CD and now Kate Jackson's band? What is with these Sheffield groups and bonus stuff on domestic releases? Well, I bought this in January thereabouts on the strength of their reviews in the British rags. If you like Alex Turner's ilk, you'll like this. The music is very similar except with Nico/Justine Frischmann (hence a lot of Elastica comparisons, mostly bad, sad to say as I like both groups) vocals. The lyrical content is the same. All in all, if the journos aren't grouping the two in with Jarvis for "The Sheffield Sound," give it time.

Will it be big here? Doubtful. It, like so many previous bands (the Kinks, the Jam, Blur) is way too English and unless you're an Anglophile, it won't be very interesting. If you are though, have a butcher's.

Signed,
epsteinsmutha

Intermission: The Best of the Solo Recordings 1990-1997

Average customer rating:

Intermission: The Best of the Solo Recordings 1990-1997
Robert Forster , and Grant McLennan
Manufacturer: Beggars Banquet Us
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000PA9PVU
Release Date: 2007-06-19

Tracks:

Malibu 69 - Grant McLennan
Cryin' Love - Robert Forster
Lighting Fires - Grant McLennan
121 - Robert Forster
One Plus One - Grant McLennan
Falling Star - Robert Forster
Hot Water - Grant McLennan
Baby Stones - Robert Forster
In Your Bright Ray - Grant McLennan
I Can Do - Robert Forster

Amazon.com

The songwriting partnership of Grant McLennan and Robert Forster made the Go-Betweens one of the 1980s' greatest unsung bands. And here they are, Forster and McLennan, their solo works abbreviated and joined together. Forster's a leaper, gobbling his vocal lines and galloping atop a quick beat on "121," then slows down for slinky, wry weariness on "I've Been Looking for Somebody" and even a touch of Lou Reed in "Beyond Their Law." Simply put, Forster's aesthetically hurried, under pressure, where McLennan's at ease. The late Grant McLennan's voyage here is more appreciable, from the polished, new-wave-tinted pop of "Haven't I Been A Fool" to the crisp, visionary, starkness of "Hot Water" and "Horsebreaker Star." The doleful fiddle in the former song and McLennan's mature voice make it so memorable, and the sheer austerity and haunting electric guitar backdrops make the latter magnetic. The collective weight here is that of two veritable songwriting geniuses, one taken too soon. --Andrew Bartlett

Album Description

This double disc release celebrates the best of the solo recordings released by Robert and Grant during their seven-year hiatus from The Go-Betweens. Each selected the thirteen songs on their individual CD. While Grant's disc is a chronological journey through his catalog, Robert elected to mix up the order. The albums will be issued individually in standard packaging this fall. "They remain one of rock's most pleasurable hand-me-down discoveries" - Entertainment Weekly.

Wild Birds 1985-1995: The Best of the Beggars Banquet Years

Average customer rating:

Wild Birds Indeed
some hits, some of Peter's fave's
Don't get me wrong!
A great voice
A Superior Mix of Great Songs!

Wild Birds 1985-1995: The Best of the Beggars Banquet Years
Peter Murphy
Manufacturer: Beggars UK - Ada
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Singles: 1979-1983, Volume 2
Unshattered
A Slight Case Of Overbombing (Greatest Hits Vol. 1)
Some Girls Wander By Mistake
Under the Milky Way: The Best of the Church

ASIN: B00004KD3M
Release Date: 2000-02-22

Tracks:

Cuts You Up
Subway
The Scarlet Thing In You
Indigo Eyes
Keep Me From Harm
Final Solution
Deep Ocean Vast Sea
Strange Kind Of Love
Hit Song
Huuvola
All Night Long
Dragnet Drag
I'll Fall With Your Knife
The Sweetest Drop
Roll Call
Jemal (Version Two)

Album Description

'Best Of' covering work from the Bauhaus vocalist's 5 solo albums. Includes the tracks 'Cuts You Up', 'Indigo Eyes', 'Strange Kind Of Love' and 13 more for a grand total of 16 tracks. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews:

Wild Birds Indeed .......2007-05-13

This is an excellent disc for the casual Peter Murphy fan. It is a bang for the buck CD from an often overlooked eclectic artist. There are some true masterpieces here mixed in with a few clams in the middle of the disc. Tracks 1-3 and 9-16 are all excellent. "Cuts you up" may be the only true "hit" on the disc but there is some really remarkable material that rock fans of all genres can appreciate. One need not be familiar with his work in his previous band Bauhaus to enjoy this music as the music on this best of is quite varied. Very little of this disc would be classified as Goth.

some hits, some of Peter's fave's.......2004-12-06

As far as greatest hits albums, this one delivers just because Peter's hits are just masterful. If I was going to be nitpicky, I'd complain that this compilation does not capture all of his best work, but the collection clearly captures some of Peter's own favorites -- such as 'Deep Ocean Vast Sea', 'Dragnet Drag' and 'Jemal'. While all good songs, they probably mean more to Peter than some of his most devout fans. I would have liked to have seen 'Marlene Dietrich's Favorite Poem', 'Blind Sublime', or 'Crystal Wrists' myself.

But again, this is a really good greatest hits album, and well worth the money for either collector or newly minted fan.

Don't get me wrong!.......2003-12-13

Some supposed fans did not buy the album for sure as they did not see "All night long" song on the album?? It is on mine (track 11) and was the major reason why I have bought it. This song is really awsome with french speaking in it (done like an extract of Zelda game). Also, there is not 5 but 4 songs from "Cascade" album.

His major songs are on there "Cuts you up", "Indigo eyes",
"Subway", "Roll call" and a new "Jemal" version. Unfortunately for me,"Marlene Dietrich's favorite poem" is missing.

All his artistic talents on one album.

A great voice.......2003-10-16

Since I hear for the first time "All night long", in a brazilian radio, in the 80's, I've never been the same to hear music. He surprises anyone at every time, in every song, with his powerful voice, and his gothic atmosphere. Yes, atmospheric, this is the best definition to a singer that creates with real feeling, making something that is really deep, and at the same time, cool. It's impossible to hear "Subway" and don't hear it again and again...passing the tracks, "I'll Fall With You Knife" is there, beatiful...and so many other songs, all beatiful. So,I think that "Wild Birds" is a good choice.

A Superior Mix of Great Songs!.......2002-06-13

This album might be a redundant buy for those of you who have followed Peter Murphy since Bauhaus and Dali's Car days... although it does have a nice mix of well-known Murphy favorites that would be great for a road trip without having to lug all of the albums along with you.

I find myself suggesting this ablum as a first buy for my friends who are just getting into Peter's work... after this one I tend to draw them in further with "Deep" or "Dust".

Tracks:

Horse Nation
Spiritwalker
83rd Dream
Butterflies
Go West
Gimmick
Flower in the Desert
Dreamtime
Rider in the Snow
Bad Medicine Waltz

Customer Reviews:

ROCK meets CULT.......2007-05-22

This album is awesome, almost reminessent of some of the Doors style music, funny how he ended up as thier new singer.

EXCELLENT SONG/MUSIC CRAFTING.......2007-05-16

Best Cult album in my humble opinion. Every sound you hear is deliberate and tasteful. I used to have this on cassette tape when it first came out. I had the later ones too but they pale in comparison with regards to the craftwork in this album. A lot of inventiveness in the music and the quality of the melodies are catchy (no you don't need to listen to this a gadzillion times to make yourself like it) The melodies hit the spot instantly. Bear in mind this was made back in the late 80s, so don't expect today's sound production.

The Cult's somewhat forgotten debut........2006-04-11

The debut album by the Cult (although they'd released an EP and a single prior to this under the name Death Cult collected, along with some BBC sessions) as "Ghost Dance"), "Dreamtime" is an album that is noticably overlooked, likely because the band would reach enormous heights, both creatively and commercially, with their few albums, but "Dreamtime" should be evaluated for what it is-- a great record.

The Cult was formed when Ian Astbury, vocalist for the Southern Death Cult, determined to pursue a direction away from the gothic sound of that band and formed a group with Theatre of Hate guitarist Billy Duffy. Astbury, a singer of enormous presence, dominated the Southern Death Cult to the point where the band felt lopsided. But in Duffy, Astbury found a performer of equally strong personality and a foil. Recruiting guitarist Jamie Stewart on bass and eventually settling on drummer Nigel Preston, the group recorded first under the name Death Cult before shortening it to the Cult to deter the gothic connotations.

"Dreamtime" is, however seeped in gothic and post-punk influences, even if it does manage to get past them as much as it embraces them-- single "Spiritwalker" is probably the best example of this-- a glittering, aggressive track with a great riff reminiscent of the sort of work the gothic acts were doing but avoiding any sense of lifelessness and a vocal soaked in swagger by Astbury, the song is a summation of everything they'd done up until now and yet a pointer to the future. But while it was the only piece to garner any real attention as a single, there are a number of fantastic pieces on here-- the pounding, tribal rhythm-infused "Horse Nation" (also recorded on the "Ghost Dance" EP), the churning, driven, almost reggaeish "Go West", and the very much updated Southern Death Cult piece "A Flower in the Desert" (here presented as a swirling slice of goth with a muscular guitar line). Still, the album seems to fizzle a bit towards the end with the last few tracks being less memorable ("Rider in the Snow") or just plain bizarre (the galloping pop rhythms of the title track).

"Dreamtime" was reissued and remastered in Japan as a double with the "Live at the Lyceum" album-- the sonic improvement on this rerelease is well worth the price upgrade, and the Lyceum show is a great listen.

Bottom line-- "Dreamtime" gets overlooked and it shouldn't. This is an album that deserves more attention, recommended.

The Cult's last decent recording.......2005-07-27

This is a great post-punk/goth CD and continues where Ian left off with Death Cult/Southern Death Cult. Unfortunately, just about everything after this is mindless mullet-rock. If you prefer that genre then this CD (and earlier ones) is probably beyond you and you'll be wasting your money on a purchase unless you're collecting. I think at some point Ian fell and hit his head, woke up thinking he was Bon Jovi minus several IQ points after this CD. The next one, "Love", contains a few post-punk elements but pretty much marks their de-evolution from the Post-punk/Goth genre. However, Dreamtime is a great purchase and something you'll be listening to quite often.

Classic Rock Meets Gothic Post-Punk.......2000-12-06

This is, in my opinion, a true masterpiece. The 80s is often criticized as being over-produced, sythetic and shallow. Like U2, the Cult had much more to offer. "Dreamtime" is a fantastic fusion of gothic punk walking hand-in-hand with Jim Morrison-ish imagery and influence. Eventually Led Zeppelin could be heard in the Cult's sound more than the Doors, but "Dreamtime" and "Love" envoke a unique-for-the-80s combination of lyrical mysticism and spiritual passion with an insurgent rythmn and sonic punch.

Songs like "Spiritwalker" and "Horse Nation" drive forth the mystic imagery with a rocking groove, while the darker songs like "Butterflies" and "Bone Bag" have a darker edge that has as much to lend to Nick Drake as it does to Nick Cave.

Tracks:

Simone & Perry
Lighting Fires
Ice in Heaven
What Went Wrong
Race Day Rag
Don't You Cry for Me No More
Put You Down
Coming Up for Air
Open Invitation
Open My Eyes
From My Lips
Dropping You
Hot Water
Keep My Word
Girl in a Beret
All Her Songs
No Peace in the Palace
I'll Call You Wild
Horsebreaker Star

Customer Reviews:

the highlight of a career cut far too short.......2006-05-21

One of the few double albums in the history of rock music where EVERY track earns its place. An album that should be in all self-respecting collections.

Grant McLennan died in his sleep in May 2006. His musical legacy goes much further than this solo album but if this had been his only output his place in the list of great songwriters would have been equally assured.

Every song a worthy epitaph. You are already sadly missed Grant.

drop a rope down a hole . . .......2006-05-10

Goodnight, Grant. we'll try to keep playing that jazz called rock n' roll.

Sacrilege, but..........2006-02-24

...I rate this as equal to anything in the GBs catalog. Grant was completely firing on all six when he wrote and recorded this down in Austin, TX, with a select cadre of hot sh-t alt-country musos...brilliant, toppermost of the poppermost songwriting, just impeccably played and sung...The showstopper here is the many versed, bordering on 10 minutes long epic, "What Went Wrong". McLennan really shows off his lyric writing ability on that one...

Aside from that, the highlights are, typically, way too numerous to mention, though the title track and "Open Invitation" stand out.

Get the import if you can find it - it's a double, instead of a single, and has 5 more tracks on it....

one of my all-time favorites.......2003-12-06

Get the 2-CD import, not the edited single US CD. It's rare that a CD has all excellent songs, never mind a double-CD release! His old band the Go-Betweens released some amazing stuff but it was more like gems in the rough. Grant McLennan really hit a grand slam with this one, and his subsequent 'In Your Bright Ray' is no slacker either. But exactly like Van Morisson's 'Astral Weeks', this CD was recorded in a short period time with musicians he never met and the results are somehow breathtaking.
Good on ya, Grant!

May Remain a Career Best.......2002-08-13

After soaking up all the wonderful Go Betweens records and starting on my discovery of the subsequent solo careers with Grant's warm and excellent "In Your Bright Ray," nothing could prepare me for this masterpiece.

The first thrill was to hear the immediately recognizable voice of another favorite, Syd Straw, on the very first track. Ignoring the odd grafting on of "Lighting Fires" from the previous album, this record strings together 18 masterful songs. The consistency and intensity of their quality is so great that sometimes I have to stop listening just so that I can absorb the song I've just heard before I move on to another.

The production and backing is perfection itself--the Athens, Georgia crowd really do Grant proud. Syd features all over the disc.

I am sure that there will be many more moments of joy that Grant McLennan will donate to my life, but it is hard to imagine that he will ever match this high water mark.

Tracks:

Sanctify
Defenses Down
Sylvia's Song
Sleep In Splendor
Rise
Stand Paralyzed
Bronson
Malo
Malicious Manner
A Sure Shot
Le Gusta El Fuego
Simone
Dancers In The Dust

Customer Reviews:

A triumphant new album from a great band.......2007-02-28

I won't write a huge review, but I do want to say that after repeated listens I find that this album is pleasantly fantastic. Calla is really going in a new, more poppy direction with this album, and ends up with one of the best albums they've made. The first track, "Sanctify," is kind of disappointingly grungy and hard for me to listen to, but the rest of the album is made up of very smart and delicately constructed but relentlessly driving songs. "Defenses Down," "Rise," and "Dancers in the Dust" are all standout tracks, but overall this is a very strong album.

This album is better than their previous album "Collisions" but about as good as their masterpieces "Televised" and "Scavengers." I heartily recommend this album. Again, they're going in a new direction with these tracks, but it's a good direction.

Average customer rating:

Mistaken for Strangers
The National
Manufacturer: Beggars Banquet UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000P46PPU
Release Date: 2007-05-07

Tracks:

Mistaken For Strangers
Blank Skate
Santa Clara

Album Description

First CD single pulled from their 2007 album Boxer. Features 'Mistaken For Strangers' plus 'Blank Slate' and 'Santa Clara'. Beggars Banquet.

Album Details

Like R.e.m When They were Good, the National's Superficially Simple Long Songs have a Real Depth and Resonance. Limited to 500 Copies.

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