How We Rock [Import]

How We Rock [Import]

Track Listings

1. The Age Of Pampertue - Turbonegro

2. Live Wire - Zeke

3. Main Offender - The Hives

4. Continental Cake - New Bomb Turks

5. How Its Done - Dwarves

6. Never Say No - The Peepshows

7. 40 Boys In 40 Nights - The Donnas

8. Truckloads Of Nothin - The Hellacopters

9. Up For Sale - The (International) Noise Conspiracy

10. High Powered - Puffball

11. Shake It Off - Supersuckers

12. NY Knights - Electric Frankenstein

13. Alright Alright (Heres My Fist) - Sahara Hotnights

14. Straight American Slave - Rocket From From The Crypt

15. I Got A War - Gluecifer

16. Cheater - Randy

17. Piece Of The Sun - Gotohells

18. Bounce - Danko Jones

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Burning Heart Records compilation featuring tracks from Hellacopters, Rocket From The Crypt, Hives, Electric Frankenstein, The (International) Noise Conspiracy & many more. 18 tracks. Digipak. 2002.

How We Rock,Various Artists,Burning Heart,Heavy Metal,Rock/Pop Collections

How Can We Be Silent
Average customer rating:

Different, but AMAZING.

Fabulous

Praiseworthy Music!

How Can We Be Silent
BarlowGirl
Manufacturer: Fervent / Spirit-Led
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Christian Rock | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music
Gospel | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music
Christian Contemporary Music | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Better Questions

Another Journal Entry

Barlow Girl

Portable Sounds

Whispered and Shouted

ASIN: B000RO9PYQ
Release Date: 2007-07-24

Tracks:

Song for the Broken
I Believe in Love
Here's My Life
Keep Quiet
Million Voices
Sweet Revenge
One More Round
Take My Chances
Guy Song
I Don't Regret

Customer Reviews:

Different, but AMAZING........2007-08-01

BarlowGirl has grown alot, spiritually, lyrically, and musically. True, this CD does have a very different feel from their previous two albums, this one is a bit less rock, and has more of the contemporary christian feel to it. But I can honestly say this is some of the best Christian music I have ever listened to.
The album is alot darker, lyrically and musically. It deals with the hardships of living the Christian life, with themes of hope, faith, and spiritual warfare. The lyrics are very deep and masterful, expressing the girls' faith through the years.

1. Song for the Broken (8/10) - The opener for this album starts out with a lot of strings, very catchy and guitar-driven, but doesnt stand out as much as the other songs.

2. I Believe in Love (10/10) - Fell in love with this on first listen. Powerful lyrics, deals with faith in midst of hardships.

3. Here's my Life (10/10) - The album's first single. This song takes awhile to get into, starts out very slow with synthesizers but ends strong with a lot of guitars.

4. Keep Quiet (8/10) - very bass-driven, but seems to lack something musically, deals with not being ashamed to speak about your faith.

5. Million Voices (10/10) - BarlowGirl's most outspoken song yet! This song is where the album's name "How Can We Be Silent" comes from. Sends an anthem to this generation. A ton of guitar, distortion, and drums. This is their rockiest song so far.

6. Sweet Revenge (9/10) - Also a very catchy song with strings. Deals with forgiveness.

7. One More Round (9/10) - BarlowGirl's first attempt at Jazz, one of the songs that make this CD so different. It took me a couple listens to like it. This song is where the CD cover's boxing ring comes from. No matter how many times we get knocked down, we have to get up and go for one more round.

8. Take My Chances (6/10) - Not my favorite. It comes from Romans 12:2, the verse BarlowGirl is most known for. The lyrics are pretty good, but musically it sounds too much like your typical rock band.

9. Guy Song (8/10) - This song is a challenge to the guys to stand up for their beliefs. Lyrically, good, musically, alright, but this song just somehow doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the album.

10. I Don't Regret (10/10) - The ballad of the CD. very melancholic. Lyrics are very deep, one of the songs that really show the maturity of the girls' song writing.

This CD is one of the best, highly recommended whether you've been a long time fan or not.

Fabulous .......2007-07-27

I am very happy that I bought this CD. I had never heard of BarlowGirl until they performed in Dallas, TX at the Celebrate Freedom concert at Southfork Ranch...Their song "Million Voices" was what made me determined that I would get this CD on July 24th.

The musicianship in this group is very impressive, and I've about decided I am going to go back to the Christian store and purchase more of their music.

Praiseworthy Music!.......2007-07-26

While I was listening to HOW CAN WE BE SILENT yesterday, staring down at the CD's cover art, I was struck with a perilous thought: exactly how wrong is it to stare at the fresh, polished, beautiful faces of your favorite Christian girl band and only be able to think about sinning? Let's be honest! They're stunning to look at! They're beautiful girls, growing into beautiful women! Not just beautiful but Maybelline beautiful! Faces that could launch a thousand ships beautiful, and that's what they're doing musically! Yeah, I'm gonna burn -- I know -- but that's like drinking Kerosene to make sure I burn quicker than is absolutely necessary.

Back to the main topic ...

As a matter of personal taste, I'd have to admit that HOW CAN WE BE SILENT isn't as strong as their previous outing (ANOTHER JOURNAL ENTRY, with its terrific pop/rockish anthem 'I Need You To Love Me,' spawned two releases -- the original and a special edition), but that's largely because ANOTHER -- the group's second disk -- really catapulted the Barlow girls to the stratosphere of the Christian music industry so it's inevitably a hard act to follow.

Still, the girls have matured, and so has their sound. The music -- while a bit melancholy, a bit meditative -- is more complex than the tracks on ANOTHER JOURNAL ENTRY (I think one of the attributes of that disc is the fact that the music felt stripped down to basics, matching their Journalized thoughts, a huge strong point); as they've grown, matured, experienced new challenges to life and faith, they've brought their music with them, and it's followed the same course. Their harmonies are far more poised, pronounced, and polished, and I think the only weakness here to matching musical complexity with lyrical complexity (if there is such a thing) is that I found myself trying to listen past the lyrics to hear some of the amazing sounds. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, just ironically distracting at times.

Thankfully, though, Barlowgirl knows how to rock, as is evidenced on my favorite track, 'Million Voices.' This is a massive track -- arguably this disk's 'I Need You To Love Me' -- a breakout runaway personal theme song for the entire Christian rock industry if not their entire Christian movement spanning centuries. (Yeah, maybe that's a bit strong, but so's the song!) With a driving beat and throbbing rock coupled with heavenly harmonies, this is the track I kept going back to over and over and over again. This is the track that, like their previous disc, was the perfect blend of words and music.

Keep at it, girls, keep 'journaling' your music. In my book, you'll always be a wonderful act for inspiration.

Average customer rating:

Could not get this CD home fast enough....
Gomez is worth listening to, especially when Ben is singing.
How we wish they returned to the way they used to operate
Gomez CD
First Time is Overrated

How We Operate
Gomez
Manufacturer: ATO Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Till the Sun Turns Black
Broken Boy Soldiers
Bring It On
The Information
The Crane Wife

ASIN: B000EQH2QU
Release Date: 2006-05-02

Tracks:

Notice
See the World
How We Operate
Hamoa Beach
Girlshapedlovedrug
Chasing Ghosts With Alcohol
Tear Your Love Apart
Charley Patton Songs
Woman! Man!
All Too Much
Cry On Demand
Don't Make Me Laugh

Amazon.com

There's always been something a little mysterious about Gomez. Yet no one would mistake them for a dream-pop or shoegazer act. The UK quintet relies too much on acoustic instrumentation (violin, mandolin, harmonica, etc.) and rocks too hard to qualify. In fact, they've never been part of any "scene," British or otherwise. Their debut for Dave Matthews's ATO label, after live set Out West, isn't an about-face and it's unlikely fans will feel betrayed by the shift, but it does represent the most direct expression of their artistry yet. It's as if they peeled away a layer or two in order to reveal more of the pop band beneath the off-kilter country-rock trappings. No doubt producer Gil Norton (Pixies, Foo Fighters) was an invaluable aid in that process: vocals are cleaner, arrangements tighter, mood more upbeat. How We Operate, their fifth studio recording, is Gomez on "Girlshapedlovedrug," (to name one of the more arresting tracks). Overall, it's a more cohesive effort than 2004's underrated Split the Difference. On the downside, there's more filler, like "Woman! Man!" with its "Sha-la-la-la woman!/Sha-la-la-la man!" chorus. Catchy? Definitely. Deep? Not so much... but Gomez has earned the right to let their inner Monkees come out to play. Plus, on the sprightly "Cry on Demand," they make fun of their "serious" image ("Boo-hoo/boo-hoo"), proving that this is one band that knows exactly how they operate. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews:

Could not get this CD home fast enough...........2007-06-17

I found out about this group after hearing the song "How we Operate" on the movie "The Hitcher". I ended up buying this CD for my brother and kept listening to it over and over. I decided to buy my own and give him his back. Even though "How to Operate" is my favorite song, there are lots of really good songs and this CD was well worth taking the plunge.

Gomez is worth listening to, especially when Ben is singing........2007-03-18

If it were only Ben singing, probably would have gotten 5 stars.

I love half this disc; the other half is mediocre. The half I love are all the songs sung by Ben Ottewal. (There is one song that he doesn't lead on that I like fairly well called Charley Patton Songs.)
Ben Ottewal has a deep, gravelly voice similar to David Gray or Tom Waits. His sound lends a more edgy feel to the tunes he sings, such as Chasing Ghosts with Alcohol, See The World, All too Much, How we Operate, and Tear your Love Apart. These all stand up to repeated listening.

However, numbers such as Girlshaped LoveDrug sound like the Beatles but less inventive and annoying. Reminds me of Robbie Williams, even though I can tolerate some Robbie Williams. Ben Ottewal's voice, on the other hand, is singular and shines. Ben's voice suits the music well; that's my opinion.

Gomez has a compelling sound when Ben Ottewal is singing. Try them out for a listen!

How we wish they returned to the way they used to operate.......2007-02-04

It seems that Gomez are trying to make themselves more accessible. Big mistake. In ditching their initial quirky, mixed-nuts approach to compiling albums, they are becoming incredibly bland. 'How We Operate' is a scrapbook of inoffensive and completely forgettable doodles, bearing precious little resemblance to any of the collectible nick-nacks on 'Bring It On' and 'Liquid Skin'.

The rot set in on 'In Your Gun', though even then there was evidence of life in the tracks 'Bang Bang' and 'Rex Kramer'. Unfortunately it's been a downward slide since then. I listened to 'How We Operate' three times and haven't played it again; probably never will. It'll join Turin Brakes, the last two Cranberries albums and the other unplayed wonders on the bottom row of the CD tower.

Gomez CD.......2007-01-25

Never really heard of Gomez before I went on a business trip to Detroit.Heard the title song, and had to have it. I'm 53 years old, who says we don't listen to the good stuff?

First Time is Overrated.......2007-01-05

I didn't think much of this album the first time I heard it. I thought it was "okay." But, having dusted it off and listened again...what was I thinking when I first heard this? This is really an excellent album, easy to listen to all the way through. Again and again. Love, love, love at second sight!

Average customer rating:

No Billy Zoom, but it's still pretty good
Revisiting X
A Little Bit O Country...
My First X Album
A New X

See How We Are
X
Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

More Fun in the New World
Under the Big Black Sun
Ain't Love Grand!
Wild Gift
Los Angeles

ASIN: B000065DU5
Release Date: 2002-05-21

Tracks:

I'm Lost
You
4th Of July
In The Time It Takes
Anyone Can Fill Your Shoes
See How We Are
Left & Right
When It Rains...
Holiday Story
Surprise Surprise
Cyrano De Berger's Back
Holiday Story (Demo/Remix) (Bonus Track)
I'm Lost (Demo/Remix) (Bonus Track)
Highway G 1 Revisited (Outtake/Rough Mix) (Bonus Track)
In The Time It Takes (Demo/Remix) (Bonus Track)
See How We Are (Demo/Remix) (Bonus Track)
Untitled

Album Description

Expanded & remastered reissue of 1987 album with 5 previously unissued bonus tracks 'Holiday Story' (demo/remix), 'I'm Lost' (demo/remix), 'Highway 61 Revisited' (outtake/rough mix), 'In The Time It Takes' (demo/remix) & 'See How We Are' (demo/remix).

Customer Reviews:

No Billy Zoom, but it's still pretty good.......2006-11-02

Billy Zoom was the greatest, but I was willing to give X the opportunity to prove they could go on without him. Well, they do OK without him. No, I don't think anybody will ever compare this album to their first four, and yes, it is maybe a tad more commercial than their earlier works as well. But you still had 3/4 of the original band working and that makes them greater than most. Hell, it's a pretty good album.

Revisiting X.......2005-08-17

As an X fan since my teens, I enjoy the fact that the band continued to grow and change rather than merely creating pale imitations of their early work. This album though rootsier, as people have noted, retains the magical vocal meshing of John Doe and Exene's voices and the poetic lyrics (something few artists strive for much less attain)that distinquish X from so much of the "mainstream" music of their peers. For X fans whose love of the band faded a bit with Ain't Love Grand, this album serves as a testament to the reality that the powerful talent of the band never faded (it just got lost in the "mix"). Remastered and containing the wonderful outtake/rough mix of "Highway 61 Revisited" this album is very much worth (re)visiting, especially for those X fans who may have missed/overlooked it the first time around.

A Little Bit O Country..........2005-08-10

In their early punkier recordings, you only got glimpses of their rootsier side. But an album like this was bound to come out of an aging and maturing band like X. John Doe is the ambassador of country music to the punk world. This is a solid album with some good songwriting on it and some classic X tunes. But it lacks the energy of the earlier, more definitive stuff. I have a soft spot for this one. It was my personal introdution to the band when I was in high school, listening to U2 and the Alarm.

My First X Album.......2003-11-06

I really like this cd. I come at it from a completely different direction than most X fans. I never was an X fan, (not much airplay in the east) but I am a fan of John Doe's solo work. So, I am working my way backward through his catalogue. Most reviews seem to say that this was the first mainstream X cd, much too MOR, and even Exene seems to feel that way in the liner notes. However, I don't see this as part of the X flow because I don't have their earlier stuff. I can judge it strictly on merit. And it is terrific. I don't think there is a weak track until Holiday Story, and that is followed by Surprise Surprise which takes you right back to the high that Left and Right gave you. 4th of July and the title track are excellent. In The Time It Takes and When It Rains are just as good. Billy Zoom fans may miss him, but the guitar work is terrific, and the drumming is outstanding. John and Exene sing so well together, especially when she follows his lead. Maybe this is not like previous X albums, but it is what it is, a slice of sound from the band at a different point in time. And it is really good. Old X fans may think it heresy to like this cd this much, but the energy level here is fantastic.

A New X.......2002-07-08

Many X fans lament the passing of the sound on "Under the Big Black Sun" and the loss of Billy Zoom on later albums. It would have been wonderful if X had stayed on the track of their earlier albums. Things change, however, and the reality was that John and Xene were talented enough to tackle a variety of styles, and create a sound that evolved in unexpected ways.

Here, the songs have much less of a punk feel. The results, while not as striking as the classic earlier X, are terrific.

Tracks:

Love Divine All Loves Excelling - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Father Hear the Prayer We Offer - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Now Thank We All Our God - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
This Day, The First of Days - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Stars of the Morning So Gloriously Bright - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
God Save the Queen - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Day of Resurrection - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
God Rest You Merry Gentlemen - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Of the Father's Heart Begotten - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
O Come All Ye Faithful - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Awake My Soul and With the Sun - Choir Of Norwich Cathedral
Thine Arm O Lord in Days of Old - Choir Of Norwich Cathedral
All People That on Earth Do Dwell - Choir Of Norwich Cathedral
Good Christian Men Rejoice and Sing - Choir Of Norwich Cathedral
There Is a Green Hill - Choir Of Norwich Cathedral
Lord of Beauty - Choir Of Sheffield Cathedral
Rejoice Today With One Accord - Choir Of Sheffield Cathedral
New Every Morning - Choir Of Sheffield Cathedral
Lead Us Heavenly Father Lead Us - Choir Of Sheffield Cathedral
O God Our Help in Ages Past - Choir Of Sheffield Cathedral

Tracks:

Morning Has Broken - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Happy Are They - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
In Christ There Is No East or West - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Silent Night - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Be Thou My Guardian - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Ye Servants of the Lord - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
At the Name of Jesus Every Knee Shall Bow - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
To Thee O Lord Our Hearts We Raise - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Behold the Great Creator Makes - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Rejoice the Lord Is King - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Creator of the Stars of Night - Ely Cathedral Choir
He Comes With Clouds Descending - Ely Cathedral Choir
O Little Town of Bethlehem - Ely Cathedral Choir
Alleluya Alleyluya Alleyluya - Ely Cathedral Choir
This Is the Day the Lord Hath Made - Ely Cathedral Choir
How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds - Ely Cathedral Choir
Lord Thy Word Abideth - Ely Cathedral Choir
Jesus Lord We Look to Thee - Ely Cathedral Choir
O Lord Our God Arise - Ely Cathedral Choir
Lord of All Hopefulness - Ely Cathedral Choir

Tracks:

Soldiers of Christ Arise - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Lift Up Your Hearts - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Holy Father, Cheer Our Way - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Maker of the Sun - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
O King Most High - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
O Praise Our Great and Glorious Lord - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
We Love the Place O God - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Let Us With a Gladsome Mind - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Give Rest O Christ - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Come Holy Ghost Our Hearts Inspire - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
O Thou in All Thy Might So Far - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
O Christ, Who Art the Light and Day - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
O God Thy Soldiers' Crown and Guard - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
Strife Is O'er the Battle Done - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
O Christ Our Hope, Our Hearts' Desire - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
Jesus Shall Reign - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
God of Love My Shepherd Is - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
O Jesu Saviour of Mankind - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
Immortal Invisible God Only Wise - Choir Of Truro Cathedral

Tracks:

Ride on Ride on in Majesty - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
All Glory Laud and Honour - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Come Rejoicing - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
God Is Love and Where True Love Is - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Magnificat: The Great Advent Antiphons - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Come, Christ's Beloved - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Children of the Hebrews (Palm Procession) - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Veneration of the Cross/The Reproaches (Veneratum and Reproaches) - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Once in Royal David's City - Choir Of Keble College
God Be in My Head - Choir Of Keble College
O Thou Who Camest from Above - Choir Of Keble College
Judge Eternal Throned in Splendour - Choir Of St Edmunsbury Cathedral
Christ the Lord Is Risen Again - Choir Of St Edmunsbury Cathedral
For All the Saints - Choir Of St Edmunsbury Cathedral
Thy Hand O God Has Guided - Choir Of St Edmunsbury Cathedral
Christ the Dawn of Our Salvation - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
I Was Glad - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Dear Lord and Father of Mankind - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Locus Iste - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Praise My Soul the King of Heaven - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel

Tracks:

Stand Up! Stand Up for Jesus! - The Choir of the Abbey School, Tewkesbury
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks - The Choir of the Abbey School, Tewkesbury
O Worship the King - The Choir of the Abbey School, Tewkesbury
O Heavenly Word of God on High - Choir Of The Collegiate Church Of St Mary
Praise to the Lord, The Almighty - Choir Of The Collegiate Church Of St Mary
Jesus Christ Is Risen Today - The Choir of York Minister
First Nowell - The Choir of York Minister
Abide with Me - The Choir of York Minister
Breathe on Me Breath of God - Choir Of Keble College
Rock of Ages - Choir Of Keble College
On This Day, The First of Days - Choir Of Keble College
Jesu Sweet and Mary - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
O Quam Gloriosum - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Ye Holy Angels Bright - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
O for a Closer Walk With God - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Prayer of St Patrick - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Lord's Prayer - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Blessed Be the God and Father - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Day Thou Gavest Lord Is Ended - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Jerusalem (And Did Those Feet in Ancient Times) - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel

Album Description

Full Title - 100 Hymns & Songs Of Inspiration. UK box-set featuring 100 tracks performed by Britain's finest Cathedral Choirs including, Gloucester Cathedral, Norwich Cathedral, Sheffield Cathedral, & many more. Five standard jewel cases housed in a slipbox. Castle Pulse. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

The picture.......2006-12-11

I haven't purchased the CD but the picture of the inside of a church on the cover is not of a British church, like one would assume since it says its a recording of British choirs. This picture is of Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Just thought i'd let you know. I'll be honest; I'm one to judge things by it's cover and if the company took such care to choose a 'British' church for their British choir CD, I'm willing to bet the music is equally well selected... I'm being sarcastic. But I gave the product 5 stars because I didn't want to hurt its ratings just because i'm cynical. But check out the church if you're ever in Montreal, it's truly beautiful... here I'm not being sarcastic.

Average customer rating:

How Can We Be Silent
BarlowGirl
Manufacturer: Fervent / Spirit-Led
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Christian Rock | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music

Gospel | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music

Christian Contemporary Music | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000RO9PZ0
Release Date: 2007-07-24

Tracks:

Song for the Broken
I Believe in Love
Here's My Life
Keep Quiet
Million Voices
Sweet Revenge
One More Round
Take My Chances
Guy Song
I Don't Regret

Tracks:

How Can We Be Silent [DVD]

Average customer rating:

How Can There Be Another Day?
Gerald Collier
Manufacturer: In Music We Trust
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Blood on the Slacks
Revenge!
III
Release the Stars
New Moon

ASIN: B000PLCMQY
Release Date: 2007-05-08

Tracks:

One Clear Shot
Jigsaw Puzzle
Sorrow
Is This What You Wanted
Don't Discard Me
Rocket Man
Hell Has Frozen Over (On Who I Used To Be)
Night Comes In
Sometimes She Forgets
For Taking My Baby Away
Don't Go With Him
I'm Not Coming Back

Product Description

Former frontman for Best Kissers in the World (Sub Pop, MCA Records), and former Warner Bros. solo recording artist, Gerald Collier has left Seattle and moved to Portland, re-grouped, formed a new backing band, and is back in full force. As All-Music Guide puts it, ""If there's one thing to say about Gerald Collier, it's that he has an uncanny knack for getting under the skin to tweak at the heartstrings. With an impassioned delivery and taut sense of timing, Collier is certainly one of the most overlooked vocalists... angst with edge and sorrow through sound... These songs are solid and sing-a-longable too.""

Average customer rating:

Better than the Dresden Dolls
Rasputina's best album after Thanks for the Ether
Excellent and strange.
Ladies and Gents,
Their Masterpiece

How We Quit the Forest
Rasputina
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Goth | Goth & Industrial | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alternative Dance | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

The Lost & Found
Thanks for the Ether
Cabin Fever
Frustration Plantation
My Fever Broke

ASIN: B000009NUG
Release Date: 1998-08-04

Tracks:

The Olde HeadBoard
LeechWife
You Don't Own Me
The New Zero
Rose K.
DwarfStar
Sign of the Zodiac
TrenchMouth
Herb Girls of Birkenau
Mayfly
Christian Soldiers
Things I'm Gonna Do
Diamond Mind
How We Quit the Forest
Watch T.V.

Amazon.com

You can litmus-test yourself with the name alone. If you don't appreciate the stained-glass humor of a trio of corseted female cellists warping the moniker of the Mad Monk, chances are you're going to despise the creepy, Gothic-edged sonatas on this sophomore CD, easily one of the year's most curious releases. Get the gag? Good. You're in for one hell of a strange sonic trip, with campy bandleader Melora Creager as your wisecracking guide. "Strange" as in a nimble plucking of Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me" chestnut. Or an intensely fiddled send up of the DeBeers jewelry commercial, "Diamond Mind," with Creager commanding: "I want that diamond!/I want that thing!/A tennis bracelet, a ring!" Elsewhere, the disc is alternately jarring ("LeechWife," "Olde HeadBoard") and gentle ("Rose K," "Herb Girls of Birkenau"). Creager's subject matter gets downright sinister at times. Where else can you hear yarns concerning the ancient medical practice of leech application? Heel to shovel, Creager digs deep into the catacombs of the surreal until you have no choice but to dig Rasputina. --Tom Lanham

Customer Reviews:

Better than the Dresden Dolls.......2006-06-12

In my humble opinion. But if you do like them, you will enjoy Rasputina I think. A lot of similarities. Just listen to the audio samples to get an idea of what their sound is.

Rasputina's best album after Thanks for the Ether.......2006-04-17

How We Quit the Forest, Rasputina's second full-length album, doesn't have so much the melancholy quality that Thanks for the Ether does. Several of the songs are also more mellow than those on Thanks for the Ether, but How We Quit the Forest sounds much more like rock overall, although it is still of its own original genre and certainly cannot be called rock. Those who classify How We Quit the Forest as rock and Thanks for the Ether as "goth" are simply lazy and eager for easy labels. How We Quit the Forest uses much distortion, giving it a more grating, electronic, rock-like sound, and odd sound effects (such as the duck call on "LeechWife"). While several of the songs on Thanks for the Ether are based tightly on historical events, the stories in How We Quit the Forest tend to be more fictional or spoofy. The lyrics are also less enigmatic, cleverly ironic, and insightful; Melora seems to have taken an overall simpler, goofier direction with them. Even the "joke songs" are sillier and less interesting. Since I love the melancholy, ethereal, "organic" sound of Thanks for the Ether and the wonderful stories behind it, I can't say that this album or, in fact, any of Rasputina's other albums, is better than their first, but How We Quit the Forest is my second in preference, and as a work of art it's still pretty interesting, creative, and sometimes emotive. Many people like it better than Thanks for the Ether; many probably don't. I suppose you'd just have to find out for yourself. Here's my impression of the songs:

The Olde HeadBoard - One of the more rock-ish songs. Nearly impossible to make sense of the relation of the "old headboard" to the narrator and the situation she describes. Melora explains, on the concept of the song: "I think something a lot of people do that I do, and have done, is that you're with somebody new and you just make up who they are. All these wonderful things that might not have any bearing on reality. It's kind of like building a person." The notes for the music video also mention that "Fantasy people are much harder to get over. Especially when you have a big imagination." They made a lovely, colorful music video for this song (the only one they ever made, I believe), which you can find at www.waterstained.com. Not my favorite song on the album, I'd say, but a sort of nice one to open with, and I guess it's one of the "catchier" songs that are always strategically placed towards the beginning of albums.

LeechWife - Again, rock-like. Quirky sound effects and fake cheering in the background. This song is about a little girl deciding to become a "leechwife," and features the kind of anachronistic combining of antique subjects with modern language (for example, phrases such as "You don't need no New Age crap") that is associated with Rasputina.

You Don't Own Me - A slowed-down cover. About a young woman who enjoys her freedom telling her boyfriend or the men she dates in general not to tell her what to do or say or put her on display.

The New Zero - My favorite song on the album. It is sweet and sad and tells an engaging story. Her voice is small and mellow on this one and not as shrill as it almost annoyingly is on some of the other songs. About an Abominable Snowman-esque creature whom I tend to think of as a cyborg-wolf-seal-made-of-many-incongruous-parts-type thing and his escaping from the harsh ostracism of society to an ice hotel with a girl (either friend or lover, but I initially thought of her as a little misfit girl and that he might even be her imaginary friend). You get the feeling towards the end that they let themselves drift away, possibly into death. It's not exactly that they let themselves go; it's just that they didn't really care enough to forcibly stay ("I really don't care, and neither does he/If this hotel melts into the sea/Polished and so rare, this way that we see/The coldness helps, it's our favorite remedy").

Rose K. - This is a moving song about the pain of old age and its accompanying physical and mental deterioration (not even being able to remember the life you used to have, etc.), and not so much about Rose Kennedy herself as anyone going through that. It's soft and vaguely wistful, and not mocking at all.

DwarfStar - One of the joke songs that aren't semi-serious (like the ones on Thanks for the Ether, such as "The Donner Party") but aren't funny, either. I usually skip this one.

Signs of the Zodiac - A very sad and touching song, even with its rather impersonal tone. Melora has a way of just telling a story and being somewhat removed from it yet conveying its sadness and making you feel the sympathy that should accompany it. It's about a man who's just had a heart attack and is in the hospital, surrounded by his family and friends, and our inability to predict or prevent these events, no matter how neat or orderly we might try to make our lives ("Do you believe in the signs of the zodiac?/Haven't you found that the systems for planning always fail?/Can you avoid what gave Daddy his heart attack?/Have you tried everything, anything, all to no avail?").

TrenchMouth - A catchy, mocking song about a white-trash, Dixie flag-waving, no-good brother who has abandoned his little sister, the narrator. Probably the most rock-ish song on the album.

Herb Girls of Birkenau - One of the serious, sincere songs. About victims of Josef Mengele (the Nazi physician who performed cruel and unusual experiments on Jews) in the concentration camp of Birkenau, and is based on a Holocaust survivor's account. Melora says about her inspiration for the song: "[The author] was working in the field or something and saw, rising over the hill, a perfect line of perfectly clean, shaven-headed women with aprons, picking herbs, with the most lifeless, soulless, zombielike eyes. [You have] the contrast of perfectly pressed aprons, picking herbs on a beautiful day... It was a chance for me to write a song dealing with that without making fun of it. In fact, I tried to make it a heartfelt, serious song, without being goofy at all. I'm interested in extremes of mind and how people respond when they suffer like that."

MayFly - To be honest, this was one of the songs I usually skipped. Musically, it is not very interesting or noticeabe, but conceptually, it is. Melora says: "Yeah, that is heartfelt--and it's kind of existential and serious with very light, almost dated dance music as the [setting]. When I was in high school, I heard, 'Oh, the mayfly, it lives only one day; there's no purpose to its life.' And that was the first time I ever thought, 'What is the purpose to our life?' [laughs] Do we have one? And I think [our life] is the same thing; it's just longer and it probably feels the same to the mayfly as to us, and...that's okay with me!'" So take a closer look at this song. I really like the idea behind it and its approach to the life of the mayfly.

Christian Soldiers - One of the joke songs that must be skipped. I can hardly tolerate this one.

Things I'm Gonna Do - I like the lyrics and her vocals on this song. It's about someone who yearns to "spit in the face of a tried and true one." "My cave is lit with tiny lights/I climb the stairs and catch the sight/Of other people far below/I've heard of them, they think they know/I make no friends, I've got no spark/In my defense, I take apart/What's put together easily/This is all true, I'll make it be"

Diamond Mind - A funny parody of diamond jewelry commercials. It is basically spoken from the perspective of a greedy woman who is pressuring her fiance/husband to get her a diamond with classical cello skillfully weaving in the background. Clever how the music matches the tone of the woman (when she starts talking louder and faster, the playing becomes more furious, etc.).

How We Quit the Forest - A more "organic" song telling the story of an ostrich, an egret, and a peacock living in the same hut in the forest. The "forest" is a metaphor for society, the animals that inhabit it are the various members of society, and "quitting the forest" suggests mentally quitting the social rules, customs, and norms that normally dictate us when we allow them to, and coming more fully into one's individuality. The ostrich and the egret rent their flat to another bird, the peacock, considering that although "his belongings were meager...he was pretty, would bring good luck." Initially they have all these ideas about getting along fabulously with the peacock ("they would sing songs all around the piano and do the cakewalk"), but soon they find out that he's different from them, though not necessarily in a good way, because all three are quite petty and small-minded. Having to deal with economic pressures, they let him stay because he's worth the money, but "so still they sat by the fireplace, silent/A chill ran through them." Most of the song is just about the three birds, but there is an outside narrator observing them all in their foolishness and plight and I believe that the ending lines ("The scene wasn't what it used to be/The scene is never what it used to/So that's how we quit the forest") are referring to Rasputina themselves and their individuality. It's as though they are recalling having observed the members of society like the ostrich, the egret, and the peacock and decided that this was all silly and that they wanted to do something different. A little gem of an allegory here. Worthy of giving the album its title.

Watch T.V. - This is about someone who's lost a brother (I don't think in the sense that he died) and is sort of in denial or delusion. She just sits and watches TV all day, and is waiting for him to come back to her. He was the golden child, the "star" of the family as well as on TV, "the one who always smiled and talked for half an hour/Always new." Reminds me a little of "TrenchMouth" just because it's about a brother who deserted her and disappointed her in some way. A soft, gentle song concluding the album.

My favorite songs on this album would be "The New Zero," "Rose K.," "Signs of the Zodiac," "Herb Girls of Birkenau," "Things I'm Gonna Do," "How We Quit the Forest," and maybe "TrenchMouth." I do think that the softer, mellower songs are more the keepers. If you like Rasputina, you'll like this album. However, I think of Thanks for the Ether as the more adventuruous and complex album, with better lyrics and (or possibly just more noticeable) cello playing. It was just cellos and drums then, but now the band has taken a different direction that never really returns to the melancholy, completely instrumental sound it had on Thanks for the Ether.

This review better have been helpful; I spent ages writing it!

Excellent and strange........2006-04-06

This album quickly went from something I wasn't too sure about and kept to myself to something I play loudly, and with the door open, whenever the mood for it hits me. And that's pretty often. It may have become one of my very favourite records -- I'm still thinking about that. Regardless, "New Zero", "Sign Of The Zodiac", and "Things I'm Gonna Do" are certainly three songs I tend to be very VERY fond of.

I give the whole album a four, as there is no four-and-a-half; but I'd give at least half the songs on it five stars, easy. Maybe not their best produced album (that would be "Frustration Plantation"), but certainly their best overall work, I think.

Ladies and Gents,.......2006-02-28

I simply must add my voice to the crowd in this case.
Rasputina is an absolute must for anyone with any kind of taste for truly unique music.
This album, though rare, thus pricey, contains many utterly essential songs and some stunning art.

Don't hesitate.

Their Masterpiece.......2005-07-26

Addictive and irresistable, this is Rasputina at their best. I personally feel that the so-called "joke songs" work. It's part of the weird fairy tale focus.

The story-book "enhancement" on this CD is very cool.

Average customer rating:

Andy Kim
Bubblegum/pop master's first and second solo LPs

How'd We Ever Get This Way/Rainbow Ride
Andy Kim
Manufacturer: Collector's Choice
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Canada | North America | International | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Bubblegum | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Baby, I Love You/Andy Kim
Andy KIM : Greatest Hits / Reflections / the Best Of
It's Now Winters Day
The Archies
New Gary Puckett and the Union Gap Album/The Gary Puckett Album

ASIN: B000F2C8E4
Release Date: 2006-07-25

Tracks:

How'd We Ever Get This Way
Shoot 'Em Up, Baby
Sunday Thunder
Ordinary Kind Of Girl
Just Like Your Shadow
Pretty Thing
Love That Little Woman
Do You Feel It, Too?
You Got Style
You Girl
Circus
Resurrection
Rainbow Ride
Please Be True
Nobody's Ever Going Anywhere
Baby While You're Young
I Found Her
I Want You
Mr. Music Man
Foundation Of My Soul
I Wonder If I Care As Much
Wonderful You
Gee Girl
To Be Continued

Product Description

1. How'd We Ever Get This Way
2. Shoot 'Em Up Baby
3. Sunday Thunder
4. Ordinary Kind Of Girl
5. Just Like Your Shadow
6. Pretty Thing
7. Love That Little Woman
8. Do You Feel It Too
9. You Got Style
10. You Girl
11. Circus
12. Resurrection
13. Rainbow Ride
14. Please Be True
15. Nobody's Ever Going Anywhere
16. Baby While We're Young
17. I Found Her
18. I Want You
19. Mr. Music Man
20. Foundation Of My Soul
21. I Wonder If I Care As Much
22. Wonderful You
23. Gee Girl
24. To Be Continued

Format: CD

Customer Reviews:

Andy Kim .......2006-11-16

To The Company Who Put These 2 Albums Out On CD Thank You Very Much
because I Did't Know Any Of These Album Were Ever In Print. I Listin To Some Of The Songs And A Lot Of Them I Don't Know About And They Will Have To Grow On Me.

Bubblegum/pop master's first and second solo LPs.......2006-07-28

Kim is most famously remembered as a performer for his his 1969 remake of the Phil Spector classic "Baby, I Love You," and his own 1974 chart-topper "Rock Me." But before finding success as a singer, he was a key player in the bubblegum pop world of the late '60s. His co-writes with Brill Building legend Jeff Barry include the genre's national anthem, "Sugar, Sugar" and additional Archies classics "Everything's Alright," "Feelin' So Good" and "Jingle Jangle." He and Barry also penned songs for the Monkees 1970 swansong, "Changes," including the favorite, "Oh My My."

Kim's solo debut LP, "How'd We Ever Get This Way" was co-written and produced by Jeff Barry, and released on Barry's Steed label in 1968. Though the melodic hooks and sunshine-pop productions are drawn from the same well as the earlier bubblegum work, the vocals are more soulful than the Archies' Ron Dante, the arrangements more muscular, and the lyrics not so decidedly pitched at pre-teens. The Monkees last few albums and Neil Diamond's early sides are obvious touchstones. "You Got Style" could easily have been lifted from Diamond's Bang-era sessions, replete with female backing chorus. Even the album's lightest song, "Circus," shows great craft in turning its kiddie theme into light-psych. The album is filled with sophisticated touches of heavy pop, neo-Caribbean flavorings, strumming acoustics, sing-a-long choruses, jangling tambourines and bouncy drumming. "Resurrection," closes the album with a surprisingly moody, dramatic and downcast first-person narrative from a depressed recluse.

The follow-up LP, 1969's "Rainbow Ride," was similarly co-written and produced by Barry, and also released on the Steed label. Building on the craft of his debut, this sophomore effort offers up a great deal more variety. The title tune's stellar mix of Bo Diddley beat, "Last Train to Clarksville" guitar riff, Boyce & Hart styled backing vocals, thumping bass drum and anti-drug lyrics deserved a turn on the charts. "Please Be True" mixes electric guitars, organ and vibes to funky hard-rocking effect, the philosophical "Nobody's Every Going Anywhere" is protest-cynical in the manner of Bobby Darin's Big Sur recordings, and "While You're Young" borrows some vocal effects from The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour. There's also classic Barry-Kim pop-rock here, such as the Nilsson-esque chamber pop "Music Man," the bouncy "Wonderful You," and the Spanish tinged Brill Building styled "To Be Continued." For good measure, Kim throws in a cover of the Everly Brothers' "I Wonder if I Care as Much" that sounds favorably like the original.

Collectors' Choice has included all 24 tracks of the original albums, clocking in at a generous 72 minutes. New liner notes from Richie Unterberger accompany full-panel reproductions of both album covers, and the Peter Max styled back cover of "Rainbow Ride." This is a super sweet package that shows off Kim's talent as both a songwriter and singer. Fans of his work as a bubblegum writer will find much to love here, fans of great pop-rock will be surprised at the depth and quality. [©2006 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com]