- Audio CD (8 Sep 2008)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Absolute Marketing
- ASIN: B001ECM2DQ
- Other Editions: Audio CD | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 107,377 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Product details |
Product Description
Review
It's nearly 25 years since Corinne Drewey and Andy Connell met, and it's the 21st birthday of their UK No. 1 album, It's Better To Travel. Having been available in Japan - a country where they are revered as minor deities - for best part of a year, Beautiful Mess, the ninth Swing Out Sister album, is finally released in the UK. Sweet, time-warped; unmistakeable; with their brand of London Embankment sunrises and cocktail party sunsets, it's so very Swing Out Sister - well written, produced and played, it's like a Bentley arriving on a parking lot full of Renault Lagunas.
The usual suspects - John Barry, Jimmy Webb, Burt Bacharach - all are evoked here, but there is still something fresh and exciting that the group do with all these references. ''Still tripping over dreams'', Drewery sings on Something Every Day, the album's lead single: well, those dreams are still here, writ large. Time Tracks You Down is full of unmistakable soul hooks, swelling bridges and plump middle eights; Secret Love (You're Invisible) and the northern soul pastiche of I'd Be Happy has everything you'd expect from the group. And Butterfly is one of the best tracks they've ever cut.
Although hardly earth-shattering and a long way away now from their chart heyday, Swing Out Sister could still give Adele, Duffy and all the latest crop a spin in their soft top for their money. If you liked them then, you'll not be disappointed with this. --Daryl Easlea
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply their finest album,
By Ellen (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Beautiful Mess [Japanese Import] (Audio CD)
Packed full of great hooks, this album is a treasure chest of everything from early 70s funk to Northern Soul to lush cinematic tracks that could have come from any of the greatest soundtrack masters - all wrapped up in production that places you right inside in the music. An intelligent, thoughtful, life-affirming classic by a band that deserves their loyal international following.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
...another classy pop / soul outing from the ever reliable duo...,
By
This review is from: Beautiful Mess (Audio CD)
Stop the average person on the street and ask them about Swing Out Sister, and if you're lucky, you'll get a quick trill of "Breakout", their 1986 debut breakthrough single which reached number 4 in the UK and number 6 in the US charts. Which is a shame because they continued making some excellent albums long after they stopped bothering the chart compilers back around 1994.
2008 sees Swing Out Sister releasing their ninth studio album, following the 2004 release Where Our Love Grows, and it's yet another excellent entry in their canon of work. It may be over 20 years since their debut It's Better to Travel came out and went to the top of the UK album charts, but a traveler in time would have no problem recognizing the late night jazz, trip hop hybrid that they've employed so well over the years. The vocals of Corinne Drewery have a richer, warmer tone than it did back in the early days, something that lends itself well to the extra dollops of sixties soul that have appeared over the years, with songs like "I'd Be Happy" owing as much to the Motown songbook as anything else. An instantly memorable tune, with some classic soul backing vocals, arranged by one Gina Foster, who I would imagine is the same singer who worked with the legendary British acid jazzers, Incognito. It's the Far Eastern market that has kept them afloat over the years, and their lush, timeless, harmony laden songs seem to have struck a chord in Japan and the Philippines, where sell out tours are the norm for them. However, this album has a slightly different sonic structure to it, something that perhaps only die hard Swing Out Sister fans might notice, but there is a flatter sound to the album which leaves a couple of the tracks such as "All I Say, All I Do" lacking. Maybe it's the mysterious absence of behind the scenes guy, Paul Staveley O'Duffy, but something has definitely changed. However, when they hit top form, as they do more often than not, it's an absolute treat. The highlights are many with the title track in particular an absolute peach. It's one of those songs that you keep returning to, hearing something new with every repeat play. Elsewhere, "Something Every Day" and "My State Of Mind" would see them back atop the charts in a just world. There are a couple of remixes appended which don't add to the album, but for the best part of ten tracks, it's a treat. If you're one of the people who've missed out on the last twenty years of Swing Out Sister, then this is your chance to put things right.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Over 20 years later, yet another great album,
By Rumbahbah (Hedge End, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Beautiful Mess [Japanese Import] (Audio CD)
Yet another quality entry into the canon of this fine band. This is perhaps their most diverse sounding album to date, coupling both their love of cinematic 60s pop (I'd Be Happy, Time Tracks You Down) and their affinity with smooth 70s soul and funk (My State of Mind, Butterfly), along with some new innovations (Secret Love), although the unifying factor is the mood, which is relaxed and laid-back, without ever being tedious or humdrum. As masters of their craft (incredibly this is their 9th studio album), Andy and Corinne's retro leanings are clear, but there's a sincerity in their re-creation of their influences that is much more credible than with many of their peers, and their music never comes across as a pastiche, but as an identifiable and vibrant entity in its own right - a melting pot of pure pop, Northern Soul, light jazz, funk and lush "easy listening". Best tracks are the sensual My State of Mind and the upbeat and subtle Something Every Day, but all the tracks (even the instrumental "interlude" Butterfly Lullaby) are worth a listen. Contrary to another reviewer's comments, I'd say this album offers a perfect introduction to novices of the Swing Out Sister sound. Whilst it seems they may never recapture the juggernaut commercial success of Breakout, perhaps that's a good thing: this is band that marches to the beat of its own drum and has become something pretty unique in today's music soundscape - I for one am grateful that after over 20 years, they're still able to produce such high calibre music as this.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
