- Audio CD (3 Sep 2007)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: 14th Floor
- ASIN: B000UN1CYA
- Other Editions: Audio CD | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 268,935 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 |
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I got into Joseph Arthur after a friend lent me his albums. (Big City Secrets, Come To Where I'm from, Redemption's Son, Our Shadows Will Remain and Nuclear Daydream.) Since then I've been listening to them constantly;
Staying up late and blasting them out while sinking deeper and deeper into his lexicon of inspired satire.
So as you can imagine I was very excited to have some new "Jarthur" songs to accompany me in those lonely nights.
This time around Joseph is backed by his new band the Lonely Astronauts and as a result the music has a more "jammed out" feel to it. This too, however, is also the albums weak spot. Gone are the perfectly crafted songs such as "Can't Exist," "Honey And The Moon" and "Even Thou," and in their place you get looser, almost messy, sounding tunes. The first couple of songs are a bit more "rocky" and at times it sounds like old school Bowie or T-Rex. Intermingled with the heavy stuff are the usual mellower songs, which at first don't seem that special, but after a few listens they begin to work their way under your skin.
For the first time on any Joseph album you get a mixture of vocalist. It's great to hear his band mates singing his songs; even if at times their singing is, gracefully, out of tune.
On first listen I wasn't too impressed with Let's Just Be (especially the track Lonely Astronaut -a 20 minute indulgent jam in which, half way through, Joseph just sings "I" repeatedly.)
After a week of listening it does grow on you, However, this album won't win Joseph any new fans, but if you've been with him since Big City Secrets give it a try because I'm sure it's enchantingly haphazard nature will have you in rapture.
Staying up late and blasting them out while sinking deeper and deeper into his lexicon of inspired satire.
So as you can imagine I was very excited to have some new "Jarthur" songs to accompany me in those lonely nights.
This time around Joseph is backed by his new band the Lonely Astronauts and as a result the music has a more "jammed out" feel to it. This too, however, is also the albums weak spot. Gone are the perfectly crafted songs such as "Can't Exist," "Honey And The Moon" and "Even Thou," and in their place you get looser, almost messy, sounding tunes. The first couple of songs are a bit more "rocky" and at times it sounds like old school Bowie or T-Rex. Intermingled with the heavy stuff are the usual mellower songs, which at first don't seem that special, but after a few listens they begin to work their way under your skin.
For the first time on any Joseph album you get a mixture of vocalist. It's great to hear his band mates singing his songs; even if at times their singing is, gracefully, out of tune.
On first listen I wasn't too impressed with Let's Just Be (especially the track Lonely Astronaut -a 20 minute indulgent jam in which, half way through, Joseph just sings "I" repeatedly.)
After a week of listening it does grow on you, However, this album won't win Joseph any new fans, but if you've been with him since Big City Secrets give it a try because I'm sure it's enchantingly haphazard nature will have you in rapture.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
8 reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Disappointing
19 April 2007
Format:Audio CD
Let me start by saying: I'm a big Joseph Arthur fan. For anyone who is interested in his music- I deplore you- go buy Come to Where I'm From or Our Shadows Will Remain. Those albums are a much better representation of what Joseph Arthur is capable of as a musician- and must haves for any fan.
Now, on to Let's Just Be.
Let's Just Be is Joseph's follow up to last years lukewarm Nuclear Daydream, and his first release on his Lonely Astronaut label. Similar to John Lennon's / Yoko Ono's Wedding Album, Unfinished Music etc. - Let's Just Be seems like an expression of all the crap that the labels wouldn't release on one of his previous releases. Overall, the album has a very Rock N Roll production. Any fans expecting anything similar to his previous releases might as well give in to disappointment immediately.
The opening track, "Diamond Ring" might as well be a discarded AC/DC track. Overly raucous and messy.
Track two, "Good Life" begins with a 60 sec sound collage intro. This track is a little more bearable, with a decent verse / chorus - but ends awkwardly with Joseph piercingly screaming "Rock N ROLL!" into the microphone. Already, less than five minutes into the album- I could tell this was a album was packed with nothing more than dissatisfaction. And it gets worse before getting better.
"Spacemen" begins ok, but the ridiculous chorus "Here Come the Spacemen, Outta the Sky!" ruined the track for me.
"Take Me Home" is definitely a little taste of the Joseph Arthur I know. A stripped down, simple track- it fails to reach the beauty / complexity of his best works, but is still a simple little track with a nice sound.
"Chicago" is an alternative track with lots of overdubbed vocals / echoes. It emotes similarly to his work on Redemption Son.
"Cockteeze" is another Rock N Roll track. It has a charm about it- but it's too silly to take seriously. Joseph's voice cracks through the whole track as he reaches too high out of his range. Again- I hear an AC/DC influence here...
I had high hopes for "Lonely Astronaut". It begins as a slow, acoustic, country flavored tune with more "Take Me Home" style lyrics. At around the 8 minute mark, the beat deconstructs - the music becomes noise- and Joseph repeats the word "I" into the microphone every three seconds for the next SEVEN MINUTES. After about SEVEN minutes, he begins repeating the word "LOVE" into the mic instead. This continues for another few minutes before the acoustic guitars come back in for the reprise, ending the track at just over 20 minutes. I am all for avante garde experimentation, but let's either leave it to the artists, forewarn your audience, or wait until you come down off the cocaine before doing so.
And that brings us to, "Cocaine Feet". Another bluesy Rock track- personally, I don't feel it's Joseph's genre- and I would rather hear it from people who do it well. But all in all, it's a decent track that showcases Jennifer Turner's guitar skills. One of the more solid tracks off the album.
The title track, "Let's Just Be", is a clap-a-long with more shrieking Joseph. Nothing special about this one.
"Shake it Off" is one of the worst tracks I have heard in recent memory. Again, I'm all for experimentation. Substances have helped a lot of musicians, but rarely while they are in the studio. Please stop the recording process until you're sober enough to recognize your inability to perform.
"Lack of Vision", Jennifer Turner's "Gimmie Some Company", and "Yer the Reason" are the standout tracks on the album. They sound as if they were recorded live in the studio- and Joseph is definitely outperformed by his band mates. Turner's "Gimmie Some Company" is one of my favorites of this album.
The album closer "Star Song" begins with the band members imitating cat meows.
It's another slower tune, with a Middle Eastern flair to it. It's one of the few incidences on this album where the Lonely Astronauts experimentation actually sees fruition. Well done guys.
All in all, I feel as though Joseph Arthur has lost all artistic credibility. I wish he would have taken the time to either hone these songs, or forewarn his fans that this album was more experimental (i.e. Unfinished Music).
As I said to my fellow Joseph Arthur fans on the day of release, the only talent Joseph exhibits on Let's Just Be is how he can ruin a song in thirty seconds.
Again, if you are interested in Joseph Arthur's music, which I highly recommend, then buy Come to Where I'm From or Our Shadows Will Remain, you will not be disappointed. His (actual) music is truly underappreciated.
Now, on to Let's Just Be.
Let's Just Be is Joseph's follow up to last years lukewarm Nuclear Daydream, and his first release on his Lonely Astronaut label. Similar to John Lennon's / Yoko Ono's Wedding Album, Unfinished Music etc. - Let's Just Be seems like an expression of all the crap that the labels wouldn't release on one of his previous releases. Overall, the album has a very Rock N Roll production. Any fans expecting anything similar to his previous releases might as well give in to disappointment immediately.
The opening track, "Diamond Ring" might as well be a discarded AC/DC track. Overly raucous and messy.
Track two, "Good Life" begins with a 60 sec sound collage intro. This track is a little more bearable, with a decent verse / chorus - but ends awkwardly with Joseph piercingly screaming "Rock N ROLL!" into the microphone. Already, less than five minutes into the album- I could tell this was a album was packed with nothing more than dissatisfaction. And it gets worse before getting better.
"Spacemen" begins ok, but the ridiculous chorus "Here Come the Spacemen, Outta the Sky!" ruined the track for me.
"Take Me Home" is definitely a little taste of the Joseph Arthur I know. A stripped down, simple track- it fails to reach the beauty / complexity of his best works, but is still a simple little track with a nice sound.
"Chicago" is an alternative track with lots of overdubbed vocals / echoes. It emotes similarly to his work on Redemption Son.
"Cockteeze" is another Rock N Roll track. It has a charm about it- but it's too silly to take seriously. Joseph's voice cracks through the whole track as he reaches too high out of his range. Again- I hear an AC/DC influence here...
I had high hopes for "Lonely Astronaut". It begins as a slow, acoustic, country flavored tune with more "Take Me Home" style lyrics. At around the 8 minute mark, the beat deconstructs - the music becomes noise- and Joseph repeats the word "I" into the microphone every three seconds for the next SEVEN MINUTES. After about SEVEN minutes, he begins repeating the word "LOVE" into the mic instead. This continues for another few minutes before the acoustic guitars come back in for the reprise, ending the track at just over 20 minutes. I am all for avante garde experimentation, but let's either leave it to the artists, forewarn your audience, or wait until you come down off the cocaine before doing so.
And that brings us to, "Cocaine Feet". Another bluesy Rock track- personally, I don't feel it's Joseph's genre- and I would rather hear it from people who do it well. But all in all, it's a decent track that showcases Jennifer Turner's guitar skills. One of the more solid tracks off the album.
The title track, "Let's Just Be", is a clap-a-long with more shrieking Joseph. Nothing special about this one.
"Shake it Off" is one of the worst tracks I have heard in recent memory. Again, I'm all for experimentation. Substances have helped a lot of musicians, but rarely while they are in the studio. Please stop the recording process until you're sober enough to recognize your inability to perform.
"Lack of Vision", Jennifer Turner's "Gimmie Some Company", and "Yer the Reason" are the standout tracks on the album. They sound as if they were recorded live in the studio- and Joseph is definitely outperformed by his band mates. Turner's "Gimmie Some Company" is one of my favorites of this album.
The album closer "Star Song" begins with the band members imitating cat meows.
It's another slower tune, with a Middle Eastern flair to it. It's one of the few incidences on this album where the Lonely Astronauts experimentation actually sees fruition. Well done guys.
All in all, I feel as though Joseph Arthur has lost all artistic credibility. I wish he would have taken the time to either hone these songs, or forewarn his fans that this album was more experimental (i.e. Unfinished Music).
As I said to my fellow Joseph Arthur fans on the day of release, the only talent Joseph exhibits on Let's Just Be is how he can ruin a song in thirty seconds.
Again, if you are interested in Joseph Arthur's music, which I highly recommend, then buy Come to Where I'm From or Our Shadows Will Remain, you will not be disappointed. His (actual) music is truly underappreciated.
A taste of something different
30 May 2010
Format:Audio CD
Its a record for people who need a break from mainstream melodic music, I think. Sure I love Joseph`s popular albums and more mainstream songs. But this is eclectic and artistic and I agree, a masterpiece. Lack A Vision is worth the price of the album. Joseph clearly does not lack a vision. I hope to hear more as he develops in this direction. Its a very intereting journey and one I intend to follow. I love his recent one man tour with loop pedals, acoustic and electric, truly a show that must be seen. «his vibes are haunting, long after the show is over.
Disappointing (Plus Bonus "What the Hell Were They Thinking!")
1 Dec 2009
Format:Audio CD
I gave this 2 stars because as a whole album I think it stinks. But also there are 3 songs that are really fantastic and remind me of Arthur's songwriting from Redemption's Son, which is one of his best albums. Those 3 songs I would give 4 or 5 stars.
"Take Me Home" is a heartfelt and subdued tune consisting of acoustic guitar, keyboards and mellow drums. Really beautiful. "Chicago" is an interestingly written song that is much more energetic, with loud guitars and a punchy beat. "Lonely Astronaut" is an enigma. It's over twenty minutes long. Parts of it, most of it as measured by the clock, I absolutely love: beautiful songwriting. But here's the thing: at about 8 minutes into the song it suddenly devolves into this cacophany of non-musical guitar strumming, and on top of that Arthur is chanting "aye, aye, aye, aye." This goes on FOR EIGHT MINUTES! Right in the middle of the song. And then, just as mysteriously as it came, it's gone, and the song goes back to what it was doing at the beginning for 4 more minutes. If you could splice the middle 8 minutes out of the song it would be great. I'm generally pretty appreciative of artistic license, but I don't understand the meaning of putting this chaotic, grating mental breakdown in the middle of this song. There's no meaningful transition and no obvious meaningful relationship to the rest of the song. I just don't know what they were thinking.
Perhaps some explanation comes from this quote from Joseph Arthur: "The philosophy of the whole record was sort of a letting go, that's why I called it Let's Just Be, because it was like everything about that record [came from] a Zen-like approach. Just letting things be how they are."
There is one other equally horrible part of this album and that would be the song "Shake It Off" with Arthur shrieking like a banshee over an awkward beat. Listen to the sound clip and you'll see what I mean. It doesn't get any better.
Don't buy this album unless you just buy mp3s of the 3 good tracks (although you can't buy "Lonely Astronaut" as an mp3). Other than my favorite Joseph Arthur album, Redemption's Son, I also love Come to Where I'm From and Our Shadows Will Remain. You can't go wrong with any of those three albums. If you've already got those and you want to deepen your Joseph Arthur collection, consider Vacancy which is very good (although I think it's expensive to buy these days) or And the Thieves Are Gone EP which is solid.
"Take Me Home" is a heartfelt and subdued tune consisting of acoustic guitar, keyboards and mellow drums. Really beautiful. "Chicago" is an interestingly written song that is much more energetic, with loud guitars and a punchy beat. "Lonely Astronaut" is an enigma. It's over twenty minutes long. Parts of it, most of it as measured by the clock, I absolutely love: beautiful songwriting. But here's the thing: at about 8 minutes into the song it suddenly devolves into this cacophany of non-musical guitar strumming, and on top of that Arthur is chanting "aye, aye, aye, aye." This goes on FOR EIGHT MINUTES! Right in the middle of the song. And then, just as mysteriously as it came, it's gone, and the song goes back to what it was doing at the beginning for 4 more minutes. If you could splice the middle 8 minutes out of the song it would be great. I'm generally pretty appreciative of artistic license, but I don't understand the meaning of putting this chaotic, grating mental breakdown in the middle of this song. There's no meaningful transition and no obvious meaningful relationship to the rest of the song. I just don't know what they were thinking.
Perhaps some explanation comes from this quote from Joseph Arthur: "The philosophy of the whole record was sort of a letting go, that's why I called it Let's Just Be, because it was like everything about that record [came from] a Zen-like approach. Just letting things be how they are."
There is one other equally horrible part of this album and that would be the song "Shake It Off" with Arthur shrieking like a banshee over an awkward beat. Listen to the sound clip and you'll see what I mean. It doesn't get any better.
Don't buy this album unless you just buy mp3s of the 3 good tracks (although you can't buy "Lonely Astronaut" as an mp3). Other than my favorite Joseph Arthur album, Redemption's Son, I also love Come to Where I'm From and Our Shadows Will Remain. You can't go wrong with any of those three albums. If you've already got those and you want to deepen your Joseph Arthur collection, consider Vacancy which is very good (although I think it's expensive to buy these days) or And the Thieves Are Gone EP which is solid.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
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 category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
