- Purchase a product from the Music Store sold by Amazon.co.uk and receive £1 to use on an album download in our MP3 Store. Here's how (terms and conditions apply)
Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Special Offers and Product Promotions
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s
Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or
view the MP3 Album.
|
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
If you've been following the career of this Belgian trio, you've seen them go from trip-hop (on their debut, A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular) to trip-pop (1998's Blue Wonder Power Milk), pitting fan against fan in the process. One thing's for sure: The Magnificent Tree only adds fuel to the fire. The "trip" has all but left the pop, leaving behind an assortment of solid, radio-friendly tunes, but hardly anything with the character and charm of their earlier work. It's too bad, really, because though there's some real ear candy here, it's lost in the crinkly wrapper of predictable arrangements and vapid lyrics. Geike Arnaert, given to ethereal coolness on "Milk", chooses a more out-front, sultry vocal style on "Tree", and while it works on the uncharacteristically rockin' "Jacky Cane" and the torchy "Vinegar & Salt", elsewhere ("Mad About You", "Everytime We Live Together" and the embarrassingly treacly "Out of Sight") it just rings false--too slick for its own good. Touches of the old style appear here and there, notably on the atmospheric, sample-infused "Autoharp" and the dreamy, Dubstar-like "Waves", but they promise more than the rest of the album can deliver. It may be a solid, sturdy Tree, but it's a few branches short of magnificence. --Steve Landau
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great mysterious songs and vocals...,
By Sakis (San Diego, originally Greece) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Magnificent Tree (Audio CD)
I happened to catch Hooverphonic live in Boston, on their tour with BT. I didn't know this band at all & I had just only heard of them, so I must say they had a great live show, and a great performance! The songs on this CD are all kinda experimental and yet, inviting and mysterious which draw me to them. "Autoharp" starts off nicely with Geike Arnaert, the main singer talking softly but it ends with Geike raising her voice to a magnificent chant that someone would only expect to come out from someone from the middle east. It's by far the best moment of the CD. "Mad About You" is one of those songs that just stick in your head and you wanna sing over and over, and of course I don't blame people comparing them to Portishead from this song, because they sound very similar to that band. "Waves" is again what the song title says, a nice wave of music and singing that resembles a ride outside in a clear night sky filled with stars, being carefree. "Jackie Cane" was wonderful when they performed it live. It is a rock song and the guitars are great!"Everytime We Live Together We Die A Bit More" is another song I always get stuck in my head mostly from the way Geike sings "everybody wants one, everybody's got one, everybody everybody wants to be loved", it sounds again very similar to Portishead."Pink Fluffy Dinosaurs" is also a gem!!! I adore the cute music on the background, and I find the lyrics very interesting (very tripping indeed)."Renaissance Affair" on the other hand leaves me totally uninterested, but the rest of the songs are nice too. This album gets spooky at times (due to the synthesizers) and at times very playfull, anyone trying to make sense of what Hooverphonic are thinking, won't be able to find the end of it. It's just a nice album to be enjoyed, and played often at your CD players.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent music from Belgium!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Magnificent Tree (Audio CD)
I purchased this album on the strength of Hooverphonic's previous release "Blue Wonder Powder Magic" which was a favourite in my collection. I was scared that this sequel would be disappointing given the fact that most artists in this genre are selling out! I was indeed very wrong...this album is a combination of harmonious, trippy and chilling out music. Hooverphonic have really managed to bring out their best with this...my favourite tracks are Mad About You, Waves, and Jackie Cane...which are quite diverse in style yet portray the same mood. I strongly recommend this CD to anybody who enjoys listening to Morcheeba, Lamb and Mono. A sure five star
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hugely likeable on the first listen - and it lasts!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Magnificent Tree (Audio CD)
Heard this while staying with friends in the US, and within a couple of weeks everyone we knew had bought a copy. Somewhere between Portishead, Groove Armada and maybe Dubstar, with memorable melodies and great production value, it seems to appeal to everyone. Hugely likeable on the first listen, this is the first time in a long while that I have enjoyed a whole CD rather than only a few signature tracks. You might like this. Which means you'll have to deal with the fact that these guys are Belgian...
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 category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
