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Music in a Foreign Language
 
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Music in a Foreign Language [CD]

~ Lloyd Cole
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
Price: £3.08 & eligible for Free UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Audio CD (26 Feb 2008)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Sanctuary
  • ASIN: B00008POMB
  • Other Editions: Audio CD
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 5,383 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Track Listings

1. Music In A Foreign Language
2. My Other Life
3. Late Night, Early Town
4. Cutting Out
5. No More Love Songs
6. Today I'm Not So Sure
7. My Alibi
8. People Ain't No Good
9. Brazil
10. Shelf Life

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Whatever it is Lloyd Cole does all day, it doesn't involve coming up with radical shifts in artistic direction. Music in a Foreign Language, Cole's first album since 1995's excellent Love Story, is of a piece with the six he produced in rather more productive decades before that: Music in a Foreign Language is another collection of deftly written, wryly observed and balefully sung ballads by a consistently fine songwriter. It also includes what is, for Cole, a rare foray into interpretation, with a version of Nick Cave's "People Ain't No Good".

Music in a Foreign Language is at least distinguishable from its predecessors in approach, if not style: Cole made the album at home, forsaking the studio for his Apple Mac. Just as his contemporary Roddy Frame did on his superb Surf, Cole has built these songs around his voice and acoustic guitar, with a minimum of instrumental embellishments. It's something Cole should have done before now--though as literate and clever as ever, he sounds much less knowing and arch than previously, like a man who has learnt the difference between confessing and merely telling tales. --Andrew Mueller

Description
In 2000, Lloyd Cole made an appealing return to form with THE NEGATIVES, and followed it up by fiddling around with electronic instrumentals, an odds-and-ends collection, and an off-the-cuff live album. Finally picking up where THE NEGATIVES left off, MUSIC IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE is a similarly low-key album full of smart songwriting. Over the years, Cole's sound has shifted from jangly pop, dramatic orchestrations and folk-based rock and pop, but 20 years after his recorded debut, he's boiled his style down on the sparest album of his career.
Seldom accompanied by more than a couple of gently picked guitars and a muted keyboard, Cole delivers literate songs that strike the perfect balance between the verbosity of his early records and his more simplified '90s approach. Matching a sharp eye with a rabbit-quick wit, he has much in common here with Raymond Carver as he does with Morrissey. It also doesn't hurt that his singing voice has matured into its most expressive phase to date.

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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
5 star:
 (12)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars a rare treat, 25 Jan 2004
I think this is one of Lloyd Cole's finest albums to date, standing alongside Love Story, Rattlesnakes and Mainstream.

If you were a big fan of the 90's, long haired, rock version of LC..then you may find this albumn a bit too tame. But stick with it for a couple of listens, and I think you will find it growing on you.

I personally don't think there is a bad track on the albumn, but
My Other Life, and Shelf Life deserve special mention.

LC's vocal range has always been distinctive but limited in range. But on this albumn he blends his volcals perfectly with each track.

What's really nice about this albumn is the simple, home made quality to the production of the tracks.
This minimalist approach has really worked, allowing the songs to really shine through.

This really does deserve to be a quiet success.
I'd be surprised if I listen to anything quite as good this year.

Andrew

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A step forward (hopefully), 29 Dec 2003
By Eduardo (Madrid Spain) - See all my reviews
I have found a simple rule to assess Lloyd Cole's albums: the harder he tries to rock the worse the outcome ("Bad Vibes" being therefore his worst offering ever). After listening to "Music in a Foreign Language", it would seem he has finally given up trying to be a rocker. The album is full of delicate pop songs that highlight all the strengths of previous Lloyd Cole's recordings (ironic and intelligent lyrics together with classic, if simple, arrangements). A great album.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars best ever album, 18 Nov 2003
By s (Paris, France) - See all my reviews
A great record. Lloyd Cole had ditched all the glitzy production of his recent recordings and stripped it down to acoustic guitars and some very light programming. The result is a very laid back, understated and mellow yet modern and uplifting record that is a sheer joy to listen to -- so much so that I found this record had me the first time I listened to it. The title track, "Cutting out", "Brazil" and "People ain't no good" (a Nick Cave cover) stand out, but there is not a poor track on the whole album. His singing is excellent. His writing is as witty and introspective as ever. I really think this is his best album yet -- as if he has finally discovered a production style he likes and has put out the album that he wanted to make as a singer-songwriter, free of the demands of the record company who wanted him to be a top-selling pop-rocker. Some fans may see this as a return to form. I think it is more of a case of him finally finding it. An excellent record, and highly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning
Lloyd Cole knows how to craft a song & this album is a collection of truly excellent recordings. This album as a whole is a grower, it needs a couple of listens to appreciate how... Read more
Published 24 months ago by DavyA

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb
This album sums up all that is great about the man. I was a great fan of the early llyod cole & commotions albums, but lost my way somewhere along his solo career, excepting the... Read more
Published on 23 Aug 2006 by Thetamus

4.0 out of 5 stars Change of direction for Lloyd?
I bought this album on it's release in the UK and on the back of adoring the previous albums: The Negatives (our Honeymoon album travelling around New England - my wife can still... Read more
Published on 30 Jul 2006 by Dan Mitchell

5.0 out of 5 stars A TIMELESS TREAT
This is a beautiful album. The strongest collection by Lloyd Cole ever. The laid back intimacy of each song demonstrates that the way Lloyd Cole has put this cd together is the... Read more
Published on 1 Mar 2005 by Mr. C. J. Waldron

2.0 out of 5 stars OH DEAR
I am one of the 1000's of people who buy every Lloyd Cole album and have done since the 80's. Once in a while there is a gem such as Love Story or the first solo album, and the... Read more
Published on 19 Oct 2003 by thisflighttonite

1.0 out of 5 stars May we have the old Lloyd Cole back please?
Lloyd Cole, writer of some the finest songs of the late '80s and early '90s started to fade away sometime in the mid '90s. Read more
Published on 22 Aug 2003 by DiBosco

5.0 out of 5 stars Best for years
This is his strongest collection of songs since Rattlesnakes. The sparse arrangements and DIY production lend it a spectral, melancholy, lost-pastoral atmosphere strongly... Read more
Published on 3 Aug 2003 by johnoconnell2

5.0 out of 5 stars Sublime.
This is an intimate and effortlessly delivered collection of songs from Lloyd Cole. If he carries on in this rich vein of form he is danger of becoming regarded as that... Read more
Published on 8 Jul 2003 by Phil Bradbury

5.0 out of 5 stars Mid-life crisis continued....
I have just been to see Lloyd in concert at the Comedy Store Manchester with a raft of his old college mates. Read more
Published on 1 Jul 2003 by Paul Midgley

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece
I saw Lloyd live last year when he performed a solo acoustic set. It was a fantastic night and he has now put this beautiful style onto his latest album. Read more
Published on 20 Jun 2003 by MARK DOYLE

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