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Ophelia
 
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Ophelia [CD]

Natalie Merchant, Ralph Farris | Format: Audio CD
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
Price: £12.20 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
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Frequently Bought Together

Ophelia + Tigerlily + Motherland
Price For All Three: £25.15

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  • In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Tigerlily ~ Natalie Merchant Audio CD £4.17

    In stock.
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    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Motherland ~ Natalie Merchant Audio CD £8.78

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Product details

  • Audio CD (1 Jun 1998)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Format: CD
  • Label: ATLANTIC
  • ASIN: B000006OAM
  • Other Editions: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 12,915 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

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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.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Samples
Song Title Time Price
Listen  1. Ophelia (LP Version) 5:10£0.69
Listen  2. Life Is Sweet (LP Version) 5:12£0.69
Listen  3. Kind And Generous (LP Version) 4:01£0.69
Listen  4. Frozen Charlotte (LP Version) 5:23£0.69
Listen  5. My Skin (LP Version) 5:32£0.69
Listen  6. Break Your Heart (LP Version) 4:48£0.69
Listen  7. King Of May (LP Version) 4:09£0.69
Listen  8. Thick As Thieves (LP Version) 6:57£0.69
Listen  9. Effigy (LP Version) 2:30£0.69
Listen10. The Living (LP Version) 3:18£0.69
Listen11. When They Ring Them Golden Bells (with Hidden Track- Ophelia Reprise) (LP Version) 9:33£0.69

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Miss Natalie needs to lighten up. Ophelia's a pretty heavy record, in terms of both the thick, string-heavy production and in terms of her protracted, pretentious songs. Merchant has a beautiful voice but she bogs it down with weighty themes that walk around in flashy clothes without going anywhere. She's even got, gulp, Tibetan lyric translations on "Effigy". It's telling that the best track here is the simplest--a lovely reading of an 1887 parlour hymn, "When They Ring The Golden Bells". Its genteel acoustic backdrop perfectly sets off Merchant's voice--and it's the only time she sings with a passion that doesn't feel pretended. Guests include Daniel Lanois and The Innocence Mission. --Michael Ruby

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
Throughout the years Natalie Merchant has been many women, a barefoot folkie helicopter dancing around a stage, a PSA doyen preaching to the converted, and a musical earth mother. She grew up in 10,000 Maniacs, and its not surprising that when she produced Tigerlily it was as un-Maniacal is you could imagine..... or so I thought at the time. Then she gave birth to Ophelia, her latest baby, and boy does she not sound like her sisters.

Ophelia is a lush, orchestral monument to Merchants own feminine vanity, but while it could have been a true folly it stands as her greatest triumph to date. From the opening intonation of Ophelia (wherein Merchant play acts herself as all the things she's not been yet), to the closing intonation of, well, Ophelia Reprised, this is Merchant throwing her heart and soul into a musical project in a way she hasn't seemed to since In My Tribe. Only "Kind and Generous" and "Effigy" grate, the former because of the Hallmark sentimentality and the latter because even on an album this good there is limits to the acceptibility of pretension which are reached at Tibetan translations. The earnest beauty of tracks like "My Skin" and the fierce passion of "Thick As Thieves" stand out, and Merchant and Karen Peris certainly give it their all on "When They Ring The Golden Bells".

Peris is also present for one of Ophelia's (and possibly mErchant's career's) finest moments. "Frozen Charlotte" is a love song of astonishing beauty. The tenderness of both women's voices is touching, while the gentle patience that Merchant's character displays to the hurt Peris is almost heart-breaking, it is worth the cost of the album alone.

Retrospectively, Ophelia eclipses In My Tribe to my mind as Merchant's best work- and the guests all bring their own touch to the songs. But this is Natalie Merchant's show, she is suffragette, whore, demi-goddess and Human Cannonball. She is quite simply magnificent.

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25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is a gorgeous album, packed with stunningly good melodies and arrangements. It is lush, epic, and beautifully written and performed. Natalie Merchant's voice is a thing of startling loveliness, delicacy and emotional depth. Piano, cello, violin and delicate guitar contribute enormously on every track. Peter Yanowitz' trumpet on Break Your Heart is divine. Although the album demands some emotional maturity in the listener, as evidenced by some of the negative reviews here, many of the songs can only be described as uplifting.

Outstanding, classic tracks include 'Ophelia', 'Life is Sweet', 'Frozen Charlotte' and 'The Living'. Only two tracks tend to disappoint - 'Kind and Generous', with its simplistic happy-clappy lyrics, and 'When They Ring the Golden Bells', on which the initial section is marred by Karen Perlis' rather saccharine guest vocals.

Listening to this album, the most depressing thought that comes to my mind is that someone who would appreciate and enjoy it might be put off by the unhelpful, aggressive Amazon review. Complaints about emotional tone are completely inappropriate - what next, reviews of Gregorian chants saying "this is a bit of a downer, lighten up lads!" Grow up Michael, this is Amazon, not NME - you're here to sell albums, not rip them to shreds. The only pretension here is your own.

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Was this review helpful to you?
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Stunning, simply stunning. It's dark, deep, sad, depressing, emotive, atmospheric, emotional and one hell of a journey from start to finish. If you want 'pop' don't buy this! If you like expressive lyrics sung by a haunting voice then this is the best you can do.

"My Skin" is as dark and depressing as you can get. Yet, by the time the full instrumental ending kicks in, it becomes one of the most uplifting pieces of music you can listen to.

Natalie Merchant IS acquired taste. But without sampling, your life will be poorer for it!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Natalie`s Ophelia
It`s taken me some years to `get` Natalie M, but this beautiful album has done the trick. It`s a stunner from beginning to end, one of those collections of songs from which it`s... Read more
Published 21 months ago by GlynLuke
Natalie Merchant
Great CD well worth it if you like Natalie Merchant, she seems to get better her voice is fantastic
Published 22 months ago by Mr. S. Mclain
Beautiful!! But the photos on the cover??
I agree with everyone here that this album is the most beautiful album ever! She sings from the heart this woman and hits every note with a special tingling zing!! Read more
Published on 30 Oct 2009 by Alan D. Evans
Restore's the maligned american dream
That Natalie Merchant even exists in the land of madonna, mafia, gangsta-rap, migrant exploitation is unbelievable enough, but that she sings songs of such power is a miracle. Read more
Published on 27 Sep 2009 by Hud
perfect!
if you are thinkin of buying this album buy it it will inrich your musical life it can make you smile , cry make your heart leap so bueatiful a recording you wont regret it just... Read more
Published on 26 May 2008 by Mr. M. R. Williamson
Her best
I do bittersweet, melancholy, introspection, and like hauntingly beautiful music, therefore I have fallen in love with this album. Read more
Published on 30 Sep 2007 by Sparky
Life is Sweet
Ophelia was Natalie Merchant's second solo album and to my mind her best. While Tigerlily has some truly lovely moments it was a bit tentative and inconsistent, Merchant seemed... Read more
Published on 14 Jun 2007 by Phil Hattie
good album
I do like this album but havent listened to it as much as I thought I would. Love Break your heart and Natalies' voice is stunning but Tigerlilly remains my absolute favourite... Read more
Published on 26 April 2007 by Jen Hen
Breaks my heart
"Ophelia", "Life is Sweet" and "My Skin" break my heart. I am so glad I came across such profound songs. Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2007 by Hiro
Better than Tigerlily, that takes a lot.
I don't know where to start, I have hundreds of albums but this is in my top 5. Yes I know everything is personal to everyone and it is all relative, but I defy anyone not to be... Read more
Published on 25 Mar 2003 by gibbons
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