|
Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Track Listings
| 1. Too Many Questions |
| 2. Black & Gold |
| 3. 21st Century Life |
| 4. Sick |
| 5. Waiting for Time |
| 6. Recycle It! |
| 7. Cottonmouth |
| 8. Hot Mess |
| 9. Pocket |
| 10. Cut Me Loose |
| 11. Sally |
| 12. Cling Wrap |
| 13. Can't Stop This! |
| 14. Still Hungry (hidden track) |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk review
Australian-born soul starlet Sam Sparro has been making ears prick up of late. His savvy blend of soul, funk and modern electronica nods to 70s and 80s legends like Stevie Wonder and Hall and Oates, but Sparro brings a sassy style and modern production ethic that renders his music 21st Century fresh. Armed with a smooth, mercurial voice, Sparro sashays slickly through disco, funk and soul, moving waists with the punchy electro-funk of "Too Many Questions", "Black & Gold" and "Cut Me Loose", soaring soul like "Hot Mess" and darker material like "Pocket’ and the synth-laden "Sick" (which comes over all Calvin Harris admittedly minus the kitsch, ironic appeal). "Clingwrap" is pop-lite Prince, and there’s the occasional slower track like "Waiting For Time" and "Cottonmouth", but mostly this is an upbeat collection for good time people. His Daft Punk-meets-Jamiroquai single "Black & Gold" has already earned him deserved comparisons to contemporary blue-eyed soul boys like Jamie Lidell; Sam Sparro is assured enough to make him a star.--Danny McKenna
Review
Hurrah in general for Sam Sparro. After what has seemed like an ice age of 'new Amy Winehouses', it's about time the boys got back in on the action. Remember, a couple of years ago, everyone was looking for the new James Blunt, and therefore following summer turned into a non-stop Magic FM deluge of bleating, so the time is right for a new surge of testosterone. Leading the charge is the fabulous and not entirely ugly 25-year old Sam Sparro. Born in Australia, living in LA with occasional bursts into London, Sam grew up listening to his gospel singing minister dad, before coming to London and diving head first into the club scene. Now after being bigged up by Mark Ronson, Adele, Chaka Khan and well, everyone else basically, and working with the likes of Richard X and Paul Epworth, Sam Sparro's debut is his passport to fantastic stardom.
You'll know the single Black And Gold by now. It's unquestionably the single of the year and is sounding more amazing as the weather improves. Its durability is its genius: It sounds just as good when you're sharing an ice cream with a Labrador in the park or in a club at the business end of a bucket of poppers. The rest of the album doesn't disappoint either. Imagine a truly 21st century funk. A place where Daft Punk meets Prince (or, in the case of Hot Mess, several eras in one song), a place that references mid-eighties US soul such as the SOS Band and Cameo, along with a bit of post-modernist slap-bass.
Those looking for the next Black And Gold won't find it on the unnecessary eco-R&B jam of Recycle It!, but in Sick (The Human League, if Dare was made in 2008 - a very good thing), 21st Century Life (modern confusion done with way more panache than, say, Calvin Harris) and Pocket (catchy-as-hell disco-textural advice on karma and dealing with bastards).
At around an hour (well no, more 50 mins - there's a bit of a gap before a pace-dropping untitled bit of lovely mellow soul), Sam Sparro's debut shows a broad range of inventiveness and flavours, and becomes more indispensable with every listen, and there's plenty to suggest a seriously golden future. Come 2009, it'll be 'the next Sam Sparro' that what's left of the music industry will be hunting for. --Ian Wade
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
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
It takes a brave man (or a somewhat foolish manager) to time ones'
debut album release with that of Mrs.Ciccone-Ritchie's latest
extravaganza but Mr Sparro gets my vote straight off the bat
with this scintillating slice of chic, sophisticated electrofunk.
Anybody who can manage to weave the word 'discombobulated' into a pop song
(trust me it's there in 'Cottonmouth') immediately gains my full attention and respect.
It's a very strong first showing indeed, 'Black And Gold' having been
around for a little while now as an amuse-bouche to whet our appetites
until the whole three courses (plus petit fours and coffee) arrived at the table.
And what a damned fine meal we have set out before us here.
It's as though a hyperactive schoolboy has been rooting around
in his elder brother's 70's and 80's funky disco collection,
absorbing the best and ditching the rest.
The retro references are witty, cunningly integrated and sharply performed.
(I sense an encyclopedic knowledge and enthusiasm for the genre).
Mr Sparro's voice shifts comfortably between a rich (and slightly sleazy)
baritone and a finely honed falsetto (watch out Mr Shears !) navigating
the thirteen numbers in this collection with confidence and authority.
This largely uptempo set would feel as at home in the surburban drawing
rooms of Purley as it doubtless will in the darker corners of West Hollywood.
Highpoints for the yet-to-be initiated include : aforementioned groovetastic single
'Black And Gold'; '21st Century Life' for it's punch-in-the-guts slap bass;
'Cottonmouth' for it's smart-arse, loping elegance;'Hot Mess' for it's hot hook chorus
and personal favorite 'Pocket' which has pretty much everything in it that I want from a pop song.
Full Marks Mr Sparro. It's shiny shirt and disco flares for me tonight for sure....
....and I want to dance with somebody !
debut album release with that of Mrs.Ciccone-Ritchie's latest
extravaganza but Mr Sparro gets my vote straight off the bat
with this scintillating slice of chic, sophisticated electrofunk.
Anybody who can manage to weave the word 'discombobulated' into a pop song
(trust me it's there in 'Cottonmouth') immediately gains my full attention and respect.
It's a very strong first showing indeed, 'Black And Gold' having been
around for a little while now as an amuse-bouche to whet our appetites
until the whole three courses (plus petit fours and coffee) arrived at the table.
And what a damned fine meal we have set out before us here.
It's as though a hyperactive schoolboy has been rooting around
in his elder brother's 70's and 80's funky disco collection,
absorbing the best and ditching the rest.
The retro references are witty, cunningly integrated and sharply performed.
(I sense an encyclopedic knowledge and enthusiasm for the genre).
Mr Sparro's voice shifts comfortably between a rich (and slightly sleazy)
baritone and a finely honed falsetto (watch out Mr Shears !) navigating
the thirteen numbers in this collection with confidence and authority.
This largely uptempo set would feel as at home in the surburban drawing
rooms of Purley as it doubtless will in the darker corners of West Hollywood.
Highpoints for the yet-to-be initiated include : aforementioned groovetastic single
'Black And Gold'; '21st Century Life' for it's punch-in-the-guts slap bass;
'Cottonmouth' for it's smart-arse, loping elegance;'Hot Mess' for it's hot hook chorus
and personal favorite 'Pocket' which has pretty much everything in it that I want from a pop song.
Full Marks Mr Sparro. It's shiny shirt and disco flares for me tonight for sure....
....and I want to dance with somebody !
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Sam Sparro is truly an artist that grew up with the great sounds of the 80's. With influences from 'Depeche Mode' and the Funk vibes of 'Prince', Sam Sparro brings us a resreshing Electro soul sound for the 21st Century! This is an Instant classic.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Is this a good album, no, its bloody excellent!. I havent bought an album in ages that I can truely say that I like every song. If you are a funk loving person, who loves a bit of the eighties this is definatley for you. Theres a bit of an Erasure/ boygeorge vibe... in a good way of course and its great to dance too. I cant stop playing it! well done Sam, looking forward to seeing what else you can do?
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
love it
Although there are some weak tracks, they are massively overshadowed by some hugely enjoyable modern classics. Read more
Published on 23 April 2010 by T. J. Cummins
Surprisingly good
Black and Gold kind of passed me by when it hit the charts, but after hearing the wonderful Pocket on the TV and seeing that amazon was selling the album for tuppence ha'penny, I... Read more
Published on 30 May 2009 by muso
Sam Sparro
I bought this album just before Christmas because it was £2.98 - it seemed rude not to, especially having enjoyed the single 'Black and Gold' so much. Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2009 by E. Ward
a sparkling sparro
Oh wow I just cant stop playing this CD, it is exactly what is needed at these grey times of dull financial dumbness. Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2009 by David Spanswick
sam sparrow
This has to be the worst album i have ever heard . The only good track is black and gold. Save your money and just buy the single because the rest is rubbish
Published on 6 Oct 2008 by A. C. Rennie
Why This Album Is Amazing
I loved Black and Gold before I bought the album, and found some more of his music on youtube and really liked the funky rhythms and beats. Read more
Published on 1 Oct 2008 by Natalie
Rubbish
Track 1. Too Many Questions
This song is pathetic you can listen to it once or twice and then it is really boring 3/10
Track 2. Read more
This song is pathetic you can listen to it once or twice and then it is really boring 3/10
Track 2. Read more
Published on 11 Sep 2008 by Mr. D. Brocklebank
Sam Sparrow
I bought this album because I loved 'Black and Gold'. However, I was very disappointed. That track and the first one on the album are the only ones worth listening to. Read more
Published on 16 Jun 2008 by K. Harrison
Love it!
Since I got this album it is all I have been listening to. I love it so much I am worried I will overplay it, so I make sure I only listen to it a couple of times a day, but every... Read more
Published on 15 Jun 2008 by Lubi
Foot tapping electro funk
I've just listened to this album for the first time and it's fantastic. It's a mixture of electro funk/soul/pop and I'm loving it. Read more
Published on 4 Jun 2008 by Ms. M. Burgoine
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?
|
