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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. How It Should Be (Sha Sha) |
| 2. Wasted & Ready |
| 3. Family Tree |
| 4. "Commerce, TX" |
| 5. In Other Words |
| 6. Walk On Me |
| 7. Make It Up |
| 8. No Reason |
| 9. Lizzy |
| 10. Harriet's Got A Song |
| 11. Falling |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Sha Sha might be the first solo album from twenty-year-old Texas-born songsmith Ben Kweller, but it’s far from his debut musical statement. As the front man of precocious grunge tykes Radish, Kweller was one of rock music’s youngest ever child stars--and what’s more, he had a few cracking tunes in him that put his kiddie peers in the likes of Silverchair to shame. After Radish disintegrated, Kweller spent the late 90s hanging out with artists like Juliana Hatfield and Evan Dando, and began work on a new set of songs that owed nothing to the ugly end of the grunge explosion and everything to the sun-kissed pop melodies and geeky emotional confessionals of mid-period Pavement, Weezer and The Lemonheads.
Kweller has no need to hang off the coattails of any of his famous friends, though--his grasp of guitar pop is totally instinctive, and sweetly accessible. Check the likes of "How It Should Be (Sha Sha)", featuring a cooing Kimya Dawson of NYC anti-folksters Moldy Peaches, or the splendidly naive emo crunch of "Commerce, TX", both of which demonstrate an impressive grasp of quiet-loud dynamics and the occasional tantrum-like flurry of raw emotion that would put the excellent Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes to shame. This is highly recommended.--Louis Pattison
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Ben Kweller is an excellent song-writer. 'Sha Sha' has been spinning on my CD player for days now, and i'm not nearly tired of it.
Kweller switches from guitar to piano on a few of the songs on this album and its with these piano ballads that make the album shine so bright. 'In Other Words' is a beautifully written song with heartfelt lyrics and an upbeat ending that somehow Kweller makes work. 'Falling', the closing track is my favourite, again with heartfelt lyrics and again, an upbeat ending. Many will relate Ben Kweller's piano moments with a certain Ben Folds. They are very similar, both in voice and structure of the songs. I recommend 'Sha Sha' to any Ben Folds fans.
The majority of the album is guitar. Kind of grundgy, but i think the thoughful lyrics drag this album out of the grundge label. Weezer fans will find something to like on this album as well as any self respecting guitar fan. Kweller's guitar on 'Lizzie' proves he is more than capable of writting a serious and technically sound song. 'Wasted and Ready' is a slice of pure pop genius! You will be humming, singing and tapping your feet for a long time after this album has reached your ears. Buy It!
Kweller switches from guitar to piano on a few of the songs on this album and its with these piano ballads that make the album shine so bright. 'In Other Words' is a beautifully written song with heartfelt lyrics and an upbeat ending that somehow Kweller makes work. 'Falling', the closing track is my favourite, again with heartfelt lyrics and again, an upbeat ending. Many will relate Ben Kweller's piano moments with a certain Ben Folds. They are very similar, both in voice and structure of the songs. I recommend 'Sha Sha' to any Ben Folds fans.
The majority of the album is guitar. Kind of grundgy, but i think the thoughful lyrics drag this album out of the grundge label. Weezer fans will find something to like on this album as well as any self respecting guitar fan. Kweller's guitar on 'Lizzie' proves he is more than capable of writting a serious and technically sound song. 'Wasted and Ready' is a slice of pure pop genius! You will be humming, singing and tapping your feet for a long time after this album has reached your ears. Buy It!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Ben Kwellers work in radish was unremarkable except for a couple of tunes. This is hardly suprising considering he was only 16 when they existed. However this his first solo offering completely redresses the balance- it is 11 songs of giddy pop genius. The guitar assults ben launches into are reminicent of radish- only much stronger,but the real suprise of the album are the songs on which kweller switches to piano-namely closing track falling,a beautiful power pop gem reminiscent of ben folds at his best. The production,mucianshipand vocals are all first class with some weird instrumentastion thrown in for good mesure and i really suggest you buy this album if you are fans of pavement, dinosaur jr or weezer. The most satisfing thing about this release is that kweller is only 20 and will probably get better. i've only had the album two days so picking my favourtite song is impossible but at the moment i am rocking out to track 4. Buy it now.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
It's pretty impressive when a 20-year-old singer-songwriter manages to make a major label debut. But what's really amazing is this is the second time around for Kweller, who formed a band called Radish in his teens and toured the world after releasing their first album when he was 15.
Kweller's new solo project is more fully realized and varied than many artists ever manage. Kweller alternates between piano and guitar, and occasionally sounds vaguely reminiscient of another Ben – Ben Folds – when he sits at the piano and drops quietly humorous lyrics about the young generation.
Kweller's new solo project is more fully realized and varied than many artists ever manage. Kweller alternates between piano and guitar, and occasionally sounds vaguely reminiscient of another Ben – Ben Folds – when he sits at the piano and drops quietly humorous lyrics about the young generation.
In "Wasted & Ready," he rocks out with some solid guitar riffing about "the slacker lifestyle," while in "How It Should Be (sha-sha)" he twists words over "Heart and Soul" piano chording like a game, singing: "nothing isn't nothing, nothing's something that's important to me" and "when I was an astronaut I bought a fancy charm/I thought you'd like it but you called it 'cheap'/and at my feet it fell."
Rather than just dropping a dozen derivative, alternative radio-friendly rock songs on his debut in hopes of competing with the likes of Blink 182, Kweller offers a range of styles and colors on Sha Sha.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Sha Sha
Sha Sha is Ben Kweller's full length debut on ATO Records, and demonstrates the subtle skill and talent that Kweller has for songwriting. Read more
Published on 6 Jun 2007 by Cody Duell
Great Listening!
This is the kind of listening that will suit almost any mood! How this boy hasn't got more of the limelight I do not know, maybe it is for the best as he keeps on writing such... Read more
Published on 8 Aug 2005 by "marklidgett"
Don't worry, be happy
I love this record! It pains me to not give it 5 stars. "In other words" is worth your money pretty much by itself. Read more
Published on 15 April 2004 by Mr C D Smith
utter, utter genius
how this man isn't more famous than such purveyors of musical faeces as Pink, Missy elliot...or indeed anyone i can think of is beyond me
this is the best album i own, with the... Read more
Published on 2 Feb 2004 by Iain Campbell
Never got into it
With most albums if i don't find the songs good i just keep listening until they seem more interesting. I found this album so boring i took it back and swapped it for another one. Read more
Published on 24 April 2003 by theunderdogwinsagain
Would the man with the toothbrush please stand up
I'm two years Ben Kweller's junior, that is reason enough for me to be impressed by this CD. Though he shares more than a first name with Ben Folds, (I found myself shouting for In... Read more
Published on 28 Oct 2002 by "happyhour84"
Shameless Teenage FUN
The Teen Movie's wettest dream: Acoustic-driven power-pop, songs about "junior high love affairs" and emotional piano ballads. Plus Kimya Dawson. Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2002 by "cockachumpies"
Sha sha
Being positively biased from the start since I (embarrassingly) was a Radish fan when I was younger, I only acquired the album due to my love of Ben Kweller's 'Baby Grunger' voice. Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2002 by S. Morgan
Deja vu?
In a world without Weezer this would be a very worthwhile purchase.
With it's catchy, winding melodies and pleasantly absent-minded vocals there's no doubt that Mr Kweller has... Read more
With it's catchy, winding melodies and pleasantly absent-minded vocals there's no doubt that Mr Kweller has... Read more
Published on 31 July 2002 by I. RITSON
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