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Track Listings
| 1. Freeway |
| 2. Stranger Into Starman |
| 3. Looking For Nothing |
| 4. Phoenix |
| 5. Borrowing Time |
| 6. It's Over |
| 7. 31 Today |
| 8. The Great Beyond |
| 9. Medicine Wheel |
| 10. Columbus Avenue |
| 11. Little Tornado |
| 12. True Believer |
| 13. Ballantines |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk review
Despite that unwieldy, rather craven title (a coy ‘@#%&!’ precedes the title, in lieu of proper swearing), Smilers has already been acclaimed by some critics as the best record in Aimee Mann’s long career. Few fans will be disappointed. The opening "Freeway" may be built around a fairly slight play on words ("you got a lot of money but you can’t afford the freeway" goes the chorus) but the nagging melody and expansive synth-laden arrangement, reminiscent of her East Coast counterparts and suburban critics Fountains of Wayne, is nigh on irresistible. "Stranger Into Starman" is a mere snippet, and all the better for its brevity, while "Looking For Nothing" is a perfect example of the southern Californian blankness Mann has captured for years now. The lush, orchestrated country-rock of "Phoenix" rhymes the title with ‘kleenex’ and truly captures the mood of someone leaving for good. Sean Hayes sounds uncannily like a boozy Antony Hegarty on the deceptively jolly closer "Ballantines", named for a whisky, while author Dave Eggers picks up a credit for his rather good ‘whistling’ on the gloomy, undeniably pretty "Little Tornado". The painfully detailed "Thirty One Today", a distant memory for Mann, is another successful attempt to voice dissatisfaction. Only the chirpy horns on the admonishing "Borrowing Time" actually lighten the mood. Smilers is an excellent record, cleverly thought out throughout. But the smiles here are rueful at best.—Steve Jelbert
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Another excellent album from Aimee, and possibly her best since the almost faultless Bachelor No.2, with a little more richness than Lost In Space and a slightly stronger set of songs than The Forgotten Arm.
She has a style and sound of her own, and that's no bad thing - she sticks to what she does best, and doesn't do anything too experimental, although there are different flourishes to the production on each album, such as the bustling brass on Borrowing Time.
But ultimately it's the timeless quality of special melodies combined with intelligent, story-telling lyrics that make her music so rich and rewarding. Hard to pick out any favourites as it works exceptionally well as an album with no filler, although It's Over, Pheonix and True Believer are up there with the best songs she has written.
She has a style and sound of her own, and that's no bad thing - she sticks to what she does best, and doesn't do anything too experimental, although there are different flourishes to the production on each album, such as the bustling brass on Borrowing Time.
But ultimately it's the timeless quality of special melodies combined with intelligent, story-telling lyrics that make her music so rich and rewarding. Hard to pick out any favourites as it works exceptionally well as an album with no filler, although It's Over, Pheonix and True Believer are up there with the best songs she has written.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Aimee Mann is one of those artists who quietly produces songs of real quality without really troubling the press or being lauded as the next so-and-so. Even providing the soundtrack for P T Anderson's mammoth movie Magnolia wasn't enough to make her more widely known over in the UK. Even I, who had enjoyed her work, had let her fall off my radar recently, only to find that her latest is another well crafted collection of West Coast melancholia; it's title, with deleted expletive, should make it clear how she feels about those with a sunny disposition (and I'm guessing there's a fair few of those in LA).
The album opens with the familiar sounding Freeway, containing everything you might expect; male backing, a catchy tune and chorus, which makes the next track, Stranger into Starman, a bit of a shock. Just piano and her voice sounding better than ever before a simple arrangement fleshes out this tiny track. Lovely. Mann's voice for those that haven't heard it is like a combination of Karen Carpenter and Chrissie Hynde, deep and rich and surprisingly sweet given the bitter tang to some of her lyrics. A song like Phoenix is a good example, with its lovely string accompaniment even whilst she sings about leaving her lover, telling us 'I know love doesn't change a thing'. 31 Today is another track typical of her outlook ' I thought my life would be different somehow/I thought my life would be better by now/But it's not, and I don't know where to turn'.
It's Over is the album's big number, with a far more optimistic outlook, encouragement to make the most of life, ' cos everything's beautiful, every day's a holiday'. There are some clear musical influences; Borrowing Time, as another reviewer has pointed out, has clear echoes of Iggy Pop's Passenger, Little Tornado is very Simon and Garfunkel and True Believer is imbued with the spirit of Elliot Smith. All in all it makes for very pleasant listening but I'm not sure that this album is going to get her any closer to being a household name on this side of the pond.
The album opens with the familiar sounding Freeway, containing everything you might expect; male backing, a catchy tune and chorus, which makes the next track, Stranger into Starman, a bit of a shock. Just piano and her voice sounding better than ever before a simple arrangement fleshes out this tiny track. Lovely. Mann's voice for those that haven't heard it is like a combination of Karen Carpenter and Chrissie Hynde, deep and rich and surprisingly sweet given the bitter tang to some of her lyrics. A song like Phoenix is a good example, with its lovely string accompaniment even whilst she sings about leaving her lover, telling us 'I know love doesn't change a thing'. 31 Today is another track typical of her outlook ' I thought my life would be different somehow/I thought my life would be better by now/But it's not, and I don't know where to turn'.
It's Over is the album's big number, with a far more optimistic outlook, encouragement to make the most of life, ' cos everything's beautiful, every day's a holiday'. There are some clear musical influences; Borrowing Time, as another reviewer has pointed out, has clear echoes of Iggy Pop's Passenger, Little Tornado is very Simon and Garfunkel and True Believer is imbued with the spirit of Elliot Smith. All in all it makes for very pleasant listening but I'm not sure that this album is going to get her any closer to being a household name on this side of the pond.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is another piece of art for your ears from Aimee. A very rich sound (without using electric guitars) for this album with a live feel to the recording. The whole album is outstanding, the songs complimenting and reflecting on one another.
If you liked any of her past works you should definately pick this up, it's another of those albums where you wish you could just travel along with the protagonists of her songs. Nobody else making music is so interesting or does it so interestingly.
If you liked any of her past works you should definately pick this up, it's another of those albums where you wish you could just travel along with the protagonists of her songs. Nobody else making music is so interesting or does it so interestingly.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brilliant. Best Ever
This is without doubt the finest album in Aimee Manns excellent catalogue. Since the release of her solo debut 'Whatever', each album has got stronger. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Jim
Something to cheer up any lover of great music
The title of the album, which is pronounced using the 'f-word' in place of the range of symbols, is a reference to the title of a thread on internet newsgroup "alt. Read more
Published on 23 Nov 2008 by A. Sweeney
Fab Album
I love Aimee Mann. Ever since I first heard her music through Magnolia, I have searched and faithfully follow her music ever since. Read more
Published on 18 Oct 2008 by Anistitis
Guinness in the afternoon
This for me is Aimee Mann's best album along with "Lost in Space" and "Whatever" with cleverly coloured productions that really show off her voice. Read more
Published on 21 Sep 2008 by Piranha Pish
not quite up to scratch
Aimee, Aimee, Aimee. What can I say? I have been a longtime fan of Aimee Mann. At her best she is a writer of beautiful songs charting the ups and downs (often the downs! Read more
Published on 17 July 2008 by time I had some time alone
Another fantastic album from the fantastic Aimee Mann
I loved this album, it just consists of beautiful songs after beautiful songs. For anyone who has no other Aimee music, I would say this album would be a fabulous introduction
Published on 11 July 2008 by Ms. Donna Clarke
Amazing Album
This is truly a must have album for any lover of well written music. Unlike previous albums, there is no theme running through this one which really makes each song carry more... Read more
Published on 2 July 2008 by M. Ralphson
All smiles for yet another brilliant recording
This recording doesn't quite scale the heights of her debut solo recording, Whatever, or her masterwork, Bachelor No. Read more
Published on 9 Jun 2008 by pseudopanax
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