Jubilee Offer: Patriot Classics for £2.50 |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Track Listings
| 1. Sentimental Heart |
| 2. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here |
| 3. This Is Not A Test |
| 4. Change Is Hard |
| 5. I Thought I Saw Your Face Today |
| 6. Take It Back |
| 7. I Was Made For You |
| 8. You Really Got A Hold On Me |
| 9. Black Hole |
| 10. Got Me |
| 11. I Should Have Known Better |
| 12. Sweet Darlin' |
Product Description
Review
The origins of this album sound like a Hollywood romcom. LA actress, Zooey Deschanel - with a clutch of promising cinematic roles to her credit - writes songs in her spare time but keeps them to herself. When guitarist and maverick producer, M. Ward hears her tunes, he declares his love of them and promptly proposes they make sweet music together.
Whilst that story may just be PR puff, it's entirely consistent with the combination of 60s girl group clamour and wistful bygone balladry that makes up the album. All the ups and downs of young romance are faithfully recreated in loving fidelity and a variety of styles to evoke that teary-eyed yesteryear pop ambience. Carole King's It Might As Well Rain Until September appears to be a pervasive template as do other Brill Building / Tin Pan Alley showtunes.
There's also a fair amount of endearingly kooky humour in the act. This Is Not A Test boasts a parping pursed-lips trumpet solo, whilst on a swooning lounge-style cover of Lennon & McCartney's I Should Have Known Better, Deschanel can be heard giggling off-mic as Ward's lugubrious voice hams up the chorus.
Got Me and the Nick Lowe-ish, Change Is Hard, are shot through with torch song stoicism and oodles of pedal steel guitar that glisten and drip from many other finely-honed chord changes and middle eights. Sure it's light and frothy but it's also impressively graceful in its construction; light on its feet without being lightweight.
Karen Carpenter, KD Lang, Barbara Lewis and others are skilfully conjured but that shouldn't deflect from the fact that Deschanel's warm and affable vocals work really well in their own right. Now that her secret songs are no longer a guilty pleasure, it would be a perfect Hollywood ending for She & Him if Volume One was a summer hit. --Sid Smith
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
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I have to say I was a bit sceptical when I heard M.Ward was going to be collaborating with an actress - Zooey Deschanel. His solo work is so amazing that I thought this would fall well short. How wrong I was - it's not his usual style, instead of the bluesy, slightly gothic folk that he usually produces, this is a more country tinged collection of songs, sung very ably by Deschanel. M. Ward takes a more understated role, demonstrating what an accomplished guitarist he is, but not overpowering the records, instead allowing Deschanel to shine through.
The standout tracks for me are 'Why do you let me stay here?' with great guitars, tambourines & a country rock feel, and 'I thought I saw your face today' which is just beautiul, sung in such a dreamy wistful way. There isn't a dud song on the album, ok so maybe the Beatles cover 'I Should Have Known Better' isn't that great, and M. Ward's backing vocals are a bit cheesy, but even so it's got a certain degree of charm.
This album is a throwback to classic 60s/70s pop, it reminds me at times of Dusty Springfield or even Doris Day...so it's never going to be called groundbreaking. However, what I would call it is a charming, uplifting, well produced album. It puts a smile on my face everytime I listen to it
The standout tracks for me are 'Why do you let me stay here?' with great guitars, tambourines & a country rock feel, and 'I thought I saw your face today' which is just beautiul, sung in such a dreamy wistful way. There isn't a dud song on the album, ok so maybe the Beatles cover 'I Should Have Known Better' isn't that great, and M. Ward's backing vocals are a bit cheesy, but even so it's got a certain degree of charm.
This album is a throwback to classic 60s/70s pop, it reminds me at times of Dusty Springfield or even Doris Day...so it's never going to be called groundbreaking. However, what I would call it is a charming, uplifting, well produced album. It puts a smile on my face everytime I listen to it
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Well if Scarlett Johannson can do it, why can't Zooey Deschanel, teaming up with singer-songwriter M. Ward, have a go as well? But whereas Scarlett went for an album largely based on cover versions, only three of the tracks on Volume 1 are covers (and one of those is the hidden track Swing Low, Sweet Chariot).
And, ahem, covering them first would give you a distorted view of the album as a whole. You Really Got a Hold on Me is superfluous at best and whilst the cover of the Beatles I Should've Known Better has some merit, it does come perilously close to pastiche and/or novelty. Luckily the majority of the self-penned tracks are a hell of a lot better.
The vibe is something akin to 60's pop (provided by Deschanel's melodies and lyrics) meets 50's Nashville (provided by Ward's arrangements) with a little bit of folk added in for good measure. Any notions that this is some form of vanity project from the actress is quickly dispelled by the realisation that she can sing (having already proved it to some degree in films, even if most people would remember her singing alongside Will "I'll say the name of my character over and over again because it's so hilarious" Ferrell in Elf) AND has a voice that can fit a number of styles. She can croon on Take It Back just as well as she can be playful on I Was Made For You. Mind you, would you expect anything less from an actress?
For all the positives, I can't say that I find the album a complete knock out; it's a little too slow paced, with faster, more upbeat tracks like This Is Not A Test tending to prove more memorable (a fact not helped by the fact that most of these tracks are at the beginning of the album) and where it's most obvious modern point of reference for comparison, Jenny Lewis' Rabbit Fur Coat had a heart and a soul, Deschanel's lyrics do tend to verge on cliche at times.
Still, it's a strong debut album which certainly leaves you hoping that you will get to hear a Volume 2, with the hope that more pieces of the puzzle may just fall into place next time around
And, ahem, covering them first would give you a distorted view of the album as a whole. You Really Got a Hold on Me is superfluous at best and whilst the cover of the Beatles I Should've Known Better has some merit, it does come perilously close to pastiche and/or novelty. Luckily the majority of the self-penned tracks are a hell of a lot better.
The vibe is something akin to 60's pop (provided by Deschanel's melodies and lyrics) meets 50's Nashville (provided by Ward's arrangements) with a little bit of folk added in for good measure. Any notions that this is some form of vanity project from the actress is quickly dispelled by the realisation that she can sing (having already proved it to some degree in films, even if most people would remember her singing alongside Will "I'll say the name of my character over and over again because it's so hilarious" Ferrell in Elf) AND has a voice that can fit a number of styles. She can croon on Take It Back just as well as she can be playful on I Was Made For You. Mind you, would you expect anything less from an actress?
For all the positives, I can't say that I find the album a complete knock out; it's a little too slow paced, with faster, more upbeat tracks like This Is Not A Test tending to prove more memorable (a fact not helped by the fact that most of these tracks are at the beginning of the album) and where it's most obvious modern point of reference for comparison, Jenny Lewis' Rabbit Fur Coat had a heart and a soul, Deschanel's lyrics do tend to verge on cliche at times.
Still, it's a strong debut album which certainly leaves you hoping that you will get to hear a Volume 2, with the hope that more pieces of the puzzle may just fall into place next time around
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I wached yes man and really liked Zoey Deschanel's voice, so I bought this. I have to say that I was expecting a 'side project' sound and production, but what I got was a polished end product. The album is a welcome throw back to late sixties pop folk but in a very relaxed style. I would highly recommend it!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Stunning
Unbelievable vocals from the beautiful and talented Zooey Deschanel, aided by Mark Ward. Reminiscent of the best female vocalists of the fifties and sixties. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. D. Russell
Gorgeous indie music
A lovely indie album from She and Him, with a very 1950s style sound. Most people will know the band thanks to Zooey Deschanel's success as an actress, but she also makes a... Read more
Published 15 months ago by A-C
Deserves more than 5 stars
I cannot recommend this more highly, Volume 1 is filled with probably the best songs I have ever heard, 2 years on, it is still played almost every day in my house. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Joey
Great album
I now have both Volume 1 and 2, and both are brilliant, though in my opinion this one just edges it. Read more
Published on 17 May 2010 by User from Scotland
Absolutely beautiful
A beautiful album, I love every single song. And Zooey Deschanel has an incredible voice, Ward and Deschanel are the perfect combination.
Published on 1 May 2010 by Monica Pujante
Excellent First Album
Volume One is an excellent first album from She and Him (Zooey Deschanel and M Ward). Every song is memorable and they play between country, pop and rythem and blues on each of the... Read more
Published on 11 April 2010 by underthethumb
A great first ablum
This is a great first album, and none of the songs sound the same. They do go a little too country at times for my taste, but I love that they create songs from all periods of... Read more
Published on 3 April 2010 by Julia S. Holder
It's okay
I was dissapointed on my first and second hearing of She and Him. I loved her voice in Elf and the tunes she sang in the movie. Read more
Published on 26 Feb 2010 by Mr T ZEE
Deschannel's boppish likeability and Ward's musical earthiness are a...
I heard that Zooey Deschannel was collaborating with M Ward via my friend - an avid Deschannel fan - after we saw "500 Days of Summer". Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2010 by Kat Watt
Deschanel can sing!!!
Zooey Deschanel may even be a better singer than she is actress. Wonderful melodic songs. The bloke on guitar is pretty good too. :o)
Published on 9 Jan 2010 by E. Hind
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 subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
