Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Strange, Magical Tales Of A New York City Nerd, 4 Dec 2003
The first thing that strikes you about this album is that Jeffrey Lewis is an unbelievably good wordsmith. He has so many good ideas he occassionally struggles to fit them all into his songs. Secondly, on 'It's The One's Who've Cracked...' he shows that he is one of the best lo-fi artists currently recording. This album is up there with great lo-fi albums like 'One Foot In The Grave' by Beck, 'Garfield' by Adam Green, and stuff by Smog, Devendra Banhart and Will Oldham. If you like simply recorded acoustic albums with humour, style and intelligence, this album is a must buy. Some of the lyrics are the best I've heard for a long time... "Back when I was six I took everything real serious and I thought that every song that came on the radio was referring to strange sexual acts because they thought I wouldn't know the facts". A great talent.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jeff Lewis is cracked!, 16 Aug 2003
I saw Jeff Lewis this past Monday night and was completely blown away, so I ran the very next day to purchase his album, despite the fact that I was completely broke.
This album is a work of pure genious. While Lewis may not have the greatest voice, or the most fabulous guitar skills, his lyrics make this album one of the greatest I've heard in years.
The standout tracks include "Don't Let the Record Label Take You Out to Lunch", a song that includes such fabulous one-liners as "Though the fishes look delicious someone's gotta do the dishes." But the song contains a deeper message, one that seems to be convayed throughout the entire album- "I'll hold off on the hor devours, that's not what I'm in it for, I only want what I deserve, I want no less I want no more."
The following song, "Gold", made me cry the first time I heard it. Sung in such an informal manner, you can hear every emotional swallow, and at one point Jeff's voice even cracks. Tightly packed with lyrics and with slight fluctuations in the melody, the melodic guitar in the background is just enough to make the track a song, rather than a deepfelt poem.
"Sea Song" is great lyrically, but it's the guitar and background noises that have me falling asleep when I hear this song.
"I Saw A Hippy Girl on 8th Avenue" has a great message, that it's what's on the inside that counts, and seems to portray Jeff Lewis as a really down-to-earth guy, the kind you'd love to be friends with. And it's this raw charm that permeates the entire album, and makes it seem as if Lewis is not singing,but rather, commiserating with an old friend. Lewis makes it personal, and that, combined with the fact that it's a musically genious album, is what makes it terrific and worth all the gold in the world.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jeffrey Lewis is god, 17 Nov 2003
I have to give it 5 stars because this is a fantastic album. This is his second and most recent album to date.
Well I think if you liked the stuff on his first album then you should definately buy this, although I think this is more calm than his first, as there are less loud songs (er obviously). I guess the quieter ones include Alphabet, Gold (fantastic), Sea Song (a sort of second album equivilant to "SpringTime"), and "You Don't Have to Be a Scientist to Do Experiments on Your Own Heart" (a nice album closer). They're all catchy, my favourite is probably Gold, which is a lovely example of his characteristically specific(yet different)lyrics.
I think Graveyard is one of my favourtie tracks on the album, it is just great, and If You Shoot the Head You Kill the Ghoul is a really fun take on zombies attacking the earth (in the style of black-and-white horror movies). "No LSD Tonight" is excellant in his attempt to correct people on the (incorrect) belief that he likes doing acid (after his first album's title song was about a certain experience with the drug).
If you like stuff that's a original and a bit quirky then I think you will enjoy this, and his first album. The lyrics are really the main focus I think, but the tunes are catchy and supportive and it all works very well together. This album sounds a little less home-edited, but there is no loss of character or feel to his live style.
Very very cool,
he is Great!
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