Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
21st century soundtrack!, 2 Nov 2006
Recently purchased this after seeing the film 'Zidane' by Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno, that this album is soundtracked to. I was blown away by this music watching the film in the cinema and can happily say that this album stands up to repeated listening on its own. Having never heard any Mogwai before, tracks like 'Black Spider', 'Terrific Speech', 'Half Time' & 'I Do Have Weapons' really stick in the mind and are strong enough to take you off to other places away from the context of the film. Have this on continued play since I got it and now plan to check out other Mogwai releases. Great album if you were a fan of the film, great album if you like modern instrumental indie/rock music.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Actually, it's gorgeous., 10 Mar 2007
I am amazed and confounded by some of the poor reviews that this album is receiving from fans. I consider 'Zidane:...' to be a return to form for Mogwai after a few albums that fell slightly short of the high standard set on 'Young Team' and 'Come On Die Young', as well as probably my favourite album of last year. At last Mogwai have produced something of the epic proportions of their early albums.
The possibilities, limitations and conventions of soundtrack writing are very good for Mogwai. The fact that the music was written as a soundtrack means that the album posesses an intense unity and strength in structure which only 'CODY' comes close to matching. There are themes, effects and ideas that appear and reappear throughout the album, giving the sense of one huge work unfurling over the ten tracks.
The album has the feel of a Mogwai track magnified - the first two thirds or so is slow and contemplative, but quietly seething and subtly majestic. Feedback and delay combine with drones to provide backdrops for simple guitar or piano melodies with drums that rumble gently, but threateningly at the same time. These melodic themes are interspersed with improvised sounding passages of quiet noise that assist in the build of tension through the album.
The music becomes more and more aggrevated over the first 40 or so minutes of the album - the dynamic variation, the build and release familiar to Mogwai's music is present but in a more subtle guise than on past releases. There are moments of sublime beauty and of understated (but no less effective for it) tension, and it is all released in the last 20 minutes of 'Black Spider 2', following four or five minutes silence. These final 20 minutes have the feel of an enormous, slow explosion. A drone is built upon with feedback, organ, drums and synth in a painfully gradual manner to a long passage of controlled chaos that burns out just as gradually to be replaced by slow metal guitars that spiral into oblivion.
There are no 'rock-out' moments on this album, but if that's what you're after then you can quite easily listen to anything else that Mogwai have produced. Don't bother buying it if that's all you want. This album is for if you ever want to quietly disappear into your own world and think your thoughts for an hour and a bit. It is beautiful and it is excellent and I consider it one of Mogwai's two greatest albums, alongside 'Come On Die Young'.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enthraling listen, just under the right circumstances..., 9 Jan 2007
To say this is a bad album would be fallacious, as in truth it is far from it. Sure, when compared to other Mogwai albums it doesn't really compare, but alternate associations aside "A 21st Century Portriat" can be nothing short of stunning. With deep and mesmerizing tracks throughout, it can capture and submerge the listener into whatever imagery the compositions create. However, i only found this was truely effective when I had time to myself, to generally listen with intent to the moods being created. Upon a listen while out travelling, i found the tracks were a slight bore to listen to, as they were nowhere near having similar effects as to when I had time to myself.
So in sumary, while out on the move, the album will seem a bore, but given the time to concentrate and listen, this album can be deeply absorbing. Perhaps not recommended if you are expecting the usual Mogwai riffage, but brilliant album nonetheless.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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![Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait [DVD] [2006]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41VK1A0F79L._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
![Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait [DVD] [2006]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41VK1A0F79L._SL75_SS50_.jpg)
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