Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
This is effectively "the tricky second album", 19 Jun 2006
After Daniel Wylie left the band, the Cosmic Rough Riders confounded expectations with the release of "Too Close To See Far" by producing an album that ranks alongside the high standards set by "Enjoy the Melodic Sunshine". Unfortunately, it appears that the songwriting well was drained fairly dry by that album, as the follow-up mostly consists of merely moderate songs.
The stand-out track is "When You Come Around", which is a taut song with a low-key menacing verse that shifts into the Cosmics' characteristic sunny harmonies chorus. "In Time" and "It Is I" are both decent songs, done in the style of the Beatles circa Rubber Soul or maybe Yellow Submarine.
The rest of the songs are "just OK" to my ears, with no real production highlights to raise them above the ordinary. The arrangements seem a bit flat and although the guitars jingle jangle in the manner of yore, what's missing are intrumental hooks to intertwine between the melodies. The harmonies don't see as ear-catching as on previous albums; has the constant shedding of members (down to a 3 piece from a 5 piece since the last album) had a detrimental effect here?
I'm hoping that the songs will grow on me but my brother (who got me into the band) has had the album a couple of weeks longer than I and his assessment of it is "OK", which from a long time fan is damning with faint praise.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A pale shadow of the proper band, 14 Jul 2007
Let's get one thing straight first; Daniel Wylie WAS Cosmic Rough Riders.
It was a pseudonym he created to put his work out under as he didn't want to use his own name. The first two 'Cosmics' albums were Wylie solo projects with only Stephen Fleming (the current frontman), whom he met in Castlemilk community recording studio, and his friends playing alongside him.
However, by the time of the third 'album', in fact a compilation of the first two with a couple of new songs and rerecordings, 'Enjoy The Melodic Sunshine', Wylie was under pressure to perform songs live and so agreed to let Stephen bring in three of his friends and the 5-man Cosmic Rough Riders was born. Still, on 'Enjoy...', Daniel still played nearly everything himself and 14 of the songs were his compositions, with the 3 new 'members' even playing on only 3 songs.
Eventually, Wylie was muscled out by Fleming and his friends as they were recording a new album ('they were bringing me all these crap songs and asking us to record them'), later saying 'I have no respect for them. They come across as nice guys to their fans but I know what they're really like', and 'I was forced out of my own band'. Daniel Wylie agreed to let the rest of them keep the name in exchange for being allowed to use songs that they played on for his new solo project. Along with another guitarist departing not long after Wylie, this brings us to the present Cosmic Rough Riders lineup.
The last album by this new lineup wasn't half bad, 'Too Close To See Far' was nowhere near the masterpiece 'Enjoy' was, but sounded kind of like Enjoy-lite. A bit wimpy in parts, but you could tell they were trying to cling to their 'trademark' sound, just without the great songwriting.
However, this is a different story. They're obviously trying to forge their own sound, which is commendable, unfortunately their new sound is in the same vein as everything else about. Think wimpy indie like Snow Patrol. Everything that made the Cosmics special has been sapped out; the wonderful harmonies, great guitar hooks, mildy psychedelic effects; all gone. I mean, look at the cover photo!
Don't buy this thinking it's the same band. It's not.
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19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Milking the name, 19 Aug 2006
This album is the worst i have heard this year. Steven Flemming on lead vocals is a bad idea for a start. The guy has a voice as weak and as bland as fat free milk and should go back to just playing guitar. The songs are like left overs from a bad Embrace album, with weak songs. My advice is to bring in a new singer with a better voice and ask Chris Martin to write you a song that's capable of being a hit in the chart because none of these songs will make it. Absolute garbage. It might be time to hang up your guitars and go back to your day jobs lads.
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