Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Top Scots Rock, 12 Dec 2008
For once you can believe the hype - the Glasvegas debut album is stunning. James Allan delivers his songs in a very Scottish voice indeed which will not be to everyone's taste but it lends real authenticity to his lyrics of contemporary Glasgow life: stabbings; absent fathers; social workers; paranoia and broken childhood dreams.
The music is guitar driven with strong percussion but it stands apart by way of its shimmering guitar backdrop, almost a `wall of sound' shining like a dirty jewel. The songs soar and are almost anthemic but are never dull due to the power and meaning behind the lyrics.
The singles `Geraldine', `Flowers & Football Tops' and the poignant `Daddy's Gone' are truly superb and rightly celebrated, but for me `It's My Own Cheating Heart..' is stunning with its pounding guitar line and lyrics delivered from the heart. `Glasvegas' shows amazing confidence for a debut album; `Stabbed' features a dreamlike lyric about imminent wounding spoken over Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. The band are also not afraid to sing a snatch of `You are my Sunshine' at the end of `Flowers & Football Tops'; both of these tricks work superbly. The final track, `Ice Cream Van' begins almost ethereally but gradually builds to a crescendo of guitar noise and is a fitting finale. Even the foul-mouthed singalong of 'Go Square Go' makes sense when you listen to the lyrics.
`Glasvegas' is a great record and shows how effective music can be when it is delivered with passion, meaning and authenticity.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Dark Side of Christmas, 17 Dec 2008
If you are having a bad time at Christmas it must seem far worse at a time of year when everyone else is having fun. Glasvegas draw deep from this well of melancholy with `A Snowflake Fell..' with songs about homelessness, broken homes and disintegrating relationships. The band's shimmering guitar sound is ideally suited to Christmas songs, particularly here where their music is augmented with strings, piano and beautiful choral pieces.
Songs like `Cruel Moon' and `F**k You It's Over' are unlikely to feaure alongside Slade in future festive compilations, but they authentically capture the darker side of Christmas. Also worthy of mention is the beautiful version of `Silent Night' which closes the CD which features a truly moving choir.
If you liked the debut album `A Snowflake Fell...' is strongly recommended. The songwriting matches the original album in terms of quality. The package is a nice 2-CD box set with large fold-out lyric sheet. I suppose the only downside for owners of the original album is that you get another copy of `Glasvegas', but you could always sell one on Amazon, right?
If you haven't already got `Glasvegas' for once you can believe the hype - the band's debut album is stunning. James Allan delivers his songs in a very Scottish voice indeed which will not be to everyone's taste but it lends real authenticity to his lyrics of contemporary Glasgow life: stabbings; absent fathers; social workers; paranoia and broken childhood dreams.
The music is guitar driven with strong percussion but it stands apart by way of its shimmering guitar backdrop, almost a `wall of sound' shining like a dirty jewel. The songs soar and are almost anthemic but are never dull due to the power and meaning behind the lyrics.
The singles `Geraldine', `Flowers & Football Tops' and the poignant `Daddy's Gone' are truly superb and rightly celebrated, but for me `It's My Own Cheating Heart..' is stunning with its pounding guitar line and lyrics delivered from the heart. `Glasvegas' shows amazing confidence for a debut album; `Stabbed' features a dreamlike lyric about imminent wounding spoken over Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. The band are also not afraid to sing a snatch of `You are my Sunshine' at the end of `Flowers & Football Tops'; both of these tricks work superbly. The final track, `Ice Cream Van' begins almost ethereally but gradually builds to a crescendo of guitar noise and is a fitting finale. Even the foul-mouthed singalong of 'Go Square Go' makes sense when you listen to the lyrics.
`Glasvegas' is a great record and shows how effective music can be when it is delivered with passion, meaning and authenticity.
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25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Just Like Glasvegas?, 29 Sep 2008
Hmmmm, I bought this album after waiting nigh on a year for it. It was the first time in years that i was actually EXCITED about buying a record!
First the bad news....If you loved the original DIY versions of the singles 'It's My Own Cheating Heart that Makes Me Cry' ( one of my favourite songs of the decade, the guitar refrain makes me melt, and recorded perfectly for me on original release)and 'Geraldine' you might be a little disappointed.
Radio friendly re-recorded versions of these songs placed virtually at the start of the album kicks it off badly for me. The usual major label inteference. On first listen I was devastated.
But....The good news, the original versions of the above songs wouldnt have fitted into this 10 track opus in their original guise anyway and this actually isn't a bad thing.
The recording of this album (buy it on vinyl if you can) is lush, vibrant and many tracks (well, the first 5 anyway) segue into a victorious cacophony of atmospherics and crunching guitars.
For me the real victory in this recording is the downbeat final 3 tracks (Stabbed, S.A.D. Light and Ice Cream) which on listening usually a)terrify me and b) nearly have me in tears. And that takes something. Whoever came up with the idea of using the lyrics to their originally recorded version of 'Stabbed' then underpinning it with Beethovens 'Moonlight' Sonata should be awarded a chufty badge in my opinion. It works really well.
After my initial disappointment, I absolutely LOVE this record now. It wasnt what i was expecting, growing up listening to J.A.M.C., The Wolfhounds, MBV and The Wedding Present in the 80's, my ears are more tuned into abrasive and discordant music and in all honesty I was expecting an 80's indie album in the ilk of the previously mentioned especially after their first 2 singles, but for sheer emotion, power and honesty, this record returns in spades, especially with a nice bottle of red wine in tow.
Highly recommended.
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