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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A singer-songwriter that needs to stick around, 15 Dec 2007
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
Most recently, CD sales have dominated themselves around solo singer-songwriters who write memorable songs that can grate on a keen radio-listener. It's ironic that the best singer-songwriter that seems to be out there is one that hasn't picked up global recognition in the process of their album release. Nevertheless, Eugene McGuiness is huge among readers of alternative music-mags and music maniac's looking for the next big thing.
It doesn't take much to get into 'The Early Learnings Of..', only a couple of listens - like most listener friendly pop music but with an anti-mainstream glorified edge, making the album all the more exciting. You'll find yourself humming along to 'Monsters Under The Bed' in no time, anticipating track after track.
McGuiness cleverly exchanges contemporary sounds with olden-days folk influences and creates a trilling record for anyone with sense. At times reminiscent of modern day genius Jim Noir and at other times sounding bare without instrumentation, unlike anything else around currently. He is sure to be an influence to many, coming across as instantly cool and admirable.
All five opening tracks don't span more than three minutes but work in a positive manner; keeping things interesting and full of flow. 'Bold Street' slows the pace down only to be shoved away by 'A Child Lost In Tesco', maybe connecting to experiences of every other stressed parent.
It is hard to treat this as an album, like the rest of your collective however. Lasting a mere 27 minutes, you demand more and the lack of promotion McGuiness placed this under suggests that he's a busy man that doesn't care about success or pleasing the demanding soul that has an hour of free time and only receives entertainment for half of it.
He's an un-answered, unsung star and one that should be looked into despite the tone of some of these reviews that surround mine.
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6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Close but no cigar, 28 Nov 2007
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
Looking like the lovechild of Elliott Smith and John Major, 21 year old Eugene Mcguinness seems vaguely ill at ease on the cover of his first album. The uninspired artwork has 'bargain bin' written all over it. As for the music itself, I think some reviewers have been way too harsh - but there's no denying it suffers from being a mish-mash of too many influences (none of them John Major thankfully). The phrase 'hit and miss' might as well have been personally coined for Eugene Mcguinness. The boy's got heaps of promise but no real direction - yet.
The strident opening track 'High Score' wears its druggy references in the title like the aforementioned Elliott Smith's 'Speed Trials', but there the similarities end. Very few songs are completely baffling but this is one of them. It's two parts good old-fashioned knees-up, one part sixties folk and half a cup of Chas and Dave, but the lyrics are something to do with ravers. I think. The keyboards in 'Monsters Under the Bed' wouldn't be out of place on a Scooby Doo soundtrack, and he goes all Chris Isaacs on 'Vampire Casino'. 'Bold Street' is quite jaunty and has something to do with the Big Issue. 'A Child Lost in Tesco' must surely be a joke, though? It's like a song in a comedy sketch show. 'Vela' is really pretty and worth a listen, but let down by some on/off low-grade vocals (and a tendency towards yodelling). More promisingly, 'Madeleine' reminds me of some old John Cale tracks circa 1974, which is probably why I like it so much. And I really do like it, more and more with each listen. The grammatically-dodgy final song is really catchy, but again the vocals could do with a polish in places. It's a pity they didn't bother. The whole album comes across as half-baked, half-hearted. Personally, I'd have taken out half the songs and released an EP instead. And spent, oh, maybe half an hour longer designing the cover. There are far worse things you could do with half an hour of your life than listen to this, but the truth is (obvious joke coming up) he's still got lots to learn. A couple more years playing toilets on the gig circuit wouldn't have gone amiss for Mr Mcguinness. Download the last three tracks, but as for the rest - save your pennies.
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
So so..., 24 Nov 2007
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
As other reviewers have said, this is quite a short album, which is somewhat of a blessing, as it runs somewhat out of steam towards the end as it is. It's strong point lies in the imaginative lyrics & explorative sounds. However, I am not too keen on his voice, it reminds me somewhat of a bad Adam Ant impersonator, and the themes it deals with are not really of any interest to me, although I'm aware that my own tastes in music are not necessarily shared by anyone else!
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