Handsome [Import]

handsome [import]

Track Listings

1. Rough Kids

2. Billy Bentley (Promenades Himself In London)

3. Crippled With Nerves

4. Hufferty Puff

5. Roadette Song

6. Pam's Mood

7. Broken Skin

8. Upminster Kid

9. Patience (So What?)

10. Father

11. Thank You Mum

12. Badger & The Rabbit

13. Mumble Rumble & The Cocktail Rock

14. Call Up

15. Who's To Know

16. Back To Blightly

17. Ok Roland

18. Twenty Tiny Fingers

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
2004 reissue of the 1999 reissue of the original 1975 album from UK act that launched the career of Ian Dury. Includes ten bonus tracks, 'Thank You Mum', 'The Badger & The Rabbit', 'The Mumble Rumble & The Cocktail Rock', 'The Call Up', 'Who's To Know', 'Back to Blighty', 'OK Roland', & 'Twenty Tiny Fingers'. Castle Music. 2004.

Handsome,Kilburn & the High Roads,Castle,Pop,Rock/Pop

Handsome [Import]

Average customer rating:

A Parade of Their Own (4 1/2 stars)

Plague Park
Handsome Furs
Manufacturer: Sub Pop
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Mirrored
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
The Reminder
Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters
Shut Up I Am Dreaming

ASIN: B000OQDULG
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Tracks:

What We Had
Hearts Of Iron
Handsome Furs Hate This City
Snakes On The Ladder
Cannot Get Started
Sing! Captain
Dead + Rural
Dumb Animals
Radio's Hot Sun, The

Amazon.com

Fans of Death Cab for Cutie will remember how the Postal Service seemed to put Ben Gibbard on a cloud of keyboards, away from the grit of Death Cab's guitars and drums, making the singer seem almost ethereal. With Handsome Furs, you have a similar musical concept, pairing Wolf Parade singer Dan Boeckner with Alexei Perry (as Gibbard did with Jimmy Tamborello), but the effect is stunningly different. Here, Boeckner isn't calmed down by the spare synthetics and drum machines. Instead, he's dystopian in his lo-fi bellow, ricocheting between electro-drums with mid-tempo guitars either strummed acoustically (as on "Snakes on the Ladder," awash in synths and yet clattering) or laying down a thick-set distortion that's a fine foil for all the electronics. The nine tracks run a tad samey-same, but that's at least part of their charm. They and assert Boeckner anew as a prescient, skeptical voice, coarsely toned and draped in machine-sounding music even as he inveighs against the post-modern world--technology and urban living and traffic and so on. --Andrew Bartlett

Album Description

Dark and minimal while noisy and earnest, the point of this duo was to be as sparse and repetitive as possible with the help of little more than vocals, guitars, and a drum machine. Disenchanted vocals thinly resonate while cloaked in a frenzied undertone of fear and uncertainty, all punctuated by bare drum machine beats. Their debut is a record of melancholic tendency and heartfelt desire; a stripped down symphony relegated between city and country, and made for ears of either side.

Customer Reviews:

A Parade of Their Own (4 1/2 stars).......2007-06-05

I really like the Wolf Parade album, but Handsome Furs, with their minor variations on the same sound, arguably have the better album. Plague Park might not have a song as fantastic as "I'll Believe in Anything" or "Dinner Bells", but I think it's consistently very good throughout, and I can't say the same for Apologies to the Queen Mary. Both bands are making some of the best indie rock around, and I look forward to hearing more from these guys.

Average customer rating:

Best Album I Heard This Year -- Seriously
Wow
All Music Guide Description
This catchy, smart album is my new vice.

That Handsome Devil
That Handsome Devil
Manufacturer: Stardust Records/Traffic Ent.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Freezepop Forever (Re-issue)
Little Minds
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Age of Winters

ASIN: B000GW899Q
Release Date: 2006-07-25

Tracks:

Standing Room In Heaven
Yada Yada
Sleep It Off
Elephant Bones
Dating Tips
Miss America
James Dean

Product Description

That Handsome Devil, a born Renaissance man, comes forth with his new genre bending sound: Fringe Pop which is a combination of the last 30 years of counter culture, merging elements of Rock, Lounge, Hip Hop and anything in between.

Album Description

Following the self-help single 'Dating Tips' which has since been rumored as the genus of the Neil Strauss book ''The Game'', That Handsome Devil releases their debut self-titled EP. Arriving with an amazing arsenal of explosive riffs, guitars, keys and horns sweetened by the astounding production of Jeremy Page, front man Godforbid creates imagery that takes the listener from lumbering dreamscapes to howling anthems of cock-walking future pop. Chock-full of edgy lyrics delivered with a bar room swagger and raspy gruffness that forces you to trust their depth, charisma and balls, That Handsome Devil comes off like Tom Waits-meets-Ol Dirty Bastard. Forget Gnarls Barkley, thanks to the That Handsome Devil, the art of post-rap song-writing is here to serve you all, kick plenty of ass and take no prisoners.

Customer Reviews:

Best Album I Heard This Year -- Seriously.......2007-06-09

I wish this was longer. This is music that immediately grabs you -- it's almost too catchy -- but unlike pop music and most of what gets stuck in your head, this is music that rewards repeated listening. Lead singer Godforbid has a lot to offer and a lot to say, and the lyrics have rare depth. Every track is perfect -- the band is spooky good, and they seem to cover every genre there is in the space of seven song EP.

Wow.......2007-05-12

Simply Amazing- I can't wait until their next album is released
This is a MUST for all those "alternative music" lovers out there!

All Music Guide Description .......2007-02-23

Imagine the perfect variety show. They may not make them anymore, but you can try to be creative: fill it with comics, a great mix of eclectic guest bands, and a gregarious host that makes his scintillating guests feel at home, while with a wink at the audience, he gently shreds them to bits. That in a musical nutshell describes That Handsome Devil, as well as their eponymous EP. The quintet of musicians have obviously had professional training, and a wealth of experiences in a variety of other settings, for they bring to this set sounds from across the musical spectrum. Big-band swing, blues, surf, jazz -- both traditional and modern -- funk, R&B, hard rock, even a touch of reggae, not even Parliament Funkadelic were this far-ranging, but THD meld it all into a sound even more distinctive than Grandmaster Flash's. Even better, the arrangements are so creative and deft that the music never sounds eclectic just for the sake of it, it's not even showy, so subtle is the stitching linking the genres, so flawless the musicianship. That's reason enough to champion THD, but wait, you haven't met frontman Godforbid yet -- a consummate performer, one of the best white blues singers around, and one heck of a lyricist. Whether languorously consigning listeners to hell on "Standing Room in Heaven," helpfully and hilariously offering up "Dating Tips," recommending that angels carry guns while celebrating the end of the world on "Elephant Bones," showing life through the eyes of a derelict drunk on "Sleep It Off," or bemoaning inequality in "James Dean," Godforbid demands attention, and who could refuse? Like nothing you've ever heard before, THD is an entire musical revue in one small package, a fabulous night out's entertainment; you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll gasp in amazement at all they have to offer.

This catchy, smart album is my new vice........2007-01-08

This album's been in regular rotation at my house for months now. Impress your friends with your eclectic taste. Track one, Godforbid, philosopher and That Handsome Devil's frontman, takes you by the hand and leads you down some stairs into a dimly lit dive bar trimmed in red velvet. You probably shouldn't follow him, but if you turn back now, honey, you'll always wonder, so don't fight it. Things start to get a little crazy after that...the shots of Jack are just coming at you so fast. Once you're loosened up, though, he gets you dancing and it's real pleasant. But now your head's feeling a little funny. Just relax, everything's gonna be o.k., you can handle this surreal scene. Godforbid talks you down. Just put one foot...in front...of the other...
Seriously, this album's too good! That Handsome Devil fills a chilled shaker with jiggers of Lounge, Funk, Rock, and Hip Hop, then adds dashes of Surf and Brit Pop for a cocktail that'll knock you over. Don't worry, it's all shaken together with expert care you're gonna like. Trust me. It's Gnarls Barkley meets the Tindersticks to watch a James Bond flick and hit on Go-Go dancers in an opium den.

Average customer rating:

Since I've graduated the Handsome Boy Modeling School
Etiquette is the backbone of the Handsome Boy Modeling School
The best record of 2004
an album that is worthy of listening to
Dan and Prince Paul have done it again!

White People
Handsome Boy Modeling School
Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By
Deltron 3030
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The Mouse and the Mask

ASIN: B000654OVK
Release Date: 2004-11-09

Tracks:

Intro
If It Wasn't For You
Are You Down With It
The World's Gone Mad
Dating Game
Breakdown
It's Like That
I've Been Thinkin'
Rock and Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2
The Hours
Class System
First...and Then
A Day in the Life
Greatest Mistake
Outro

Amazon.com

After a five-year hiatus, superstar producers Prince Paul (De La Soul) and Dan the Automator (Gorillaz) join forces again, assembling an even more eclectic and arguably more rewarding sequel to 1999's So… How's Your Girl? Most producer-based albums suffer from guest overload, and certainly Handsome Boy has a challenge in juggling over 25 different cameos, ranging from Del Tha Funkee Homosapien to Barrington Levy to Pharrell Williams to Cat Power to John Oates to… you get the idea. Yet they thrown down with such creative aplomb that you're just thankful to have a ticket for the ride. The vibe jumps from the soulful slide of "Breakdown" (feat. Jack Johnson) to the high-powered hip-hop of "If It Wasn't for You" (feat. De La Soul and Starchild Excalibur) to the indescribably dense "Rock and Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2," which includes DJ Qbert, Lord Finesse, and Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda among other guests. There's so much to digest as Paul and Dan stock the album with a wide range of treats, and each listen reveals something new and delightful. --Oliver Wang

Album Description

White People, the 2nd album from Handsome Boy Modeling School, follows where "So...How's Your Girl?" left off. Bringing together all corners of the musical spectrum: hip-hop, rock, roots, alternative and even jazz, HBMS have put together a seamless cast of players that include: Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington (Linkin Park), RZA, Jack Johnson, Alex Kapronos (Franz Ferdinand), Mars Volta, Pharell and more.

Customer Reviews:

Since I've graduated the Handsome Boy Modeling School.......2007-05-07

It is a fantastic album, a nice collection of artists are put together by Prince Paul and Dan the Automator, good beats, good skits. It instantly became one of my favorite cds. Was blown away when I heard a Jack Johnson song over a beat. Some songs are hit and miss, but I would recommend this cd to anybody that likes hip-hop

Etiquette is the backbone of the Handsome Boy Modeling School.......2006-09-12

If as a handsome, yet style-less man, you are finding you need pointers on when to and when not to fart, how to wash yourself, where to wash yourself, how to seize a handkerchief modeling gig, and many other well-needed tips, then White People is for you!

Hip-hop, trip-hop, hip-hopera, old school, new school, whatever, it doesn't apply here, or maybe it all applies here. Enjoy this! Get it! Try not to be encumbered by the need to categorize it. Let this and the first HBMS as well as Lovage, as well as almost anything by Dan Nakamura into your ear-holes, babies! The cowaberation of Nakamura and the extended De La Soul family, Del the Funky Homosapien, and many others is really something to behold.

The celebrity voice-overs by Tim Meadows and Don Novell are great accompaniment. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll feel groovy. Come and get some.

The best record of 2004.......2005-12-25

Everything about this is perfect..ok a few of the skits could go. The actual songs - those are perfect. From The opening sample of if it wasn't for you, the incredible mike patton song right after.. Amazing piano in class system. I can't get the mars volta song on here out of my head.. The best part is that when mars volta or ..linkin park is on a track..it sounds nothing like their own bands.. Prince paul and dan the automator are badass. I'm ranting.

an album that is worthy of listening to.......2005-12-20

I have not listened to the first album by HBMS (So...How's Your Girl?) so i have nothing to compare this to. The fact that "White People" features the RZA, Pharell, and The Mars Volta is enough of a reason to give this album a chance. Along with the skilled musicians there are some unworthy musicians featured in these recordings, but they did not make this album hard to listen to. They actually helped me gain a little more respect for them. All together this is a compilation of many different genres of music. They all fit together very well. I would reccomend this to anyone who is into pretty chill rock or jazz and who also respects good hip-hop and rap.

Dan and Prince Paul have done it again!.......2005-06-17

God I love these two! Together they bring forth brilliant records....I know alot of people who were dissappointed in this, their latest offering but, for the love of all things good, they've put an an album called "White People" and got MIKE PATTON on board! MIKE PATTON!!!!
Once again this duo has created an album that flows from start to finish. Each and every song is original and new. I can't wait for them to do it again.

Average customer rating:

!
More wonder !
Are the Handsome Family perfect?
Slightly different, but good.

Last Days of Wonder
The Handsome Family
Manufacturer: Carrot Top Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000F8DTLO
Release Date: 2006-06-13

Tracks:

Your Great Journey
Tesla's Hotel Room
These Golden Jewels
After We Shot the Grizzly
Flapping Your Broken Wings
Beautiful William
All the Time in Airports
White Lights
Bowling Alley Bar
Hunter Green
Our Blue Sky
Somewhere Else to Be

Amazon.com

Beginning with an image of cosmic apocalypse and ending with a cosmic joke about going nowhere (yet always having somewhere else to be), Brett and Rennie Sparks use their first album in three years, and their most beautiful and accessible since Through the Trees, to explore the magical and disturbing intersections between the human, natural, and spiritual worlds. Recorded at home in Albuquerque, the album unfolds like a country-folk operetta (mostly composed by Rennie) set in idyllic and mysterious locales: haunted suburbia, peaceful but slightly malevolent strip malls, confession-inspiring bowling alleys, and lovesick airports. When they move to the exotic location of a shipwrecked island on "After We Shot the Grizzly," they borrow from Bob Dylan's cryptic "Isis," and make the random, mythic violence their own. Small moments of ennui, whether feeding pigeons in New York or watching kids paint graffiti, reveal unpredictable and unsettling dreams, and the delicate Americana instrumentation only sounds quaint on the surface. French horns, droning bass notes, clippity-clop drums, pedal steel (from Stephen Dorocke of Freakwater), and musical saw (from David Coulter, who has worked with Tom Waits) give even the most macabre songs--not to mention Brett Sparks' Johnny-Cash-on-Thorazine vocals--a light, playful air of discovery and wonder. --Roy Kasten

Customer Reviews:

!.......2006-11-28

The Handsome Family is very interesting group. They are a husband and wife team who sing murder ballads. I have never seen them play. But I did an interview with them a few years ago. They seemed like a very bitter crowd. If you take a little punk-punk, and throw in a fascination with Nick Cave, and a conversion to Americana, you get to the Handsome Family. When I was talking to them on the phone I felt that I was talking to myself ten years ago. I was really pissed off. I was in training to become a serial killer. I guess that I moved to New York City and joined the rat race. A bunch of good and bad things have happened, and I am all the better for it. If I were still the old me, and time did stop, I would be probably making music like this. But Handsome Family has moved on with this album. There are the same Americana obsessions. Now they have songs about Nicola Tesla. "These Golden Jewels" is like a Tom Waits song. Most of the album is like some southern novel. I was listening to this Ralph Stanley CD recently. Handsome Family is like that except with the references to God. This is a whole album without any murder ballads or even a body count. The Handsome Family has grown up.

More wonder !.......2006-07-23

I wonder how they do it,I am just glad they keep doing it.That dynamic duo have given us yet another gift,I don't know how they keep doing it, but they keep expressing the inexpressible, that world that lies just out of our reach, but which we glimpse in moments of illumination.The Handsome Family write about our world, they use our words, they use instruments,and the same musical notes that are over the radio all day, but they make it all shine, to paraphrase T.H.White, they are some of what we all are, just drops in the great sunlight sea, but some of those drops sparkle.

Are the Handsome Family perfect?.......2006-06-20

A month ago I had heard of the Handsome Family but never heard them. Now that I have please forgive the following hyperbole, it is the ardour felt for a new love.

Their new album Last Days of Wonder does just what it says on the tin. It asks in a cycle of songs varying from ones that could have been sung in Elizabeth the First's court (Hunter Green) to scary, but funny tunes that will be sung and strummed, no doubt, for years to come around the campfire (After We Shot the Grizzly) to waltzes (Telsa's Hotel Room). But taken as a whole they are asking is science about to remove all sense of wonder from our world, and are we happy about that? This is a profound question but it is asked in a round about way that approaches through the cumulative effect of learning these wonderful songs and not dry and dusty like Philosophy 101. They are asking you to clap your hands if you believe in fairies or magic or have ever felt awe; otherwise all that will be left is the whirl of machines and digital analysis.

And with the incredible song writing team of Brett and Rennie Sparks producing such tunes you are going to be clapping your hands a lot - lovely stories to make you laugh and shiver, they possess so much `back story' that you can pack your bags and spend your vacation in there.

But back to my first question - are they perfect? Well, no. They have tended their very unique garden well but sometimes listening to these exquisite melodies I wish that a superstar producer might have been at the helm, a Daniel Lanois or Rick Rubin (but oh no not Eno) to really get them to take wing fully and reach the stratosphere, but it is hard to believe that such genius songwriters haven't had the opportunity to take that path but have commendably chosen not to. Also, although it says nowhere on their job description that they are here to rock you, it would be nice for a little more punch being applied occasionally. But even here they supply a few toe tapping numbers Bob Wills the King of Texas Swing wouldn't have minded attaching his name to such as `Bowling Alley Bar' and `All the Time in Airport', which with a slight upping of the amperage could easily fit into the repertory of Altcountry Rebel Steve Earle.

So, you are lucky - this near perfect fruit is hanging right within your grasp - pluck it and let it into your life. You won't regret it, and while you are at it, if you are new to this marvel, take a leap of faith and get one or two of their back catalogue while you're at it. I would recommend the equally brilliant predecessor Singing Bones. If my search through the record shops of this market town in England's West country is indicative of the bleak distribution opportunities of minor labels major talent, Amazon is going to be the smartest way to go, and I promise after hearing this great CD you are going to want to hear more of the Handsome Family.

Slightly different, but good........2006-06-14

This album marks a change in the Handsome Family canon. Continuing with the slower-paced tradition of their last album, "Singing Bones," this album finds Brett and Rennie Sparks delving into a varitey of topics that somewhat differ from their usual tales of darker fare. Rennie's economical but effective writing shines as bright as ever in the lyrical department, while Brett's songwriting continues to mature and blossom. While the first two tracks start out slowly, one, of the ensuing tracks has an almost Tom Waits feel, while another track features distorted guitar and a moog synth. In another band's hands, these differences could seem jarring, but the Handsome Family does so with ease, making the production changes feel natural and evenly placed. This is another stellar album in a long line of fine work from this under-appreciated group.

Average customer rating:

Great Theme for an Album
You won't regret for long...
Portishead meets Hip-hop
Holy Calamity!
the Truth

So...How's Your Girl?
Handsome Boy Modeling School
Manufacturer: Elektra / Ada
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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White People
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ASIN: B00001ZWEF
Release Date: 1999-10-19

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Rock N' Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This)
Magnetizing - (featuring Del Tha Funkee Homosapien)
Metaphysical
Look At This Face (Oh My God They're Gorgeous)
Waterworld
Once Again (Here To Kick One For You)
The Truth
Holy Calamity (Bear Witness Il)
Calling The Biz
The Projects (PJays)
Sunshine
Modeling Sucks
Torch Song Trilogy
The Runway Song
Megaton B-Boy 2000
Father Speaks

Amazon.com

As if A Prince Among Thieves wasn't conceptual enough, Prince Paul has now joined forces with Dan the Automator to create Handsome Boy Modeling School, an outlet through which the duo (and a dozen or so of their closest big-name friends) can mix and mingle with rap, turntablism, trip-hop, and--of course--tongue-in-cheek humor. And while this idea may sound original, its name came straight from an episode of Chris Elliott's short-lived sitcom Get a Life. Elliott--the goofball writer and cameo guest for David Letterman--springs up a few times on the disc in the form of a few vocal samples, but mostly this show is centered around the guests: Encore provides the disc's best rap on "Waterworld," Grand Puba and Sadat X (from Brand Nubian) perform "Once Again" on top of a sample of Three Dog Night's "Old Fashioned Love Song," and DJ Shadow does his usual magic with the 1200s on "Holy Calamity." Miho Hatori (Cibo Matto), Mike D., Sean Lennon, Alec Empire, and even Father Guido Sarducci are also along for the crowded ride. Does this runway of cameos ever sound thematically cohesive? Hell, no. With this many friends helping out, do we really need to hear Prince Paul on the phone with Biz Markie ("Calling the Biz")? Of course not. But this name-dropping vanity fair is nothing if not ambitious, and chances are there's something here that you'll dig. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

Great Theme for an Album.......2007-06-30

This CD has grown on me alot. Track 4 is hilarious yet at the same time has a real good beat to it. Real kick back beats and goes well with any type of Hiphop/Rap collection. Both these guys are well known for their talent, when it comes to producing. Pick it up only if your a true head.

You won't regret for long..........2006-09-16

Before I came to Handsome Boy Modeling School, I was handsome but without refinements, you know. Knowing which fork is for the salad at dinner, how to select a wine and knowing a napkin goes on one's lap instead of the logical tuck under chin are all points of greater emotional security for me now. I possess the confidence to actually show up for a date when I said I would be there. You too, will feel the liberation of knowing the secrets of Chest and Nathaniel. Don't hesitate, please. Even there, I said, "please" when before I would have just said, "do it bitch!"

Prince Paul and Dan the Automator created the better mouse trap with this particular concept that also entails "White People" and "Lovage." The hip-hopera works well in the framing of this fictitious modeling school. The cast is nothing less than incredible both in content of who they are and in the performances served up. This transcends categorization of strictly hip-hop. It should appeal to a very wide range of musical interests while not betraying it's theme. There is also a duality of self-deprecation for hip-hop and a celebration of hip-hop existing here. This is very much the sensation I feel with "Three Feet High and Rising" and "DeLaSoul is Dead." All artistic outlets should keep it in perspective and not take themselves too seriously. Otherwise you end up like Bobby Brown, Flav, or Dennis Miller.

I don't consider myself a fan of hip-hop, mainly because I am uninitiated. I listen to clawhammer banjo and am a self-professed collector of klezmer music. Nonetheless, I find the Dan Nakamura and Prince Paul collaborations brilliant! Plenty of big kick bass for everyone, so don't panic!

You'll love the Tim Meadows, Don Novell (Father Guido Sarducci), Chris and Bob Elliot, et al. Do what you can to insure you have the Handsome Boy Modeling School iterations in your collection. And screw those people who don't "get it."

Peace.

Portishead meets Hip-hop.......2006-05-07

Everything Dan The Automator has worked on is well worth putting into your iPOD or CD Player... over and over again. "So...How's Your Girl?" is a more serious attempt at producing a classic blues variety of hip-hop which is at a tangent to the gasta' hip-hop that has become mainstream. This is the other side of hip-hop that now seems to be the future of where hip-hop is moving and is certainly eons more musical, where ganga' is more interested in producing harder, faster more complex raps (not to say that Dan The Automator & co don't do that, they do, and very well) these sounds and literally just that... sounds, and they sound great. So once you have finally gone through the mainstream stuff you will probably venture down the avenues of MF Doom, Aesop Rock, Mr. Lif and most certainly you will want to start a Dan the Authomator collection. Deltron 3030 will get you into this rapper. Even if you don't like the blues, Dan the Automator just makes it sound so good here on "So...How's Your Girl". Get it.

Holy Calamity!.......2006-03-27

This energetic album is a pleasure to listen to. Packed full of beats and a completely unafraid attitude. The album could be a bit more consistent, as it's hard (at times) to swallow the plethora of guest MCs that appear on each of the tracks... making the album feel more like a mix tape than a finished vision. Additionally, the interludes are funny but often I wanted them to end so I could hear more music.

However, some albums are worth getting for one track. This is one of them. Once you hear "The Truth" you won't be able to put this album away.

the Truth.......2006-03-23

Check out track 7 "the Truth" featuring the great Roisin Murphy. This song is worth buying this album. A musthave for all Molokofans.

Average customer rating:

A lovely album featuring several utterly gorgeous, haunting songs
Hits ya where ya live and die
Try 'em At Least Once
If this is country music... I love it.
A CD I cant live without

Through the Trees
The Handsome Family
Manufacturer: Carrot Top Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Twilight
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Last Days of Wonder

ASIN: B0000061O4
Release Date: 1998-01-26

Tracks:

My Ghost

Amazon.com

For their second album, Brett and Rennie Sparks take a more serious approach, eschewing the jokier elements of their debut and concentrating on writing country music with an urban sensibility and a post-graduate degree. It's doubtful that any previous country album included songs in praise of Cologne Cathedral or Lake Michigan, but backed by the Sparks' austere songs--often just guitar, autoharp, and drum machine--with occasional help by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, the music has an almost Appalachian simplicity and newfound depth of feeling. Like coming across a brownstone in the mountains, the Handsome Family's music is simultaneously disconcerting and strangely beautiful. --Steven Mirkin

Customer Reviews:

A lovely album featuring several utterly gorgeous, haunting songs.......2006-08-17

This is rightfully celebrated as the Handsome Family's finest album. It isn't perfect--several of the songs are a couple of notches in quality below the best efforts--but there are several songs that are absolutely unforgettable. People have debated whether it is country, neo-traditional, folk, or whatever, but while the form of the music would make it some kind of alt-country effort, the lyrics send it off into its own unique genre. These songs are STRANGE. If this is country, name me another country song that in any way resembles "The Woman Down the Stairs" or any folk song that bears any resemblance to "My Sister's Tiny Hands." I have trouble putting the Handsome Family into any kind of country genre for a simple reason: in most country songs, people's lives are broken while the world is essentially OK. But the Handsome Family's songs are metaphysical; they describe a broken world, so broken that the people are by necessity lost, bereft, doomed. It is music that is Gothic in the sense that Nathaniel Hawthorne was Gothic, not Marilyn Manson. Better, their songs could be compared with the work of Ray Bradbury. Although he is mistakenly thought to be a Sci-fi writer, it is more accurate to describe him as a master of the Weird Fiction genre. The songs of the Handsome Family shares more than a few qualities with this genre.

About a third of the songs on this album are masterpieces, another third very good, and a third just sorta drab. If the weakest songs had been replaced, this would have been one of the great American albums ever. Even as it is, this is essential. "Weightless Again" is just stunning, built around a simple, lovely, forlorn melody, but essentially a meditation on why people do some of the more extreme, self-destructive things they do to themselves. "My Sister's Tiny Hands" is an almost equally beautiful gem about losing a twin sister. "Last Night I Went Out Walking" is not as strong melodically, but it contains heartbreaking and deceptively simple lyrics about a rebuked lover tempted to commit suicide by drowning. But "The Woman Downstairs" almost makes that song sound like a lark with its multiple horrific images concerning a woman who starved herself to death.

The Handsome Family is a family in fact: Brett Sparks sings most of their songs and writes the music while his wife is a fiction writer who here pens the lyrics for the songs and contributes Autoharp. Their first two albums--ODESSA and MILK AND SCISSORS--showed flashes of excellence but neither was consistently good throughout, and both featured songs that seemed stylistically out of phase with the rest of the album. But on THROUGH THE TREES they settled into a consistent style throughout, embracing a simple, understated sound. The result is one of the finest albums to come out of Chicago in the past decade. Whether it is alt-country, folk, neo-traditionalist, indie, or whatever really isn't important. What it mainly is, is good.

Hits ya where ya live and die.......2006-07-01

Such sublime and delicate lyrics - low groans, moans, twangs of lost and lonely folk in urban forests and decaying countryside. Reminds ya of how mad it is to be semi-aware. Absolutely adore this set of recordings - just wish they didn't get stuck in my noggin'

Try 'em At Least Once.......2003-11-25

At their frequent best, Handsome Family poke relentlessly into the dark, the obscure and the unknowable of private and collective life on this planet. It is one brave undertaking. You won't be buying this or any other HF CD solely for the music. Brett's baritone vocals drone; the simple loping arrangements (albeit with occasional offbeat instruments like the dobro, melodica, and autoharp) recall nothing so much as the Happy Trails-type theme songs that played during the credits on TV's early-60's Westerns. But that uncluttered ordinariness is the perfect showcase for Rennie's lyrical, often inconclusive, stories. The best of this CD includes a coffee break on a trip through the redwoods that inspires ruminations on a couple's growing estrangement and floating -- in water as learning, in air as suicide (Weightless Again). Cathedrals contrasts man's monumental achievements and his thin moment in time ("everyone of us is swept away like breadcrumbs"). On Stalled, a man stuck in snow (snow, like drinking, is a constant motif to the HF work) grows colder and colder, but never leaves his pickup. Lovers commit dual suicides because -- it seems -- their love is simply too big for life (Down in the Valley of Hollow Logs). My only reservation about the Family is that their bizarreness on occasion comes across as mannered, which -- of course -- makes it a pose, just another suit to try on. The Woman Downstairs is one of two or three songs here to suffer that weakness. That keeps Through the Trees from five star status, but hardly changes my view that there's nobody around quite like Handsome Family, and lucky we are to have them.

If this is country music... I love it........2003-08-04

What an incredible CD. Haunting. Beautiful. Evocative. Brilliant. Powerful. Disturbing. Melodic. Moody. This CD will make you an instant fan of The Handsome Family and you will have to buy all of their other titles as well. These songs will creep up on you before you know it, and take root deep in your subconcious where they will continue to haunt you like distant memories and old family photos.

A CD I cant live without.......2002-04-20

Originally turned on to the Handsome Family by their tie to Wilco's Jeff Tweedy I went ahead and bought a used copy of Milk and Scissors not expecting much. Not only was I wrong it quickly turned into my second favorite Cd of all time. As fast as I could I went ahead and ordered the rest of their catalog and what a find this was. This is now tied for my favorite CD with Pedro The Lion's Winners Never Quit. A solid CD from top to bottom with witty lyrics and beautiful harmonies. This band also really cares about its fans as evidence of a recent order I placed through their website. A Personal Thank You was sent from Rennie Sparks. I can't wait for their next CD

Average customer rating:

kiri kern
Kiri sing Kern is a great experience
Lacks Splendor
White Glove Kern
mildly disappointing

Kiri Sings Kern: Dame Kiri TeKanawa
Dame Kiri TeKanawa , Jerome Kern , Jonathan Tunick , and London Sinfonietta
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Kiri Sings Gershwin
Kiri Sings Porter; Dame Kiri TeKanawa
Kiri Sings Berlin
Kiri! Her Greatest Hits Live
Kiri Te Kanawa - Greatest Hits ~ 14 Favorites of Opera, Popular & Traditional Song

ASIN: B000002SK3
Release Date: 1993-03-16

Tracks:

The Songs Of Jerome Kern: The Folks Who Live on the Hill
The Songs Of Jerome Kern: I'm Old Fashioned
The Songs Of Jerome Kern: The Way You Look Tonight
The Songs Of Jerome Kern: The Song Is You
The Songs Of Jerome Kern: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
The Songs Of Jerome Kern: All Through The Day
The Songs Of Jerome Kern: The Last Time I Saw Paris
The Songs Of Jerome Kern: A Fine Romance
The Songs Of Jerome Kern: Yesterdays
The Songs Of Jerome Kern: All The Things You Are
The Songs Of Jerome Kern: Bill
The Songs Of Jerome Kern: Long Ago And Far Away
The Songs Of Jerome Kern: Look For The Silver Lining
The Songs Of Jerome Kern: Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man

Amazon.com

As Hammerstein writes in the opening song, "Many dames with lofty aims strive for lofty goals"--and Te Kanawa strives for successful crossover. Her beautiful singing exhibits impeccable diction and excellent phrasing; but "A Fine Romance" lacks anger and humor, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" lacks a storyteller, and "All the Things You Are" lacks romanticism. However, happy songs like "All Through the Day," "Look for the Silver Lining," and "The Folks Who Live on the Hill," are successfully interpreted. Jonathan Tunick's orchestrations enhance Kern's beauty through his captivating use of obbligato instruments. A pleasant, if not wholly satisfactory, listening experience. --Barbara Eisner Bayer

Customer Reviews:

kiri kern.......2007-03-29

Kiri is sensational on this CD. Jerome Kern music is stupendous and the arrangements superb. Three top esses.

Kiri sing Kern is a great experience.......2004-01-18

I love the way she sings Kern's songs. Though certainly not opera, Kern's songs benefit from an an operatic approach--not all of them, but certainly ones such Smoke gets in your Eyes, The song is you, All the things you are. I love Kern;s songs sung in many styles but Kiri's way is one of the best.

On the other hand, I did not like Kiri singing Berlin.

Lacks Splendor.......2002-09-01

Though I do enjoy Kiri's interpretation of most music, and this CD was decent, I did not find any piece particularly memorable.

The voice is undeniably beautiful, and Kiri has managed to keep her maturing voice sounding somewhat young, yet I find that I much prefer her rendition of "The Laughing Song" to that of "Smoke Gets in YOur Eyes."

If you love Kern, and couldn't care less who performs it, than purchase this CD. If you are a fan of Kiris', then perhaps it would be best to avoid this purchase...for it is not a shining star in her vast collection of CDs. All in all, it was a disappointment.

White Glove Kern.......2001-05-20

I am the first to admit that most "crossover" albums, be they of classical performers singing pop or vice versa never quite cross over. This album does splendidly. Kern's music is the most related to classical operetta , and therefore the least jazziest. Operatic soprano Kiri Te Kanawa gives luscious, heartfelt readings of these wonderful songs, backed by glamorous orchestrations. Hearing a voice of such opulence and beauty in this music is a rare treat. Just listen to "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" ,"Long Ago and Far Away" or "The Song is You" and prepare to be swept away to another, more elegant time.

mildly disappointing.......2000-09-30

Sometimes cross-over works, sometimes not. While Kiri te Kanawa has a beautiful voice, she never gets into the idiom of these Jerome Kern masterpieces sufficiently to convey their stories or their subtleties. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes especially stands out, she sings it with none of the pathos the song demands and her version pales compared to the Platters. The orchestral arrangements are decent and in many of the songs the purity of her voice is enough to carry them, but overall I would say this is a disappointing example of a crossover record. Ms. te Kanawa should stick to what she does best.

Average customer rating:

The Sadness Is Deliscous
The hits just keep on comming!
Zippy says yippie!
Surreal optimism?
Surreal optimism?

Twilight
The Handsome Family
Manufacturer: Carrot Top Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Lo-Fi | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Through the Trees
In the Air
Milk and Scissors
Last Days of Wonder
Singing Bones

ASIN: B00005OAI0
Release Date: 2001-10-02

Tracks:

The Snow White Diner
Passenger Pigeons
A Dark Eye
There Is A Sound
All The TV's In Town
Gravity
Cold, Cold, Cold
No One Fell Asleep Alone
I Know You Are There
Birds You Cannot See
The White Dog
So Long
Peace In The Valley Once Again

Amazon.com

Set in a shadowy netherworld, Twilight reasserts the Handsome Family's position as modern-day descendants of the ancient country-folk surrealists gathered on Harry Smith's celebrated Anthology of American Folk Music. Rennie Sparks's songs are filled with animals ("Birds You Cannot See" and "White Dog") and natural images that are both carefree ("Peace in the Valley Once Again") and unnerving ("Snow White Diner"). The lyrics masterfully blend compassionate insight and a real sense of drama and tragedy with an eye for detail and humorous asides. Brett's vocal croon and his background in both experimental avant-garde and Texas rockabilly insures that the duo's music continues to grow far beyond its country roots. The Handsome Family happily flout convention but their stark beauty still shines through--these are some of the strangest and most compelling songs in the warped but wonderful world of alternative country. --Gavin Martin

Customer Reviews:

The Sadness Is Deliscous.......2007-07-11

Simple,stark,sad and lonesome...that's the feel all the way through. Death, despair and darkness...made so real it hurts and gives pleasure at the same time.

The hits just keep on comming!.......2006-06-13

Brett and Rennie understand that darkness dosen't need to be all dark, nor strangeness wierd. These tunefull songs are clever, funny, and catchy, all the while hinting at the mysteries that lurk behind the ordinariness of day to day existance. Nothing like it. This is our third Handsome Family album, we love them all, glorying in the eccentricity. Besides, my wife goes all weak at the knees under the power of Brett's awesome baritone.

Zippy says yippie!.......2002-11-08

I didn't like this the first time I listened to it. Now I can't stop. Each time it gets better. There are few songs anywhere that uses a theramin to such perfection as does "Gravity". "Birds You Cannot See" , what lyrics, I have known about these birds since my childhood, I am glad someone else knows about them, now I feel better. "Cold, Cold, Cold", great winter driving through the mountains tune. My kids hate "country music" not that this is, and they usually comment on what i play, but when I put "Twilight" on they become real quiet, I mean really quiet. Maybe they think I finally went around the bend. I even hear my youngest mumbling along with this CD. Must be onto something.

Surreal optimism?.......2001-10-10

I don't know how anybody could mistake songs like The Snow White Diner or Dark Eye as remotely "optimistic". These are classic gloomy and twisted Handsome Family odes to the dark side...and they're great! This is another fine release by the Handsome's...and I'd sell my two arms and my one good eye to write songs half as good as they do. Of course, I wouldn't be able to play them then, .... Anyway...if you like the other Handsome's discs, buy this one. It's classic dark and twisted stuff, just the way we like it.

Surreal optimism?.......2001-10-09

I don't know how anybody could mistake songs like The Snow White Diner or Dark Eye as remotely "optimistic". These are classic gloomy and twisted Handsome Family odes to the dark side...and they're great! This is another fine release by the Handsome's... ..if you like the other Handsome's discs, buy this one. It's classic dark and twisted stuff, just the way we like it.

Average customer rating:

Beautiful Suprise
Some place not meant to be found
Murder Ballads
Rennie Sparks is the Gabriel Garcia Marquez of alt-country
Support this band!

Singing Bones
The Handsome Family
Manufacturer: Carrot Top Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Last Days of Wonder
Through the Trees
Twilight
In the Air
Milk and Scissors

ASIN: B0000CD5FC
Release Date: 2003-10-07

Tracks:

Forgotten Lake
Gail With the Golden Hair
24-Hour Store
Bottomless Hole
Far from Any Road
If the World Should End in Fire
Shadow Underneath
Dry Bones
Fallen Peaches
Whitehaven
Sleepy
Song of a Hundred Toads
If the World Should End in Ice

Album Description

2003 album for husband & wife duo featuring 13 songs about Wal-Marts, lovers who chase the fire in the streetlights, the madness of very deep holes, a lake that can be visited in dreams, and the shadows that whisper inside a modern, office building. It is the Handsome Family's 6th CD with Carrot Top Records. Lyrics included in the sleeve.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful Suprise.......2005-11-04

I came across the Handsome Family by way of an interview on National Radio(Radio New Zealand). I pulled into the motel car park dead tired after driving for 16 long hours, yet remained sitting in the car mesmerised by the strange and evocative music pouring into the car from the rain sodden night. Once in the motel room I logged onto Amazon and purchased Singing Bones.
The next morning I opened my eyes and watched the wardrobe sway around in a dreamlike fashion, much like the music I had heard the night before. Later on the news I discovered that I had experienced an earthquake. In the end it was my wife who claimed ownership of the CD, and she has played it constantly ever since and our 6yr old daughter knows the words to all the songs. What a great discovery, fresh pure music, greatly cherished by this family.

Some place not meant to be found.......2005-08-19

Somber and majestic tales of the West written as if H.P. Lovecraft, Jack London and Manly Wade Wellman shared a wagon with the Donner Party between the last hopeful days of (that) Summer and the coming awareness of Winter's ordeal.

Spooky and uplifting simultaneously, the stories float through themes which evoke spirits both otherworldly (ghosts and dream visions),as well as the natural haunts of desolate, forlorn geography visited by wandering souls.

There is a strong "sense of place" within these twilight landscapes...the Handsome Family brings them to life. After all, these realms DO exist,...sometimes. somewheres. really.

Total CD time is 38:47 min.

Murder Ballads.......2004-06-18

Husband and wife duo the Handsome Family has been making music for almost a decade that is somewhere between alt-country and traditionalist music. Brett Sparks is from Texas where he studied music. He moved to Chicago with his wife Rennie Sparks, a fiction writer originally from Long Island. Their music deals with dark themes and dark humor.

The Handsome Family's debut album, Odessa, was released in January 1995. This folk record was a home recording with a punk influence. Their second record, Milk and Scissors (1996), led to tours with Wilco, and more shows in Europe. Years later Brett was hospitalized with depression. Through the Trees (1998), the Handsome Family's third album was written and recorded in the aftermath of this time. This became their most successful record yet.

Around this time, they quit their day jobs and worked on their music full time. The result was In the Air (2000), which was another great record. The Handsome Family played several tours of America and Europe. A live record was released soon after. In the last part of this past year they released Singing Bones (2003). This record returned to early sounds and expanded their audience. It was voted as one of the best records of 2003 by Free Williamsburg.

Rennie Sparks is the Gabriel Garcia Marquez of alt-country.......2004-03-15

What else can I say? Her lyrics contrast visionary, sometimes somewhat morbid settings with closely observed, incongruous detail. My favourite narrative from this record is "Song of a Hundred Toads," in which a string of disasters ---

Round a hairpin turn
The wagon tumbled o'er
And down the jagged rocks
Bill fell with all I owned.

--- leaves a man stranded in a desert, only as his final night falls to be greeted by the epiphany of the title: the song of a hundred toads. "The Bottomless Hole" strikes an H. P. Lovecraft note, but Lovecraft with a difference: it seems it's -useful- to have a bottomless pit behind your barn, even if you end up obsessed with the urge to explore it.

Moving to New Mexico seems to have added some new, somewhat more upbeat "western" seeming rhythms and chord changes to Brett's music. There are occasional touches of Spanish guitars, and on one song even a trumpet. The musical saw on "24 Hour Store" is another instrumental highlight.

Support this band!.......2004-03-14

If you like your country music with rousing, beautiful harmonies and a gothic edge, then look no further! This talented husband & wife duo record in their home in New Mexico and find the time to respond personally to their fans. Use your dollar to support their "cottage industry" ...

Average customer rating:

One of the best albums of the 90's
Tom Capone One Of NY Hardcore's Best
An amazing album
a let down
Arrgh where did these guys go?!?!?!

Handsome
Handsome
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Alternative Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

United by Fate
Slip
Water & Solutions
Quicksand
Fantastic Planet

ASIN: B000002BHV
Release Date: 1997-02-04

Tracks:

Needles
Ride Down
Going To Panic
Left Of Heaven
Thrown Away
Dim The Lights
Lead Bellied
My Mind's Eye
Waiting
Quiet Liar
Eden Complex
Swimming

Customer Reviews:

One of the best albums of the 90's.......2007-06-19

This one and only Handsome album is in my eyes one of the greatest albums ever recorded. If you even remotely like Quicksand, Helmet or any of the of the many other NY Hardcore bands of the 90's you will love this cd. Every song just absolutely crushes the next. This is the one album that I never get tired of listening to (and I've had it since '98). I'm just sad to see that Handsome never put out any other albums after this and that none of the members went on to do anything as good as this. So basically: BUY/DOWNLOAD/STEAL THIS ALBUM. You won't be disappointed.

Tom Capone One Of NY Hardcore's Best.......2006-02-22

In my opinion, whenever Tom Capone is involved it's always good. Bold, Quicksand and Instruction showcase his brilliant guitar playing. Handsome is no exception, this is a really a good album all the way through. But Capone is not alone on this one N.Y. Hardcore veterans Peter Mengede(Helmet) and Pete Hines(Murphy's Law, Cro-Mags) are in the fold and together they write compelling, well structured anthems that bands today only wish they can write. What more can you ask for. The only bad thing about Handsome is, this is their only release.

An amazing album.......2005-05-26

Characteristically void of any blatent guitar solos but making up for it with time changes, interesting lyrics, and a tight sound, Handsome just blew me away when I first listened. This was the type of music that I had been longing for and finally found. It's true that the musicianship by itself isn't all that great but with riffs this phat nothing more is needed! The songs rock with so much intensity that even the not so catchy ones begin to grow on you quickly and when the slower songs come along, the heavy guitars remain intact and just add to all the crunch and impact.

Hard and Heavy!

Highly recommended

a let down.......2004-09-13

There are some good tracks on this CD. The music should get a 5 . Killer playing, but the singing ruined this band. That's all there is too it. Over produced vocals from a singer that tried WAY too hard. this is the result of what over production does to musicians that are based in underground music. it just doesn't work. If Walter Schreifels or Page Hamilton was singing on this album , and the production was cut down, this would have flattened anything at the time. The mid 90's were confused with the start of the rap/metal nonsense and the end of the "grunge" movement. Tom Capone is a brilliant guitar player and Peter Mengede was from Helmet, what more needs to be said. it's too bad they chose the slick production and vocalist. I do like some tracks ( swimming,Ride Down) and he's not too bad on some tracks but overall, it just didn't work.

Arrgh where did these guys go?!?!?!.......2004-07-31

It took me about a week of listening to fully get into this album - the guitar melodies are complex and at first discordant, the singing a little on the "whiney" side.
Now looking back I can't see how I could have ever thought that. I picked up this CD for 5 bucks ($NZ) about 6 years ago and it has pretty much never left its spot on top of my stereo - unless it was in my car. I still listen to it a few times every month.
I often search the net trying to find where these guys went after they broke up. Only Jeremy Chatelain seems to be around - in Jets to Brasil as bass player and solo as Cub Country. I'm quite gutted coz (despite me thinking him whiney at first - and I have low tolerance for whiney singers) he's actually one of my all time favourite vocalists. And Pete Hines drumming is amazing - I really want to find out where he's gone after Handsome.
So far no luck; Jeremy's "wasting" his talent and the others disappeared. Anyone knows is Pete Hines has another band tell me, please!
Anyway to sum up my grovelling - this is probably one of my top 5 albums out of about 600 in my collection.

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