Test Of Time 2:::MWP solo records - Rhyme in Two Places At Once / Solo Work & Side Projects Forum

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Test Of Time 2:::MWP solo records - Rhyme

Author	Comment
fandorin	Test Of Time 2:::MWP solo records - Rhyme	Lead	[-]
Posts: 5900 (11/04/2006 14:37) Faith Healer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : martysolo Remove this ad Then I remember my 1992 impression of Rhyme quite clearly. Genius Loci. I walked through Paris with a walkman, Rhyme on side A, Remote Luxury on side B. Glowing, jangling pop anthems. Cool Bauhausey cover. Baroque, playful, well done, plus 2 stinkers I didnt even record on my cassette ("Melancholy Girl", "Cascade"). These songs beat the "doesnt fit in" record in pop history. Now Has definitely worn off in places, in many places, mostly lyrically. Just didnt understand it then, could have been chinese. I loved St.Germain, but nowadays, it seems to me like posing. Hey, I do know all these famous names, and secretly, put myself in line. If it is about Paris impressions, the lyrics are too much on the "I'm the nice guy with the visible interesting book in his pocket"-side. SPOKEN WORD INTERMEZZO IN FRENCH!!! Nevertheless, nice melody. Questions Without Answers i remembered for its nice Ricky jangle....today a line like "There's too much crying, people dying, Who can see the light" Hey, c'mon, not even Simple Minds in 1989 would have rhymed sth like that!! "Forever" is cheesy to the brim, "Time is imaginary"...another SPOKEN WORD INTRO about some bloody king..."How Can I Help It" is nice, but the arrangement is soft-pop at its worst.... So much for the wrecking ball. But Rhyme's got still some treats I dearly love. First, the playful experimental mood from In Reflection is back. Gone is the silly pseudo-avantgarde stuff from A.A., but there are violins, clarinets, bagpipes, clocks. The tunes are much much better. "Say" is a symphony in autumnal colours, truly heartfelt and still touching me today, plus the really cool 10CC-"I'm not in love"-mixing-desk-choral-effect (see R.E.M. "Star Me Kitten" for another nice example). "Say" is gorgeous, terribly beautiful. "To Where I Am Now" shows fantastic songwriting skills (you forget the unnecessary arrangement frills, cause the suspense is more important). And there's that weird track "Idiots", that might anticipate "Swan Lake" and "Witch Hunt". Now, why, why, why did he record "Cascade" and the other Melancholy track???????????????????? Fazit - a handful of very strong tunes make me forget the significant shortcomings. And "Say" is magic! Senseless working overtime Fandorin Music Fandorin Files Last Edited By: chrome3D 12/20/2007 03:02. Edited 1 time.
centuryhouse	Re: Test Of Time 2:::MWP solo records - Rhyme	#1	[-]
Space Saviour Posts: 2377 (11/07/2006 21:59) Glow Worm Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Good review, and well timed too as I had just relistened to this a few times after several years of not hearing it. Despite some of the fluff and the fact that what was once "cool" isn't so cool in a different era, there are some great moments on that album still! St. Germain - I still like it. The instrumentation is fantastic still, and the song does transport me still. Beautiful lush sounds. Melancholy Girl - it was one of my least favorite then, and still is. I skip the track. Questions Without Answers - Still a great track. It sounds good and the lyrics are direct and carry a good message. One of the best on this album. Melody Of The Rain - I still love it, one of the best 12 string passages ever Lush & beautiful. Idiots - Hmmm. I've always been torn on this one. On one hand it deserves props for being so different & unique, on the other it doesn't fit very well and it's certainly 'strange' to these ears. Still torn. Forever - I've never been much on direct love songs. The sounds are good, it's a nice listen. There's a fine line between what's "fluff" or cheesy and what's not, when we're talking about a love song. Oh, and 'forever' rarely is. Say - same as above but a notch higher in the ranking. Nice guitars. Time Is Imaginary - I used to think the spoken word part was the coolest part, now it's the least cool part. As for the song itself, I still like it! Some nice imagery and nice energy at parts. How Can I Help It - in the same boat as Forever & Say, not bad. Melancholy God - I like and it still sounds good, very moody. My only issue is with the word 'melancholy' and it's potential for overuse on this album! To Where I Am Now - One of my favorites then, and it still stands out now. Out of date by todays production standards as is the rest of the album, but still a solid track. Cascade - Um. Never liked it, still skip it. If memory serves it's just the hokey backup vocals sung on the chorus that sink it. All in all, there are still some gems on this one and I still think the cover is cool!
melancholy girl	Rhyme	#2	[-]
Perfect Child Posts: 311 (12/19/2006 14:36) Glow Worm Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I used to love this record (more than Spirit Level indeed ) but my perceptions have changed through the years. Anyway, I still love "St.Germain" (could anyone comment something about these "new age" lyrics, please?) and To where I am now and I really listen this cd often.
miloguidosmom	Re: Rhyme	#3	[-]
Space Saviour Posts: 1575 (12/23/2006 20:28) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'm gonna be really shallow and just say I love the cover photo on this one. KIABGOA
fandorin	Re: Test Of Time 2:::MWP solo records - Rhyme	#4	[-]
Posts: 5900 (12/27/2006 11:07) Faith Healer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Remove this ad hmm... Senseless working overtime Fandorin Music Fandorin Files
chrome3D		#5	[-]
Posts: 5335 (12/10/2007 02:54) Faith Healer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	First part of the album disappointed me at first but it picked up from track 6. No nostalgia value for any song. First impressions after 4 listens. ST. GERMAIN - This has all the depth of a Hollywood movie about a guy who goes to Paris for some canoodling. Piano accordion, red wine and cafes and Paris? Come on, where is the Montmartre bohemians? Bad opener. (later add: OK pop) MELANCHOLY GIRL - It gets only worse. I like good pop, but this is just annoying. MWP should have given this song to Limahl and Kajagoogoo. Lyrics could have worked with another kind of background, maybe. At this point I want my money back. (later add: OK pop) QUESTIONS WITHOUT ANSWERS - "There´s too much crying, people dying" That line says it all. On the plus side the song itself is quite good popper. Despite lyrics this is improvement over the two opening songs. MELODY OF THE RAIN - Acoustic works always. The first song I really like here. "So simple and peculiar to enjoy". Bagpipe is a bit over the top in the end. "Mozart climbs into my head" Okay some stupid lyrics here and there but somehow the naive and enthusiastic quality of the lyrics wins me over. IDIOTS - Written with Ann. Hmm, I can feel some heavy influences from Kate Bush here. Chanting and weirdo atmosphere. "Drowning hopeless in the water" "Diving in the clouds". They have been listening to Hounds of Love allright. A bit heavyhanded song. Almost okay. FOREVER (FOR ANN) - Unforced and good. First song here that I actually like all the way. SAY - it only goes better. After some previous songs I´m amazed with this one. Where did this come from? In another world this would have been hailed as a classic. Just excellent song all the way. Also written in Paris without piano accordions. I could listen to this many times in a row. TIME IS IMAGINARY - Spoken intro once again but that doesn´t matter. This is a good song that reminds me of Further Adventures of the Time Being. Must be the violins that make it sound like MATS. I like this part of the album infinitely more than tracks 1-5. HOW CAN I HELP IT - The return of the drum machine. Easy twinkly song. Okay, nothing spectacular. MELANCHOLY GOD - Much better than Melancholy Girl. That spanish guitar sounds great. TO WHERE I AM NOW - Very good song. Probably the second song here that could be called a classic. There is a bit too much "stempeding, stumbling, clawing etc...to the climax of the last hot moment" but MWP wins me over. GOOD one. CASCADE - Hehee this is funny. Almost Beegees! It isn´t so much out of context when compared with Melancholy Girl. The album comes a full circle, from pop to pop. Somehow I feel the album has two halves and the second feels better, including Cascade. It leaves funny and happy feeling and I like it. The last song also makes the start of the album more understandable, somehow? I just like albums that go from one mood to the other and MWP sure delivers that. That´s why I like ULTC more than, say, AENT. Rhyme is a lot like Art Attack, only difference is that now the almost unlistenable art attack- songs have been replaced with unashamed pop. This results in to an album that is very enjoyable and upbeat but has some much needed depth and introspection in the middle. Next Spirit Level. He drums impatient fingers on the chrome and on the leather
jmb1965		#6	[-]
Maven Posts: 26 (12/11/2007 05:50) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I wish he would re-record these songs with a full band, The Church would be nice. I have all the solo albums probably like Rhyme the least it too poppy for my liking, but really think the songs would improve if the band was behind them. I think the The Church should really explore the idea of re-recording some songs from their solo albums and giving them the treatment they really deserve. All three members first three solo albums are spotty at best and then really improve due to full recordings. Time to clean up the old stuff and give the treatment.
chrome3D	spotty	#7	[-]
Posts: 5335 (12/11/2007 08:37) Faith Healer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Remove this ad Yes, these soloalbums are spotty, but there are some real gems hidden in there. If the hearing problems of the band members get worse, and they have to do more acoustic momentos, they should find more songs from their soloalbums instead of doing third album with only church- songs. Many of these songs deserve it. He drums impatient fingers on the chrome and on the leather Last Edited By: chrome3D 12/20/2007 03:21. Edited 1 times.

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