R4U review of North

johnfoyle · Post by **johnfoyle** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 2:36 pm

http://www.reviewed4u.com/music/Costello.htm

Editor R4U

North opens with "You Left Me In The Dark" which
immediately sets the tone for the whole album with
deep baritone vocals and a slower than ballad pace.
"Someone Took The Words Away" again strong vocally
with slightly more melody than the opener. By track 3
- "When Did I Stop Dreaming", your beginning to wonder
whether you've you've just listened to 3 versions of
the same song and you begin to to get a bit restless
as to what else is coming up. "You Turned To Me"
doesn't offer much variation, i.e. it's still a ballad
from the Nat King Cole \ Dean Martin school. "Fallen"
doesn't stand out it blends into the previous and the
next track, "when it sings". Summary so far, a bit
dull. "Still" is a stronger track, with the same
dreamy romanticism but as it's the best track so far,
what does he do... cut it short at 2 and a half
minutes, oh well. "Let Me Tell You About Her " - I
like this one best.

The album is reflective and at times dull. Don't
listen to it if you've had a tough day at the office
as it could be interpreted as depressing. On first
play the album sounds like a dozen attempts to write
the perfect ballad and we all know he's already done
that with " A good day for the Roses". On second play,
I begin to pick out more of the subtle melodies and
start to hear the album like a story, and it starts to
sound better. There's no denying the vocal quality of
the album, but I find that it's lacking a change of
pace or at least some lighter moments.

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And a Good Day to you also.......

noiseradio · Post by **noiseradio** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 3:39 pm

So I guess George Jones should stop cashing all those royalty checks for "Good Year for the Roses." Or was "Good Day for the Roses" and EC-penned b-side?

martinfoyle · Post by **martinfoyle** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 4:10 pm

This good old boy wrote Good Year..
http://www.jerrychesnut.net/Chesnut.html

noiseradio · Post by **noiseradio** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:11 pm

Stepping out further on a limb and jumping:

George Jones did record Good Year for the Roses first, didn't he?

selfmademug · Post by **selfmademug** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 6:22 pm

NORTH needs and deserves more than two listens. I do still feel the first three tracks are the weakest, which can be a death sentence for a record's listenability.

I agree about not spinning it after a hard day at the office, or more appropriately, after any sort of heartbreak. I've had to put it away for a while as both its happy and sad aspects make me cry right now. The tunes still occupy my brain, however, often they're what's in my head when I wake up, and that's a tribute to their power.