The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta

Album Title: Zenyatta Mondatta
Album Artist: The Police

Track Listing:
1. Don't Stand So Close To Me (4:02)
2. Driven To Tears (3:21)
3. When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around
4. Canary In A Coalmine (2:26)
5. Voices Inside My Head
6. Bombs Away (3:08)
7. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (4:07)
8. Behind My Camel (2:54)
9. Man In A Suitcase (2:18)
10. Shadows In The Rain (5:03)
11. The Other Way Of Stopping (3:22)

A Quick Review:

Sure, most everyone remembers The Police (mostly due to Sting, of course...). Remember Roxanne? Sure! She don't have to put on the red light. Right?

How about De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da? Yep. Speaks for itself. Or the well-known Don't Stand So Close To Me, a song about a paranoid teacher whose student is romantically interested in him. (Even if you didn't know that's what Don't Stand... was about,) You know the songs, the oh-so-catchy songs.

But have you heard the fast-paced near-punk reggae tune Canary In A Coalmine? What about the utterly infectious Man In A Suitcase? No? Well then, "Zenyatta Mondatta" is definitely an album you should hear!

Some regard "Zenyatta Mondatta" (Released in October 1980 on A&M Records) as the best album by The Police, and even though I'm not totally convinced, it's definitely close to their best. Every song is catchy and has a memorable melody. There's almost no filler on this album, with the exception of the somewhat tiresome When The World Is Running Down... and the utterly bizzare instrumental track, Behind My Camel.

"Zenyatta Mondatta" is surely one of the most accessible albums The Police ever recorded, and with two of their biggest singles on this album, I highly recommend it.

Final Verdict:
4 out of 5.
Highly Recommended.

Watashi Wa - The Love of Life

Album Title: The Love of Life
Album Artist: Watashi Wa

Track Listing:
1. All of Me (3:28)
2. At Its Finest (3:45)
3. The Air I Breathe (3:40)
4. With Love From Me To You (4:56)
5. Smoke Signals (4:21)
6. Joanna (2:37)
7. Everything (6:41)
8. Always Is A Place (2:47)
9. How She Sees (2:48)
10. Her Dress (2:44)
11. Clear (3:38)
12. Life Is Beautiful (7:42)

The Short and Sweet Review:

Watashi Wa's "The Love of Life" is a charming and encouraging pop album. This album has everything from full-on fast-paced pop-rock with happy guitar lines, to beautiful, slower moments of piano breaks. Top it all off with a hopeful voice singing lyrics that point toward something greater and you have a winner! Although a simple album in a sense, it's fun, faith-infused pop that's as much worth listening to for the music as for the lyrics. Definitely give this album a spin!

Final Verdict:
4 out of 5.
Recommended.

Album Highlights:
At Its Finest
With Love From Me To You
Joanna
Everything
Her Dress

The Long Winded Review:

One of my favorite pop-rock releases ever, "The Love of Life" was released on Tooth & Nail records in 2003. Watashi Wa, whose name roughly means "I am" or "As for me" in Japanese, was a young Christian pop-rock group that wrote fun, upbeat, and positive music. But it's not sappy or "104.1" (sorry, Fish!) by any means--this band's quality could let them easily stand up next to secular pop groups. The music isn't complex, in fact it's quite simple, but that doesn't make it bad by any means! Just not complicated. Simple is sometimes good, am I right?

Seth Alan Roberts' voice is a huge part of what gives this record the appeal it has, and despite the fact that he is sometimes a little hard to understand, his voice gives the album (as another review somewhere put it) its "sparkle and shimmer."

One reason I love this album is the positive (and even thought-provoking) lyrical content. Encouraging lyrics, words of hope and wisdom are found scattered about this record, introspective words like "I have learned that depression comes when our eyes are on ourselves" in At Its Finest, or heartfelt longing in Everything: "Lead me and teach me." To my ears, even with the strong Christian themes, Seth never comes across as preachy and never shoves anything down the listener's throat in this album--the album is far too friendly and relateable to be a turn off in any way.

SONG BY SONG:

The albums first track, All Of Me, is a very vocally driven track that sounds like Seth singing a pledge to stick to his faith and his relationship with Christ, to give Christ his all, despite hardships he may face. "I'll be the one, be the one they take//And I'll be the one they try to break//And I've just begun, just begun now//And I'm not a lot, but you can have all of me." Great lyrics!

At Its Finest begins with a crackling radio, and after a brief moment launches into a fast-paced guitar line, solid drums, and a throbbing bass line. The lyrics gently urge "to think things humbly//to lock up pride and throw away the key" and promise that things will work out for the better if we humble ourselves and put others ahead of ourselves. Again, great, great lyrics here. A really fun tune!

The Air I Breathe continues happily chugging along, and Seth sings out of a love that's "always, always found," one that he clearly wants the listener to be able to share in and experience. Again, it doesn't come across as preachy, but more like a good friend who wants to share something amazing.

Despite the title, With Love From Me To You sounds nothing like The Beatles' tune. This is a true song of love to another person. The chorus may seems sappy to some but here it is: "Come love, see the earth spin//Watch the colors collide, with hope at our side//All that is mine, with love from me to you." Maybe not a song that everyone will enjoy but one that's heartfelt, nonetheless.

Smoke Signals finds Seth observing that friendships sometimes are riddled with painful backstabbing, "...like a sport...", and he longs for freedom from it. Can't we all relate?

Joanna finds the singer nervous about dancing with a girl, apparently named Joanna, and playfully asks, "If I can't dance//Joanna would you understand?" A fun tune with a very simple chorus. One of those songs that you can sing to in minutes. :)

Everything is a gem, a slower song on the album, reflecting on the feelings of being called by something bigger. It ends with a break of about a minute and a half of simple piano. Very nice break in the album.

Always Is A Place finds Seth wanting to be one who's always there, "to know and always care," to "always have all ways." This song makes me think of 1 Corinthians 9, where Paul writes about being all things to all people.

How She Sees is more of a warning reprimand. It tells the story of a girl who simply wanted to see inside a church, a girl who "wanted just to see inside//she wanted just to know what's right//she wanted her life to be all right," but was instead rudely turned away by the people. Seth sings, "Remember Love that showed you life then show the same." What a statement. A good reminder for us, too.

Her Dress is a song about running from lust. "Her dress becomes my thoughts//my thoughts become a plot//her touch becomes my fate//can mercy find a way?" I think every guy has been here, and Seth sings for mercy to find him, and then says to the object of his desire, "Well I like you that way//but I will not stay." A relateable song that we can find encouragement and truth in.

The last two tracks, Clear and Life Is Beautiful slow down quite a bit.

Clear is a song of praise sung to God. "You're always here//Your touch is near//You're sound, so sound//You're always clear, so clear//Your voice is clear//You're sound, so sound." It's an encouraging song, and one of the most thought-provoking lyrics in the song?: "All this pain//Such lessons in such pain//Such hope in so much pain//How can I call this pain?" An amazing perspective, one that we don't always find ourselves seeing from.

Life Is Beautiful is a great closing track, and this one, like Everything, ends with a wonderful piano break.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

It may sound sappy, but this album seems full of exactly what the title refers to: Love. Inviting, friendly, honest love, pointing towards something greater. A very encouraging album, full of fun tunes. Give this wonderful gem a spin if you can get a hold of it--definitely worth your time.


Links:
Watashi Wa on Myspace
Seth Alan Roberts' new project, Lakes
Lakes on Myspace

Saxon Shore - Four Months of Darkness

Album Title: Four Months of Darkness

Album Artist: Saxon Shore

Track Listing:
1. Four Months of Darkness (6:48)
2. Amber, Ember, Glow (2:29)
3. Our Mountain Pass, A Winding Trench (8:32)
4. Secret Fire, Binding Light (5:36)
5. Side By Side In This Gentle Descent (7:54)

The Short and Sweet Review:

This album sounds like the instrumental equivalent to a hopeful ray of light after Four Months of Darkness, if that makes sense. I don’t recommend this album if you’re in an impatient mood, but if you feel like slowing down for a half hour, like taking a breath and relaxing to some very laid back, beautiful music that isn’t pretentious, cluttered, or busy, than Saxon Shore’s “Four Months of Darkness” is for you.

Final Verdict:
5 out of 5.
Highly recommended.

The Long Winded Review:

Despite this album's title, "Four Months of Darkness," this is one of the most gorgeous albums I've heard in a long while. This laid back instrumental record takes its sweet time to unfold, but boy, is that time sweet. I'll admit, it may be too slow for active listening, but it's a great album to unwind to, and its repetitive (but not overly so) nature makes it a great album to play in the background while contemplating, reading, or doing whatever it is you like to do to slow down (Personally, I listen to this album nearly every other night. It seriously helps me unwind).

The first sounds you'll hear as this album begins are a wavering hum, a steady clank, and soon, a tired, droning accordion. I've never heard the accordion played the way it is here before - slowly, almost painstakingly so. As it slowly establishes a melody, the drums ease in, and we're well into the album's title track, Four Months of Darkness. After a crescendo and a long, easy fade, the track tops out at 6:48.

Amber, Ember, Glow is the next track, and easily the most upbeat track on the album. It's a very layered track, complete with cheery chimes and tambourine. Even though his track abruptly ends after only 2:29, it's charmed me.

The next song, Our Mountain Pass, A Winding Trench clearly has a mouthful of a name, and a track length to go with it—8:32. It’s a very dynamic song, always leaning toward the quiet, a pattern true to the whole album. The best part of this song is actually tastefully tacked onto the end—about two and a half minutes of the song’s playing time comes from a simple acoustic guitar interlude. Not expertly played, but beautifully played. Highlight of the album.

The last two songs, Secret Fire, Binding Light and Side By Side In This Gentle Descent don’t introduce anything really new, but are just as pretty as the rest of the album. Side By Side... does drone for a just a tad too long at the end, but after listening to it as many times as I have I’ve come to overlook that, even appreciate it.

Like the lighthouse on the cover suggests, there is light in the midst of the darkness, and this album sure sounds like that hope to my ears.

Links:
Saxon Shore
Saxon Shore on Myspace
Saxon Shore's label, Burnt Toast Vinyl

Prelude

People Like Things Short and Sweet. That's Something I've Never Been Good At.

Nonetheless, this blog will hopefully be a place where I can share my love of music with whoever cares to look... My goal is to share at least one album recommendation or review a week. And if you feel like it you might listen to one new album a week... If you can even find the ones I review, that is. iTunes baby. :P

The format will probably differ from post to post, but know that if I give a really long winded review there's a shorter one underneath it if you don't feel like reading that much. :)

Considering that tons of new music is released nearly every Tuesday, quantitatively speaking, this isn't much of a resource... But I hope it might open your ears to some good music that you deserve to hear.

God bless,
~bryan

P.S.- For those who care, my web address for this blog (http://www.0233music.blogspot.com) references a Lost Ocean song, 0233. Yep.