Search - Dirty Vegas :: One

A slighly different Dirty Vegas

SRFireside | Houston, TX United States | 05/07/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you have been reading the other reviews it should be apparent to you by now that a lot of people find this album very different than the last. So is it really? Well... yes and no. If you have the first album and really soaked up all the music and not just "Days Go By" then the album isn't all that different. If you're just into their electronic dance music stuff then you will say it's way different.



The boys have gone more acoustic. That's the only real difference here. The singing style. The music structure. The feel and look of Dirty Vegas hasn't really changed. Just how they arranged it. Instead of a lot of driving electronic beats and deep electronic basslines you get more acoustic guitars and not-so-heavy rhythms. I guess for some that's the deal breaker. For me it's still all good. Listen to about half the tracks on their first album (NOT Days Go By, which I personally feel is the weakest song of that CD but still like) and you will see the songwriting hasn't changed. The boys still have a knack for catchy melodies and nice musicial arrangments. It's a shame a lot of you are dissing them just because it's no longer club sounding.



I will say this little nugget of negative truth about this album, and that's their writing style. On their first album they did explore more into different moods and ideas than they have on One. I am noticing a lot of the songs now have an almost identical song structure. The grooves, tempo and feel of these songs are different, but just about any music theory student will notice definite similarities in almost every song in that album (and in songs from their first album). The average user will probably only notice it in a subtle way. Like they are hearing nothing new but can't put their finger on it. While I happen to like the structure they use, repetition is still repetition and it starts to grate on your after a while. This album is probably best served by separating the tracks and putting on a mix tape with some different stuff in between.



The main mood I feel of the album is kind of laid back. Althought that's not really being fair. Tracks like HUMAN LOVE and GIVEN YOU EVERYTHING are powerful and aggressive. WALK INTO THE SUN and A MILLION WAYS also perk up the ears (with the latter being more EDM than the rest). I guess the first two tracks set the tone for me with their peppy and cheerful grooves. I swear HOME AGAIN would make a perfect song for a car commercial.



This is a great album. It shows the group is willing to stretch out of their boundaries a bit and not be pigeon-holed as "the Days Go By" band. They didn't depart that far from their own style, but apparently it's enough to ruffle more than a few feathers. If the only song from Dirty Vegas you ever heard was their one club hit then pass on this one if that's all you expect. If you have enjoyed their last album... all of it... then this one should make sense.



Still if I have to say which Dirty Vegas album I like best it will still have to be their debut album. Not because of "that song", but because of all of the other songs on that CD. They just had more variation in their song writing style on their first album. However One is a close... very close... second and is a purchase I'm very glad I made.



"

Sophmore Jinx

iKM | California | 03/02/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I have given this album ample chance to grow on me, but like most other reviewers, I just can't get into it. I really wanted to like this album as much as I did their first, but "One" is a huge letdown. Gone are the cool electronic sounds and everything else that made their debut album unique and exciting. What we get instead is an album full of bad generic sounding adult-contemporary pop.



The two exceptions to "One's" overall blandness are the songs "A Million Ways" and "In This Life," they are both great songs, but I'd recommend picking up those two at iTunes and saving some money. Or if you're really curious, pick up one of the hundreds of used copies for five or six bucks!"

It's not too bad

Aila Barabin | USA | 05/06/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Contrary to popular belief, Dirty Vegas was never really about dance or techno, that's simply how their songs came out in the first album. If you listen to the entire album, however, you see that much of the album has a more rock/pop quality to it. That is not to say that Dirty Vegas was pop either, they just do their own thing,and that's what makes them good. Their music still has that ethereal ballad-like quality that it had in the first album, and most of the songs have their merit. Just because Dirty Vegas didn't do the same thing they did before doesn't make their music bad or boring. I like it."