Search - Eagle-Eye Cherry :: Desireless

Desirable.

H3@+h | VT | 08/24/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Most people have heard the track "Save Tonight" from this, and it is probably the best and most upbeat song. However the rest is decent, it's kind of lightweight folk/soul/pop, but still enjoyable. He's kind of like a less-deep "Cat Stevens", and a much less-sexy "Maxwell", somwhere in the middle anyway. After the "hit", I like "Shooting Up In Vain", and "When Mermaids Cry" is catchy, otherwise some of the rest is forgettable. At the very least he left us with one great track, kind of like his sister "Neneh" did many years ago (Buffalo Stance)."

A fine debut.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 03/24/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In the years that have passed since the release of his debut album, "Desireless", Eagle-Eye Cherry has faded from public consciousness, due no doubt to Sony's not picking up his later albums more than anything else, but in 1998, it seemed you couldn't go very long without hearing "Save Tonight" on the radio.



Certainly Cherry had the pedigree for his position-- his father Don was a jazz and world music pioneer, sister Neneh had some success on the alt-hip-hop circuit, sister Titiyo is evidentally huge over in Sweden (truthfully, I've never heard of her) and brother David Ornette is a jazz and improvised music artist. Eagle-Eye Cherry (named because he opened one eye when as a baby he first looked at his father) got his start as a drummer for his father, spent a stint as an actor and after his father's death, retreated to Sweden where he began seriously composing music.



The resulting debut album, "Desireless", falls in the alternative pop/singer songwriter category, although Cherry's music has a number of edges to its sound-- his influences clearly trace into dozens of genres. As an arranger, this lends some more weight and depth to his music, providing it with a certain something that's a bit inescapable that separates Cherry from the other phenomenal songwriters.



At its best, the album is brilliant-- whether striking upbeat and yet moody (leadoff single "Save Tonight"), guitar-driven rock ("Indecision"), dark, driven folk/hip hop ("Shooting Up in Vain"), or delicate, tender and seemingly painfully pretty ("Comotose"). This all mixes with a superb deuet with Titiyo (the superb "Worried Eyes") and a tribute to his late father in recording one of his composition (jazz-drenched "Desireless"). At times, the album fumbles a bit, either being a bit unmemorable ("Permenant Tears") or just somewhat mediocre ("Falling in Love Again"), but somehow Cherry finds a way to pull off the weaker melodies and lyrics nicely ("When Mermaids Cry").



It's not quite the masterpiece one suspects he has in him, but "Desireless" is definitely a worthy pickup. Recommended."