My Autumn's Done Come - Hooverphonic, Hazelwood, L.
2 Wicky - Hooverphonic, Bacharach, B.
Frosted Flake Wood
Eden
Vinegar
Sad Song
Someone
The World Is Mine - Hooverphonic, Arnaert, G.
Sometimes
The Last Thing I Need Is You [*]
Subtitled - The Live Theater Recordings. European edition of the Belgian ambient pop act's 2003 newly recorded acoustic sessions features 14 tracks including a beautiful rendition of Lee Hazelwood's 'My Autumn's Done Come... more »' along with the new single 'The Last Thing I Need Is You & 1 bonus track, 'The Last Thing I Need Is You'. Columbia.« less
Subtitled - The Live Theater Recordings. European edition of the Belgian ambient pop act's 2003 newly recorded acoustic sessions features 14 tracks including a beautiful rendition of Lee Hazelwood's 'My Autumn's Done Come' along with the new single 'The Last Thing I Need Is You & 1 bonus track, 'The Last Thing I Need Is You'. Columbia.
"Could it be that this, their fifth CD, far from being a rehash of their earlier releases, is the most accomplished, rich and satisfying of all their efforts? YES!
Though I love all their CDS, each one contain a few tracks that are throw-aways, too similar in melody and production to the other songs on the same CD. NOT SO WITH "Sit Down and Listen To: The Live Theatre Recordings."
It's title a line from the tune, "Lullaby of Broadway," this disc plays like Hooverphonic Unplugged meets 1960's French Cinema Soundtracks to produce one hell of a super chilled jazz-vocal menu on half the songs, and Edith Piaf meets Dusty Springfield to serve up smoldering torch songs on the rest!
ALL the best songs from "A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular," "The Magnificent Tree" and "Jackie Cane" are represented here; the only mar being the short shrift given "Blue Wonder Power Milk," arguably Hooverphonic's best CD before "Sit Down." After hearing these haunting reworkings, I longed to hear "Magenta" in a similar vein.
The best of these rearrangements is "2Wicky," from their debut, in which Geike Arnaert kindles the tension in this song with a staccatto phrasing that eventually breaks into an all-consuming, feverish singing! Running a close second is "Sometimes" from their fourth release, a stripped-down, peppier version that mines the essential sunniness is this previously snowy song. Finally, "Vinegar & Salt" from "Magnificent Tree," turns a saucy song into a dirge delivery of chilling proportions, building into a bonfire of a eulogy!
All is not brilliant retread, however. Two previously unreleased tracks, "My Autumn's Done Come" and "The Last Thing I Need Is You" buttress an already rock-solid album. Shockingly, "The Last Thing" could be an Alanis Morrissette song, with it's frank lyrics and get-back attitude! But it's still essentially Hooverphonic -quirky lyrics, odd time-signatures and minor-key melodies. If this is the sign of things to come, this spunky triphop, then I will be sitting down and listening for a long time to come!
"
Great introduction to this band, nice mellow date music
David B. Spalding | Chromejob-dot-com | 03/22/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is my first Hooverphonic album; others' recommendations were spot on, the acoustic ensemble arrangements of their songs on this disc give the album a very coherent and mellow mood. Favorites include "Jackie Cane," "Antarctica," "Someone," "2 Wicky." If you're a big fan of their studio recordings, or the stuff you've heard licensed for car and cell phone ads, you might be taken aback - these performances are as if the band stepped into a smoky nightclub and played with Kurt Weill's backup string quartet. Recording quality is crisp and the sound presence on my hi-fi is great. I broke my Sony boycott for this one, and I don't feel a tinge of guilt."
Chill
A. Smith | 07/05/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Very interesting downtempo versions of the original songs. Extremely chill, beautiful, hypnotic, sexy. The live recording is quite fresh, and perfectly relaxing."
3 and 1/2 Stars To Be Accurate
Just Fell In | LA, California | 09/21/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This cd is a reworking of some of Hooverphonic's best known previous hits. It takes their intricate sound and breaks it down into bare-bones lounge/chill music. I gave this 3 stars not because it isn't any good, but because Hooverphonic can do better. They are already pretty chilled-out sounding to begin with, so I imagine they were trying to attract fans of Zero 7 or Air. Some of the reworkings work well, but some of them don't. Still, the album still on you with time and will be enjoyed by fans of Air's Moon Safari. This album uses the Fender Rhodes in a similar way as Air did, but don't expect the lush soundscapes of Air or even Hooverphonic for that matter.
There are 3 new tracks on this album, including: Antarctica, a rework of L. Hazelwood's My Autumn's Done Come and The Last Thing I Need Is You. All three are not bad songs but are more for the completest. The Last Thing I Need Is You is the best of the three and a foreshadowing of what would come on their next release, the more accessible "No More Sweet Music/More Sweet Music. Highlights:
One
Inhaler
Jackie Cane
2 Wicky
Vinegar (Rework of Vinegar & Salt from their album The Magnificent Tree)
The Last Thing I Need Is You
This is a great album to relax to, sipping wine and putting your feet up, but is not the best introduction to Hooverphonic, nor is it a good compilation album. There is now a Greatest Hits cd available from them with the original versions of the songs.
It's hard to recommend, to new fans, a good album to introduce them to this wonderful band because Hooverphonic have a very varied catalog with some entries being more pop than others. My personal rankings from best to worst are:
Blue Wonder Power Milk
No More Sweet Music/More Sweet Music
A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular
President Of The LSD Golf Club
The Magnificent Tree
Sit Down And Listen To Hooverphonic
Hooverphonic Presents Jackie Cane
I'm sure that every Hoover fan will have a different listing, so if you like more poppy-sounding music then pick up No More Sweet Music/More Sweet Music, while A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular is more experimental and nonetheless accessible. Blue Wonder Power Milk balances both camps the best of all their work."