Search - Hothouse Flowers :: Songs from the Rain

Beautiful, moving music

Jack Fitzgerald | Seattle, WA United States | 04/08/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Songs from the Rain" was Hothouse Flowers most commercially successful release, but "People," "Home" and the hard to find "Born" are also excellent selections.This Irish band played soulful music that combined gospel elements, blues and pub rock with equal parts musicianship and vocal flair. It's like Van Morrison meets Springsteen.Liam O'Maonlai brings impassioned vocals along with outstanding keyboard skills. Fiachna O'Braonain plays a variety of stringed instruments. Peter O'Toole rounds out the core group with bass guitar, bouzouki and backing vocals. Leo Barnes adds saxophones and Jerry Fehily is on drums.Some of the key tracks I like are "This is it (Your Soul)" with lyrics like "now you're body's tired and sore/well there's rest that's in the water/and there's an answer on the streets/and if you take the time to listen/there's a chance you will meet/your soul...""An Emotional Time" has a touch of Chris Isaak/"Wicked Game" twang guitar and vocal falsetto. "It came in a dream you and I were there/you found me while I was frightened/you said/change should not be difficult/you said change should lead us home/to an emotional time/songs from the rain...""Thing of Beauty" is perhaps their best known song, with it's gentle picked electric guitar, underlying piano and growing crescendo of vocals that builds to a joyous choir of voices. ""Look out you window on a winters morning/your breath is steam and there's frost falling/and the sun casts a spell upon the road/a thing of beauty is not a thing to ignore.""Spirit of the Land" picks up more upbeat tempo, like a horse galloping along a sandy beach, and the lyrics are charged with energy and social consiousness. "there's a gathering of races and a gathering of soul/there's be choosing of direction and a distribution of roles/earth is turtle island/and air is isle of green/water is an Indian/fire is aborigine." There are powerful wordless vocals and outstanding piano in this tune.The entire disk is full of strong tunes, a finely crafted set of music. The songs are gentle and powerful, spiritually moving, with lyrical imagery that transports one far away and makes one reflect upon the world around us and our part in it."

Stunning

cjelephant | United States | 08/15/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is unbelievable. The musicians are at their very best, the songwriting is inspired, and the vocals are so genuine, that you just want to keep listening and you hope it will never end.
I own about 500 CDs. This is the best one I own.
the upbeat folk/rock tunes will have you smiling and singing along. But personally, when they slow it down (Your Nature for example) they are at their very best!
GET THIS CD!!"

An Emotional Time

Andrew McCaffrey | Satellite of Love, Maryland | 05/19/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Hothouse Flowers' SONGS FROM THE RAIN has more soul in one song than any ten albums from the likes of J. Lo, Creed, or any other flavor of the month one cares to mention. The title of this album could very well have been "An Emotional Time", the name of one of the songs here. But it's an emotion that comes straight from the hearts of the musicians rather than being manufactured in some manager's office.The music is mostly a combination of folk and rock, but you'll also hear elements of gospel, blues, and jazz. It's a very strong sound that these guys put out. They definitely seem more careful and practiced than spontaneous, but this makes their music sound wonderfully crafted. The instrumentation is quite tight, yet there is still lots of room for the individual musicians to show off their skills. I dare anyone to listen to something like the "One Tongue" without tapping his or her foot or "Isn't It Amazing" without wanting to sing along.This is one of the few albums that I can describe as being genuinely joyful, with none of the emotion feeling false or faked. Even the songs detailing sadness manage to keep a hopeful attitude. But this isn't a sugarcoated or sickening form of delight; it's much more authentic than that. The title of the CD is quite appropriate; these are songs sung by people sheltering from the rain, but keeping their spirits up all the same. The lyrics are powerful, and as haunting as the music.There are only a few sections where the album drags. I admit to preferring their faster songs to their ballads, but even their slower stuff here is pretty good. In fact, I think that's a fair summation of the CD. At its worst, it's merely slow and fairly decent. But at its best, it is almost magical. And best of all, it's really fun music; this stuff is a hoot to listen to. SONGS FROM THE RAIN is definitely a recommended purchase, especially if you've never heard of this band before."