Search - Platinum Weird, Dave Stewart :: Make Believe

Botched concept & Exclusive at BEST BUY

Christopher Todd Durnil | Champaign, IL United States | 10/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is, perhaps, the best pop album of 2006 - albeit one that was botched by a convoluted faux concept ala "Chris Gaines" (Garth Brooks alter-ego concept that failed) featuring Stewart's recollection of his 1973 band featuring Erin Grace, the singer who inspired Stevie Nicks (among others). In reality, there is no real Erin Grace, and Stewart was a member of another Rocket Records (Elton John's vanity label that produced hits for Kiki Dee, Cliff Richard, and Neil Sedaka) signed band, the folk-leaning Longdancer (whose excellent debut was co-produced by the legendary singer/songwriter Ian Matthews).



So, as the concept goes, Stewart fell madly in love with Grace during the formation of the band, and Grace's haunting vocals stunned the music world in 1973 that she caused a label frenzy. The band signed to Elton's Rocket Records and Elton personally backed the album and even directed a music video for the band. On the verge of the album's release, Grace ran away with John's boyfriend, never to be seen again. The album then became a thorn in John's side, and, with no lead singer to promote it, the disc remained unreleased. Stewart then had a breakdown and a period of a couple of years of substance abuse before meeting his next muse, Annie Lennox, and forming The Tourists, which the duo later spun-off into the amazingly popular Eurythmics.



So, with this concept in hand, Dave met singer/songwriter Kara DioGuardi while producing Anastasia's 2003 album, and a quick friendship was struck. The two collaborated on a series of songs and decided to put the concept to work, recording versions of the songs as the faux-1973 band and as the modern-day "Platinum Weird." The ideal was to say Dave "re-discovered" his old album and that the songs inspired him to go back into the studio and re-record them in a modern-day setting with DioGuardi. The concept would have worked, if he left it simply at that; however, Stewart & DioGuardi decided to take it one step further and record two versions of several of the songs, with DioGuardi masquerading as Grace on the 70's recordings. They then decided to take the concept to the masses, and the faux-70's version gained more attention than the modern-day recordings. The modern-day album was then shelved, ironically, in favor of the 70's concept, and Stewart & DioGuardi had to return to the studio to finalize the faux-1973 album, which they appropriately titled "Make Believe."



So there you have it, another album shelved that maybe Stewart can look back on in 2040, if he's still alive (Stewart has said that a Stewart/DioGuardi disc will be released in early 2007).



But wait.... You can get BOTH versions! Best Buy has both discs exclusively available in one package. Both discs is definitely the way to go, and it is also amazing to hear DioGuardi in both guises - she literally does sound like two completely different people. It's an amazing performance and one that should not go unnoticed.



And the quality of music on both discs is AMAZING. This is simply one of the best pop albums of 2006. Every song is memorable and instantly recognizable, and Stewart's guitar work is quite masterful. For any fan of Stewart, it's great to see he's found another fine vocalist as a partner (although she does not quite match Lennox's richness as a vocalist, DioGuardi's performance is spellbinding in that she can totally disguise herself into two different styles and do so with amazing success). Despite the botched concept, this album's a keeper, and should propel "Platinum Weird" into the platinum success they deserve.







"

CONFUSED, YET ENJOYING IT ...

AZAquarian | Mesa, AZ United States | 10/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this CD at Best Buy today and am totally confused as to what female singer I am hearing? If Kara is singing on the extra 12 track disk (which I call Platinum Weird 2006)then who is the female singing on the "Make Believe" disk which was hyped to be from 1974 when Erin Grace is ficticious? If both singers are Kara then I'm at a loss for words. The two voices sounds sound so incredibly different, yet both so enjoyable. With 22 songs between the 2 disks I'm really enjoying comparing the two. Dave can definitely craft a catchy tune and apparently Kara has some major talent also. Is this another Eurythmics? No...no comparison. There is and always will only be one Annie."

Dave's back!

Ziggy | 10/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a fan of Dave Stewart for 15 years and it's really good to see him back in the limelight again (even though he has worked as a producer and a writer for other people recently). Make Believe is a very good album. I really like the acoustic and melodic sound. And I also find this production better sounding than the production on the modern PW-album that is going to be released early next year. The songs on the album are BRILLIANT - 'Lonely eyes', 'Picadilly Lane' (with Dave on vocals), 'Picture Perfect' and 'Happiness' are my favourites. But WHY isn't Dave singing on more tracks; his voice is so unique and it's perfect for this kind of music."