Search - Patrick Wolf :: Magic Position

Magic position indeed!

kaleidoscope | wonderful wonderful Virginia | 03/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well well well, I must say, I am very surprised to see that I'm the first person reviewing this gem. :) I am an American and while I'm probably not supposed to own this album yet (hits the States in May), I preordered it like some smart few as an import from the UK. So when it arrived March 2nd, I threw my hands in the air and danced around my kitchen, grinning profusely and having the sudden desire to bake cookies, fly kites, have water balloon fights with three-year olds, and maybe wear floaties to the beach. It is just that happy. A fan of fine lad's older stuff, I knew this album would be... erm... peculiar... but oh my. Peculiarity is good. It is splendid. If anything, I am impressed that an artist such as sweet Patrick can be so incredibly diverse. He is incredibly talented, every song is unique, and every song has its own bit of creative flare that I have hoped to find floating around the music world for years. I might be selfish to say that I want to keep him all to myself, but this album definitely has potential to go mainstream, and I will be happy for Patrick for whatever success he receives. :) Here's a review I wrote for a class assignment:



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If befriending a gypsy in the gardens of a Parisian cemetery is what one has to do in order to ensure for a brilliant musical future, Wolf has quite literally done so, and with his third full-length Britpop folky masterpiece, he has indeed been put under a fantastic spell.



His debut, Lycanthropy, was a discothèque opera of ferocious alter-egos and Wind in the Wires was 2004's seaside requiem of ukuleles and accordions. After a few startling press photographs of Wolf in shiny boots with electric red hair, his fan base prepared for a carnival of flashy optimism, and Wolf did not want to disappoint.



The Magic Position opens with "Overture," the classic self-confident, cheery adventure tune that is sung with a smile so grandiose, one can't help but admire Wolf's Candy Land-like approach into track two, the infamous track so delightful he named the entire album after it. It's as giddy as kindergarten jump rope rhymes, and it is with such wonderfully charming attitude that Wolf can profess himself about his sexual pastimes, unashamed and really quite flamboyantly.



It's only eight-and-a-half minutes into the album and one realizes that Patrick is not only flamboyant, he is sassy. "Accident and Emergency" would be Wolf's cry for help if he needed one, but clearly he doesn't because there is enough catchiness involved in this single alone to cure even the most dreadful states of the doldrums. He is both brazen and positive, singing "If you never lose / how you gonna know when you've won? / And if it's never dark / how you gonna know the sun / when it shines?" over a tumultuous parade of horns, ambulance wails, and xylophone.



And just when one is content to hear about this happiness all the time, Wolf switches his tone completely to take on a sound more similar to that of his days spent by abandoned lighthouses. "Bluebell" and "Bluebells" express a deeper, more morose side of this young, sensitive sprite of a boy. He reflects on the cold nature of a bitter former relationship, and hopes instead for the blossoms of a forthcoming spring. But it is his everlasting sanguinity that leaves a listener with hope, realizing how involved this album is. It reads like a more mature fairy tale, commenting gleefully on the joys of being in love yet truthfully telling of the effect it can have when it is gone.



And like the plot of all complex fairy tales, Patrick Wolf's fairy godmother appears in "Magpie," an eerie graveyard echo of a song that depicts loneliness with frightful honesty. The godmother is actually Marianne Faithful and her vocals, while haunting and strange, provide for beautiful underlay to Wolf's cries. "Kiss" is the first of three instrumentals, and its simplicity prepares for what could be the most emotional song he's ever written, "Augustine."



The first lines are sung so smoothly and such a gorgeous image is described, it is as if the listener really is transported into sleep when Wolf sings, "I pass out into a dream / of whooping cranes and wooden beams." One wants to know who this Augustine is that he is moaning about, but all the same, one knows whoever it is, they are Wolf's secret. He is questioning the future - something that needs to be done with talent like his, and he compares his feelings to both a mother and a maid, nurtured and caring yet having to clean some terrible mess despite the age it adds to his knees. It is a metaphor of the handsome harm of love, one that can only be found in the thick bushes and roots of Wolf's own "Secret Garden," the second instrumental that sounds a storm of electricity puncturing stone walls and water ripping through vines.



But Wolf does not drown in misery yet - in fact he pounces right back into loveliness in "Get Lost," an inviting darling of a song that speaks of movies and bicycles and running away like rebellious, enthusiastic children.



"Enchanted" is Patrick's lounge serenade, and as if he were channeling Sinatra he widens his throat over a lounge piano and bells, expressing the magic that he does indeed feel from whomever his love is.



Just as he is feeling adult and established, "Stars" brings him back to being a boy underneath the great black blanket, admiring the world for all of its changes, amazed by the very varieties he has felt in his short life. It is a beautiful ending to the album, summing the fact that each faculty of the human heart is its own microcosm in the universe, swirling in space debris and just waiting for gravity to make it alive. It twinkles, it shimmers, it is universal, and it is powerful. "Finale" caps it marvelously with a few mysterious strums on a slow violin, ending the album but opening a spectrum of light and possibility. Wolf is at ease.



The Magic Position is so refreshingly different from his past two masterpieces, one is almost in wonderment that Patrick has so many tales to tell and so many ways of telling them. He is the self-proclaimed prince of a kingdom painted with unicorns and butterflies. He drives a chariot whose wheels hum nursery stories, glittery and fantastic. Patrick Wolf lives in a world pulsing with sincerity and yet heaving with passion. He is a truthful troubadour learning the policies of love, and translating them for himself and for his adoring audience into a musical symphony of epically magnificent proportions.









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A classic popfolk record by a classically fabulous artist."

He just keeps on getting better

R O C K E T | The Twin Cities, MN | 04/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I liked his debut album, "Lycanthropy," but I find that there are only a small handful of songs that I can listen to relatively often: "Wolf Song," "Bloodbeat," "To The Lighthouse," and "Don't Say No." The rest either don't do much for me or flat-out annoy me (no offense to Patrick!). "Wind In The Wires" was a big improvement. Though there were still a few definite standouts (the three singles, along with "Teignmouth" and "Gypsy King."), I really enjoyed the album as a whole. Now we have "The Magic Position," and I must say it's absolutely phenomenal, topping both his previous albums. For whatever reason, it didn't click with me on the first listen and I was a little disappointed, but shortly into the second time around, I was like, "What was I thinking? This is brilliant!" True, it has a happier, more positive, more romantic vibe, but the sound is still undoubtedly his. I would hardly call this album commercial. For those unfamiliar with Wolf, it could still be a bit challenging, but once you let him in, he utterly enchants you.



I didn't think "To The Lighthouse" could ever be replaced as my favorite Wolf song, but I'm pretty sure "Accident & Emergency" has taken that spot now. It's amazing. I can't get enough. The other two singles ("Bluebells" and "Magic Position") are very close behind, and following not too far behind them are the beautiful "Augustine," the unexpected romantic crooner tune "Enchanted," the epic "The Stars," which harkens back to the spastic electronic beats of his debut, and the powerful opener "Overture," which is so much more than the name would have you believe. Yeah, there are a lot of great songs here. Sure, there are a few brief interludes and instrumentals (as there were on "Wind In The Wires"), but for the most part they lend to the general mood and flow of the album. The exception is the rather annoying (but thankfully short) "Secret Garden," which consists mostly of jolting bass and fuzz. I'm not quite sure what he was thinking here, but oh well - It's a minor flaw in an otherwise flawless masterpiece.



People, please give this guy a chance. Spread the love. Patrick Wolf is so unlike anyone else out there, and he's so brilliant. And his style...and his content...everything about him rocks. Me thinks I'm in love.

"

BRILLIANT PATRICK WOLF DAZZLES WITH HIS LATEST

J. Taylor | Los Angeles, CA | 06/29/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Patrick Wolf dazzles with his third and latest album, "The Magic Position," a brighter, bolder work than his previous, but no less extraordinary, "Wind in the Wires." In "Magic," Wolf focuses on various states and stages of relationships, from the ebullient title track to the mournful "Bluebells." It all kicks off with "Overture's" mounting pulse and alluring message to "open up now" and "let some light in." Other gems include "Accident & Emergency," "Let's Get Lost" and "The Stars."



The music ranges from symphonic to spare, but always seems multi-layered and rich. Wolf's lyrics are stirring, descriptive and drenched in wisdom and insight. In a word, poetry. And then there's that unique voice that's as strong as it is versatile.



A fearless and original artist, Wolf is truly in a class by himself. As a singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, performer and visual artist, he possesses an unusual amount of talent, vision and appeal--all of which are realized on this amazing and unforgettable album."