Richard R. Johnson | Houston, TX United States | 01/11/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In all of my years of introducing friends to the first 2 Poi Dog Pondering records, never has their been anyone who didn't think it was one of the most amazing records that they had ever heard. Your punk rock girlfriend will love it, your hippie sister will love it, your Simon and Garfunkel listenin' parents will love it, your 10 year old little brother will love it... Poi Dog Pondering fuses together many folk and roots styles and ties them together with the catchy yet offbeat lyrics of lead singer Frank Orrall. The music is infectious and delightful. Do yourself a favor and add this cd to your collection."
Beautiful Start!
R Joseph G | Baltimore, Maryland USA | 08/21/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I had this album for years until I turned someone on to it, whose dog then ate it! I am so glad to have this album again! An absolutely beautiful blend that is fresh as water and air. The music is completely uplifting but not sappy. The blend of styles which includes folk, hawaiian, rock, punk, and big band jazz is absolutely unlike anything you have ever heard and yet very memorable. I cannot recommend this album enough. It is Poi Dog Ponderings first album and just starts you up, gets you moving and prepares you for everything else that they've done. Fractyllic Seal of Approval!"
The fact this didnt get airplay shows the bad state of radio
chris jennings | Florida, the best of the u.s. | 02/24/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The fact that this album went pretty much unnoticed is sad. I would never have heard this if I didnt see the video on MTV's 120 minutes.I went out immediately, and got it.I was thinking there would be only one good song-Dreaming Body.How wrong was I? There is not a dud on this album, and most of the songs are completely different from each other. It reminds me of Graceland by Paul simon, which was a success. They were on Columbia, so they had the promotion money. Maybe Franks voice was still a little too alternative for 1989 top 40? Maybe their name made people think they were heavy metal? Nevertheless, radio didnt touch this album. They really missed out. If you live in cold temperatures, put on ALOHA HONOLULU in the dead of winter, and you will be transformed to a tropical paradise----- Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side."
Purely Spiritual, Purely Philosophical, Purely Pure
chris jennings | 05/09/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD, together with their later release "Wishing Like a Mountain and Thinking Like the Sea" are the two most irreplacable CDs in my collection. They have been scratched beyond recognition, the lyrics and original sketches in the insert have been stained and loved beyond belief, and every syllable and note has been committed to my long-term memory. Poi Dog Pondering has created their own genre. Their words are like the sprinkling of cool rain on a hot summer day combined with an avant-garde collection of instruments transcending the normal to include a tin whistle, recorder, flugelhorn and hula hoop. Certain phrases make you laugh, others make you dance, and all make you think... "she says my work is like eating cold oatmeal; yesterday's oatmeal, day after day," "fall upon me in my quiet pain," "relentlessly climbing, conquering, and swallowing fresh pain; melting, reemerging and rising up clean in the pouring rain," "I saw a picture of you and it took me through so many visions of you... I couldn't stand it," and "I'm falling, but it's o.k.; never know just where I'll land; no sense to force plans-- I'm flying..." This music is so textured you could touch it. It picks up your soul in its safe and loving hand and carries you with it to experience all the possibilities of the universe. Play it while you're crying, play it while you're driving, play it while you're playing... BUT PLAY IT!"
Infectiously moving, motivating, and fun
Russell E. Smith | Vermont, USA | 12/05/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album - a combination of PDP's first two EPs - is tremendous!This very early incarnation of the band was quite acoustic, but don't let that make you think this isn't powerful stuff. On the contrary, songs like Pulling Touch and Fact of Life have the rare combination of musical drive and focus combined with lyrical beauty and depth.Pulling Touch alone is a must-listen for anyone who is or ever has been in love. It is stunningly beautiful and evocative.I could go on and on, but the point is really simple - buy this CD, because you will always always be happy that you did.p.s. In the late 80s when this music came out, I worked as a DJ at a small college radio station in Castleton, VT - three of us at the station discovered and promoted this music, and the first EP became the most popular album of the entire year there. The same thing happened in a few other widely dispersed college markets. Too bad the others didn't notice."