Search - Wild Colonials :: Reel Life, Vol. 1: Music From Hollywood

Amazing band; decent album

03/17/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a little disappointed by the latest from the Wild Colonials. I discovered them when their second album came out, and I've been in love ever since. I've been hoping for a new album, and I was starting to think the band had broken up, so I was thrilled when Reel Life came out. A lot of this album is good, but there are enough duds (and reruns) to make me a little disappointed.My first complaint is the inclusion of three songs from the first two albums. It seems to me that nearly everyone who would purchase a compilation like this is already a fan of the band. So why include songs we've heard before? Also, while the instrumental songs are nice, I'm not a huge fan of non-vocal music. As far as I'm concerned, Angela's voice is too wonderful to let go to waste! Finally, a couple of the remaining songs are a little annoying. The Dr. John duet is just plain awful, and "Cure", while nice, is too repetitive to bear repeated listening.The rest of the album is good, though. And the CD was worth buying just for the AMAZING cover of "Brokedown Palace". It's one of the band's best songs to date, and probably one of the loveliest songs I've ever heard.I look forward to the Colonials' next offering, but I really hope it's a "real" album, and not Reel Life Vol. 2."

A very nice compilation

emiah | Fon Du Lac, Wi USA | 10/08/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being a big fan of this band after hearing their first two cd's, I had some pretty high expectations. Fortunately, I was not disappointed as this cd is very entertaining and offers another fine example of how good this band really is. What is really interesting about this cd is how diverse these musicians are and Angela in particular. From the bluesy "Anything But Love" (where Angela's voice compliments Dr. John's perfectly) to "Brokedown Palace" which offers a touch of gospell flavor, to the folksy "If By Chance" there is alot to appreciate. The 5 instrumentals are really good and give the listener an opportunity to enjoy the talent of the other band members without McCluskey. The instrumental version of "Victim" in particular offers a different perspective on this great song. Overall, this cd is a big winner and it continues to amaze me how such an outstanding band can continue to be so unrecognized."

It's not your fault you drive me mad...

Eric Duerr | Memphis, TN. | 01/15/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My first introduction to the Wild Colonials was when a group of my friends were watching the horrible movie "Cabin by the lake" and the song CURE kept being played and kept giving me chills...sadly the movie didn't give them credit at the end so I went on an endless search online to find this band, thankfull I did.
REEL LIFE is a great idea for an album that actually works very well as a concept album (in a sense) instead of just a mere compilation of movie songs. Some of the offerings are just breath-taking, especially "Brokedown Palace", "If By Chance" (Cyndi Lauper's harmony is beautiful!), and "Friend. The instrumental tracks hold their own as well. This cd is great for fans of the Cowboy Junkies or Over the Rhine to start but the Wild Colonials are definatly standing far from any comparison by producing cd's like this one. I'm looking forward to Vol.2 as well as anything else they throw my way!"