Adam & Eve [Explicit Lyrics]

Catherine Wheel | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 26, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B000001EV2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,189 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #94 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Shoegazing

Track Listings

1. (Intro)

2. Future Boy

3. Delicious

4. Broken Nose

5. Phantom of the American Mother

6. Ma Solituda

7. Satellite

8. Thunderbird

9. Here Comes the Fat Controller

10. Goodbye

11. For Dreaming

12. (Outro)

Editorial Reviews

Import edition of the UK alternative act's 1997 album for Mercury (now deleted in the U.S.). For this their fourth album, the band focused more on atmospherics which drew them comparisons to Pink Floyd & Talk Talk. 12 tracks (#12 is untitled and hidden) including, 'Future Boy', 'Ma Solituda' & 'Thunderbird'. EMI. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best from the Nineties, May 8, 2003

By 

John Poffenbarger (Mukilteo, Washington United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Adam & Eve (Audio CD)

Nearly six years after it's release, this album still stands as one of the best releases of the Nineties. While it never drew the widespread acclaim of Radiohead's OK Computer, which was released the same year, I still listen to this album frequently.

A & E, as it is known among Catherine Wheel fans, contains a rich mixture of styles and emotions, varying from quiet, reflective numbers (such as Future Boy and Ma Solituda) to mid-tempo pop (Satellite, Broken Nose) to full on rock (Delicious, For Dreaming). The one constant is that the songwriting and performances are consistently excellent.

While the cd is often compared to Pink Floyd and Talk Talk, the influences really vary and go well beyond those bands. Delicious, for example, is a terrific exercise in Nirvana's classic verse-chorus-verse style. For Dreaming, on the other hand, reveals the band's early 90's roots in the vastly underappreciated dreampop/shoegazer scene.

Rollingstone.com named this the best album of 1997, and the Big Takeover Magazine, largely on the strength of this album, recently named Catherine Wheel as the best band of the 90's (over Radiohead).

The real tragedy, however, is that due to record company hassles, this album was never properly promoted and is now out of print in the US. While C/W went on to release another cd, the less inspired but still very good Wishville, this is an album that has few peers. It's well worth the price of an import.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No album is more complete, September 25, 2005

By 

C. Dolejs (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Adam & Eve (Audio CD)

The consensus opinion holds that this album requires a couple of listens before growing on the listener. The cause and effect are hard to sort out. That's like saying the sun comes up in the morning; it doesn't, but without knowledge beyond what we can see and know for ourselves, it sure seems that way. I'm inclined to think that CW's albums require a couple of listens to prepare us to love them. Only then can we hear the chaos and quirks and realize that the guys *meant" to do that. The albums teach us, patiently and pleasantly, to recognize their beauty.

I don't mean to gush, really, but only after hearing a CW album a few times do we gain a frame of reference for appreciating the album as a whole. As others have said, A & E progresses through its own life story, each song preparing us for those that follow. In other words, this album has a plot, much like the plot of a well-written novel. Though each song can be appreciated on its own, part of what I love so much about "Here Comes the Fat Controller" is the anticipation of getting to hear "Goodbye" as soon as the Fat Controller has passed. (Incidentally, though it's been pointed out that the abrupt cutting of one channel, then the other at the end of "Fat Controller" is reminiscent of Floyd's "Have a Cigar," it is used here for an entirely differently reason and with an entirely different effect: There is simply no other way to end a song of such carefully built momentum than--quite literally--to pull the plug on it.)

The grows-on-you phenomenon we all recognize within each CW album applies to the listener's appreciation among the band's albums as well. I first discovered CW when Happy Days came out, and became enlightened enough to appreciate it after several turns in the single-CD player that was stacked on top of my VCR at the time. When Like Cats and Dogs arrived, Happy Days remained my favorite--until A & E showed up. Only then did Like Cats and Dogs eclipse Happy Days, and so on.

Wishville has me feeling desperate now, as I don't know whether the Wheel will put out another album. Dickinson's voice is unique and exquisite, but without the succor of the balance of the band--Futter's inspired and inspiring virtuosity with a guitar, the way he makes a mere six strings sound like an orchestra; the clever and intricate frettings of erstwhile bassist Hawes; drummer Sims' squeeze-em-in fills and, how does one say it, cool cymbal rides--that amalgam of dynamism, cohesion, and structured movement might not appear in his solo work. (To be fair, I've only heard samples, and Dickinson has certainly earned the right to several careful listenings before any prejudicial reviews get penned.) With all the talent among the four, augmented by the contributions of Tim Friese-Greene, the incredible harp of Mark Feltham on the Wheel's transcendent interpretation of "Wish You Were Here," etc., this band has demonstrated album after album that they have depth, breadth, texture (no pun intended), heart, mind, and soul. I have hope for A 50-Foot Monster's release in 2006, but it occurs to me that the band--like the songs on their albums--are meant to be enjoyed together. As each album is greater than the sum of its songs, so too is The Catherine Wheel greater than the sum of its members.

I think I now understand the maudlin howls, the weeping and gnashing of teeth that followers and fanatics of other bands have exhibited upon the inevitable split. It looked silly on them; but the Wheel's albums have taught me, patiently and pleasantly, what it means to truly love a band. Now it is I who wears the sackcloth and ashes.

Get Adam & Eve. It's the very best album from a group of guys whom I clearly believe to be the very best band.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "And the sweetness only improves", April 27, 2004

By 

mwreview "mwreview" (Northern California, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Adam & Eve (Audio CD)

I am a big fan of Catherine Wheel's first three albums, but was disappointed when I first listened to Adam & Eve. Usually, song after song by Catherine Wheel hooks me, but I only came away with the catchy "Phantom of the American Mother," the intense rocker "Delicious" and the celestial "Future Boy" after my first few listens to this CD. Because I'm a CW fan, I did not give up on Adam & Eve, and now I have found more to like about this album. It is really pretty solid through the 8th track "Thunderbird." It is a more melodious album than the heavy-sounding Happy Days so, those who were turned off by CW's third album may want to give Adam & Eve a chance. The last tracks on the CD are rather flat. There is a bonus 12th track that is a rather stale slow number. As much as I like "Phantom...," it is not the grand slam track I've come to expect from CW albums like "Black Metallic" off Ferment or "Heal" off Happy Days. Adam & Eve is not a bad album, it just takes more spins in the CD player to get into than their first three brilliant studio albums. CW really raised the bar.