Customer Reviews

The Alternative to Love

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I feel compelled to write this review after reading Mr Otwell's savage mauling of this album.I don't like to criticise the opinion of others but I really must protest at someone who reckons that Benson has lost his ability to write good music.

The simple truth is that 'Alternative To Love' is a masterpiece.

I already own 'Lapalco' and 'One Mississippi' but I always felt that they were patchy affairs.One or two songs on either album hinted at Benson's talent but over all there were too many half tunes to contend with.

On 'Alternative To Love', Benson really gets it right.
The songs are more straight forward power pop than before.

Musical highlights are many.I especially love the title song 'Alternative To Love'.It's great to hear layer upon layer of harmonies and great guitar work.The harmonica solo is a big bonus as well.I also love 'Biggest Fan'.It's the work of a genius.The keyboard (I think it's a Moog or a Melletron ?) dominates the track.Other highlights for me would be 'Flesh And Bone'.It's a nice melancholic track. Benson achieves the right mix of sadness and joy.
Any non-believers out there should listen to 'I Feel Like Myself Again' to dispel any nagging doubts about this man's genius.This song is an anthem to the power pop generation.It's a song similar to 'Surprise' by Semisonic - an uplifting song about finding your confidence again.A wonderful wonderful optimistic track - everything a power pop song should be.

I was doing a bit of research on this album and I found out that Benson recorded the album and then handed the tapes over to the producer with the instruction to 'fill out' the sound.This was a masterstroke.The producer added keyboards, vocal dubs and other technical flourishes to give the album a fuller sound.

I wish more artists would take a leaf out of his book and do the same !

I believe that at the moment Benson is collaborating with his friend Jack White of The White Stripes on new material.I'm not expecting too much from this.I can't see how White's back to basic blues approach will blend in with Benson's intricate power pop.Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised....

It's power pop. People that listen to music and focus on the "atrocious" lyrics seem to be missing the point of pop music: it's catchy, hummable and happy. Certainly there were people back in the day who despised the ambiguity of early Beatles lyrics (" 'I want to hold your hand'? WHOSE hand!?") but anyone with their head on straight won't dispute the music's enduring nature. Philosophize all you want, but Benson's cheap tricks here are designed merely to entertain, and they accomplish just that. He just wants you to want him. He needs you to need him. He... well, you get the point.

Frankly, it's easy to see how Jack White from the White Stripes claims Benson as an influence with quirky, bouncy tunes like the title track "Alternative to Love" peppering this release. Although Benson's music is pop devoid of the blues-aping garage rock that defines the White Stripes, Benson and White are kindred souls in terms of their oddball nature. Both essentially write quirky pop songs; Benson's are more complex. Consider Benson to be the Rubik's Cube to the White Stripes' Whack-A-Mole.

Four strong tracks open the disc: "Spit It Out"'s restrained guitar strums and twee sound effects give way to a soaring jack-in-the-box chorus; "Cold Hands (Warm Heart)" is a twinkling headbobber in the fine tradition of popsmiths everywhere; the straightforward "I Feel Like Myself Again" with its backhand-to-the-face chord changes and yet another singalong chorus demand the listener's attention, and the aforementioned title track sounds like the soundtrack to furry little animals dancing in a forest somewhere. If that scenario bothers you thematically, just mentally cut the chorus out and paste it over a Tarantino torture scene. There, that's better. Unfortunately, these four tracks strike this listener as the strongest on the record.

A cannibalized riff opens "Get It Together," and the overwrought "The Pledge" with its self-important timpani and church bell spiced instrumentation is just flat-out annoying. "Between Us" is a serviceable closer, but doesn't make up for the bland nature of all the unnamed tracks which precede it.

Not terrible as some have made it out to be, but not brilliance on par with the Beatles, either. For that, Benson needs to make a solid record that can stand on its own; although it contains a few good songs, "The Alternative to Love" is not that record by a long shot.

I miss the Jellyfish days so much, and the Posies have had their day as well, so usher in the new wave of Power Pop masterminds and welcome the 3rd major release for Brendan. I've been a fan since the "One Mississippi' days (since Jason Falkner helped him out) and he's been great ever since. I was surprised to see Falkner wasn't assisting with Alternative to Love, but it's good to see that Brendan knows how to carry the weight on his own too. This is another of the best albums I've heard so far this year; punchy, vibrant, solid production. Now I just can't wait to see what he and Jack White have been stirring up! Check this disc out for sure!

Brendan Benson's "Alternative to Love" can simply be summed up as brilliant. I am, admittedly, fairly new to Benson's work, but had a surprisingly lovely introduction to it the first time that I listened to The Raconteur's "Consolers of the Lonely." As a recently converted member of the International Church for the Reverence of the White Stripes, but nevertheless, hopelessly devoted to the great Jack White, I had bought COL looking to satisfy my ever-growing thirst for more White material. However, I emerged from the experience more intrigued by the other leading man, Benson, than solidified in my love for Jack White. Benson's music has been called "power pop" and has most often been compared to that of the Beatles. The mood of Benson's music is most certainly Beatlesesque, however his melodies soar higher and what they lack in a certain tonal edge that the Beatles' music encompassed, they make up for in biting lyrical wit. That is not to say that Bensons' music is not catchy; it certainly is, but it also has a wistfulness to it. For it is not simply Benson's infectious melodies that make his music pleasing and lasting, but more so, it is his ability to deliver a stinging punch of a wide number of multifarious emotions while maintaining a fairly mellow musical facade that makes it so uniquely powerful, and even haunting. A brilliant bard whose voice seems to have been stifled by bigger names in the industry that have reached their ascension more quickly (and perhaps more cheaply) Benson truly is an unsung hero (no pun intended). The certain sense of longing that is intertwined in the threads of his melodies make the songs in which they are found bittersweet in nature, yet that much more heartbreakingly passionate, and (for that matter) that much more endearing. Bravo, Mr. Benson.

This disc came up in the best of 2006. Certainly it is in my top five. Always wanted to have a listen but had no access to the net. This album features a smooth, seamless and loveable singer songwriter in the peak of his talents. it really is a four and a half star CD and will be worn paper thin before too long!

The main reason i bought this cd was because i had read that it was co-produced by Jack White of the White Stripes, and that Benson would soon be starting a side-band with White. Also because Benson had fans of the likes of Beck and Jack White. I was shocked to find out that Jack had nothing to do with this cd, but pleases altogether with what i was listening to.
'Spit It Out' is definately the catchiest song but seems unlike anything else on the album. Other excellent accoustic offerings include 'Feel Like Myself' and the title track 'The Alternative To Love'.
This cd does move into territory of power-pop status and for this reason is much more listenable. The lyrics are good, and clever on certain songs, and the instrumentation compliments the overall effect of the cd.
Give it a go, you'll enjoy it.

Brendan Benson is a breath of fresh air. From the opening offering of power pop delight (Spit It Out), to a whimsical tribute to his love for The Monkee's on the title track, this album is the perfect soundtrack to livin up a dull man's life. It contains everything one could desire about the simplicity of the 60's. From The Beatles to Elvis Costello, he wears his influences on his shoulder, but never makes the music seems trite or old. This is fresh power pop in the tradition of modern acts like Fountains Of Wayne and Superdrag. Here we are reminded that a gripping tune laid down by truthful lyrics and an intoxicating chorus are all that is needed to declare the message. That message: Brendan Benson loves good rock music, and he wants you to know it.

I love Lapalco, and thought One Miss was OK.
While this album is better than most others you'd pick up, I think the songs aren't as strong as on Lapalco, and that the album gets kind of sluggish in the middle.
I hope it grows on me, but all in all I expected to like this more than I do.

I really like "The Alternative to Love." On it's own it is an outstanding album. However, I compare all Brendan Benson albums against "Lapalco", which is one of my favorite records ever. I can't say enough great things about it. So with that comparison in mind, "The Alternative to Love" is a very, very good album. Out of the gate with track one (Spit It Out)Benson lays down superior power-pop music that kicks ass over anything I'm hearing on the radio. Lyrically he is at the top of his game here too (Gold Into Straw is as biting as a pit bull on a playground!) And if you are a fan of Phil Spector's "wall of sound" (as Brendan Benson must be) then track number 5 (The Pledge) is going to tap your toes, if not shake your hips for two minutes and fifty-five seconds.

And for the "Lapalco" fan in me, tracks number six and seven (Them and Me, Biggest Fan) sound like they belonged on that record. Thank goodness they're both on this one!!!

I wish more people would come to their senses and buy this man's music.

It was through Amazon that I became interested in Benson. It was one of those -if you like this you might like this sort of thing after doing a bunch of pop-rock searchs. One Miss & Lapaco were great finds and this is also a good record. Not great but certainly good. He has matured as a songwriter particularly in the lyric dept. He has grown up a bit and it shows. Benson shows a lot of influences on this record. I hear Spector and the Ronettes on the Pledge, and the Beatles here and there. A couple of the songs are fillers but for the most part quite engaging. His voice is more self assured and it has a cool mix. If you like pop-rock stuff...considering the shortage of good stuff around, you should like this