Anatomy

Stan Ridgway | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 19, 1999)
• Original Release Date: October 19, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: New West Records
• ASIN: B00001X583
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,182 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Movie Continues: Stan's Best (So Far), September 22, 2000

By 

MG Nagy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anatomy (Audio CD)

"Anatomy" is another incredible soundtrack for the underbelly of America. Stan is the most under rated songwriter on this side of the Atlantic, with 12 new examples that labor the point.

The cover art is a nod to film scoring, with a nice take/update of the jacket for Duke Ellington's "Anatomy Of A Murder" soundtrack, by way of the graphics used in the TV show "The Wild Wild West."

The two tracks pulled from the "Film Songs" EP sound a bit better here. "Susie Before Sunrise" sounds a little more crisp, while "Deep Blue Polka Dot" (aka "Deep Inside We're Blue") gets a bit of a remix.

The use of instrumental interludes are perfected on this record. You can almost see the betrayal (A desparate kiss? Or maybe a tired sunrise) during "Murray's Steakhouse Story," while "Mickey The Priest" is an absolutely creepy interlude, bringing "Valerie Is Sleeping" and "Mama Had A Stove" together brilliantly. The triptych works well as a companion to Richard Thompson's "Killing Jar," while "Sixteen Tons" is going to stand as the definitive read for a long, long time.

A five star rating for a six star record.

"Maybe someday you'll finally reveal / something you stole, or something you'll steal."

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stan's Train Of Thought, October 22, 1999

By 

CKL (Pa.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anatomy (Audio CD)

Solid songwriting and delivery, coupled with masterful sonic composition make this album well worth the wait. I've always been impressed with the ambiance of Stan's production. Even so, I thought BLACK DIAMOND was a move forward... kind of a broadening and deepening around the edges... pulling you a little further inside the scenes in the songs. ANATOMY seems deeper yet.

The pace of the album is even ... a deliberate stroll through the Weird Zones with plenty of time to mull over the fate of the subjects or duck whatever the hell keeps swooping out of nowhere from just beyond the peripheral vision. I can imagine Brian Eno listening to this and nodding quietly to himself while thumbing through the booklet to check out the production credits.

'Susie Before Sunrise' and 'Deep Blue Polka Dot' (formerly 'Deep Inside We're Blue') are both excellent songs once available on the now deleted FILM SONGS EP, although the latter gets a slightly different mix here. 'Murray's Steakhouse Story', 'Sweet Pig Alley' and 'Mickey The Priest' are short instrumentals that make you wish they would just get on with it and start releasing the soundtracks to the movies for which Stan's been supplying the background music (his credits include five recent films). 'Mission Bell' is classic Ridgway... haunting guitar floating through a sinister 'high lonesome' storyline. More twisted tales are found in the excellent 'Valerie Is Sleeping' and 'Mama Had A Stove', while you can almost smell the coal dust drifting through the nearly seven minute take on Merle Travis' classic 'Sixteen Tons'.

A new adventure in Liquid Audio adds six live tracks to this package (three on the CD itself and three online).

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy It, October 25, 1999

By 

Terris Linenbach "devguy" (Burlingame, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anatomy (Audio CD)

Good lyrics, good singing, good playing, and good production. The songs, which are too interesting to be played on the radio, vary in tempo and style, guaranteeing that buyers get their money's worth. Anatomy takes listeners across the country to nondescript sacred places and inside the minds of extraordinarily ordinary people. Stan is still thinking, still learning, and, lucky for us, still conversing with his listeners in a way that only Ridgway can do.