Customer Reviews

Anatomy

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"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."

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).

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.

Stan Ridgway was the lead singer of Wall of Voodoo. After he left in 1985 he began a terrific solo career. 1992's Songs That Made This Country Great is a perfect buy for someone interested in what his career is like. His 1999 release, Anatomy just further solidifies an already savvy career in music. His ability to paint music rather than play it is a rare talent. He is considered quirky and eccentric, but he's brilliant all the same. This is a must for any rock collector.

Difficult to wax poetic about music. The person who said that Ridgway is the Dashiell Hammett of music was on target. Every song on this CD is great, and they are excellently organized. Start with Mission Bell and keep listening.

Stan Ridgway's early contributions with Wall of Voodoo were to offer a sort of indie-New Wave-noir Sinatraist soundtrack to the landscape of Los Angeles. With "Anatomy" Ridgway returns to those roots while also incorporating the sophisticated and polished world weariness of Sinatra himself, a brilliant gloss that only being twenty years older and "still struggling" can add. The best musicians, like the best poets, are the voice for some city or place and Ridgway's best work since WOV has always evoked the shadowy but sun-smoked back alleys of L.A., that lonesome harmonica rifting through his songs like Santa Anas rustling through the palm trees. I fell out of touch with old Stanard for a spell (that whole Drywall "Oracle" period in the mid-Nineties didn't seem to be especially fresh) but heard "Anatomy" playing in some video store and immediately liked it. "Anatomy" seems to me to be Ridgway's most consistent work since his Wall of Voodoo days and I find "Mission Bell," "Train of Thought," and "Whistle for Louise" to be especially compelling, great even. If you have any sense of L.A. as a state of mind (or emotion), then you can't help but like this CD. In its own vivid way, Ridgway's "Anatomy" is a wonderful set of romantic ballads, odes and bluesy anthems to the mystique of living in Los Angeles.

Generally more laid-back sounding than previous Stan releases, this one still packs a sonic punch. The writing is as clever as ever, and there are some very interesting instrumental tracks that evidently showcase Stan's mission to write and be included on soundtrack material. Several songs are kinda countrified, like Train of Thought, the re-make of Sixteen Tons, and Mama Had a Stove. But I absolutely love the rocker Susie Before Sunrise, with its thumping basslines and fuzz guitar. There's also a very hip-sounding Valerie is Sleeping, with excellent sound effects and percussion. This is definitely not mainstream pop, but it's friendly to my ears. Way to go, Stan!

Ridgway continues his spinning of tales & stories in a slightly off-beat, slightly twisted way. The balance of upbeat tunes here and slow ballads show great compsition of the CD itself (somewhat rare these days). Anyone looking for an intelligent, slightly offbeat, contemporary singer-songwriter-type CD will love this.

Freshness on both sounds and lyrics: completely out of the average perspective! At the same time extremely enjoyable, while you drive your car, while just relaxing... Strongly recommended to any good music lover, everywhere in the world. No categories available here: You'll often find Stan Ridgway in Jazz departments! While you're here at Amazon, make yourself a big favor: buy Mosquitos, too, you'll buy a real Masterpiece! I was forgetting: on this Anathomy there is also some weird "liquid audio" track bonus for free!

Stan Ridgway's new album continues his string of wonderful songs with lyrics that help you escape from everyday life. THis album would make an excellent purchase for any true music lover.