Angels & Cigarettes [Import]

Eliza Carthy | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 30, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Warner Bros UK
• ASIN: B00004YL12
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #321,211 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hhhhmmmmm...., February 27, 2001

By 

spiral_mind (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Angels & Cigarettes (Audio CD)

Folk Singer Branches Out. Well actually it's not fair to label Eliza as a folk singer; her musical interests are much wider. This album may be a surprise to anyone expecting another Red Rice. Instead of bringing some old music into this century, now she brings some old-century sounds to today's music. The songs on Angels & Cigarettes, almost all originals this time, are like modern 'alternative' rock (sorry, I hate labels) with a definite folk sensibility, although there are also hints of jazz and reggae among others. Her singing and fiddling are improving by leaps and bounds, although the instrument isn't as prominent as on Red Rice. Largely sad ("Train Song," "Fuse"), but occasionally sunny ("Whispers of Summer," "Perfect"), this is a welcome addition to an increasingly impressive career. Highly enjoyable with some small flaws, such as the heavy-handed overdone string arrangement on "In the Company of Men." It seems as though there are always fewer and fewer of these flaws every time out. I remain curious about what's next.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This cd is incredible, February 3, 2001

By 

Erica Anderson (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Angels & Cigarettes (Audio CD)

After reading a review of "Angels & Cigarettes" in a recent issue of Entertainment Weekly, my curiousity got the best of me since I just started getting into celtic-influenced music like The Corrs. I am just stunned by how gorgeous Eliza's vocals are. She kinda reminds me of my favorite folk artist Dar Williams, except Irish. I can hear elements of folk and trip hop in Eliza's music. Tracks such as "Whispers of Summer", "The Company of Men", "Perfect" and a cover of Paul Weller's "Wildwood" really stands out with me. I can't put into words why except for the melodies of these songs struck a chord with me and are just superb songs. Eliza has a real knack for melodies as I heard in "Angels & Cigarettes". Terrific album, terrific woman.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting experiment, partially successful, January 31, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Angels & Cigarettes (Audio CD)

Despite this being misrepresented in the media as a "debut" album, most of us music geeks know Eliza from her previous career: a brilliant interpreter of British Isles folk music. Eliza was a vanguard in that realm because she was unafraid of fusing new threads into old cloth -- after all, what is "folk music" but the amalgam of all that came before? Experiments with rhythm sections (and some of her old band joins her here), extra-genre material, original composition (which she's quite good at), and simply having a good time (rare in folk circles) made her a star. . .

Here she still sounds influenced by English tonalities, but it is placed in a modern setting -- complete with trip-hop beats, faux-analog synthes, and such. A lot of it works, too. Her originals (nine-tenths of the disks) are aluring and sophisticated, her singing as austere-yet-mischievious as always. The funk rhythms add a bit. But ultimately the production makes this a questionable endeavor. Producer Al Scott overdoes everything, from the tinkling synths to the multi-layered backing vocals. What could have been a classic album with a live band is rendered cheap and silly-sounding by his overbearing hand. Still, well worth hearing (and dig BJ Cole's pedal-steel playing!)...