Animal Logic

Animal Logic | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: I.R.S.
• ASIN: B0009NG9BM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #107,620 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Animal Logic features Stewart Copeland on drums and programmes, Deborah Holland on vocals and songs, and Stanley Clarke on bass and strings. Track listing: 1. There's a Spy (in the House of Love) 2. Someday We'll Understand 3. Winds of Santa Ana 4. I'm Through with Love 5. As Soon As the Sun Goes Down 6. I Still Feel for You 7. Elijah 8. Firing Up the Sunset Gun 9. Someone to Come Home to 10. I'm Sorry Baby (I Want You in My Life)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eminently Worth Owning, April 17, 2004

By 

Peter V. Giansante (Far Point Station) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Animal Logic (Audio CD)

I bought the CD in 1990 purely on the strength of Stuart Copeland's and Stanley Clarke's reputations. I wasn't disappointed. I can't say that I love every song on the album, but with the kind of musicianship I expect (and get!) from Copeland & Clarke, every song is at least interesting. They arranged & produced the album, and it shows in the quality of the production and the music.

There are a few songs that will absolutely grab you right from the first listen: "There's a Spy (In the House of Love)"; "Someday We'll Understand"; "As Soon As The Sun Goes Down"; "Firing up the Sunset Gun". They're dynamic, well-conceived, well-produced, but you could say that about a lot of tunes by a lot of artists; the real quality of these tunes is that they are MELODIC, a characteristic that seems to be lacking in so much music that is otherwise...uh, flawless, I guess. I won't name names, but everybody has heard the stuff I'm talking about... music that is technically superb, but it has no fire. The four tunes listed above don't have that affliction. You will catch yourself humming them after you've heard them.

Deborah Holland's voice has great range and power, and blends well with itself. (She had to sing all the harmonies; despite her pleadings, Copeland & Clarke steadfastly refused to sing on the album.) Elsewhere in these reviews, others have noted that you will either love her voice or hate it. Maybe so; her voice is very distinctive, so I suppose that automatically invokes personal preference as a factor. Personally, I like her voice... a lot.

Of the songs I've mentioned above, "Sunset Gun" is the best. It covers such a phenomenal range of emotion and dynamics. It's a simple melodic structure, but it's so well crafted that it seems to be much more. I found the chords on the guitar, and it's dirt simple; but it's got enough surprises in its arrangement and progression that you never lose interest for all its simplicity. The little shot of inside harmony vocal on Verse 2 "You can be safe from it..." is pure inspired genius. The 4-chord-add-9 at the end of the bridge is brilliant, and the vocal fade into reverb-space falls out beautifully into Clarke's bass solo, punctuated by Copeland's explosive drumbursts. It's a truly masterful piece of work.

As for the rest of the tunes, they're all well crafted, if not as catchy on first listen. This is an album that will grow on you if you give it a chance, which might sound like damning with faint praise, but I don't know any other way to tell it. That's exactly the way it happened for me. It's a solid four stars.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Solid pop, but..., June 13, 2003

By 

Nicole N. Pellegrini "sockii" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Animal Logic (Audio CD)

...still a little disappointing given the talents involved. Deborah Holland has a voice you will either enjoy or it will grate on your nerves very quickly. She writes some interesting material, however, which makes these songs a cut above your typical pop fare. Still, it feels as if Copeland and Clarke are holding back considerably, especially when compared to more interesting stuff they do musically on "Animal Logic II" which I consider definitely the superior album.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Second album is way better, November 17, 2009

By 

kireviewer (Sunnyvale, Ca United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Animal Logic (Audio CD)

Get the second album instead. If you have the second album, you may be a little disappointed with this one.

This is a trio of jazz bassist Stanley Clark (Return to Forever), drummer Stewart Copeland (of Police fame, but got started in Curved Air and had many interesting jazz projects) and singer/songwriter Deborah Holland. There are some guest musicians, including Steve Howe on one track. This CD was released in 1989. It is only 38 minutes long (which is too long in some parts). The sound quality is very good, especially for a CD released in 1989.

The CD starts out well and ends very well. I found the middle a little hard to get through.

On this CD, many of the songs are very similar, and are overwhelmed by Holland's vocals. She is not a bad singer and her vocals are very enjoyable over half of the CD. It is just that they drone on through a number of songs. It gets bad in the very middle with "As Soon As the Sun Goes Down", "I Still Feel for You" and ending with the grating "Elijah".

The second CD (Animal Logic II) is so much better. The songs have more depth and there is more variety. Both Stewart and Clark (especially Clark) contribute more to the music. Holland's vocal talents are much better utilized and she show a much broader range. The worst song on that CD is as good as the best song on this CD.

I don't hate this album, which is why I gave it 3 stars. I just don't think it comes close to second album. And there are some songs on it that I really don't like. When I rip this to iTunes, I am only going to rip 5 of the songs. With the second album, I will rip the whole thing.