Applehead Man

Trip Shakespeare | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl
• Label: Gark Records
• ASIN: B002D0J12I
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Editorial Reviews

1993 10 Track lp.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but out-of-print albums were masterpieces, August 19, 2001

By 

Scot "scotjohn" (Chapel Hill, NC USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Applehead Man (Audio CD)

This album is just a glimmer of what Trip Shakespeare would soon be capable of. Switch over to Amazon Auctions and see if you can track down either "Lulu" or "Across the Universe," now out-of-print. If I ever lost my copy of either I'd be beside myself...

Let me describe those first for comparison. Think Revolver-era Beatles meets Gordon-era Barenaked Ladies in all the best ways. Lyrics and overall personality: charming, surprising, slightly goofy, unaffected depth and warm personality. Great songwriting with that rare kind of catchiness where you don't mind it being stuck in your head. Arrangements are fairly simple (two electric guitars, tight fretless bass and drums) and overlaid with gorgeous 2- and 3-part harmonies. Wonderful.

This album doesn't have the diversity of Trip's later efforts. Matt does a great job of harmonizing with himself, and John and Elaine are a tight rhythm section as always, but Matt's over-singing a bit and there's not much variety in arrangement or feel of each song. Still, there are glimmers of what lay just around the corner. "Pearle" has always been a favorite.

My take on Semisonic, formed by Dan and John after Trip broke up: Matt was the soul of Trip Shakespare, and Semisonic doesn't seem to have found one yet. I used to say I'd listen to Dan Wilson sing the phone book -- "be careful what you wish for" I guess...

And Matt, if you're out there -- keep writing. We're still listening.

5.0 out of 5 stars I miss Trip..., March 15, 2011

By 

loudboys - See all my reviews

This review is from: Applehead Man (Audio CD)

OK, I really can't be objective about this album, or this band. Trip was (and still is) my absolute favorite live band.

I purchased the Applehead Man cassette from Matt off the front of the stage at Parody Hall in KC. I think it was the second time we saw them; Dan had just joined the band, and the energy they exuded was astounding.

To get a feel for how this band truly sounded, you pretty much need to listen to three albums; Applehead Man to really hear how they constructed a groove, Are You Shakespearienced? for the energy, and Across the Universe for the best reproduction of the three guys' harmony.

Hopefully, if enough folks on the web buy all the old albums and talk'em up a lot, we can convince Dan and John to forget that Semisonic deal and join up with Matt (I hear that Elaine's out of the music business)to put the band back together. That Slichter guy can play the drums (we won't make him stand up).

5.0 out of 5 stars Applehead, man oh man..., December 11, 2009

By 

kbean63 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Applehead Man (Audio CD)

It's true that the album lacks the production and sonic variety of their later albums but in a way that's one of it's big strengths. Later Trip albums seem to be a little more like collections of individual songs rather than single cohesive albums, but this flows quite well from song to song. "Fangs", "Pearl" and "Washington Bridge" are all standouts. "Beatle" is an odd medley of Beatles' songs - not just "Lucy in the Sky" but "Ticket to Ride", "Birthday" and numerous other Beatle songs are woven or crashed together into one track. It's fun go through and see how many you can recognize.