Customer Reviews

Bachelor No. 2

5 star:		(139)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album will really sneak up on you. When I first played it, it seemed somewhat, well, subdued. Not quite as poppy as "Whatever," not quite as hard-edged as "I'm With Stupid." But after listening to it again, I found myself unable to get it's songs out of my head. The subtlety of it's lyrics and melodies will sneak up and capture you. Now I can't stop listening to it! Bachelor No. 2 is nothing short of lyrically brilliant, and shows Aimee Mann has yet again developed her craft ever further. Imagine the acerbic wit of Elvis Costello combined with the masterful wordplay of a modern day Cole Porter or Ira Gershwin not afraid to use the "F" word to accent it's real life edginess. The top selections range from the jazzy, hypnotic "Calling It Quits" to the love blown up in your face resignation of "Susan" ("I guess I see it all in hindsight/I tried to keep perspective despite/The flash of the fuse, the smell of cordite"), "Red Vines" ("Well, it's always fun and games until/ it's clear you haven't got the skill/ in keeping the gag from going too far"), and the Elvis Costello co-written "The Fall of the World's Own Optimist," ("'cause the eggshells I've been treading/ couldn't spare me a beheading/ and I'll know I had it coming/ from a Caesar who was only slumming"). Great stuff accompanied by unique arrangements. This album also includes 3 selections off of Aimee's "Magnolia" soundtrack, but if you already own and enjoy that CD, let that be an encouragement, not discouragement, to add this keeper to your collection and explore it's wealth of riches.

The new Aimee Mann album is huge step in terms of independence, maturity and sheer songwriting and instrumental genius. Where "I'm With Stupid' was an opening salvo re:"this is my work and fuck you if you don't like it,' sentiments, this album just shoots totally into a different stratosphere. "How Am I Different," starts off with a great and increasingly rare descending chorus scale, with nice contrasting lead guitar work. It's a wonderful group of takes on a great melody. "Nothing is Good Enough," is translated from Magnolia's version of A Hard Day's Night's "This Boy", with a terrific vocal. This is the first of the record's several Bacharach influenced moments. In an album of highlights, "Red Vines" is "merely" a great song with a great chorus. I say this because the following track, "The Fall of the World's Own Optimist," co-written with Elvis Costello, is the singular example of why Aimee Mann is the best songwriter around. Nobody writing today even close to the level of talent in evidence here. It's the rare song where the verse stands on it's own, equally as engaging as the wonderful chorus. It's sad that in a time when Christina Agriculture is a hot property, good songwriting sounds almost archaic, like some Rube Goldberg contraption that Ms. Mann is forced to drag around and exhibit, much to our benefit. The other high point, "Deathly," simply amazes. The Robert Fripp-y lead guitar, the pristine Julianna Hatfield backup vocal, the seventh chords:sheesh, it's the best. Just another case of "who else pulls off anything close to this these days." "Ghost World" is a cool pop song,with a groovy delayed delivery on the backup vocal, a device I haven't heard used in a while. "Calling it Quits," sounds even more Costello like than it's aforementioned co-written predecessor, with some nice Magical Mystery Tour style horn flourishes. "Just Like Anyone" comes off a little to Lileth-y for me, but it's a minor complaint. "It Takes all Kinds," is another Bacharach influenced one, with the terrific Buddy Judge on backup vocal. What more can you say about a record that evidences so much talent and guts. This woman is undeniable.

"Hey, kids--look at this/ it's the fall of the world's own optimist/ I could get back up if you insist/ but you'll have to ask politely/ cause the eggshells I've been treading/ couldn't spare me a beheading" from Bachelor #2's '...Optimist' (co-written with fellow music expatriate Elvis Costello) pretty much sums up Aimee Mann's musical stance -- well, it's time to ask politely. What's a songwriting genius with integrity far beyond industry comprehension to do when a major label monolith refuses to release stellar new material? Hmm, first release a career-defining soundtrack ('Magnolia'), earn golden globe and academy award nomintations, and follow up by continuing to single-handedly restore signs of life into the languishing Billboard charts by releasing 'Bachelor #2', yet another defining moment in a truly inspired body of work. I've never heard such consistency in a cd - not one moment of 'filler'. A collection of pure, honest, gorgeous lyrics, melodies and arrangements. Yes, it's time to make history, Ms. Mann.

The good thing about Bachelor No. 2 is that Aimee Mann fans, like me, will be extremely satisfied. The bad thing is that it's not really an Aimee starter album. She's getting all sorts of exposure with her Golden Globe and Oscar Nominations for "Save Me" from the "Magnolia" Soundtrack. If that's how you've become interested, "Magnolia" may be a better start, and "Whatever" is better yet. Still, Bachelor No. 2 has all the features that make her other works strong: strong vocals, music, and most of all, engaging lyrics. Aimee Mann uses pop-slang more like a poet than other popular musicians. Her appreciation for terms such as "Whatever" and "I'm with Stupid" are advertised in the names of her first two solo efforts, but her use of those terms comes alive in a way that defies cliché. That power is apparent in "The Fall of the World's Own Optimist," - "I'll know I had it coming from a Caesar who was only slumming." Here's a sentiment that really couldn't be expressed if the word "slumming" wasn't in vogue. Years from now, when it isn't, the song will leave a little hint about the age in which it was written. That's what Aimee Mann is really good at - expressing sentiments. A line from "Deathly," - "Now that I've met you would you object to never seeing each other again" inspired the movie "Magnolia." The whole film was built around a scenario on which that sentiment could be expressed. The song is one of a few that appears both on "Bachelor No. 2" and "Magnolia." Both albums could have been better still if they were released as one, without the annoying extra songs at the end of "Magnolia" by other artists. "Bachelor No. 2" can't serve as a substitute for "Magnolia" because it is missing some of the soundtrack's stronger songs, including the now-famous "Save Me." And the soundtrack is lacking "How am I Different," "Red" and most of the other songs on "Bachelor." Those songs make "Bachelor" worth having - it shouldn't stay single for long.

Her songs for the movie Magnolia have helped introduce many to one of the few uncontestable facts in today's pop/rock scene. Aimee Mann is the most gifted songwriter to emerge in the genre since Elvis Costello. "Bachelor #2", which like both of her previous solo albums was intended for release by a different record label, is just further proof.

A few songs are duplicated on the Magnolia soundtrack (and there are a couple items on Magnolia that would sound great here), but that doesn't diminish the overall quality of the album. Indeed, it is a tribute to Mann's talent that her songs stand up so well in other contexts. In fact, one of the songs that appears on both releases ("Deathly") contained the lyric which inspired Paul Thomas Anderson's script for Magnolia.

Picking out the best songs is a difficult task only because there's so much quality here. "You Do" is one of Mann's best disections of a troubled relationship (an area where she has always excelled), while "Nothing Is Good Enough" keeps you guessing whether the subject of the song is an ex-lover or a dense record-company executive against a musical backdrop that reminds you of the best moments of "Pet Sounds." My personal favorite, "Satellite", is a graceful, eloquent song which manages to sound both timeless and familiar. More than almost any song on the album, this one highlights her enduring gift for taking the best of pop music before her and transforming it into something new, fresh and entirely her own. If you lament the scarcity of good song-writing in today's pop-music world, this album will restore your faith and give you hope fo the future.

After the splendid eccentricity of her previous album and the hands down masterpiece that is "Whatever", we need no longer ask the question of whether an Aimee Mann album will be any good, but rather when she will become a household name. With that in mind, here's the scoop IMHO on the latest...

"Bachelor No.2" has a less experimental, more directly commercial and acoustic sound than previous records, which with a bit of luck will pay off in long overdue hits. "Red Vines" is a great summer cruising stuff; the hugely singalong "Fall of the World's Own Optimist" co-written with Elvis Costello, is fantastic; "Satellite", with its looping melodies is further proof of her way with a song in 3; and the tremendous gathering storm that is "Deathly" shows that a guitar solo can actually add to a song.

There are a few problems though. The verses of "Calling it Quits" stay the right side of cheesy, but the chorus doesn't, and "Driving Sideways" is a tad overproduced.

But these are small quibbles. All the tunes are splendid, the lyrics perceptive, and the 90% of the time when Mann or resident weirdo Jon Brion are in the production seat things are very lovely indeed. With her record company behind her now, could it be time for some hits?

Even in these creatively craven bottom-line times, when bean-counters practice medicine, humorless suits spawn sitcoms, and non-creative garbage call the shots in movies and the recording industry, it beggars the imagination that NOBODY at Interscope thought that this album had any potential singles. "Bachelor No. 2" brims with catchy melodic pop hooks the likes of which the current crop of teenage papsters (or their songwriters) couldn't conjure in a fortnight of wet dreams.

Perhaps it's because Aimee Mann has wrought a potent combination of caustic, mordant lyrics wrapped in pop confectionery, a juxtaposition which hasn't been handled so skilfully since Morrisey's Smiths/early solo period heyday. Tracks like "Ghost World" -- which perfectly captures in a power-pop vehicle the post-high-school teenage angst of someone contemplating a career in fast food -- pack a sneaky emotional punch beneath their deceptively cheerful surface. I'm reminded of the first time I heard Morrisey warbling "Girlfriend in a Coma;" I started tapping my toes to its lilting beat, then suddenly found myself with a lump in my throat.

While her first solo album, "Whatever," arguably displays more range, "Bachelor No. 2" is an assured, polished, mature work that gets my vote for Aimee Mann's best album -- and perhaps the best album of this year.

I love lyrics. Their poetry has the power to comfort and inspire me like nothing else. "Now that I've met you, would you object to, never seeing each other again, 'cause I can't afford to, climb aboard you...." Wow. I am touched and in awe when an artist is able to capture so poignantly, both such complex and painfully simple inevitabilities of life. While battling traffic home, I was fatefully steered towards Aimee Mann when she was a guest on the NPR program, Fresh Air. She's quite an amazing woman: starting her own label because she simply would not acquiesce to the Machiavellian rules and oppressive supremacy of the corporate labels. I like to think that the first song on the album, "How Am I Different", is a message not just to some nebulous, self-obsessed man-boy, but also to the corporations that dominate the music world. She signs, "...'cause what do you care about the great divide as long as you come down on the winner's side." Buy this album. Wonderfully quirky and original instrumentals lovingly frame her full, evocative voice creating music that you will crave. Her unabashed honesty delivered with both determination and ingenuous disappointment will draw you in. Buy this album. You will love it.

O.K., I'll give the suits at Universal the benefit of the doubt; in this era of 98 Sync Boys, Britney Christina Mandy Simpsons and Kid Bizkits, Aimee Mann's "Bachelor #2" would be a hard sell. On the flip side of the coin, they deserve to be smacked for not even trying. If you're a relatively new or first time Aimee Mann buyer, I suggest you pick up 1993's "Whatever" or "I'm With Stupid" from 1996; both CDs are much more instantly accessible, and two of the best releases of the 90's. However, if you've liked some of Aimee's solo stuff, along with her Til Tuesday output, topped off with her contributions to the "Magnolia" soundtrack, this may be the release for you. There just isn't enough intelligence in pop music today. That's why we need Aimee Mann on the scene; she writes thoughtful, literate little vignettes that challenge, mystify and entertain. In many ways, an Aimee Mann CD is very much like an English labyrinth garden, but instead of using shrubbery she plants her's with words and melodies. On "Bachelor #2" the walls are higher than ever, but if you step in, push on and come out the other end, you'll be richly rewarded. Some of the CD's high points include "Red Vines", an emotional powerhouse that starts off slow and builds to a stirring climax, the pure pop of "Calling It Quits", the chiming - and charming - "Susan" and "Ghost World", a wistful, almost sweet, coming of age tale. There are two other aspects of "Bachelor" that merit some attention. First, there's almost a Bacharachesque feel to a number of songs (in an ironic twist, she even mentions Burt at one point). However, in no way does it sound retro or tired; Aimee updates it in a fresh, clean way. There's also the fact that three of these songs appeared on the "Magnolia" soundtrack. Normally, I would be bugged by such an addition, but these songs fit in so well that it almost comes across as an added bonus. So, if you're looking for a challenge that is both fresh and rewarding, pick up "Bachelor #2"... definitely a frontrunner so far for 2000's "Album of the Year".

You don't have to be an Aimee Mann fan to appreciate Bachelor No.2. I'm not. I've never listened to her Til Tuesday stuff or her older albums. Thank God because if I had, I probably wouldn't be able to approach this album and her Magnolia soundtrack with the pure, unblemished ears one is supposed to have while listening to music. Aimee Mann sings about universal things: Love, Truth, Honesty, Loyalty. These are things everybody can relate to. Her voice is soft and lush. She sounds like a woman who's been through too much in her life and wants to share her experiences with the rest of the world. That's amazing. Three of the songs on this album appear on the Magnolia soundtrack, and even though those songs are amazing, the rest of Bachelor No. 2 is great. Simple melodies hugging complex harmonies clinging to vivid words about heartbreak and redemption. Perfect for lazying about on a Sunday afternoon contemplating the meaning of your life. Or while doing dishes.