Customer Reviews

Be Careful What You Wish For

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

 

 

Countdown and
music, projected by the
ancestors, activated from the same recycled
Tao that floated the
golf ball of nevermind.

Unwrapped and unwound,
ukuleled and sitared,
Tachy-Vivace-Feather-Tickle-Falsetto-Fugues
projected as a single helix of vitality, I
escape set and setting, escape insatiable
creation, yet anchored
by downy injections
of ponytailed polytonalities,

drunken goose flesh flits off Saturn's ornaments
between bowing Buddha's smoked
ghoudas, until
no landing no collision, but silken,
rapelling Rapunzel's pubes
like a pool in a tub, like a tool in a pub,
like the blissful
blind bluster of young
passion's meandering musk. If, if,

if

If this music is real, if I can maintain, then I have been betrayed by everything I've ever called love.

It's actually a bit deceptive to call Gabby La La a pop singer. It usually makes you think of Britney, Ashlee or Hilary.

But Gabby is about as different from those as a golden glea is from a fortune cookie. With her quirky songwriting (chasing down leprechauns? Eating mermaid?), catchy songs, and the most unusual singing voice I've heard in a very long time.

It starts off with a pair of almost painfully catchy songs: "Be Careful What You Wish For" and "Backpack" ("Gotta keep track of me backpack!") with their tales of genies, mermaids and Roman tourism. It's almost impossible not to hear these simple, bouncy little infectious tunes without bouncing in your seat.

Then she twists her own catchy songs around. Rather than staying on the same track, she switches to some songs flavoured with Indian sitar, sparkling accordion pop, bouncy French-folk-flavoured music, and swirling indie balladry. There's even a grittier, darker song about "Pirates," with plenty of stark guitar to keep it grounded. By far, it's the most "ordinary" song on the album.

And Gabby La La also keeps the songwriting... well, not ordinary. I wouldn't go so far as to call it weird, since I've heard much weirder. But it's quirky, and the focuses are usually pretty far from "I love my boyfriend" or "he left me and I'm miserable." Golden fleas that chew fool's gold, genies, aged leprechauns, Hansel and Gretel, Santa's elves, and the "boogie woogie man in a black dress." There's even a song devoted to fortune cookies.

Yes, it sounds terribly twee. And here and there, it is. But Gabby La La gives it a slightly sick twist in places ("I found a mermaid swimming next to me/Then she offered me a single wish/I said I'd like to have you in my dish!"), and sometimes she gets even quirkier ("Boogie woogie man in a black dress/state your name and state your business!").

The topper to all this weirdness is Gabby La La's own voice -- she sounds like a fairy on speed, especially in the faster songs. It may sound weird at first, but it grows on you. She provides about half the instrumentation here -- usually sitar, ukelele and accordion -- while Les Claypool provides the more conventional pop instrumentation like drums and bass.

If you like the idea of a song that says, "Little fortune cookie, I'd like to smash you!", then Gabby La La's quirky, wacky debut is for you. Delightful.

Gabby La La is like no other musician. It's no wonder why Les Claypool picked her up on his record label Prong Song. Gabby's musical instruments range from a sitar, accordion, toy piano, and ukulele. The album is filled with great music and lyrics all writen by Gabby except 'In Dreams' which was writen by the great Roy and Barbara Orbison. A few tracts are solos with Gabby playing the sitar or ukulele-"In and Out of Dreaming, Little fortune Cookie", but all the other tacts contain Claypool on both bass and percussion. The album can seem a little bizzare for some, but for the many Claypool fans it should be right up their ally. Mixed with humorus lyrics and catchy riffs, you'll be singing these songs in your head all day long. So be careful what you wish for...'cause it might come true.

Gabby La La is one of those rare musicians who is so far outside of any musical box that the listener will either love or hate her. Gabby is eclectic, eccentric, exotic, whimsical, animated, and original. She plays a dizzying array of instruments including the sitar, toy piano, accordion, ukulele and electric butterfly guitar. This Petaluman's sitar work is surprisingly proficient and shines on 'Golden Flea' and 'In and Out of Dreaming,' a moody pop raga. La La's child friendly themes include backpacks, elves, pirates, chickens and the boogie man. The strongest tracks include 'Backpack,' 'Butter and Eggs,' and 'Pirates.' While La La's freshman debut lacks the call & response and jokes that bring so much charm to her live solo performance, it is compensated with Claypool's production that flushes out the rich potential of this material. It is not surprising that Gabby is the only other artist on Les Claypool's label, since when it comes to music, she may be his female counterpart. While it may take time to aquire an appreciation for Gabby La La, "Be Careful What You Wish For" is well worth the effort for such a fun trip.

I bought this album because I am a huge Primus/Claypool fan and after listening to the samples my kids loved it. Gabby La La's vocals sound sort of like Glinda the Good Witch fromthe Wizard of Oz. But if you can get by this or even like music that is a little off, then you need to check this out. All the instruments are played by La La and Claypool, and this really turned out to be quite a spectacle. If you like your music a little experimental, then I highly recommend this disk.

if you are familliar with gabby la la thru the frog brigade album "purple onion", the C2B3 album "the big eye ball in the sky", the recent les claypool album "of whales and woe" and the DVD that goes along with it "Fancy". you realize la la is a gem! she is a sitar virtuoso, with a hpnotic voice! i can listen to "be careful what you wish for..." over and over without getting bored and always finding something new. la la covers multiple genres including ones she probably invented, and having lyrics that are actually worth listening and are as original as les claypool's. on the album, la la plays sitar, thymene, ukelele, toy piano, and accordian! les claypool supplies incredible bass (of course) along with great percussion unlike the holy mackeral album. songs include fast-paced poppy ukelele songs such as the title song and backpack. songs also include mellow, light-heated songs like walkie walkie walkie, twins, little fortune cookie, and elf. songs also include the really funny and catchy songs such as boogie woogie man in a black dress, and butter and eggs. there are als deep, imaginative, and mezmerizing songs like golden flea, in dreams, and in and out of dreaming. the album is flawless. gabby la la is a true artist. original, smart, and promising. i look foreward to what she does next because one album is not enough!!!!!!

If you are someone who likes to look for new music, Gabby la la featuring Les Claypool is the way to go! This album cannot contain any genre. It's its own thing. Very fun to listen to!

The good news is that this is NOT a canned record label product. We have enough of that from Disney and that Kidz Bop crap. The bad news is that this album presents the exact opposite problem. It's just plain old weird. My daughter was physically scared by this album. Gabby is obviously talented, but her voice is somewhat eerie. Les Claypool's arrangements are excellent and the music is really well produced, but I wouldn't classify this as a kids album. Perhaps world? Scary world? Is that a genre? Anyway, my suggestion for Gabby is that she should embark on a dance album AKA Bjork since this is obviously the school she comes from. If you combine the world elements with her weird voice and add some dance beats, I am sure her fan base would expand.

Here's my advice to all "kids" artists...Kids like to listen to great, groovy music. Kids, like other human beings, want to have fun. This album is anything but that, more a muse-o foray into oblivion.