Customer Reviews

Beautifully Strange

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Remember the lyric to the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby," "All the lonely people, where do they all come from?" Evidently, Pittsburgh, because that's where singer Gene Owens was raised. I saw this CD on several Amazon customers' "best of" lists and decided to give it a try. Wow! This guy's put out a tremendous first CD. His vocals have a bit of affectation and his "s's" whistle, but this is one excellent set of tunes. My favorites are "Rings of Saturn," "Chance," "Not the One," and "Hollywood."

The set opens with "Ride," a catchy tune that thunders with electric guitar, "I'm so tired of these f**king lies & I just wanna take one day at a time; so honey if you wanna leave all this [stuff] behind us, then just hop in." "There She Goes" is a sweet bit of unrequited love "like a fire in the night." "Falling Down" is a fascinating piece that builds by shifting gears with electric guitars suddenly sent in like soldiers in a hot and cold musical warfare. My favorite track is the naked emotional assault called "Rings of Saturn." The track is brilliant for its great honesty, "Baby I've been wondering why this life seems so cruel; Baby I've been wondering why my heart is a uselss tool." "Some Things Never Change" is a song that expresses the misery of one who falls in love with a drug addict. When Gene sings, "Let's face it the mass populace has always been stupid, always looking for a thought to kill," on "Head In Hands," it brings a smile for all the times that we can so clearly see what everyone else apparently misses. Joe Munroe's piano on "Not the One" along with what must be keyboard-generated strings gives a stark elegance to this song from a jilted lover's point of view. The sound is happy and the guitars upbeat on "Chance" as the song is one grovelling for another chance at love. Owens spits out words on the track faster than a freight train until the catchy chorus lets us hitch onto the melody. "When I Find You" has a melody as wispy as a cloud on this sweetly hopeful slow song. The CD concludes with the acoustic folk arrangement on "Hollywood." Owens covers a lot of territory, most of it about various looks at love. After all, what else is there? This is a very strong set. Enjoy!

Since my friend lent me this album it hasn't left my CD player.
I listen to it all day. Every song on this CD is awesome. I mean EVERYTHING! This is a true classic..it is scary to think that this is a debut album. Every song has a great melody and lyrics that are moving. It's so hard to pick a favorite because as I mentioned, every song is good. "There She Goes", "Jewel", "Some Things Never Change", and "Chance" are great places to start. Some songs are really mellow while others completely rock out. This is a classic in every sense of the word. I buy and listen to a lot of music, not many songs pull me in and make me feel emotional..much less an entire album!
People who like good music..indulge.

My girlfriend took me to see Gene Owens at this songwriter showcase thing..Half way through his first song, "Chance" I was blown away. This guy defintely has a knack for writing sad but catchy pop songs..A great combo in my book. After the show I bought a CD and was at first kinda freaked out because it was so electric and rocking in contrast to his acoustic, stripped down set but I soon starting like the CD versions alot better...This is without a doubt one of the best records of the year..It's to bad the music industry is to busy putting out boy bands and "American Idol" to notice..Rock on.

This CD is a gem. Owens presents dark, beautiful, haunting folk-rock tinged songs. "Jewel" is one of the standout tracks, with a mellow groove reminiscent of The Band, and "Some things Never Change " uses a ghostly, country twang to great effect. The melodies are strong throughout, and the whole thing has an atmosphere that falls somewhere between the sound of the 60's and 70's singer/songwriters and the more aggressive yet tuneful sounds of the 90's. A great album, and in my opinion one of the best releases of recent years.

My girlfriend took me to see Gene Owens at this songwriter showcase thing..Half way through his first song, "Chance" I was blown away. This guy defintely has a knack for writing sad but catchy pop songs..A great combo in my book. After the show I bought a CD and was at first kinda freaked out because it was so electric and rocking in contrast to his acoustic, stripped down set but I soon starting like the CD versions alot better...This is without a doubt one of the best records of the year..It's to bad the music industry is to busy putting out boy bands and "American Idol" to notice..Rock on.

I stumbled across Gene Owens' music recently when I was at a bar and he happened to be playing. I was impressed by his sound...which doesn't happen too much at bars here in LA because I see a bunch of shows a week and none usually stand out, but this one did. I bought Beautifully Strange after the show and went on drinking...The next day, as I popped the CD in I was hoping that it wasn't a drunken CD purchase that would end up collecting dust on the shelf. As soon as the first track started I knew it definitely wasn't. The CD rocks! I haven't stopped playing it since I got it; I'm totally hooked.
It's a perfect blend of musical styles...it's popish, it's rockish, it's folkish...it ranges from heavy rock to acoustic ballads, all with catchy hooks, thoughtful lyrics and great grooves. It's a perfect album to rock out too and it's a perfect album to sit back and relax too. It mixes classic rock with something new and different.
Beautifully Strange is a great album, especially for a debut album, and Gene Owens is a major talent who I hope to see a lot more of. But for now, I'm hooked on Beautifully Strange and I'm sure it'll remain a staple in my CD player for a while to come. I highly recommend this album to any music lover!