Bleeding Heart Graffiti

Nina Gordon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 8, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000G2YD28
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,514 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Bleeding Heart Graffiti

2. Christmas Lights

3. Kiss Me Til It Bleeds

4. Suffragette

5. This Was The YEar

6. Don't Let Me Down

7. Pure

8. Watercolors

9. Superstar

10. Turn On Your Radio

11. When You Don't Want Me Anymore

12. Bones And A Name

13. The Time Comes

14. The Crickets Sound Like Sleigh Bells

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Add ex-Veruca Salt co-leader Nina Gordon to a growing list of 90s female rock singers (think Liz Phair and Alanis Morissette) who have left behind the grit of their earlier work to emphasize a more accessible pop sound.  On her 2nd solo release Bleeding Heart Graffiti, producer Bob Rock polishes each song to a high-gloss, showcasing Gordon's lightweight but pleasant voice over lush backgrounds.  The lead-off single "Kiss Me Til It Bleeds" is a catchy meditation on the guy-you-can't-resist, but most of the album lingers in somber ballad territory without displaying the tension of pop contemporaries like Aimee Mann or Fiona Apple.  Nina Gordon sounds like she's having more fun on "Suffragette", where an infectious T-Rex groove and background vocals dead lifted from an 80s Prince record blend into a danceable concoction. --Ben Heege

Product Description

Nina Gordon is back. Six years after her debut solo album and eight years after her departure from Veruca Salt, the singer-songwriter with the emotionally intimate voice returns with Bleeding Heart Graffiti. A concept album about the beginning, middle and end of a relationship--being alone, finding yourself and becoming strong again--Bleeding Heart Graffiti was produced by Bob Rock [Veruca Salt's Eight Arms To Hold You, Gordon's solo debut Tonight And The Rest Of Your Life as well as Metallica, Bon Jovi, etc.]. Warmer and more organic than her first album--but still pop--Bleeding Heart Graffiti paints a new picture of Nina Gordon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Successful second solo effort from Nina, August 8, 2006

By 

Parkin (PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bleeding Heart Graffiti (Audio CD)

Nina Gordon, a former member of Veruca Salt, delivers beautiful, substantive pop/rock music again with Bleeding Heart Graffiti. While a bit slower (especially at the end) than Tonight And The Rest Of My Life, Bleeding Heart Graffiti has the advantage of showcasing her voice more. It is a solemn CD, but Nina hasn't gone toothless on us, as "Suffragette" and pieces of other songs show. Nina's older now, and not as venomous as she was with Veruca Salt. But she never gets too whiny. If you did not like Tonight And The Rest Of My Life, you probably should skip this one. But if you liked that CD, Bleeding Heart Graffiti could be one of your favorites of 2006.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sure, I miss the rock, but...., August 16, 2006

By 

Larry Davis "powerpoplarry" (NYC/Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bleeding Heart Graffiti (Audio CD)

...I love Nina's voice and songwriting so much, that I forgive her for it. As a matter of fact, the quality of the tunes here, the sequencing and concept feel (with the intro title "track", interlude of "This Was The Year", and outro of "The Crickets Sound Like Sleigh Bells" playing with the non-holiday "Christmas Lights"...ironic with Nina being Jewish and all), make the album more than just a series of songs, but an actual ALBUM made to be listened to in order from beginning to end. It seems that Nina put some effort into this area here. I should hope so, being it's taken 6 loooooooong years between Nina's wonderful solo debut "Tonight And The Rest Of My Life" and the new "Bleeding Heart Graffiti".

I also know this disc went through some kind of stylistic evolution, which could be reason for this delay. I know Stacy Jones, Nina's former bandmate and boyfriend from Veruca Salt as well as Letters To Cleo and now American HiFi, and producer of Towers Of London. When I spoke to him last, I asked about Nina and this record. He said she was working with Ethan Johns who worked with Ryan Adams and that this record was going to have an alt-country/Americana feel. I found that interesting and intriguing, and I kinda hear that influence in these new songs and how they turned out. I also know Nina is close to LTC's Kay Hanley, and that she kept her gear in Kay's garage, so there is Kay's influence as well. Plus, she's written some songs with one of my new fave female singer/songwriters, Courtney Jaye, who released an awesome, Nina-ish debut on Island. One of their collabs was "This Is The Day" on Coco's record, and another is the awesome single "Kiss Me 'Til It Bleeds" on Nina's "Bleeding Heart Graffiti".

I guess, Nina reconnected with longtime producer Bob Rock in Hawaii, put all these pieces together, and this record is the FINAL result. Let me tell you, it took getting used to, but I love it. I miss the out and out rockers, but Nina's maturing as a singer/songwriter and it seems she's in a blue mood lately. This is fine, because her heavenly, intimate, vulnerable voice can really break your heart if you're in that mindstate. Some songs are a bit aggressive, which evokes her rockier roots, but her melodies are really rich here, like melted dark chocolate. Every song has something sublime about it. Sure, Nina's songs are powerpop, somewhere between Susanna Hoffs and Aimee Mann, but on the softer side of the spectrum (the catchy "Suffragette" is the closest thing here to a rocker), and to inexperienced listeners, they will confuse her style to corporate bubblegum acts like Hilary Duff or Aly & AJ. But Nina's songs are deeper, with more substance, and more art to her melodies...in the end, they stick to your heart and never let go. Every song could get played on the radio, but I can't stand radio, just Sirius satellite radio. It would be awesome to hear on Sirius "Christmas Lights", the single "Kiss Me 'Til It Bleeds", "Turn On Your Radio", the gorgeous "Pure" and "Watercolours", the sublime heartbreaker "When You Don't Want Me Anymore" (I almost broke down when I heard that song), the epic "Bones And A Name" and lovely "The Time Comes". Regular radio stations won't "get" these new songs because they are not commercial and too rich + pure for their playlists. Let me tell you, it was worth the 6 year wait to hear these songs in finished form on this disc. Nina put her time into these songs, the effort really shows, BIG time. I sincerely doubt Axl's new GNR album will be of the same quality on "Chineese Democracy", and Nina's fanbase didn't put as much pressure to finish up "Bleeding Heart Graffiti" (love that title too), so she could concentrate on making it perfect...I am happy with the results.

I'll be thrilled if her next album has more rockers, but if not and it takes ANOTHER 6 years, I won't mind. Anything Nina records will be wonderful, she seems incapable of writing a bad or even an average song. She seems to be a perfectionist and only wants to record and release quality. Next up, a tour, please?????? I missed the last one.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Getting better with each spin..., August 31, 2006

By 

J. Butler (Tallahassee, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bleeding Heart Graffiti (Audio CD)

I was worried that 'Bleeding Heart...' wouldn't be as interesting as her debut solo album, but after hearing 'Superstar', I discovered I had nothing to fear... it is the most haunting and moving song I've heard this year...