Customer Reviews

Bone

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The beginning of this century was a sad one for me. It marked the end of two of my favorite bands of all time, The Catherine Wheel and James. Although I am still waiting impatiently for solo material from Rob Dickinson, James' Tim Booth has beat him to the punch and released his first solo effort.

Bone is a good album. I could tell that upon my first listen, and it is becoming more apparent on repeat play. Unfortunately, what is also apparent, is that something is missing.

James had an ethereal quality. There was nothing else like it.
Listening to the mystical instruments, the magical voice of Booth, the haunting backing vocals, and the often poignant lyrics, transported me to a place no other music ever has, or
will, I imagine. Booth's material is more earthly. The lyrics aren't quite as smart. The music is more mundane. And, his voice doesn't do the acrobatics it once did.

Still, if this is the closest I can get to the experience that was James, than I shall have to accept that. I wish Booth the best of success abd I will remain a huge fan.

However, I do hope Dickinsin shows him up!

This is a great 'Solo' effort for Mr. Booth. Apparently Lee Muddy Baker a musician friend sort of pushed him along to record this in a bedroom. Don't be afraid, the production is quite good, and the selection of sounds and music is quite diverse and enjoyable. Any fan of Tim and much of the James catalog will enjoy Bone. The lyrical content is even a cut above in some cases. Tim's voice and vocal style is a mix of his most refined and emotional. He recycles "Fall In Love" from the "Badangel" album, one of the few songs of his I truly dislike. Besides this 'lowlite' the rest of it is better than I had ever expected from Tim without Brian Eno.

I pretty much missed the James phenomenon--never owned any CD of theirs except "Laid," which had made its way onto my discard pile. I stumbled onto "Bone" quite by accident, and was just blown away! Beautiful, evocative songs ("Fall in Love with Me" really is as good as everyone says, and is worth the price of the CD) are delivered in Booth's exceptional voice. If there's a better male pop singer out there, I haven't heard him. My one gripe is that a couple of the tracks are over-produced. It's a minor flaw, though. Needless to say, I have rescued my copy of "Laid" and I'm working on acquiring the rest of the James oeuvre.

This, to me, is the definitive 3 1/2 star album: not great, but good enough to love and welcome into your collection. This isn't a breakthrough in any way, nor is it particularly building on Tim Booth's past. It's clear, based on Booth and the Bad Angel, and this CD, that Tim Booth was rightly the main focus of James, the main component, but it's also clear that without the rest of the band (as changing in personnel as it may have been), Booth doesn't quite reach his potential. For me, it boils down to this: Would I rather James got back together? Absolutely. Would I rather have new Booth solo material or scrounge up the remaining James rareties that still haven't been collected on either "Ultra B-sides" or "The Collection"? I'll take the new Booth stuff. Hopefully he can/will build on this, and continue his post-"retirement" career. Because this IS a good start, it's just not James, and it's hard to listen to "Bone" without considering what it could have been, given the full James treatment.

First, the answer to the obvious question...yes, James fans can buy with confidence. From the self-deprecating liner notes one would expect a hastily put together side project (Booth is working on acting & screenplays since James' breakup)-but this isn't the case at all. This is lyrically, vocally, and melodically a very solid & sustained effort-the right mix of harder & softer moments and a variety of tone & song structure that is much to rare nowadays.Hope this will help keep him in the game & on the map

While several of the tracks seem like filler, and while a stripped down "Fall in Love" had no business on this album (why ruin the high-quality original? And why randomly insert it on an otherwise cohesive album?), the good tracks offer everything from beautiful melody to sound effects that put me into another world. And I'd say the best ingredients are used sparingly to the point I'm left starving for more... for instance, the "bridge" at the end of "Falling Down" is perhaps the most intense vocal piece on the album, and "Wave Hello" ends before we've even had a chance to rock out... is this a good thing? I think so... Tim's playing hard-to-get on this album.

Another high-quality track, "Monkey God", makes one realize how pathetic the "dance" scene is at most clubs... there's a whole lot of smarts to this gem that's too good for the clubs... this schizo-like song contains a bass/electronic sound that makes me want to throw it into DJs' faces everywhere and scream, "Here! Play this, you fool!"

I am so grateful for this album. What an interesting, inspired and welcome return for Tim Booth. I really don't think it's overstating it to say that Tim Booth is one of the greatest voices of our generation. We NEED him around!

I really enjoy the whole album, but my personal favorites are: "Redneck," "Discover," "Wave Hello" and "Down to the Sea."

More!!!

I've been a big James fan for a lot of years and liked Booth's Bad Angels collaberation. This CD however was a pretty big dissappointment. I threw it in the trash after a couple listens. Who knows, maybe someone else likes it.

I like the group James. I like the lyrics, music, diversity and the sound of Tim Booth's voice.

This album delivers. I think the music is not quite as good as with James. I think the lyrics are pretty good. Since I really liked their last album (Pleased to Meet You - import only), getting this was good.

I recommend (and have recommended this) to James fans.

"Down to the Sea" is such an incredible song, it alone makes this album a worthy purchase. I think it is up there with "Born of Frustration," "Just Like Fred Astaire," and "The Shining," so you have a sense of my tastes. Thankfully, there are other gems, most notably "Wave Hello." At times, there is a breeziness to some of the album, but overall a welcome return to one of the best voices and writers in music. Also check out "Booth and the Bad Angel" - his 1996 solo effort.