Customer Reviews

Broadcasting From Home

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Simon Jeffes always considered he didn't have enough musical training to be a classical musician and no intimacy with pop to be a popular musician. And although he lived in many countries and was crazy about music from many cultures he never wanted to do "world music".

A quiet man, he had one simple and rare talent: the ability to create sublime music.

And he had an even rarer talent among instrumental musicians: sense of humor.

The PCO is a small chamber group that plays instrumental music that draws from all these sources. It is music created by a music lover. Sometimes it sounds like a happy mantra from Bolivia, sometimes as a moving string quartet playing something that sounds medieval, sometimes he flirts with electronic gadgets like ring modulators (not on this CD though).

The PCO crossed boundaries like few other groups have. And nothing sounds forced, it all makes sense and seems organic as if this was the only way to play music.

The cruelest irony is that you will usually find this CD under "new age". Well, it is definitely not new age and I believe it ends up in the New Age aisle just because this genre is broad enough to fit any music that is not loud.

This is the perfect CD to give as a gift. Although very accessible and pleasant on the surface, it is so deep in its structure and has such unusual arrangements that even music scholars and nitpickers will be forced to pay attention and ask "how did he do that?".

Upon first listen, I almost foolishly dismissed Broadcasting from Home as a disappointing follow-up to their self-titled debut. What I later realized, however, was that Broadcasting simply wasn't as accessible and easy-to-please as the tracks on their first record (a good thing).

In time this one has grown on me quite a bit. I won't say that I enjoy Broadcasting MORE than their first record; rather, I enjoy Broadcasting in a DIFFERENT way. Whereas I do feel that the first album is more consistent, I find Broadcasting more challening listenting; the songs are more subtle, more sombre. Yes, there is the one infinitely catchy track, In the Back of a Taxi, but the others take time to digest properly. My favorite is Now Nothing, a song so spare yet so beautiful that it's haunting.

Fans of ambient/minimalist music should find this offering quite solid. Newbies to the genre might want to start off with the self-titled debut.

Music to sit back and let yourself slide into the quaint soundscapes of another reality. What can you call it----English summer afternoons with tea, or a cafe on the continent, it's where the music takes you. Very relaxing for a quiet afternoon sofa safari

Few bouts of salmonella would have spawned as protean a brew of music as that of Penguin Cafe Orchestra's progenitor, Simon Jeffes. Some time in the early 1980s I was leafing through the racks and stumbled on the beguiling avian art of Emily Young. She was to become a signature for the Orchestra's releases as Neon Park had served Little Feat in the 1970s. Her bizarre, Beckmanesque fantasies bespeak the romantic air of Jeffe's protean imagination. Penguin Cafe Orchestra possesses a folk sensibility translated through classical instrumentation, a sort of late 20thC Bartok. Don't go listening here for 'roots' music, or even poached hybridity. Jeffe's remarkably boyant ear achieves a cultural ambience of his own, a sprightly, muscular, lush and wistful geography peppered with attractive vistas and to be enjoyed at either a leisurely stroll or at waltzing pace. I prefer the earlier albums (especially over the 'Best Ofs') and probably this album is the most endearing. Though it's unfair to single out a member of the various ensembles that play under the PCO title, I must make mention of Helen Liebmann's cello, whose contribution to mood is never less than exemplary.

I first encountered Simon Jeffes and PCO back in the 1980s when "Prelude and Yodel" was one of those catchy little pieces of bumper music on "All Things Considered". It was several years before they announced the title on the air. When they did, I got hold of the CD and insisted on my friends listening to it several times every time they came over. I have a new set of friends now, but I still have the CD.

PCO has a minimalist style, but enough complexity to draw you in and cello performances that will make you catch your breath. Don't listen to it while you're supposed to be studying.

Music of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra combines calypso beat with musicianship of good calssical musicians to make beautiful music.

I'm glad I bought this CD. It has really catchy tunes, wonderful for exercising or just listening. This music keeps my mood upbeat and my toes tapping!

This is the only album I have heard. The one song "Heartwind" was interesting to listen to but - most of their music is simple and repetitious. I kept wanting them to go someplace with the music. I consider them a curiosity.