Customer Reviews

Cape Dory

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

 

 

This is a great album. It has the airy, summery feel that you would expect from a band that had been out to sea for months on end, inspiring the songs included on this LP. Definitely worth checking out. Plus Alaina Moore's voice is intoxicating.

This album is pretty sweet. Totally awesome songs, only a few that are weak.

I was totally pumped about this album after hearing their singles this summer. They were the best part of my summer soundtrack. This year's "The Sky was High." The songs were just so chill and poppin'. There was bit of punk and spunk in them. They were lively. Just like the summer.

I was surprised that when I heard them on the album they were remixed in a way that took the punk and spunk out of the songs. It's like they lost all their energy. It was like when you buy that oldies album and you find out the songs aren't by the original artists. It's like they remixed them or re-recorded them to make them sound more "professional." Two songs in particular stood out to me. "Marathon" looses all it pop and brightness. It sounds like mud as compared to the single this summer. The vocals don't float above the music, but are bogged down below it. "Baltimore" also looses it's drum poppin' intro and also sounds like it was dragged through mud. Such a shame. Especially for people who have not heard the singles.

It made me wonder what the other songs on this album that I had not heard yet would have sounded like if they were not blandly produced.

Why did they have to take away the magic and the energy? Are they trying to get on Fallon or something? Was it not their decision or was it some label guy that wanted it more mainstream and less punk?

The same thing happened to Best Coast. They had some sweet 7 inches and I was totally pumped for their debut album. But the magic was gone. The punk and energy was gone. Now Best Coast is like Nora Jones. But she was on Fallon...

So basically...

Tennis, you had some sweet songs. Why did you have to go and make them all wack? Believe in yourself. Don't try so hard to fit in. You were beautiful like a bird. Now you sound like all the rest. Go on another boat trip and reflect on your mistake. And never make it again.

I could not agree more with the reviews that talked about how sterile this cd is. They inspired me to look for the original recordings which I found cheaper at the Rough Trade shops website in London, where they sell the cd as put out by Carmen San Diego records. Heavier base and drums and edgier and Alaina Moore's voice blends in perfectly. The album holds your interest throughout, unlike the Fat Possum version which loses it's way halfway through and ends like a dated mid-70s album. Also the latter one shows up the weaknesses of Alaina's singing. The RT version also has a bonus cd of the first 4 singles which are rawer again. The plus of the FP cd is that 'Take me somewhere' and 'Bimini bay' are actually slightly better in that they have a late 50s, early 60s Shirelles type sound.

Okay, that's the only nautical joke I'll make. I have to agree wholeheartedly with the reviewers who are bummed that the LP doesn't match the energy and charm of the 7"s that preceded it. I was OBSESSED with the singles this summer and fall and giddy with anticipation for the album, only to find that the 7" songs had been re-recorded in a much lamer way. And the singles make up 4 of the 10 songs on the album. I still really like the LP, and the melodies and singing are still very strong (even if the songwriting is at times forgettable), but the production on the singles was what was really got me so stoked in the first place. For example, and I'm not making this up, several times when the intro to the single version of "Baltimore" came up on my iPod playlist, I thought it was the beginning of a No Age song. Of course I realized after 10 seconds that it wasn't, but my point is that Tennis's production was much edgier and more charismatic on the early recordings. This punk-inspired buzz made the beautiful and surprising twists and turns that the melodies took all the more interesting and addictive.

Don't get me wrong, this record is still not sheeny, and no one's going to mistake it for a mainstream chantreuse project. It's still the type of girl-group template that's been inspiring punks since the Ramones took it and ran with it about 35 years ago. On their own merits, the new songs are great, and "Pigeon" in particular harnesses a facility with melody that seems so effortless that it probably would frustrate most musicians who heard it. It would frustrate them even more to know that Tennis was a couple of sailboat-hobbyist, tennis-playing, winsome-looking rich kids. But that's beside the point and isn't the source of my disappointment anyway. It's my unrealistic expectations that are the culprit for my disappointment, but I was hoping for a much weirder document. This is like something you could put on at a rehearsal dinner and the old people would be totally down with it. That's disappointing to me.

I decided to try this cd after hearing "Take Me Somewhere" and "Marathon"- both of which I liked alot. There rest of the cd does not disappoint as is often the case which earns it a four star rating. All the tracks have that interesting classic 50's sound combined with a newer Pop sound which makes the whole cd fun to listen to. The cd is a little short though and the recording quality could be better. If you like "Take Me Somewhere" you should like the whole cd.

In an era of hip hop, rap, and other musical genres, this is a refreshing blend of music that is fun. The duo does not take themselves too seriously. The recording at times has influences of the girl bands from the 1960's. I welcome this album as it deviates from the contemporary musical "formats" and delivers a refreshing sound for our time.

Many reviews focus on the juxtaposition of the production found on this album with that found on the previously released singles. I prefer to judge this album on its own merit.

At a recent dinner party while listening to pop music from the 60's and 70's, a guest remarked how they don't make music like that anymore. I refuted the claim and guaranteed she would enjoy "Cape Dory". I put it on, and after a few songs, she wholeheartedly agreed.

In short, the melodies are absolutely infectious and the supporting guitar provides a very interesting texture to accompany the singer's gorgeous voice. There's nothing edgy about these songs, and they aren't meant to be. They are well-crafted pop songs, and that is a quality I admire. While the lyrics are unquestionably insipid, as they simply tell a somewhat uninteresting linear tale as it unfolds - similar to making up an impromptu ditty with your child as you walk around a supermarket (e.g., "there's a can of peas - oh my a sneeze..."), they do not distract you from enjoying the songs, which will echo in your mind for days after listening. The hooks and sounds are somewhat similar to those found in Phil Spector's "wall of sound" productions. In perhaps every song, there are lots of nonverbal vocalizations, with musical leaps spanning several notes, peppering the chorus, which is great since it downplays any import imposed on the unnecessary lyrics. "Cape Dory" is quality pop music.

I would never have discovered this wonderful music from Canada had NPR not featured it. And the purchase went without a hitch.

Well, it should! It's a duplicate of Lisa Hartman's 1976 release, "Hold On"! Check it out for the 1st time on CD in April 2011 from Wounded Bird Records!

I like this kind of music simple as that. I nobody likes my review than they know where they can stick there head as in where the moon always rises and the sun never shines.