Customer Reviews

18 Carat Garbage

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No one sings like this lady. Each time you listen to one of her songs, she reveals something new. Like Shara Nelson, Natlie Merchant, Bono, and a few other rare singers, Billie Ray seems to delight as much in the sound and shape of words as their meanings. This is a great collection of songs, each one gorgeously produced. I've been playing it constantly at the office, and countless people have popped their head in to ask, "Who IS that?"

With a voice that is half torch and twang and half memphis soul, Billie Ray Martin sings the modern day blues, complete with horn section and electronic elements.

recorded in Memphis and her native Germany, the album is a combination of her two loves memphis soul and electronic/dance. Standouts include the drum and bass kick of Systems of Silence, the guitar twang and longing voice of the first single I've Never Been To Memphis, the roasing title track, a duet with Ann Peebles(I Can't Stand the Rain), and the a cover of Elton John's Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters, which she performs in such a way you hair stands up on end. Where Fools Rush In is a tribute to Motown and Ashford and Simpson, and on Anyone Will Do for a Heartache, anyone ever crushed by a relationship will know how she feels. The lyrics are poetic, the song structure complex, each new listen yields another hidden surprise. The mark of a good ablum is that it gets more enjoyable with each listen. This is one of those rare treats.

The most underrated performer in the world, billie's voice is simply breath taking. The closest comparison can be drawn to Aretha. Ther woman behind the band Electribe 101 and the huge house record Your Loving Arms has created an album that drips with her blood and soul. I don't know if anything so powerful has ever been recorded

It's such a shame that this wasn't released in the US domestically, but then again, in a world where mediocre-talented teenage pop divas (errrm...Lindsay Lohan and Ashlee Simpson) are getting their million dollar contracts, would Americans appreciate Billie Ray Martin and her album '18 Carat Garbage'?? Probably not, and it's too bad, cuz she is very much underrated as an artist.

I know this artist from her main house hits "Your Loving Arms" (1996) and "Honey" (2000-01 I'm not real sure). But then I found this album on iTunes for $9.99......this is by far the most eclectic album I've heard in years. Along with that unmistakeably soulful blues voice, she intends to infuse electronica/drum-n-bass with motown/'Elvis' rock/and some elements of country. It's an odd mix but it definitely works.

Stand out tracks are 'Captain Drag'...it's a slower paced electronica song with elements of motown. She's really in touch with her gay side (if there is one). 'Crime of Passion' is a fast-paced drum-n-bass track- highly recommmended. Then, there are some tracks that are not 'dance' at all; for instance, like '18 Carat Garbage', 'Ten Minutes on a Tues Afternoon in Buffalo', and 'Legends that Die.' These tracks have more of a 'country blues-ish' feel to them, it's interesting to hear the transition she makes from one genre to the other, and she pulls it off nicely. All the tracks are pretty good in their own way....just listen to the whole album with an open mind, as someone like BRM is easy to dismiss as she's not a mainstream artist with a familiar history of hits.

I only wish I had the physical copy so I could see if lyrics are in there. I guess physical albums (as opposed to digital downloads) are still good for some things, but I saved about $30 on the iTunes copy.

Upon my first listen of this album, I was amazed that BRM could produce something that could top her stellar debut album, Deadline For My Memories. She definitely eclipsed that effort & then some with this incredible masterpiece. This is one of those rare albums that works as a whole body of work. Each individual track can also stand on its own. Anyone Who Had A Heartache sounds like it could be on any of Aretha's classic 60's albums. The title track is a vocal throwdown with Ann Peebles & they really feed off each other. Where Fools Rush In is a heavily Motown-influenced track & is simply beautiful. I've Never Been To Memphis wouldn't sound out of place on country stations. Ten Minutes On A Tuesday Afternoon In Buffalo is a gospel-inflected tour-de-force. Hello, Hold On! features some of BRM's best wailing & wittiest lyrics. Systems Of Silence features more of BRM's creative wordplay. Her cover of Elton John's Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters is a hidden bonus track that is simply sublime. You can't go wrong with this album. Every track is absolutely amazing. BRM has really laid herself out there vocally, lyrically & emotionally. In a perfect world, this would be a #1 chart smash.

Madonna may do it with more fanfare, but very few acts can match Billie Ray Martin's chameleonic traits. The German diva who rocked the clubs with her classic 1994 handbag-house anthem "Your Loving Arms," returns to the world with a self-released second solo album and she remains just as incredible and underrated as ever. This is an album that veers miles away from the Europop sheen that made "Deadline For My Memories" successful, but she does so without alienating her fans. Her heartfelt lyrics and soaring vocals turn "Where Fools Rush In" from what could sonically be a cousin to the Spice Girls' Motown-etched "Stop" into a full-fledged pop classic in the making. BRM doesn't stop there, she revisits the drum and bass sound she explored on the King B mix of "Honey" with "Systems Of Silence" and "Crime Of Passion" (which manages to namecheck her biggest hit). Then there's the torchy, anthemic ballad "Anyone Will Do For A Heartache," the sassy Memphis soul of "18 Carat Garbage;" the brilliant Dido-esque ambience of "Ten Minutes On A Tuesday Afternoon In Buffalo" and the soul-stirring down-home, get down of the disc's first single "I've Never Been To Memphis." Billie Ray is as essential as ever, as artistic writer, but without alienating the masses; a soulful singer without pointless wailing. A brilliant album from a brilliant artist.

Billie Ray Martin is talented beyond her years. In a just world, "Eighteen Carat Garbage" would be on a major labor and every American critic's top ten list.

Billie just happened to pour her entire soul into each track. The girl went to Memphis, careful not to drag that train of her dress, to record with Memphis soul legends Willie Mitchell, Ann Peebles, and Carla Thomas. She spent many a lonely night perfecting the melodies and lyrics (some of which had been haphazardly released without her permission three years ago). She took time and care in making this opus the joy it is--indeed, each new listen makes me love it more. It's a lot like Elton John's early albums--commercial yet a tad bizarre, very artistic, melancholy, inventive to say the least. Nostalgic. It's very fitting that BRM covers Elton's "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters." She really makes it her own, and makes you feel it in a way that Elton never even managed.

"Systems of Silence" is a hyperkinetic beat poem; "I've Never Been to Memphis" is a liberating country stunner; "Ayone Will Do For a Heartache" is, quite simply, heartbreaking; "Where Fools Rush In" is a soon-to-be pop classic. The album is filled with classic moments, so I recommend you pick it up now!

I have been listening to this album for over a year, and it just keeps getting better and better. This diverse group of songs succeeds on just about every count, and Billie Ray Martin's voice is a soul-stirring, euphoric, totally unique delight. Everyone I play this for falls in love with it. Splendid.

I understand (from BRM's own website) that prototype artwork for this album showed our heroine seated on a very industrial-looking lav, suggestive of something you might find in a psychiatric hospital. Not very Wal-Mart-friendly, perhaps, but, sadly, even a "safer" approach failed to help propel this masterwork to the massive commercial success it deserved.
Everything other reviewers have said about 18-Carat Garbage applies, and more. This woman is clearly a perfectionist, taking her music in more of a soulful direction than on Deadline For My Memories, but with arrangements which cross over from 60s-style R&B instrumentation to the cool electronica we're familiar with from Billie Ray. It's all great, but standout tracks include the title track, which has a deliciously understated horn section and holds up against anything you might hear at the House of Blues. It's a duet with the legendary Ann Peebles, who also pops up elsewhere in the album, notably the fine ballad Ten Minutes On Tuesday Afternoon In Buffalo. There's the obligatory touch of gospel revival on Legends That Die, while Anyone Will Do For A Heartache is a torch song showcasing BRM's ever-witty writing.
My copy also has a bonus track of Elton John's Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters. Different arrangement to anything else on the album (very true to the original), but it doesn't jar at all.
She's often compared to Aretha Franklin, and she can do similar things with her voice, but I'd suggest that, tonally, she's a very different singer and no less talented.
With this album, I thought Billie Ray Martin had reached the peak of her powers, surely, but then remixes of a truly innovative dance track like "Undisco Me" slip out (only on download as far as I know now, folks) and she surprises me yet again.
The latest is that, after a relatively quiet period (Billie Ray's been doing a lot of DJing, though) there are not one, but two new albums in the pipeline - one an electronic excursion as one half of a band, The Opiates. Roll on 2008!

I just got the album, it's amazing. Billy's voice is still strong and beautiful as on the Electibe 101 album from the early '90s. I'm surprised nobody knows about that album. It's kinda hard to find too but it's really good and worth searching for.

My first exposure to Billie Ray Martin was on a compilation cd a number of years ago. Since that time I track down every piece of music that she produces. She has expanded my musical horizons from dance/electronica to soul, r&b, and blues type sounds.

She can do no wrong! She has an amazing voice that gives me goose bumps. Whenever I pop her music into the deck people's ears perk up and want to hear more.

She pours alot of passion and energy into her songs. I've heard her perform the title track live on the radio. It was just her and a piano. It blew me away. That is the true test of an artist! Her music is complex and will guarantee you years of listening pleasure.