Chinese Vacation

Steve Poltz | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 23, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Immergent
• ASIN: B0000C8AWM
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #288,759 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lost Without Steve Poltz!, December 18, 2003

By 

"king_wiener" (Slaughters, Ky United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chinese Vacation (Audio CD)

The release of Steve Poltz's new album, Chinese Vacation, almost makes you entirely forget about the five and half years that have passed since his first solo release, One Left Shoe. It really is that good.

One thing I love about Steve Poltz is that he's not afraid to be humorous in one song and heartfelt in the next. The title track is bound to make you laugh with lyrics such as, "And my strength is as limp as a Chinese noodle. What the hell are you trying to feed me? Is it pork or is it poodle?" While "10 Chances" will be familiar to anyone who knows how frightening and hard it is to want to say "I love you" to someone for the first time. Also on this cd is a surprising cover of TLC's "Waterfalls." He puts his own spin on the song and it works quite well.

Personally, my favorite song on Chinese Vacation is "Music Box." It's the perfect combination of humor and sweetness. It's enough to make me jealous of any girl who gets to see him stripped down to his boxers and socks.

The album leaves us with another humor-laden song called "Give You Up For Lent." It's a humorous look into a relationship that seems to involve a lot of giving without getting anything in return.

Bottom line...Chinese Vacation is great. It was entirely worth the wait, but I do hope that I won't have to wait so long next time.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Steve Poltz, a much underated performer., September 9, 2005

By 

Jay R. Adler "Music Critic" (Massapequa,NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Chinese Vacation (Audio CD)

Steve Poltz is probably one of the finest songwriters and acoustic performers on the American scene but unfortuneately outside of California he is little known by the public. I was listening to some of his songs today in my car on the One Left Shoe and Chinese Vacation CD's and I just could not believe how powerful and prophetic a songwriter this man is. I think the difficulty in getting him exposure is that his songs like Chinese Vacation and those on One Left Shoe CD tend to be offbeat and non-commercial and very unlike what is accepted on Top Forty. But what about Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell? They all fit this pattern as well. In summation, once you acquire a Steve Poltz album, it's addictive musically and you won't stop popping them in your deck. Whether Steve fades into oblivion or somehow emerges into the next Billy Joel or James Taylor will depend on how many more people like me become totally enveloped in this outstanding artist's music. The fact that Steve's music departs from what can be considered to be mainstream in no way should minimize his astronomical talent.

Jay Adler, Massapequa, NY

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars yeah..., September 30, 2003

By 

"swetsastonical" (new york, ny) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chinese Vacation (Audio CD)

wow, wow, wow...

can't say enough good things about this cd. was quite a wait, but so worth it. used to seeing steve solo, and this disc manages to capture that, yet also adds to the songs with the perfect accompaniment. on top of that, he included some of my favorite songs (I killed walter matthau, stax, you remind me). the disc is pretty much perfect. kudos, steve. side note...if you haven't seen him live, you should see him live (how's that for flowing prose?).

amazing cd.