The Coral [ENHANCED]

The Coral

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 4, 2003)
• Original Release Date: July 29, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00008J2Q9
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,167 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Alternative Rock > Alternative Styles > Rock > Neo-Psychedelia

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
While the fiery rock & roll spirit of the La's Lee Mavers courses through their veins, the debut album by youthful Liverpudlian mystics the Coral prove they are far more than Merseybeat imitators. The opening "Spanish Main" ("We've set sail again! / We're heading for the Spanish Main!") casts the sextet as marauding pirates, out to pillage musical history for loot. It's possible to hear the influence of everything from Captain Beefheart to Miles Davis, from Spanish mariachi music to Cossack dance rhythms, surfacing between the tight, ragged grooves of "I Remember When" and "Shadows Fall." This album is stuffed to bursting point with ideas that are presented with remarkable clarity. Highlights are the curious, swooping fable of "Simon Diamond" and the insane "Skeleton Key," which finds frontman James Skelly croaking, "Solid gold skeleton key / Opens the most intricate lock / Brother, roll another for me / I am shipwrecked on the rocks!" as his bandmates caw like parrots in the background. --Louis Pattison

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best CD of 2002, July 3, 2003

By	HelpMeMonday (NY) - See all my reviews

I first Heard the Song "dreamin' of you" on Conan O'brian and I really I liked it, and I thought the rest of the CD was gonna be like that song. The rest of the CD didn't sound like the Song too much but i was blown away by the songs any way. After listening to it I wished it was foggy out so I can go on a boat, in to the ocean and Get the full Coral experience.

Favorite Tracks:
Shadows Fall - the harmonies in this track are unbalievable. It is a really smooth song with some saxophones and psychedelic keyboards. Very Psychedelic.
Dreamin' Of You - When I heard this track I thought The Coral were a strokes type band since this song reminds me of them. Anyway, Its a really cool ubbeat love song with a nice guitar solo.
WildFire - A good neo-psychedelic sea shanty. All I can say.

BUY THIS CD

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not since the Stone Roses...., March 5, 2003

By	R. sigler "kozmo99" (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After buying music from the UK scene since I was fifteen, the freshness was wearing off - until now. The last album that had this kind of impact on me was Oasis' "Morning Glory", and that album has always been a guilty pleasure. Before that, only one other release gave me goosebumps - The Stones Roses debut lp. Now, The Coral ain't the Roses, but it's better than almost any of the overhyped records from last year, including the Queens Of The Stoneage (ok, a U.S. band) and The Music, which were just "ok", at best. So, what's so special about this one - it's so over-the-top, with pop, psych, reggae and anything else they thought would fit into the stew. But, the main thing that makes it work is that it never sounds derivative, as so many other guitar acts do. There's a bit of Beefheart, Beatles, Wedding Present and lord knows what else. It's not going to be to everyone's taste, but if you give it a chance, you'll find this to be one of the most rewarding acts to come out of the UK in years.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tired of new retro? Hear's a breath of VERY fresh air., March 6, 2003

By	P. Funky (Tampa, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

I am a fan of new retro bands like The Walkmen, The Strokes, Frech Kicks, The Hives, etc, etc. But it gets old at times. When I saw this band, The Coral, on Conan O'Brien a week or so ago, I was immediately at attention. They played the song "Dreaming Of You". I just knew that I had to hear more. As soon as I did, I immediately began to wonder how I would possibly describe them to my friends. I can hear so many old Rock n'Roll influences in the music, that it's hard to pick one. The Beatles is the best way to describe it, in a different way than other bands. If you ask most rock bands nowadays the top five bands that influenced them the most, 9 out of 10 would say The Beatles, but, for The Coral, it is in a much more direct sense. I wouldn't be surprised if they started as a Beatles cover band by the way they sound, in the same way that is not surprising in the least bit that The Vines started as a Nirvana cover band. But don't think for a second that only Beatles fans will be interested. I am a mainly ska and punk (or ska-punk if you'd prefer to mix the two) guy myself. But this is still one of my favorite new bands, along with Authority Zero, Maroon 5 and Andrew W.K. See what I mean about varied musical tastes loving this band? This is the most original, incredible music I've heard in a LONG time.