Customer Reviews

Cruise

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

 

 

This album is another intriguing and fascinating progression for Whitehouse. Other reviewers summed it up perfectly. But don't buy this album from these clowns here at atrocious prices, instead go to soleilmoon.com at buy it there for $19.99. Don't be a sucker!

(My original review seems to have disappeared, so forgive me if this shows up twice.)

With Cruise, the Whitehouse sound is growing increasingly sophisticated and polished while still maintaining the jarring intensity it has been known for since the days of Come Org. The title track, Cruise: Force the Truth, has a psychological subtlety and social commentary to it rare to Whitehouse and is one of their best songs. And Philip Best's vocals on it are furious; he's grown into one of the best vocal extremists of all time. Track 2, Princess Disease, is also classic power noise. Sotos' found-sound collage, "Public", is the best of the three pieces he has made for the band on this and other albums. And "Dance the Desperate Breath" mixes things up with whispered- but still terrifying- lyrics and a softer, found-sound background. My only complaints are that the instrumental tracks, "Movement 2000" and "Scapegoat"- like most Whitehouse instrumentals- are simplistic and boring. And though the last track- whose title I don't think I'm even allowed to type here- is great, it is repackaged from a previous album, and should have been resampled.

If you're already a Whitehouse collector, the previous complaints may detract from the albums' value, but it's still worth buying for the first two tracks alone. If you're just now finding Whitehouse, this is a perfect starting point. From here on out, Whitehouse albums should appeal to a wider audience. For anyone who hasn't heard them yet, these guys' stock and trade is blasting you with continuous streams of noise bordering on the physically painful, without harmony or melody, creating a hypnotic, sadomasochistic listening experience. And overlaying the sound textures are furious vocals exploring rape, torture, and other extreme subject matter, and making social statements that reject not only the mainstream, but nearly all of existence.

If you're on a search for extremes in music and art as I am, Whitehouse is the last stop on your journey.

This contains seven songs of extreme eclecticism and a musical style perhaps totally unique to this band. Highly recommended.

When I first listened to "Three Chord Opera," I felt that it was okay but that none of the songs seemed to be earmarked for "standard" status. The more I listened to it, though, the more different songs began to appeal to me in different ways. First of all the arrangements: I usually prefer the ballads and I immediately found "You Are the Best Part of Me" memorable and gradually warmed to "Midnight Dream" (it has that "epic" feel to it), "Elijah's Song" (a beautiful lullabye) and "My Special Someone" (after "Canta Libre" and "Carmelita's Eyes," the third in his Spanish trilogy). However, "At the Movies" was clearly a fun song from the word go and it didn't take long for me to appreciate what the Tower of Power horns add to "Baby Let's Drive," "Mission of Love" and "Don't Look Down." Perhaps influenced by this, I felt that the album slowed down a bit too much at the end. Then the lyrics: "I Haven't Played This Song in Years" harkens back to the devastatingly personal tone of "If You Know What I Mean." It took me a few listenings to figure out how the gospel song ("Leave a Little Room for God") and the singalong ("Turn Down the Lights") fit into the mix. An eclectic set, but one that makes no concessions to "the times." As a friend of mine said, "He wrote what he wanted to write." And, yes, he did write a couple of new standards!