Customer Reviews

Dear John Coltrane

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Vanessa Daou (along with her husband, the brilliant Peter Daou) continues to make exemplary music that is both sexy, soothing, intelligent, and well produced. She keeps the momentum created in her 91 debut "Head Music" (released by Sony as The Daou) which was maintained by the extremely classy "Zipless" and furthered even more by (my favorite) the avery artistic "Slow To Burn". All of her albums -and this one does it in an outstanding manner- combine in a flawless style elements of jazz, jouse, and mind stimulating poetry. "Dear John Coltrane" shows improvement over her not so well known previous effort "Plutonium Glow" (good but not as brilliant) especially on beautiful tracks like 'I cry for you' and the particularly enrapturing 'Trane Tripping.' If you have been delighted by Vanessa's previous works you are certain to enjoy this one. Those who don't know the Daou artistry but who have a taste for performers like Everything But the Girl (their most recent albums) and/or non-mainstream pop-jazz-electronica like Sneaker Pimps, Lamb,Incognito, or Mono will find this record to be a good treat to their ears and minds. If you enjoy it make sure to check out her "Slow To Burn," one of my favorite albums this decade.

Luv this album. Makes me feel sad, makes me feel trippy, makes me feel sensual, makes me feel intellectual. Vanessa Daou has created a masterpiece of "acid" jazz (some purists might place in other categories such as ambient, trip-hop, etc.). You fall in love with its ambiance from the first time that you listen to it. I certainly did...

I had never heard of this wonderful artist until one day by accident I stumbled upon it at a record store's listening booth. What a beautiful smokey atmosphere this record creates! Recommended to anyone in search of a good album to listen to while taking a bubble bath and drinking a really fine wine

I found this cd to be something out of the ordinary. I liked it very much. It really was poetry to music. Beautiful and seductive lyrics. I'm sad that Vanessa is not making music anymore. What a talent.

Vanessa and Peter have a style all their own and the results are, once again, gorgeous. Vanessa's voice is sensual and delightful, against Peter's smooth jazz-ish instrumentation.

Elegant music with emotion; wonderful!

I picked up this cd after hearing about Vanessa from a friend, and I've become an instant fan! Her singing is VERY seductive and her music has an after hours jazz feel. I'm definitely planning to check out all her other releases, once I finally get this album out of my stereo!

You've got to hand it to Peter and Vanessa Daou for remaining true to their own enigmatic muse. From the acid-jazz-fusion of their early Head Music lp, to the raw trip-hoppy sexuality of Zipless (complete with poetry of 70's feminist Erica Jong), to the darkly sensual Slow To Burn, this husband/wife team puts together meticulous, memorable albums which flirt with jazz, soul, rock, and electronica. Their new one, Dear John Coltrane, is a moody tribute built around jazzy riffs and complex rhythms, with Vanessa's sexy voice complimented by Peter's attention to musical detail- think Esthero meets Sade meets Roxy Music. Cruising right below the radar screen of the mainstream, Peter and Vanessa have followed a distinct musical vision...let's hope they can sustain it.

The best songs to me on here are the first one, "Passed" and the last one "Train Tripping" Passed really has sort of a spooky yet cool and catchy feel to it, and I love the way Vanessa's voice fits in with the mellow sound and the steady yet light drum beats. It stands out to me more than the majority of the tracks here. If it were not for this song, this cd would be almost a total let down to me, and I might have given it a 2 star rating instead of a 3.

She talks more through out the tracks than she sings it seems. That can be irritating if you were looking for more singing from this cd. But I can't knock her to much, since this is the first cd I've ever bought of Daou. That is just her style of music I guess.

I'm not into it that much, but if you really like poetry then you will probably like her style of music according to this cd. Daou has a unique style in that she mixes poetry in her music and sometimes tells a story within a song.

Why she isn't a huge star baffles me. I can play Vanessa CDs all day some days and just levitate in the coolest, happiest, love-filled space. This CD has a cut or two that are below her usual brilliance, but overall its a smash. Husband Peter - keyboard wizard - and Vanessa continue to meld retro styles with millenial chic ambient downtempo techo chill in a unique and pelvis-grooving manner. Vanessa continues to write about love in all of its carnaland transcendent facets.

It's a logical step from Plutonium Glow, Slow to Burn, and Zipless (how is it that Slow to Burn remains out of print??). I can't wait to hear her latest.

We love ya, goddess.

Kind of a second-rate Sade - there are several moments here which make the album worthwhile. A song with a title like "A Thousand Licks" couldn't be anything but sexy, and Daou's breathy vocals work well on that and several other songs.

I don't know a lot about this album, I picked it up cheap used because I liked the title and the looks of the singer on the cover. Clearly, it is some sort of love note to the late jazz great, but it would have been much nicer if she'd used actual jazz musicians as her backing rather than a whole bunch of computerized drum beats. Several of the songs refer to 'Trane directly, and the others can be interpreted as referring to him, and I think that's pretty cool.

Still, I'm left unsatiated. I can't listen to this without hearing Sade, and I think the Nigerian simply comes out on top in the sexiness category. The poor backing tracks and double-tracking of her voice leave me puzzled. Some better production would have made this much more enjoyable than it is.

If you're looking for sexy, pass this up and get Lovers Rock instead.