Customer Reviews

Dirty Mind

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't know who this girl is but she is obviously a pop genius. I fell in love with her the first time I heard her sing. There are so many hits on this CD, I wouldn;t be surprised if Norah Jones or Alicia Keys did covers just to spruce up their career. "Never Been Hurt" is going to be played at every prom this spring. It's the soundtrack to every John Hughes film never made. I hope she goes on tour. I am dying to hear her in person. I just wish song two were written about me, and "Don't You Want to Know What it WOuld be Like?" YES! YES! YES!

I first heard Sara Melson singing "Feel it Coming" on Youtube, and right away I wanted to hear more from her, so I bought the album "Dirty Mind." The first time you hear Sara Melson singing, depending on which song you're listening too, you might hear hints of Nora Jones, Mazzy Star, or even Kim Carnes. But after you listen to more of her music, you realize that she is that rare breed, an original singer. Sara Melson is incredibly special, with a lovely voice like no one else.

The songs on Sara's "Dirty Mind" album are rich in depth - warm, sometimes powerful, sometimes playful, always tender. The lyrics are pure poetry, and it doesn't take long to realize that this music comes from a beautiful mind. From the playful "Anywhere and Anytime" to the hauntingly beautiful "Happy Endings," this is a great album.

I think women will love this album because the songs are straight from the heart of a woman, nothing hidden, everything bared, and they will relate to it. Men, like myself, will hear the tenderness of a woman, in poetry, in song. It will surely scare us, it did me....but we will know the inside of a woman like we've never known it before. That is the power of Sara Melson's music, and it is an incredibly beautiful thing to hear.

Every song on this record is strong, and the playing and singing is gorgeous. I heard the amazing "Feel It Coming" on Grey's Anatomy. In fact, there's not one filler track on here. After only one listen, I found myself singing the songs over and over again in my head at random times throughout the day. "Never Been Hurt" is one of the most arresting and soothing songs I've ever heard, in a very real way. There's nothing fake or contrived about this artist, which in today's music world is so refreshing (and rare). I get the feeling that despite the saucy title, this girl has some very enlightened spiritual stuff to share with the world. This record will inspire you. Get it.

Sara Has such amazing Talent! Her song Feel it Coming is just AMAZING, she has a beautiful voice and there is so much emotion in her songs and lyrics!! This will make my TOP LIST OF 2008 Albums. Check out her YOU TUBE Viedos and Yahoo page, as you will see she is quickly becoming very very popular!

Sara Melson has always distanced herself from the pack of pretty (but pretty forgettable) singer/songwriters by staging visceral live shows and releasing a series of beautiful EPs. Sara's voice packs the phonetic warmth and emotional wallop of Neko Case; and the brutal, raw vulnerability of early Liz Phair. The tango of her breathtaking vocals and a soaring, cinematic guitar solo on an early version of "Happy Endings" is one of favorite musical moments this decade. That said, my expectations were high for her major label debut, "Dirty Mind" and I'm thrilled to report this glistening disc does not disappoint. The album kicks off with a triumphant battle cry (Feel it Coming) that is one of the most euphoric album openers since Arcade Fire's "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)." Every song from there on builds the momentum. "Anywhere Anytime" is sped up, and dare I say it, a bit country-fied from an earlier version - and it is a blast to listen to. In fact, many of her early demos receive dramatic re-interpretations on the album, providing a real treat for her longtime fans. When you listen to Sara's exquisite lyrics, you remember the lovers you let slip away and later realized were too good for you. "Never Been Hurt" (which provided the soundtrack for the spellbinding season finale of "South of Nowhere") just may be the most candid, brutally honest song about the beginning of a relationship since Material Issue's "The Very First Lie." All of the songs provided here successfully walk the same line - themes anyone falling into and out of love can identify with, wrapped in haunting melodies and monster hooks that would become timeless radio classics in a perfect world. In many ways, this solo debut feels like more like a band album, since Karl D'amico (guitar), Kane McGee (drums) and Austin Nicholsen (bass) are clearly ready to blow the roof off arenas with these songs. One final critique: Sara is the latest in a string of adventurous singings by Nettwerk (Ladytron, Felix da Housecat). Any other label would have probably urged the producers to over-process Sara's vocals so she would sound just like everyone else. Thankfully, the vocals remain pure and the songs will be just as powerful in twenty years as they are today.

I fell in love with Sara's writings and voice after I listened to her songs on Facebook and YouTube. Her songs, "Never Been Hurt," "Turquoise Sky," and "Happy Endings," are as beautiful in substance as they are in Sara's execution. I've seen Sara in concert too - She's a wonderful performer.

The only caveat with "Dirty Mind" is that I prefer her video version of "Happy Endings" (on YouTube) to the one she recorded on her CD. Nevertheless, "Happy Ending" is a classic, and the entire CD is well worth having in your collection.

I bought this album on the strength of hearing "Anywhere, Anytime" on a reputable music blog and I have to say, that tune is an entirely likeable little pop excursion. I find myself chair dancing every time it wiggles to the top of the shuffle heap. The rest of the album, however, is too full of post teeny bop guitar pop in all of its vacuous majesty.

"Dirty Mind" screams its intentions when you first pick up the album. The cover is a tableau of a fetching, doe eyed lass (Melson) lying in a field of clover, staring dreamily into the distance. Hearts and flowers (and lingerie) dominate the inside pages of the booklet to the point where you assume (hope) that a bit of sly, tongue in cheek humor is a play. A single listening will dash those hopes and assumptions and replace them with the sinking feeling that Melson dutifully cranked each song out on the strength of a single phrase, with the "Dictionary of Trite Rhymes" close at her elbow. Even the album title is an instruction to the listener as to how to listen, as she leads you by the nose to her imaginary bedroom.

These are pleasant ditties of limerick meter, sophomoric rhyme and pedestrian meaning.

Hey, but if you're into that type of stuff...