Drive [ENHANCED]

Bic Runga

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 21, 1998)
• Original Release Date: July 21, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000009CZJ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #24,197 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Alternative Rock > Singer-Songwriters

Editorial Reviews

Entertainment Weekly
Drive veers ... between delicately sung acoustic dreaminess and edgy- but-not-angry guitar pop.

People
Nice and mellow on the surface, Runga's best tunes suggest the tensions hat underpin many relationships....

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing vocals, January 16, 2000

By	Jessica (Orlando, Florida) - See all my reviews

It is so refreshing to see an artist with an actual vocal range. It's is not everyone who can successfully blend a first soprano range into popular music, but Runga does it effortlessly. When I heard "Sway" the first time I was mesmerized, and I bought her cd on a whim and lucked out. It is some of the most unique, beautiful and prolific "popular music" I have ever heard. I wish there were more vocal and songwriting talents like Runga out there. So Bic, keep on crankin' out the beauties and hittin' those high notes!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God Bless Movie Soundtracks!, August 11, 2000

By	Patrick Burnett "penngos" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Without the "American Pie" soundtrack, I would never have discovered this little gem. I somehow missed the Bic Runga explosion of two years ago and only discovered this remarkable musician through a second viewing of the "American Pie" DVD.

"Sway" was, of course, the song that caught my attention, but that drove me on to buy Bic's enhanced CD immediately. While none of the other tracks have "Sway's" hypnotic, romantic quality, each is accomplished and sparkles in its own way. What makes this freshman effort more remarkable still is the fact that the Malay songstress is credited with writing, arranging, producing and with playing many of the instruments.

This is a lyrically spare album, as most of the effort seems to have gone into the impassioned vocals, but each song was cohesive and made sense within its own context, unlike the drivel produced by many artists today who are trained musically but have no sense of poetry or style. Sure, most of the songs are about silly, inconsequential things, but John Keats wrote once about a nightingale's voice and people are still reading him.

Vocally, "Drive" reminds me of Milla Jovovich's "The Divine Comedy", but this CD is musically more spare, letting Runga's lush vocals ring true.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Similar to Beth Orton . . ., December 20, 1999

By	Jon (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

. . .but with a bit of an edge. I have been smitten with Bic since April of 1998 when I was living in Sydney. She was just beginning to get airplay in Australia at the time and I bought the disc on a whim after a very brief listening in a music store. One of the best "blind" decisions I've ever made, musically.

Many of her songs have that mellow, relaxing sort of groove that Beth Orton has, but Bic knows how to rock too. She knows exactly when she needs to harden up a bit and let things explode before settling back down into her groove again ("Hey" is the perfect example of this). But the songs are not just mellow... they are catchy too. "Sway" and "Suddenly Strange" have that ring about them that will leave you humming pleasantly in the grocery store or on the bus.

Other songs just evoke so much emotion, bouncing along between her voice and the instruments. The very title song alone is enough to bring tears and make anyone a fan.

It's a shame that she doesn't get much attention in America. She definitely has the talent and presence to be a Jewel-Tori-Sarah powerpop household name. But then again, who wants to share her with the whole country? I'd rather keep her to myself.