Customer Reviews

Etc

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

 

 

Listed details on this CD are very sparse. These 14 songs are outtakes from '96 - 2000 and sound like a sister CD to "Love Story". Acoustic melancholy pop with tasty guitar fills from Quine and of course the strong singing of Lloyd. I do not recommend this for curious newcomers. Buy every LC solo album and Commotions album first, then get this. First the bad news, it is only 37 minutes long, has four short instrumentals and two okay cover songs. The packaging is lame: little info, stupid cover image, and a photo of Lloyd from a 1987 Commotions compilation. Jeez, couldn't they have found a picture from the 90's at least! The good news is that there are eight original songs (with vocals) that no true fan should be without. They range from really good to excellent!

So what does this guy have to do in order to finally get airplay? Since his days with the Commotions, Lloyd Cole has continued to produce songs of remarkable emotional maturity, all with the distant coolness not seen since the early days of Brian Ferry. Once again, he has released a collection of songs that defies classification, yet continues to reward those with an ear for great sentimental pop music. I've often considered him to be one of the best American songwriters of late, as I do Aimee Mann who finally broke through with her contributions to the Magnolia soundtrack. Perhaps a future movie producer with excellent taste will see fit to present Lloyd Cole's talent for the world to enjoy.

While Lloyd once again delivers his trademark earnestness and immediacy to "Etc," the album's undeniable beauty and power would have been impossible without the stinging guitar work of Robert Quine, who committed suicide this past May following the death of his wife. Quine, whose gloriously raucous work on Lou Reed's "The Blue Mask" is the stuff of immortality, lends a sublime melancholy to this album that reflects the deadly pain he was approaching. Lloyd's incomparable cover of Bob Dylan's "You're A Big Girl Now" is brought to life by Quine's sonically boundless and echoing guitar licks, while his quieter performances throughout the set imply the maturity both he and Cole brought to the table to make this one of the finest albums of Cole's career. The biting courage of songs such as "Love Like This Can't Last" and "Memphis" is matched in power only by the instant classic "Alright People," one of the few songs on the album that aspires toward the musical adventurousness achieved on the brilliant "The Negatives." While the disappointing story of Cole's failure to connect with a wider audience is tragic, there is a kind of selfish pleasure in feeling as though gems like "Etc" are secrets his fans can claim for themselves. Although, I am willing to bet that anyone who listens to this album will agree that it is a secret more people ought to be in on.

I can only assume that this, and, what is in my view, its partner CD; "Plastic Wood" were released to meet some contractual commitment with the label. Perhaps not but they are both scraping the proverbial barrel in my view. I never thought that I would say that about anything to do with Lloyd Cole. I have followed him throughout his career, seen him live on numerous occasions and feel sorry for anyone who buys this CD as an introduction to the artist. Please, please do not be put off. The rest of his catalogue is mostly wonderful, occasional just plain good and never not worth listening to.

while i agree lloyd cole is a wonderful song writer, he is from scotland, not america.

cheers

All of Lloyd's work is fantastic. However, to correct two prior incorrect reviews. Lloyd Cole is English, from Buxton in Derbyshire in fact. He first came to fame in Glasgow with Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, so many people think he is Scottish. He now lives in Massachusetts, so some think he is American. But, he is from jolly old England.