Customer Reviews

Eve

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3 star:		(1)
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I'm amazed no one else has reviewed this great cd. It's quite well known, at least in musicians circles. I first heard this disc about three years ago and I immediately found much to love about it. OTR is a compulsively independant band-so much so that they released some of their earlier discs without any cover/liner note inserts at all-you just get the disc and the back tray card (I'm assuming that is why there is no 'cover' art here). When the music is this good, who cares about anything else!? Their music is also a bit tricky to categorize. It runs the gamut from hard rockers ("Within, without" & "Daddy untwisted") to gorgeous blues ("My love is a fever") to acoustic folk/pop ("Melancholy room" & "June" which sounds a lot like something Pink Floyd would have written 25 years ago...)

Essential.

If Over The Rhine had ever hopes of hitting it big, it was with "Eve', their third studio album, issued in 1994. Remember, this was the time "alternative" rock was ruling the nation, and with this album, OTR rode the alternative wave (while staying true to its own ingenious roots). The original line-up (Karen, Linford, Ric and Brian) had been playing together for 5 years by now, and really hit all cylinders on this one.

The opener "Happy With Myself" was the radio-friendly track and hoped for "mass" exposure track. Great tunes follow one after another, including among others "Within Without", "Conjectures" (with Ric's awesome guitar licks), "Sleep Baby Jane" (still a concert fave after all these years), "Daddy Untwisted", the bluesy "My Love Is A Fever". Wow... what a collection! OTR was never better.

On the (literal) "eve" of the album's release in August 1994, OTR gave a free concert at Cincinnati's Eden Park. I remember Karen urging everyone the go out and buy the album in the first week of release, in the hope of getting on the Billboard 200 chart. The hoped-for mass success didn't materialize, for whatever reason, but no matter. This is OTR's best studio album, period. "Films For Radio" comes close, but not quite. This is OTR in their classic line-up at their best. BUY IT!

there are a few songs in this lifetime that just grab you the first time you hear them and then somehow their inpactfulness never seems to decline. sleep baby jane is one of those precious few songs. while over the rhine are a good group and eve is a strong offering, it is this song alone that merrits attention above most other albums.

I normally, don't write reviews, but I find myself writing this review mainly to proselytize the wayward fan base of OtR that continually swoons with merriment the more dull and boring an OtR album sounds. It's as if there's unsaid rule out there that music is more thoughtful, introspective, mature, etc. if it doesn't have drums, bass, a tempo above 75 BPM, and maybe even some evil distorted guitar.

One of the things that made Over the Rhine dangerous and interesting in their heyday was the contrast of their live show. In fact, any art fundamentally is best served via its 'contrast.' From a visual perspective, this involves using negative space, forced perspective, color, saturation, or value contrast. Musically, this is best created in 'Eve'. You have the thoughtful brooding, introspection. But that introspection is made that much more meaningful by the anger and aggression displayed on some tracks. 'Falling', 'Melancholy Room', 'Sleep Baby Jane' are made that much more dynamic with the inclusion of 'Happy With Myself?', 'Daddy Untwisted', 'Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander', etc.

This contrast is missing with the albums the current fan base routinely fawns over, such as 'Ohio' and 'Good Dog, Bad Dog'. You have 'boring' contrasted with 'more boring'. It's the auditory equivalent of horse tranquilizers. Style aside, there just doesn't seem to be that songwriting spark or ear for melody anymore.

This of course bleeds over to live shows. I remember when people actually (gasp) stood and danced. Now, everyone sits and doesn't move because it might mess up their nice clothing. And they might sweat. I went to their Christmas show this year (2011) and felt myself getting tired and falling asleep. Such things should not be happening at a 'rock' concert.

Anyways, I'm still listening to Eve 17 years later, and personally, it's up there on my 'deserted island' listening list. And it's not because it's livelier, but it's also because from a songwriting perspective, these songs are a cut above, lyrically and otherwise.

And to be fair, I do think there are some really solid tunes on their most recent album. Especially the song 'Undamned'. This is one of their best songs ever. So don't think I'm one of those fans that ceaselessly complain that my favorite band changed stylistically.