Customer Reviews

Falling Farther In

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Falling Farther In," OP's second album/CD, bears out the potential evident in their lush, darkly gothic debut. For anyone wanting a "bottom line" review before I dig into details, I'd call this "alterna-goth-pop," with all of the best of many genres present (intelligence, originality, accessibility, a brooding sensibility) with none of the crappy trappings (disposability, suicide-inducing hopelessness, hard on the ears).

Musically, the album manages to be both cohesive and wonderfully diverse. Richly textured with great production and musical depth, the songs range from anthemic, acoustic introspection ("Deep As You Go") to sweeping, lush ballad ("If I Could") to driving, percussion-punctuated rock ("Funeral in His Heart"). "Sunday Morning Yellow Sky" is a stand out track in these regards; driving bass line, sharp guitar strings and a full band to fill in between (and it's hip-swayingly groovy, too). "Something More Than This" features a fluid, rolling piano sound that really builds with the song's themes of ache and hope.

Even more, the music is emminently accessible. Unlike many musical "ar-teests" who seem to think it's their job to create music that's truly work to listen to, OP crafted a very accessible collection of songs with FFI. Whether you're grooving along with the melody or hearing the refrain in your head, the music on this CD was made to be pleasing to your ears (as well as your spirit).

Of course, it's not just OP's music that makes it distinctive. Mary Fahl's voice is in full power here - and I don't mean that she belts it out whenver possible like Celine Dion. Fahl makes full use of her vocal range, as well as being very comfortable singing or even talking quietly. To be sure, her voice soars and swoons, but it's always in service to the song and story, not as a showboat kind of effort. If you've never heard Mary Fahl before, I envy you the joy of hearing her for the first time: she's the brooding pop sister of Trisha Yearwood, someone with a sweet, strong voice that knows how to infuse it with life's sorrow and passion.

Lyrically, FFI is miles ahead of OP's debut. I'd consider the debut album the equivalent of a high school senior's (or perhaps college freshman's) take on poetry and gothic storytelling: you can feel the talent and potential, but it's struggling to breath through the conventions and cliches of the form. With FFI, OP's songwriters really break through. The lyrics are specific, intelligent, literate and meaningful. The album cascades with references to Alice in Wonderland, the 1993 tragedy in Waco, Texas, mid life crisis, the struggle to be a better lover/person, and more. There's a definite undertone of spirituality in the lyrics that's never preachy, always reaching.

And while I DO rate this album with Amazon's highest rating, there are a couple of misfires: tracks 5 and 7. They're not horrible, by any means, but compared to the rest of the album, they're fairly bland and unremarkable. "Johnny" is a tad didactic, while "After the Fall" fails to excite.

But that leaves 9 great songs, a feat by any standard. I can't even pick "stand outs" from the 9 because they're all just incredibly good. Start discovering the richness hidden here - you'll be glad you did.

Postscript: there's a certain amount of irony in that this album is STILL in print, long after Sony deemed OP not commercially viable.

After listening to the music of their first album, i eagerly awaited the second one, hoping that when it was produced, the band would have kept its original members and of course that unique 'Project Sound'. It was so easy to distinguish October Project from the majority of 'noise' that floods our airwaves on a day to day basis. However it seemed that the buying public just wasn't ready for too drastic a change, so this album was their last, even though it got more exposure than their first one.'Falling farther in' kept their familiar style going, but by now the lyrics had matured, and while a few felt that it fell short of their first album, this was actually a better album than the first in many ways. Julie Flanders lyrics are simply outstanding, she just gets them right each and every time, and with Mary Fahls fantastic voice, these songs virtually come alive with emotion. The last song on the album 'If i could' has got to be one of the best songs ever written, with its smooth methodical style and love ballad lyrics, this is undoubtably the 'Project' at its best. Not to be outdone, the other songs carry the listener to an assortment of various tempos and styles that show how an album should be produced. The song 'Something more than this' gives the listener a window into just how much range and depth Marys voice can achieve, this lady is a gift to the music world . It is unfortunate now that the group is not together anymore, however recently Mary has gone solo with a very limited four song album, maybe she feels that by doing this, now is the time for a reunion of the band.

October Project is history. Epic Records dropped them inexplicably in 1996 after this album was released. I was lucky to catch their concert at Town Hall, NYC, that year. Mary Fahl has one of the truly great voices in rock and folk-rock (worthy of comparison with Annie Haslam of Rennaisance, Maddy Prior of Steeyeye Span, Jacqui McShee of Pentangle). Fahl is working on a solo album (managramusic.com) and the OP songwriting team has a new group November Project (novemberproject.com) with an EP. But the two albums by October Project are a GREAT legacy in themselves. Listen and be captivated!

Fans who thought that October Project -- the highly acclaimed New York-based band whose 1993 self-titled debut album sold over 200,000 copies -- had fallen off the face of the earth can take heart. OP's founders -- songwriting team Julie Flanders and Emil Adler -- have assembled a group of deeply talented musicians entitled November Project. Like its predecessor, November Project is a uniquely compelling musical experience -- an exceptionally tight, charismatic ensemble creating a sound of such energy and magic that it takes your breath away.

October Project signed with Epic Records in 1993, made two gorgeous well-selling albums, toured the US and Europe, and in 1996 was dropped inexplicably. It was a mortal blow. "We all went back to our day jobs," says Adler. "It was not an easy time," remembers Flanders, who had just given birth to the son she has with Adler, and who lost her mother soon afterwards. "We had to go through so much to get to where we are now. We know November Project is the right thing at the right time. We love it."

Come and visit the new project at http://www.novermberproject.com and http://www.mp3.com/novemberproject

It is a terrible loss that October Project was broken up so soon. They have two CDs. Both are on my desert island list. (My short list of CDs that MUST go with me when I'm stranded)
Both CDs are full body of some great music that will reach into your soul. Wonderful melody. The members parted ways after being dropped from their label but the parts don't equal the whole. Both continued doing good music...but this is great. I compare it to a couple Delerium, Sarah McLachlan, or Sinead O'Connor's discs where it's so beautiful and powerful at the same time it's almost a religious experience. We are left with only two of these wonderful gifts.

For all OP fans. November project (Emil Adler, and Julie Flanders (the amazing OP writers and musicians) are now joined by Maryanne Marina (new lead singer) on a pretty good CD-5. The new band name didn't impress me, but the musical sound and the vocals did. Mary Fahl and Maryanne have different voices. Both very beautiful, but Mary's carrying more uniqueness. I am pleased that we'll now have two bands to enjoy...the new November Project and the new Mary Fahl (not sure of the band name) songs. Both are presently touring.

This album their last before everything fell apart, has many wonderful songs on it, but one little gem stands out from all the others and is the one you must have. "If I Could" is a simple yet eloquent love song, the last song, on their final album. I witnessed the magic of this song first hand not long ago. Mary Fahl was on tour to promote her new solo release "The Other Side of Time". During her show as she was about to introduce the next song, a man courageously walked up to the stage and asked Mary if she would sing "If I Could" because this was the song that he and his wife fell in love to. The audience erupted in applause and encouragement. Mary being the consummate professional handled this unexpected request with a beautiful rendition played solo with her acoustic guitar.

Discover for yourself the magic of this song as it gently works its way into your heart and stays for a long, long time.

Run, run fast to get this cd if u still can. October Project's second album is in short, a miracle. It has now been about 8 years and this cd has not left the top twenty five I carry with me everywhere I go. Mary Fahl's voice will instantly reduce you to tears in a minute. It is hard to describe the band but I feel it can be described as a bit progressive, singer-songwriter, once in a lifetime band. The band features great writing and lyrics and vocals by THE BEST vocalist I have ever heard!!!! The songs lean between light, dark,and sensual landscapes of life. The first song, Deep As You Go is amazing and when you listen to the msuic and Mary's voice, you wonder how you made it without this album. Sunday Morning takes you to a Sunday morning and describes it so good, you get lost in the lyrics and taken away. Funeral in His Heart is an upbeat song about one's heart and soul dying for a moment, what a song!!!! Falling Further in features great guitar work and is a bit harder then some of the other songs. If I Could has to be the most lovely romantic, emotonal song I have ever heard, done with just Mary's voice and an acoustic guitar, BEAUTIFUL. Unfortunately, the band is no longer together so if you find this, buy two of them because you will wear one out. Also, get the first album which is just as good!!!

Great album with astonishing depth - lovely vocals intertwined with a richly arranged wall of sound. Pop this puppy along with the other October Project CD in the player, start up a fire and curl up with a good book. In the meantime, the starving artists of October Project are trying to get a new inititive called "November Project" off the ground. The MP3 site has posted two of their tunes that demonstrate much of their talent, along with a recount of their victimization by the MusicIndustrial Complex. I wish them luck and look forward to buying their next CD.

Consistently fabulous sounds. Great sounding band, haunting vocals. You have never heard music quite like this (unless, of course, you have their first album). Uniform sound that is somehow haunting, mellow, sanguine and upbeat at the same time. One fabulous track after the other and every note is crystal clear.

This is music you can have playing loudly in your car, or softly in the office... sounds that are somehow appropriate for every occaision and every location.

If more stars were available, they would be given. Shame for Epic for not promoting this awesome band and ground-breaking sound and then dropping a group that should have been making platinum records by now.