Fear of Success

Caleb | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 6, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Umvd Labels
• ASIN: B0000584XF
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #377,951 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Atmospheric 80s style enhanced pop, May 10, 2003

By 

Dean Wuksta (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fear of Success (Audio CD)

'She Likes The Attention'is the strongest song on the album,I heard it at the end of a movie and really liked the drumming style, which is consistent throughout the album. Caleb has an interesting vocal style and is a very versatile instrumentalist. I can hear Sting, Ben Lee and also a hint of Michael Franks in his melodic style.The production is pretty slick, this gives it that eighties vibe, lots of percussion loops and retro synth sounds, but with a lot of real musos in the compositions, it's never static...a sit & listen album.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Promising beginning, May 20, 2001

By 

Lee Armstrong (Winterville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fear of Success (Audio CD)

Caleb is an amazing arranger. He plays and uses a variety of instruments on Fear of Success. Although his melodic sense is monotonous and his lyrics cram more words than the meager melodies can accommodate, because of his brilliance in arrangement it still comes as a quite interesting mix, worthy of repeated listening. "Welcome" opens the CD with a peppy beat and a thin lyric line, "Wecome to the world of entertainment ... cause they're going to knock you down." The next track highlights percussionist Bashiri Johnson who helped make the tracks "Gardenia Talk," "Sweet Dream Fade," and the title track of Laura Nyro's posthumous CD "Angel in the Dark" so amazing. On "Blue" he makes the track percolate; and Caleb throws in a sitar to give a different texture. There are nice harmony vocals on "I Fall to Pieces" as Caleb sings, "Here comes the lines of fiction, the contradictions." Josh Neretin's tabla starts "Pick Yourself Up" where Caleb lists, "What we want, we can't get; What we need, we've never had." My least favorite track on the CD is "Sally Doesn't Call Me Anymore." I see other reviewers have enjoyed this one, but for me there is not much suggestion in the lyrics. When Caleb sings, "I'd rather see her dead than alive," to me it seems like Sally made a wise choice not to see him. Caleb is trapped on "These Four Walls," "Come and get me out of these four walls, conjure up a life that's pleasing, when will I get these?" "In Motion" is more chant than song, but the instrumental variety makes the material interesting. "Throw Down Your Weapons" has a unique guitar part. It made me think that Caleb might be reaching for a sound like David Gray achieved on "White Ladder." For me the most successful and best cut comes near the end with "She Likes the Attention." The lyrics rise above the mundane with, "Does she not make my heart beat a little faster, and doesn't she move me like a natural disaster?" The chorus is infectious, "She can't stop turning it on and on and on." Radio programmer should start with this one! This is a promising start for Caleb. He's got a lot going for him. He's worth a listen!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pop Musicality, February 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Fear of Success (Audio CD)

This new record by Caleb is a breath of fresh air in the all but dead pop market. His songs are upbeat and musical, with a four on the floor drum groove and a bassline that makes your heart quiver. Truly I have not heard such originality on a pop record since Peter Gabriel's "So." From the haunting "Sally Doesn't Call Me Any More" to the sitar tinged "Blue," Caleb is a new force to be reconed with. Now only if the public will get behind him.