Customer Reviews

Fevers & Mirrors

5 star:		(82)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Judging by the reviews on Amazon for Connor's latest releases, there has been an incredible amount of backlash against Bright Eyes. Yes, the Jay Leno performance and the whole Winona thing were a bit much. And yes, it is insulting to Bob Dylan to be compared to Connor Oberst or anyone other than Bob Dylan, but come on.

If Connor is now considered mainstream, then I am hard-pressed to find an artist more emotive, but not necessarily sincere, than he is in the wasteland that is pop music today. I remember being in college and being given this record by a dear friend who was from Omaha and attended the same high school as Oberst. Connor's music was very dear to him and I decided to give Fevers a try. What I discovered was something truly special.

This album changed my perspective on music and broadened my horizons past classic and radio-friendly rock into lots of truly wonderful indie music. This is coming from a guy who used to believe that Nirvana's In Utero was the best album ever produced in the 90's (it is damn good though).

I believe Connor was only 19 when he wrote and recorded this material and I will be surprised if he ever surpasses it. From the first track through the last, there is nothing on this album that I would ever skip over. I don't know if this says more about me than I'd care to admit, but I'm 24 now and I still relate to this material.

If you've ever been clinically depressed, then you may instantly connect with this album because it is sincere in it's depression, as others have accused it of faking. They've obviously never been "there". I agree with a previous reviewer, I own many, many albums and this will always be placed near the top of my collection. Don't do yourself a favor and rush out to buy it, because you may not like it and you may end up writing an unfair, scathing review on this incredibly corporate, though very useful website. I personally hope you don't, so I have less one person to get angry with. After all, I need to keep this close to my heart where it will always belong.

I imagine that one day in the eventuality of history some person will rediscover Conor's work and give it the respect it deserves. But I fear we will have to suffer through the incredibly uninformed and confused reviews of our lesser contemporaries until then. This is in my opinion the best Bright Eyes album offered to date. Like other reviewers, I discovered it late, after a gift of "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" sparked my interest in the band, or - more appropriately - the man.

It is everything a great album should be: haunting, brilliantly written, passionately performed. Criticism of Conor's voice is just, but only if you miss the point: nobody, nowhere, has any illusions about his voice. Some people, like myself, genuinely like it for its unique and honest qualities. But we'll be the first to admit that it wouldn't meet even the low bar set for American Idol contestants. That's the whole point of the appeal. While many musicians are 8/10's voice and 2/10's substance, Conor Oberst is 7/10's substance and 3/10's voice.

One reviewer ignorantly compared him to Eliot Smith, whom he shares zero similarities with. They're missing the point. Calling the music on Fevers & Mirrors too embellished and not honest is a joke - how many contemporary singers are really feeling what they're singing or shape their lyrics from their experiences? Not many. Conor has openly stated that he makes up stories to make his songs passionate; he fancies himself some kind of narrator to a great tragedy. Some of his songs are based around his own experiences, but he is by and large just playing a part in his music. Criticism of that, like the other, is missing the point. What he does isn't "lying" (for it to be such, he would have to claim his brother was really drowned in a tub, etc., which he never has). It is undeniable art.

It all boils down to what you listen to music for. Sound or substance. Which is it? Sound? Quit writing negative reviews of artists you do not understand and go listen to Whitney Houston. Seriously. Bright Eyes is not going to be your cup of tea. Move on and stop burdening us by for some reason we cannot understand buying every new Bright Eyes album and contributing a negative review with no fair foundation in reality.

As for those with a preference for substance? Well, welcome to our party, for one of the most exciting and compelling contemporary artists around. As Conor sings in his latest album: "Well, I could have been a famous singer / If I had someone else's voice / But failure's always sounded better." We agree.

... but it is. 5 stars? No. 5 million. When I bought this cd, I already had favorite bands. I already had albums that made me cry or gave that feeling which is deeper than tearful. I already had memorized a million songs and been mesmorized by them. And then, I found Bright Eyes. Conor Oberst writes and performs with such intensity, and I have come to the conclusion that he is God. This album makes you think. It makes you impressively and beatifully depressed. You fetus on the shower floor and sob, singing "And then the bridge disappears and I'm standing on air, with nothing holding me..." I can't get enough of it. Buy it. And don't even wait to buy Letting Off The Happiness, Every Day And Every Night, and A collection of Songs... Buy them all right now, and while you are at it, buy some stuff by Cursive and The Faint. When you get this massive package, become obsessed with one album at a time. Let yourself become really, hopelessly infatuated with each song on each album before you move on to the next. And if you were not a depressed neurotic freak to begin with, you will be a classic when you're done.

i decided to write a review about this album because i saw so many people saying that conor's voice was sickening and whiny and that his music was unbearable.

as far as his background, conor oberst is the genius behind bands such as bright eyes and desaparecidos, as well as a large part of saddle creek records and team love. he began his first band, commander venus, with members of what would later become the bands of saddle creek. he is a writer and a composer, and his music cannot be described in words.

in any given album, conor relays such emotion, rarely singing and sometimes screaming, his voice cracking in desperation. his lyrics convey amazing emotion as well as a poignantly pessimistic outlook on life. his music ranges at times from a single acoustic guitar to a full orchestra, fast to slow, soft to climatic outbursts of sound.

needless to say, bright eyes is beyond anything i can tell you. it is an experience from beginning to end in all of conor's albums, and any one you pick up will surely be amazing.

It appears that most people either love or hate Conor Oberst (singer/songwriter of Bright Eyes). His voice is full of emotion to say the least. Yes, he warbles at times, screams at times, sounds like he's on the verge of tears pretty often... This would probably annoy me but it doesn't...because his voice fits his lyrics, which are some of the best ever (in my opinion, anyway). Yes, this is depressing stuff, but that doesn't mean it's bad. I recommend buying the cd, as it is one of my absolute favorites. If you don't want to do that however, at least download the following songs:

"The Calendar Hung Itself..." This is a faster paced song than most of the others on the album. I love the lyrics "Does he walk around all day at school with his feet inside your shoes? Looking down every few steps to pretend he walks with you."

"Something Vague"

"Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh" My favorite song on the cd, and one of my favorite songs ever. This also perhaps the best example of Conor's warbling/screaming/singing on the verge of tears combination. "You tear and tear your hair from roots. From that same head you have twice removed a lock of hair you said would prove our love would never die. Well ha ha ha." You have to hear this song.

"An Attempt to Tip the Scales" The infamous "interview" is at the end of this song. Personally, I think it's pretty humorous (though slightly disturbing). I think it's just Conor Oberst's attempt at sort of laughing at himself as well as the people who make assumptions about his music. It's also interesting to hear about the symbolism of the various themes in his songs.

"A Song to Pass to Pass the Time" A great ending to an excellent cd.

If you're like me, you have grown bored of all the Sebadoh clones out there by now. All the "I-will-out-lo-fi-your-ass!" bands out there have mostly brought the genre a bad name like sequels have soiled horror films in general. Most of the true music lovers out there have probably given up on the genre when the industry started popping out CDs like "Now THAT's indie rock Vol.6". But in the few recent years a few true gems have emerged from all the dust that has accumulated on the racks of your favorite local music store. One of these gems and the ones who, according to me, really bring new spirit to the music is Bright Eyes.

Yes, some of the songs are REALLY lo-fi (television in the background?) and the frail vocals and "dollar-store-budget" production give it the standard sound. But, dear Jesus, how innovative the end result is! Amidst the beautiful melodies and the powerful, poetic texts we are offered moments of pure brilliance not usually found on this type of recording which elevate the album (and the group for that matter) over the rest. The possibilities with sounds and voices are really explored to the fullest and sometimes extremely inventive ("An attempt to tip the scales" is really the song one should hear to that affect. To witness the track go from a melodious song to a disturbing interview is amazing). None of it is flashy and these great moments punctuate the album to the tee, making it a beautiful listen, without a moment of boredom, from beginning to end.

Describing the Bright Eyes sound on the other hand, is no easy task. The best possible comparison I could make is to the films of Harmony Korine. If any of you are familiar with and enjoy his films, you will truely feel at home listening to Bright Eyes. This IS the sounds of Nowhere USA. Like the films of Korine, we focus on little everyday events and experiences, dark and disturbing secrets, differences and indifference. All of this presented in the most poetic and personal way. If you are able to pierce through the first hard layer (and there might be for the first few listens), it is impossible not to be touched deeply by what is going on on this album. Remarkable.

It doesn't take long to find out how infectous this album is. If you don't listen to it for the emotionally painful lyrics you can always fall back on the catchy tunes. I think what makes this album good is the believablity of Oberst's lyrics through his vocals which sound as if he is constantly about to cry. Some may find this annoying but as you listen to it more it becomes very much part of the music. There is a sense of put-on and a slight sense of humor in this album to make it not all doom and gloom. This is the album that introduced me to the genius of Conner Oberst and ever since I've been a fan of him and his many other bands as well. Bright Eyes has to be my favorite of his many bands since it isn't totally in your face like, say, Desparecidos. "Fevers and Mirrors", I would say, is a perfect balance of an album. It is honest, depressing, at times up-lifting, humorous, and pretentous but all great art has those qualities.

I bought this immediatley after i listened to "Lifted" and then after hearing this i went and rolled all the change I had and within a week had all Bright Eyes in existence. It hurts to listen to this b/c it is so good. You cannot go wrong w/ any B.E.'s cd. They are all so beautifully poetic, unless you are made of stone it will pull emotion out of you.

I know that some can't tolerate Conor's sometimes abrasive vocal styles, but, honestly, I can't see why. If you're a fan of artists with "beautifully imperfect" voices, Bright Eyes is a band for you. Conor has a wonderfully expressive voice that naturally flows from emotion to emotion. If you're into emo, buy this album. If you want to listen to music that'll make you cry, buy this album. If you just have a few extra bucks sitting around and you want to listen to some good music, buy this album. If you need to get a taste of Bright Eyes before buying the album, though, hop on KaZaa or Audiogalaxy and download "Something Vague" -- it's a beautiful song that will give you a good sample of Conor's work.

While listening to 'fevers and mirrors' today i felt the need to add my two cents to the reviews of this album. It is truly one of the best albums of the year 2000, without a doubt. I had not heard Bright Eyes before this album, but immediately after falling in love with this album i ran out and bought 'letting off the Happiness'.

I must say that while LOTH is good album, it is not the GREAT album that fevers and mirrors is. LOTH is more raw and isn't as perfectly orchestrated as fevers and mirrors. This album is an absolute treat for those who enjoy emotional lyrics and unique songwriting.

Even now i can't quite put my finger on it, but Conor Oburst's style of songwriting draws you in and takes you on a beautiful ride with each and every song. If it was up to me, music this good would be the only kind released. However, that would not give justice to the gem that this album truly is. I think many people are often hasty in their 5 star ratings, but in this case it is fully deserved.