Customer Reviews

Field Studies

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well, I may be just another happy prole but the last two CDs from Quasi lead me to believe that there is still hope for pop music. Just how does Sam Coomes manage to wangle such a sound out of his beat up Roxichord? And finally in Janet a drummer who knows how to drive a pop song along to a delirious peak. The hook-laden choruses and careful attention to song structure reminds me of the 60s Kinks, Big Star and The Move. But the sound will remind you of no other band. The wall of sound fuzzed-out keyboards create a sonic world that belongs only to Quasi. And for my money, Sam's slash and slide guitar work - used judiciously on just a few tunes - is the best thing to happen to rock since the B-52's realized that you don't need all six strings to make some music. Forget what some jaded reviewers have to say here about the lyrics, because they are clever but real attempts at dealing with the aftermath of a broken relationship. By all means, buy Featuring Birds and Field Studies, and don't miss their awesome live show. It is practically a religious experience.

Quasi has yet to replicate their incredible live sound on record. Only 'R&B Transmogrification' comes close, although it is far too dry sounding. On this album Sam Coomes, once again, churns out some great melodies and great rhymes. However, much of the kick of the two previous albums are missing--which means that the sounds here are far removed from the burst of noise that one hears at a live Quasi show. For the great songs this album is lacking 1) the noise (the absence of the roxichord is evident on this album) and 2) Janet's versatile and kinetic drumming (ex. 'our happiness' on 'Featuring 'birds'').

The most effective songs here feature Elliott Smith on bass. His playing is, as always, very tuneful. And in the tradition of Led Zeppelin, Quasi has released 'Birds,' the supposedly featured track of the previous album, an album later (see 'Houses of the Holy). One false note is the obnoxiously long 'A Fable with No Moral.' As the title states: this song goes nowhere. This song should have been subtitled 'Empty Words.'

But despite my reservations, Quasi is infectious. The album ends with a gorgeous ballad ('Let's Just Go') that ends abruptly and we are left with the buzzing sound of the amps before the plug is pulled.

Go check 'em out live...

Picking up where they left off may sound like a turn off, but when you make music this good, why change a thing? Its one thing to write decent pop-rock n'roll songs, but to make them so the listener wants to listen to them all day and all night is a relm many music makers can't claim to be in. Janet and Sam are in this relm. I had to warm up to the first handful of songs on 'Field Studies,' simply because they kind of lacked the punch of the starters on "R&B" and "...Birds" but was taken in completely by the time the album ended. Sam's lyrics(i think he wrote all the songs this time)and melodies are on once again especially with 'Me & My Head,' 'Two by Two,'and 'Smile.' Its amazing what he(they're) is able to fit into a bar of music. Sam is able to pen words that teeter perfectly between somewhat silly and simplistically deep and thoughtful. Janet is tops not only with the drumming but the sound of her drums is remarkable. Her voice once again compliments Sam's perfectly, giving the final result one of those "great-parts-in-a-song" butterfly feelings you get inside of you. 'Field Studies' is a bit smoother song structure-wise than the other Quasi offerings and isn't as fuzzy and distroted. It isn't one of those, "you need to listen to the whole thing at once" albums but each song on 'Feild Studies' in some ways links itself or segues perfectly into another song; much like 'The Soft Bulletin' by The Flamming Lips earlier this year. Needless to say, its a very wonderful music listening experience.

This album is not for everyone. It's rather slow moving most of the time and some of the songs (The Golden Egg, The Star You Left Behind, A Fable With No Morale) fade forever into an instrumental. The attitude of Sam Coones could be a definite turn off. I suggest you download some of it before purchasing. I, on the other hand am not one of those people and enjoyed these aspects. Beautiful pop melodies, insightful lyrics, and the essence of Quasi completely hooked me. The only problem I truly have with the album besides a couple of duds (Don't Mean Nothing), is the way they arranged the songs. If the shifts had been better and a more effecient order, the album would go by much quicker and would seem much more cohesive. Instead, you get the feeling that the moaning and groaning of Sam Coones is never going to end. But most of the time - that's a good thing.

This album was suggested to me by a friend, and i had never heard of Quasi before this. But WOW, what a great album. I actually pulled the car over and listened to the whole damn thing.. This is the album that the Beatles didn't hang around long enough to record. Even so, Quasi has a unique sound, and while everything nowadays is a rehash of something else, Quasi definately puts forth a beautiful sound. Empty Words.. wow..

(3 and 1/2 stars)

After listening to the brilliant R&B Transmogrification and Featuring "Birds", I am compelled to ruefully write that Sam and Janet have let me down. Sure, I still gave it 3 and 1/2 stars, but that's just because it's Quasi. It still has all the elements that make R&B and "Birds" so great, but it just seems to be lacking the alacrity with which Sam would morosely belt out his cynical lyrics in previous efforts. (Yes, that's sort of a paradoxical statement) More incisively, Field Studies is everything that I love about R&B and "Birds", but just not as good. If you compare each track from the three albums in order, you'd undoubtedly discover that you'd prefer the tracks that weren't on Field Studies 3 out of 4 times. I hate to knock such a great band like this, but this album is definately not up to par with their earlier recordings. If you don't have them yet, get R&B Transmogrification and Featuring "Birds".

An almost perfect pop record. This divorced husband and wife duo grind out great pop song after song on Field Studies. You'll hear strains of vintage Brian Wilson and sometimes even current Elliot Smith. It's not a surprise that producer-extraordinaire Jon Brion often sits in with the band when they're playing in southern California. If you've got a weakness for Brian Wilson or Lindsey Buckingham's sensiblities - try this one out - you won't be disappointed.

I had never heard any of Quasi's music before this. I really like Sleater- Kinney (Janet's other band) so I thought it would be worth checking out. Turns out I was right. This album is totally wonderful. Simple melodies, cool lyrics, a unique sound... they've got it all. I would describe the songs as popish, depressing, happy and sad.... it's hard to explain. I'd definitely recommend buying this album. I love the song "The Skeleton." If you hear someone saying "This sucks it doesn't sound like Sleater- Kinney or Elliot Smith" that's probably because it's not Sleater- Kinney or Elliot Smith, it's Quasi.

Quasi does the right thing. They keep moving. Each album, which are all brilliant, has distinctly different styles and sounds that are representative of their current phase. Where "R&B Transmogrification" was pretty much one of their live shows, "Early Recordings" a look at some oldies but real goodies and "Featuring Birds" was moving to a more textured studio work, "Field Studies" is a work of studio art. Only three tracks emulate their live sound, "Smile", "All the Same" and the freakin' amazing "Birds". "The Star You Left Behind" leaves you floating aimlessly through outer space with droning, melodic organ and detached drums and "Smile" combines hopeless lyrics about the mundane direction of YOUR life with some really great melodic music to back it up. This is a MUST OWN for anyone who likes good music.

This album is an interesting one in the Sam Coomes repertoire, but the songs are a little repetative. Elliott Smith's bass is good, solid, but the songs have a way of spiraling downward until there is no inspiration left. His lyrics are, as always, amazing. That's one of the reasons I like his stuff.