Customer Reviews

Films for Radio

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

.... I'm not sure how anyone can conceivably call Over the Rhine's music "vacuous," "vapid," "bland," and "shallow," because it's nothing of the sort. Now, if you're a fan of Over the Rhine because of Good Dog Bad Dog (my very favorite CD - I make friends with people just so I can give it to them), you'll find Films for Radio something of an acquired taste, as is the case with all of their albums, because each one is different - the band does indeed refuse to be tied to one genre. But it's a taste you'll acquire if you're patient enough to give it a few listens.

Far from being shallow, Over the Rhine confronts religious doubt ("'Cause like all true believers, I am truly skeptical of all that I have seen"), identity crises ("I don't know who else to be; more and more I'm secretly just me"), and that frustrating ineffability of things ("Words in my head, like misfits after midnight begging for a light; words left unsaid...they may never see the light of day, and that may be okay"). Karin and Linford package this up with their usual poetic and often sensual lyrics, epitomized in "The Body is a Stairway of Skin," a titillating series of body metaphors culminating in "the body is an apple on a tree," etc.; it's deceptively simple but reminiscent of the third chapter of Genesis and Sappho as well.

You can criticize the way Over the Rhine chooses to produce their songs on this CD. I am suspicious that this album's release on their new label encouraged them to deviate from their recent spare and contemplative style to more drum loops and electric guitars and keyboards. But I am as much attached to spareness and contemplation as anyone else, and I still love Films for Radio. Lyrically, this CD stands alongside any of their other work, and far from echoing the vapidity of (post)modernism, confronts it and fills it with cautious but undeniable meaning.

Over The Rhine (these days the husband-wife team of Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler, with assorted studio guests) has been around since 1992, but "Films for Radio", their first album of new material since the 1996 (independent) release of "Good Dog Bad Dog" (re-released in 2000 with extra tracks) is an attempt to re-connect with the mainstream folk/rock, and almost accomplishes that. This album thankfully abandons the "I can hear a pin drop on the floor" intimate sound of recent albums.

There are 4 key tracks of "Films for Radio": the opening track "The World Can Wait", which features a heavy drum beat and some of the band's best lyrics ever ("So fade to black and white now/Roll the movie of my life inside my head"). Then there is "Give Me Strength", the Dido-penned remake that is the most radio-friendly track on the album, with Karin's vocals soaring; it reminds me of recent Tori Amos. Then there is the fabulous "The Body Is a Stairway of Skin", a jazzy, sensual, if not erotic track based on loops and scratches, just beautiful! The album's closer is "When I Go", with Karen on an intimate accoustic guitar, eventually soaring with a wicked electric guitar solo, very very nice!

This is clearly OTR's best album since "Eve". The question remains whether it will find a mainstream audience. I have my doubts, quite frankly. But it is a refreshing album for all the OTR fans out there (and you know who you are!).

Finally, if you can catch them on their current tour (the opening of which I saw last night), go! Run! It is a fabulous evening! They play most of the "Films for Radio" tracks, and dig up some great nuggets from the past.

I am truly amazed at the shallowness of the Amazon review who calls Films for Radio "shallow." Citing neither "shallow" lyrics nor describing the sonics of a single song, void of even the most rudimentary demonstration that he has spent more than 30 seconds skipping through the tracks of this record, his review reverts to the most hackneyed of all complaints against a lot of innovative music: "it is an aural smorgasboard" that, presumably, won't sound like any single genre of music is supposed to sound. I can hear the exasperation of the music industry's corporate lackeys right now: "Good grief, in what section of the record store will we display it? What radio station in our media conglomerate will play it?"

The reality I conjecture: too subtle and complex are Over the Rhine's influences, ideas, and the available comparisons to fit the reviewer's word processor-stored phrase macros. God forbid, for this review, original analysis and writing is required!

But I forget, [the reviewers strategy is to] put the album into social and historical place with such gems of cultural insight as "vacous music" which "mirror(s) the emptiness of modern life."

Move over T.S. Eliot, in the 21st century Amazon music critic ... has his pulse on the Zeitgeist, and guess what? Modern civilization is empty! And so is Over the Rhine!

Give me a break. Over the Rhine has just released the best album I expect to hear all year. The fact that I am at a loss of words to describe its beauty and richness is the best compliment my brain can give it.

Over the Rhine has a dedicated following which is amazing because it's hard to define their music. Perhaps deliberately, they have avoided mixing commercialism with their artistry until their latest project, "Films for Radio." Karen Bergquist and Linford Detwiler seem always to be true to themselves, presenting lyrics, music and vocals unlike anything else in the music industry, and seeming not to care what anyone thinks.

This music group definitely received much more promotion than usual with "Films for Radio." The music on this release is slightly--slightly--more commercial-sounding than their previous work. The songs are more upbeat than their "Good Dog, Bad Dog" release from the mid 1990s--which many consider the standard "Over the Rhine" sound.I know I judge their other projects against "Good Dog, Bad Dog" but that doesn't mean I don't like "Films for Radio" any less than GDBD. I love it in a different way.

Bergquist belts out a powerful note right from the beginning of FFR with the song "The World Can Wait." Other songs like "I Radio Heaven", "Whatever You Say" and "If Nothing Else" provide catchy phrases I hum to myself over and over sometimes. "Give Me Strength" is the most rockin' number on FFR and sounds the least like the Over the Rhine I have listened to over the past ten years. I still like it, but it's different, and I would be disappointed if every Over the Rhine project sounded too similar to the other things they have done.

I have introduced people to the "Over the Rhine" sound through the years and they all fall in love. "I wish I had known about them sooner," they say. If this music group plays near you, go out of your way and catch them. OTR's live performances are excellent.

I have only positve things to say about Over the Rhine. Don't let my gushing turn you off. I admit I'm addicted, so you've been warned. It's the best music the world isn't listening to. Try them. They may not be as well known as they deserve, but you will enjoy OTR as your little secret. Let Karen Berquist's voice bewitch you. Let Linford Detweiler's lyrics entrance you. You won't regret it.

The songwriting and performances remain at the incredible levels this band has sustained in the past 10 years. Never making the same record twice, the production this time out is pretty modern and smooth. Karin's voice sounds a little Tori-influenced on the leadoff track "The World Can Wait" and Dido-pitch changes on "Give Me Strength" (which, not shockingly, Dido co-wrote). "Goodbye" (a staple in their live shows in the past few years) is influenced by George Martin's Beatles productions, and "I Radio Heaven" seems to have tinges of Radiohead.

"Films for Radio" has quite a diverse mix of sounds on it; consistent atop it all is Karin's signature vocals and the amazing lyrics of Linford and Karin. Comparable in ways to 10,000 Maniacs or Cowboy Junkies, but at times they're in a league completely their own. And somehow it works together.

On the whole, it's a more upbeat offering than the past few full lengths they've put out, but is equally fulfilling in the car on a sunny day or in a candlelit bathtub.

The final track, "When I Go", is musically bare; more reminiscent of their last all-original CD, "Good Dog Bad Dog" and features one of the most haunting guitar solos I've heard (performed by Cowboy Junkies' Michael Timmons). It's not something to be missed.

I loved this cd. Since each OTR album has a unique flavor, it took me a while to get used to this new one, it often does with each new one. I've been a fan since the days of their much earlier albums "Patience" and "Eve", and it seemed there was a big shift in music style between "Good Dog Bad Dog" and "Films for Radio" just as there was between "Patience" and "Eve", this is a band that cannot sit still in one style. What is constant is their artistry, creativity, and the quality of their art. They are deep and earthy, certainly not shallow. ...

Over the Rhine--Linford Detweiler and Karen Bergquist--take another step in their incredible and always interesting musical journey. Trying their hand once again with a major label, OtR deliver a CD that is nothing less than long-time fans have come to expect: One of brilliant, incredible music and lyrics. Linford and Karin break some new ground for OtR with this CD; the tracks have a fuller, more layered sound than "Good Dog Bad Dog." Even some drum loops find their way onto this collection, most notably in "The Body is A Stairway of Skin," a cut that would not sound out of place mixed in with a little Portishead. Contrast that track with Karin's acoustic guitar on the final track, "When I Go," a favorite of mine by the way. Ending the entire CD with a question is sheer brilliance in my book; and the answer to that question is a resounding "YES." "Little Blue River" allows Linford's keyboards to shine while showing off Karin's incredible voice in a "bluesy" sort of vein. "The World Can Wait," opens the CD powerfully; these are some of the best lyrics of this band's career. The words set the tone of the entire album and ask the paradoxical question of how true believers can still be skeptics.

Luckily, OtR continues to write challenging, literate, literary and thought-provoking lyrics. Those of us who are fans expect nothing less, and we are not disappointed here. "Give Me Strength" is a cover of a Dido tune--and the first single--yet I find "Whatever You Say" to be the most radio-friendly track on this album. Its steady rhythm and get-stuck-in-your-head chorus are not out of place on various radio formats. I could go on raving about this CD and these outstanding musicians. If you are already a fan of Over the Rhine, you will enjoy this movie. If you are a new fan, this "film for radio" is an incredible debut for you to the group. If you are someone who appreciates excellent musicianship, sensitive lyrics, and an incomparable voice, then "Films for Radio" is your movie. Buy a ticket now.

I've been a fan of Over the Rhine for more than 10 years now (!). I have all of their CDs. But I've gotta admit that this highly-anticipated release is one of my least favorites by the band.

While its heart is in the right place, 'Films for Radio' seems to suffer from an identity crisis. Yes, there are some really spectacular songs on the album, but the whole disc doesn't hold together as well as the band's earlier efforts. It feels more like a collection of overproduced singles than one coherent artistic statement. The satisfying payoff that you usually get at the end of one of Over the Rhine's records just isn't there with this CD.

Of course, a 'bad' Over the Rhine CD will always beat a 'good' CD by some of the yokels out there trying to write convincing art-pop music. I'd just suggest that if you're new to Over the Rhine, start with 'Good Dog Bad Dog' or their always-wonderful 'Patience.' Save 'Films' for later.

Having been a fan of Over The Rhine for some time now, I eagerly anticipated the release of "Films For Radio." I knew I was in for a treat, and Linford and Karin didn't disappoint. From the first cut, the elegant and compelling "The World Can Wait," which is incidentally my favorite, to the stark, haunting "When I Go," which closes the record, each track is its own delight. Over The Rhine has seen fit to stretch their boundaries a bit, from the electronic sound of "Give Me Strength" and "The Body Is A Stairway Of Skin" to the jazzy textures of "Fairpoint Diary." Two cuts on this album have appeared elsewhere: "Goodbye (This Is Not Goodbye)" first appeared on the various artists album "Roaring Lambs" last summer, and "Moth" appeared on Over The Rhine's 1999 collection "Amateur Shortwave Radio," albeit in a different form. I'll admit that the new version of "Moth" has really become my favorite version. All in all, "Films For Radio" is a true gem; some songs grabbed me from the start, while others have had to grow on me gradually. Once again, Over The Rhine has me spellbound!

I was as concerned as every OTR fan before this record hit the shelves that this new Virgin/Back Porch union might strip away all the beauty of what OTR always was. I feared over-production or draping Karin in a vail of vices. Linford promised this wouldn't happen and none of these fears were realized; thank God.

Films for Radio is aptly titled as each sound and lyric paints an Oscar- winning movie of your own production. Linford's lyrics are still written with ink fed from what's left of his soul to his pen. And Karin still breathes life into these glorious words with the passion of John calling all sinners to repentance.

There's so much good to write about this album but I'll just keep it at that for now. Thanks for adding colors to your palette while using the same brushes. What a beautiful piece of art.