Customer Reviews

Food of Love

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

 

 

this is a fine showcase for Yvonne Ellimans superb voice.Not the best collection of songwriting,but fairly solid tunes delivered by one of the best singers of the 70's.Robbie Robertsons "The Moon Struck One"and a cover of the Whos'"Cant Explain"(w/Pete Townshend on guitar) are a couple of good examples.Worth having for sure.

Good sophomore album from one of my favorite artists. The best tracks are More Than One, Less Than Five, Muesli Dreams, Happy Ending, and Love's Bringing Me Down. This is a very mysterious, casual album that seems to certifiably not want to chart any GUINNESS RECORDS, but I highly recommend it. It is all and all a good album except for tracks 1 and 8 that are just thrown in there to make you laugh. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice wrote I DON'T KNOW HOW TO LOVE HIM for the JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR rock opera, and Yvonne sang that when she performed her part in the opera. A writing team by the name of MCIVER and HINE that wrote most of the songs on this album wrote I DON'T KNOW HOW TO LOVE HIM BLUES for it, and were respectively sued by WEBBER and RICE. However, the short, silly song made it to the pressing of the album nevertheless. It is an excellent album, very silly and serious at the same time. Tracks 2, 4, and even 11 are good for abstract thinkers. I highly recommend that you buy this album, it is very very good and worth every penny!

Decades ago, I found this at a local library and had to special-order and buy my own copy. I recently put it back into rotation, and the am reminded of the high quality of the songwriting, arrangement, and vocals. No one with pop credentials sings songs like "Moon Struck One" or "Love's Bringing Me Down" anymore. I don't think any of these songs made it to her greatest hits collections, which is a pity.

I'd like to see a CD re-release.

Ynonne Elliman is quite possibly the most underrated female musician of the 70's, and Food of Love absolutely proves it. Female musicians such as Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, and several others don't really ROCK when they deliver soulful vocal melodies like Yvonne Elliman used to do. Alright, Janis Joplin is probably the first to do it, but well... not everyone can be like Janis now can they?

Let me state right now- the arrangements throughout this album are absolutely *fantastic*. Whether it's the piano, electric guitar, drums, vocals, you name it- it's always played in a really appealing and creative kind of way, further making it apparent just how underrated Yvonne Elliman was as a musician back in the early 70's.

"Love's Bringing Me Down" contains all kinds of creative experiments. It's multi-part for one thing, and there's a great guitar solo near the end. Then you have Yvonne's magnificent voice and her ability to write a great vocal melody and wam bam thank you ma'am- this song is GREAT! "I Don't Know How to Love Him Blues" is a gritty rocker with great piano and electric guitar solos. She really shows the world her amazing voice in this song, too. Her version of "The Moon Struck One" is pretty moody and reminiscent of a late night bar scene. It's pretty good. "Happy Ending" is a really beautiful uplifting type song fairly typical of the early 70's, however, a tad different from what you'd hear most female musicians attempt at the time.

A personal favorite is "I Wanna Make You Laugh, I Wanna Make You Cry". It sounds remarkably similar to a George Harrison song that would come out a few years later. "More Than One, Less Than Five" contains some really pretty vocals and a haunting vibe. Oh, and before I forget, you absolutely MUST find a way to hear a song titled "Hawaii". No, it's not your typically-themed tropical cliche either. This is a really haunting and, dare I say, unbelievably CREEPY song with a dramatic atmosphere. It's really cool, and very different from anything I've ever heard before.

Furthermore, I believe Yvonne used to be one of the most attractive female singers of the 70's, and she's capable of backing up those good looks with a fantastic vocal range. She's the total package! And guess what? She's completely underrated these days, being the unfortunate victim of the times which means automatic assumptions that she's somewhat inferior to other singer/songwriters despite the fact most people haven't even bothered to really *listen* to her music. Absolutely ridiculous. Yvonne is really awesome if you ask me.

Length:: 0:31 Mins

Yvonne Elliman was one of the most influential, but lesser known recording artists of the seventies. Her music was belted out to the extent, and her songs stuck with you. This was her sophmore album, after a great but less known album, titled "Yvonne Elliman" which featured her top twenty hit "I Don't Know How to love him." from the musical she was famous for, "Jesus Christ Superstar." The album has no flaws, being a complete blues album. People never really knew how to categorize Elliman, but it was quite evident hard rocking blues was her style, as heard in songs such as "I wanna Make You Laugh, I Wanna Make You cry", "I Don't Know how to love him blues" and "Loves Bringing Me Down." She had a stylized feel for hard rock in general as evident in beat keeping songs such as "Casserole me Over" and "Happy Ending" with her cover of the "Who" hit "Can't Explain." Others are soft ballads, inlcuding "Moon Struck One" "More than One, Less than Five, and the others.
Elliman had apparently had enough of the saint hood, Christian style image she was given as Mary Magdelene on broadway, and she makes no bones about saying so in the "I don't know how to love him blues" as she is basically is saying goodbye to broadway, it's been fun, but I won't miss ya." Also in other songs, such as "Casserole Me over" which is about getting high and having the munchies, and Meusli Dreams-a song with a lesbian feel to it(though Elliman was not such) were songs just screaming to give Elliman a sinful image to erase her good gurl image and portray her as she wanted: A rocker with an attitude. And this album succeeds in all that, and more.
"Food of Love" is an exceptional album, that-while did not do as good as was expected, boosted Yvonne Elliman into the music industry and established her as a true artist and songwriter. This album is one of the best she put out(next to Rising Sun) and should not be over looked by any fan of the musical genre.