Customer Reviews

Fragments of Freedom

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(26)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

I had purchased "Fragments of Freedom" looking forward to the quality music I had come to expect from Morcheeba. The flow of "Big Calm" that placed them in my heart is, sadly, nowhere to be found on this album.

It is definitely more upbeat then their previous albums, yet I feel that it's a style not well suited to their talents. Although the first track, "World Looking In", has more frequently been the one coming through my speakers, it all seems just too pushed. The lyrics bring reminders of a certain sense of pop that I didn't think I was getting myself into upon this album's purchase.

I suppose change is good for anyone, and I don't deny that right to any artist. Yet, I feel this change was pushed possibly by record label execs trying to reach another spectrum of audiences. Unfortunately, though, I don't seem to be a member of that crowd.

I would agree with the Amazon review that this album is not in any way as good as Big Calm. I would honestly like to give the album 3.5 stars rather than the 4, but I will give Morcheeba the benefit of the doubt based on their previous work of which I am very fond. Unlike Big Calm, or Who Can You Trust, I am not certain that I could listen to Fragments continuously, certainly not as background music. The vocals are too noticable, and the beat a little too dance-y. Having said that, I do like even some of the syrupy tracks, like Rome Wasn't Built in a Day.

As for other tracks, "Let It Go" is not nearly so bad as the Amazon reviewer might have you believe, but I could live without it. The title track for the album should be well-liked by fans looking for the Morcheeba of Big Calm. As to the other tracks, they are all fine. but if I could only take one Morcheeba CD out of a burning house, it would be Big Calm, not Fragments. Having said that, though, I am happy to own it, and suspect I will listen too it a fair amount. However, I have to remember that Big Calm grew on me also. In six months, I might not be able to live without Fragments.

By the way, I just got the CD today, but I have been listening to the tunes for a week via the miracle of Napster. The preview was nice, but 128-bit does not do Sky's voice justice at all.

Firstly I have to say I am a big Morcheeba fan.I loved the first two albums and was really looking forward to this one after the amazing 'Big Calm'.And I have to say what a terrible dissappointment this c.d. 'Fragments of Freedom' is. The c.d. starts off nicely with an excellent ,smooth,opener-'World Looking In',which is as good as any of their other songs.Then it starts to go downhill with the 2nd song and the first single 'Rome Wasn't Built In A Day'(but this c.d. was probably written in one!).The lyrics on this track are the daftest I've heard in a long while-e.g.'One Fine day, we'll fly away,don't you know Rome wasn't built in a day,Hey,Hey,Hey' -ingenious (It's a real case of 'how do we finish this silly chorus'?)The next 2 tracks are o.k.Trade mark slow paced grooves with a nice mixture of acoustic,electric guitars and on track 4 a nice brass section.Then we have track 5 a dreadful steel drum instrumental which starts off with a dialogue about Florida being hot and violent place. Track 6 takes a sample from Grandmaster Flash-'The Message'-it's not a bad song.Then we have some dreadful songs featuring some weak rap artists-these songs are neither funky or catchy.'Shallow End ' is my 2nd favourite song on the c.d. and it has an excellent disco riff,so currently in vogue.The remaining songs sound like b-side rejects,with nothing particularly good about them. I hope this c.d. is just a temporary abberation for Morcheeba and hopefully the next c.d. will be a big improvement.One final thing is I suppose groups should be admired for trying something new and this c.d. certainly sounds like a group experimenting with a newish sound-but in my opinion they just don't carry it off very well.

Well, I made the mistake of buying this cd without listening to it first. I normally would do that, but I went ahead and got it solely based on the merits of the group's first two albums. I LOVE "Who can you trust" and "The Big Calm." I don't know what happened with this effort. Perhaps no *effort* was put into it in the first place?! The music and lyrics are marred with cliché after cliché. Many of the songs seem like a pathetic try at being disco-esque rather than laid back trip-hop. This style just doesn't work here, though it has worked on some recent albums (ie: Beck's "Midnite Vultures." I'm sorely disappointed with "Fragments of Freedom" and will try to sell it before people realize just how bad it is. If you're interested in Morcheeba and don't have their albums yet, go with the first two. If you already have the first two, save your money and hope that their next album warrants more than two stars.

It is with great pain and sorrow that I write this review. I say this because until the release of the collection in question, there was no greater Morcheeba fan on the planet. I love "Who can you Trust", and have enjoyed "Big Calm" over and over again. However, "Fragments" is quite simply the most disappointing musical purchase I have ever made. Unfortunately, I bought the CD after reading several reviews that rated it poorly. In retrospect, I thought "Skye is still doing the vocals", how bad could it be? Well, one star is one too many! I urge you, "resist".......don't buy it! Skye, if you read this. Please consider a solo carreer. The song writing is terrible, "Rome wasn't built in a day, hey, hey, hey" (actual lyrics). The instrumentals questionable, (who idea was the banjo/ country guitar on "World looking in" (I'm not kidding) and what in the world is "A well deserved break". The only song that even reminds you of either of the first two, is the title selection. Which of course, was the last cut on the CD. Way too little, way too late.

Yet I can add another name to the list of Pop Music sell outs. I baught this cd expecting Morcheeba to continue there ground breaking trip-hop cd's such as Big Calm and Who Can You Trust? But Fragments of Freedom seem to be just a cheap rip off of Mary J. Blige or Kelly Price. I think this CD is a dissapointment, the lyrics are terribly written and the music seems to sound like any 70's disco song. I urge all Morcheeba fans to not buy this and save there money!

I'm only giving this album 3 stars because I think it has potential to grow on me a little. Other wise, I'd say it was a 2. I became a HUGE Morcheeba fan after listening to Who Can You Trust and Big Calm, so I rushed out and bought Fragments as soon as I could. I paid just under $20 for it and am slightly sorry. It is definitely more "up-beat" than their last 2 albums. The dreamy, trippy, psychedelic mood music is not to be found on this album. I don't want to be too harsh on Morcheeba. I believe artists creativity is bound to change and sometimes fans aren't okay with it. I think it is also a matter of personal taste. My best friend LOVES Fragments better than Big Calm (although I think if she does, she hasn't listened to either of them enough) and was truly inspired by some the feel-good lyrics. I must admit, the voice of Skye Edwards is as beautiful as ever on this album. I'm just a little disappointed that I don't like the album as much as the others. I will probably buy any other albums Morcheeba puts out - after I listen to them first.

Compared to their first two albums, I feel I have been had. I can't even listen to it. I bought it w/out sampling it first. It really is pretty sad to get a bad album. Next time, i'll review it beforehand.

that being said, I still think the first two albums are genius. esp trust. sade-like sensuality in her voice. mmmm get it if you don't have it.

Negu@arches.uga.edu

It is really hard to understand why this album is getting some negative reviews when everybody seems to love "Big Calm". I just bought both CDs - "Big Calm" and "Fragments of Freedom" and listened to them back to back. "Fragments of Freedom" is absolutely perfect and logical continuation of the "Big Calm". The difference is only in the mood! Yes, "Framgents of Freedom" is light, playful, and fun - but why shouldn't it be? Are you in the same mood all the time? It's really weird that people get frustrated when the group does something (slightly!) different instead of repeating itself... This album is excellent - I loved every single song!!

With the great eruption of Morcheeba into the realms of fame has unfortunately brought with it a desire to become a popular chart band. Becoming a popular chart band (singles band) means producing music that is palitable to the easy listener who will get a short but quick hit from a top ten single then probably forget about the song and move on to the next number one. If this is the aim of Morcheeba then they have done well for themselves because most of the songs on Fragments of Freedom are hits in themselves (Rome Wasn't Built In A Day), lovely easy listening, joyful, bouncy and easy to sing along to. I must admit that their songs will cheer you up however that is as far as it goes.

On personal opinion I have given them 2 stars because this isn't the sort of music I am looking for however if I were rating the album on merit such as breadth, quality of the recording etc then this album does deserve 4 stars. The quality of the recording is excellent and will make any cheap stereo sound good, it is crisp and clear. Skye's voice is brilliant for the Godfrey brothers' music (five stars there)! They also use a large variety of instruments, which makes each song have a different sound and thus makes the album a little bit more interesting. Another point I would like to draw attention to is that Morcheeba manage to make each song progress and change through out making it a slightly captivating album.

So there you have it, with Big Calm as Morcheeba's best album (a lot more deeper and meaningful) Fragments of Freedom has had a lot to live up to. Buy Fragments of Freedom if you want an easy listening album, it is well made and straight to the point.