Customer Reviews

Fumbling Towards Ecstasy

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This album of Sarah's, in my opinion, is the best one she's come out with. Every song on this cd is awesome. I don't even know where to begin. The hidden track on 12 is an awesome rendition of Possession. It's just her and her piano. It's to die for. There are only two cd's that I have that I love the whole album. Check out my other review on Destiny's Child's second album.

Tens of thousands of albums have been released since recorded music was first invented. Many of those albums were good, to very good, and some even deserve the appellation of "great." Each of these descriptions was applied to a particular album because of what the album added to our lives, our understanding of ourselves or each other, and sometimes as a call to action.

However, there is a level that transcends all of these descriptions; that of beauty and art. "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" accomplishes exactly that. It is music as art, and achieves the aspiration of being nearly as pure art as possibly music can be.

The voice, the music, and the lyrics are perfectly blended to support and intertwine with each other in a very sensuous way. Writers try hard to match the flavor and form of their words to the thought being conveyed. Musical arrangements are made to convey a form of feeling. Lastly, the emotion of a singer's voice is shaped to help form the thoughts, ideas and feelings by the sound as much as by what is said. This album achieves each of these possibilities nearly as perfectly as I have ever heard in any album.

This album is an emotional album. It is not for wusses, because if you immerse yourself into the music, you feel Sarah's thoughts and emotions. She is an artist, and it is her art that strikes the resonant emotional chord within your soul.

The album begins with one of the most outstanding songs ever written and recorded, "Possession," a song about fame and fan obsession. The tone is lamenting and longing, and an emotional depiction of the two-edged sword of fame. On the one hand there is the joy of having your art widely accepted and appreciated, and on the other hand there is the sadness of having unbalanced fans carry their love of art past the art to the artist herself. This song is best listened to in soft light, with no distractions.

Next is "Wait," a song of longing and searching and apology, beautifully written and sung. "Plenty" is next, a song about someone who realizes that she feels emotion that her partner does not, and that there is a gap between them that she has only lately come to realize. The song by its tone seems to hope they could have stayed together, but the song ends without resolution; it is a song about what happens before the resolution.

"Good Enough" is quietly scary; beautifully sung, but about abuse. The point of the song is that there is more than "good enough," and the singer is offering it.

"Mary" offers a woman who has given of herself to others her whole life, without appreciation. And one day, she seems to wake up from what she has been doing, perhaps wondering what happened to herself while she was giving.

"Elsewhere" is a song about someone who is happy within herself, happy about what she is doing. She is making the choices that she feels are right, and those choices make her happy. Perhaps not the right choices for someone else, perhaps not her mother, but she is not her mother, she is herself.

"Circle" is sad. People losing their identity in love, smothered by the relationship rather than nurtured by it, and not recognizing they have lost themselves.

"Ice" offers up a description of shallow relationships, and the motivations between people. What one person says, and what the other believes. From her eyes he appears to have no depth, even though perhaps he pretends. Furthermore, even when he appears to have concern, what is the concern for? Himself or for what he might lose?

"Hold On" brings tears to my eyes. She is with a very dear loved one (her best friend) near the end of his time. She fears for his pain, she fears for what happens afterward. But she also cherishes each day that she gets, and hopes that each one will bring the least pain possible.

"Ice Cream" finally gives you a break from all the sadness. This song is the one bit of whimsy on the CD, a song about how good one person's love is, though compared to ice cream chocolate.

"Fear" appears to be about commitment and relationship. The fear that when you have a real relationship with someone, what you have to give may be inadequate, but by opening yourself up to another, you risk losing yourself, your identity. Indeed, at the end of the song Sarah notes that they both have a lot to lose. Relationships are investments, and when they go south, everyone suffers. The singing on this song is gorgeous, fully exploiting Sarah's voice in ways the other songs do not, accompanied by counterpoint music sewing a tapestry of feeling.

"Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" is the conclusion to what you realize is a concept album. Sarah has finished her tapestry to the fabric of life. She has talked about love, death, abuse, obsession, pain...and now she says she will not fear what happens while searching for comfort and peace...not tears, not fears, not love...

The album is dark. But the ending is a positive spin, though sung soberly, matter-of-factly. The song is about the human condition, and as humans we want to be upbeat and positive. We have so many struggles in our life, and Sarah has endeavored to list them, and explore them, and tell you at the end of it all, there is beauty in our lives, even in sorrow, pain, love, life and death. It is why we are here. Listen to the beauty of this album, and do not be afraid to shed a tear...

This imported version also includes the song "Blue." Since this imported CD is but one of several versions, I recommend you decide which version is right for your budget and needs before you buy.

Compared to its population, Canada is blessed with a disproportionate great number of talented performance artists - and Sarah McLachlan is one of the best examples.
Maybe they are inspired by the endless expanses of the Great North and the blandness of the Toronto sprawl; maybe it is the eternal adolescence of the Canadian psyche or the freshly disillusioned naiveté of a nation of great poets and dreamers in the bordering shadow of a militaristic giant. Who knows...

Sarah McLachlan is a GREAT SINGER. And this is her BEST ALBUM! I have FUMBLING TOWARDS ECSTASY (together with all her albums) since my university years - God bless the DUE SOUTH TV Series that exposed me to her absolutely haunting voice! I have been playing it numerous times over the years, one could not get tired of this collection. The pieces are all gems, from start to finish! The music speaks directly to the soul, such poetic lyrics are so hard to find anymore and Sarah's voice will haunt you forever...

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

I really like this CD. I had her other 2 and heard about this one, so I was psyched when I got it used off a friend. It's got some of the same songs (Possesion, Good Enough, Ice Cream, Fear), but they are different - she's refined them and changed them since the release of this CD. The ones that haven't been on her other CDs are good too - it's awesome to hear more of her work you didn't even know existed. There's a hidden track on it too, if you just leave it running it'll come on after the last number. I can't say enough how much I enjoy this CD... anyone who likes Sarah will love this CD.