Customer Reviews

Giddeon Gaye

5 star:		(5)
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3 star:		(1)
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This is glorious -- some sort of wild mixture of Brian Wilson, Steve Reich, the Band, the Beach Boys, and a distinctly 90s sensibility. Created for 4000 pounds sterling, it is an absolute whirl of different influences, transcended and exalted by Sean O'Hagan, the High Llamas' resident genius. There's nothing like "Gideon Gaye" anywhere. Do not let the seeming lightness of this album fool you. It is a particularly tender surrealism, with a distinctly English conservatism -- and by that, I don't mean the Religious Right or anything like that. Rather, the conservatism lies in the preservation of old values -- small towns, country lanes, gentility -- expressed in terrific rock and roll. Absolutely brilliant, with that marvelous mixture of the new and the old that T.S. Eliot explored in "Tradition and the Individual Talent." The High Llamas embrace both.

Singing like Donald Fagan and arranging like Brian Wilson does not make Sean O'Hagan a throwback artist or a mimic. O'Hagan uses ideas and riffs from Pet Sounds as his pallette to create a completely new work of art. His use of repetition to create musical trances is totally contemporary. This is a best of the Nineties record as far as I'm concerned.

this was my second dose of the high llamas, the first being their most recent "cold and bouncy." although this album lacked the electronic blurps and bleeps that o'hagen's work with stereolab brought to "cold and bouncy," (which i really dug!) it still turned out to be cash well spent. being a fan of both stereolab-esque electro-euro-muzak-pop and classic rock and roll like steely dan, this seemed to fit right in the middle somewhere. in fact, i'd recommend throwing this disc in with "pet sounds" and steely dan's "can't buy a thrill" and hitting the random button. sometimes you're left guessing exactly who's who. many folks may feel that o'hagen's quest to create the next "pet sounds" is a worthless folly -- i'd most likely have to agree, that album may never be matched. but nevertheless, his attempts prove to be quite enjoyable for myself, as i've had this one on repeat for a few days now. if you really want something melodic and orchestral to chill out to, look no farther, my good man.

Though more an extended EP than a genuine album, Gideon Gaye is nevertheless the best place to start appreciating the work of Sean O'Hagan's High Lllamas. Echoing the lush textures Beach Boy Brian Wilson sculpted during his Smile heyday, Gideon Gaye is awash with exotic arrangements, blending strings, vibes, fuzz bass, electronic effects and exquisite harmonies that seem to go up and up and up. O'Hagan also works with Stereolab, however, and the ambient approach of that outfit isn't as effective when applied here -- the songs tend to wander off for no good reason. "Track Goes By" boasts the most immediate hook on the album but drifts into an epic flute solo that drags on for a far too long twelve minutes. The constant remixing of key tracks as bumpers also becomes repetitive. The major numbers, though, are strong: "The Dutchman" is so masterfully arranged that it's hard to believe the Llamas' previous album was average three-chord bash and pop, while "Giddy and Gay" is everything implied by the title; "ear candy" doesn't begin to describe its effervescing melody. And though the lyrics for the centerpiece, "The Goat Looks On", are disappointingly oblique, its message is communicated well enough through impressionistic sound painting.

Magical Mystery Tour chill out music. That's what it is. OK Brian Wilson too, but it's as though "Flying" from the Beatles MMT and all the musical bits at the end and in between songs off MMT were turned into a more modern chill out CD. Now I hate "chill out" CDs, but this album is mesmerising while being musically rich. I disagree with the previous reviewer who said the 12 minutes at the end of Track Goes By goes on too long. Once you realize that its intention is to be 12 minutes, you start to understand why and just groove along, playing Scrabble and drinking wine or whatever it is you do while appreciating this kind of music. Expect a 3 minute tune and yes, you'll be confused.

Gideon Gaye is the first introduction I had to the High Lamas. Sean O'Hagan's previous arrangement and production work for Stereolab are the driving force behind this extension of the West Coast US - Brighton axis. Littered with Brian Wilson's melodic flourish this LP has the dreamy melancholia of 'The warmth of the Sun' mixed with the counter culture and everyday sadness of the English South coast off season. Gideon Gaye, in such tracks as 'the goat' retains O'Hagan's characteristic nod to French experiementalism whilst not being so dominated by nob twiddling as in earlier Stereolab works. It is a foreunner of greater LP's to come