Customer Reviews

Girl Called Eddy

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Trust me, this is a fabulous album which is instantly likeable.

When I first listened to her voice, I heard an accent which sounded like an American with a touch of north-country English and that couldn't be right, could it? Well, I logged onto her website and found she was from New Jersey and spent a couple of years in Sheffield, in the north of England, and the place she receorded the album. It seems she's an anglophile!

She is really Erin Moran (I like her real name as much as "Eddy") and she sounds like a cross between Karen Carpenter and Chrissie Hynde, with some female Scott Walker touches - so it is appropriate that these great singers appear to be either influences of her or singers she just admires.

Most of the songs are slow-paced, sensitive and downbeat, with a very 60's feel, which I found uplifting and very warm - an extremely pleasureable experience. Her voice is very easy on the ear and one which makes you want to listen closely, but when it needs to be extended/stretched, it sounds stronger, purer and even better. There are also some really nice, understated string arrangements and some lovely tight playing by her backing band.

The tracks are all great songs - there is nothing here which is remotely worse than very good. However, for me, the best tracks are "Kathleen", "Golden" and "People Used To Dream About The Future"...but then again, I could name all 11 selections.

This is as good a debut album as I have heard in a very long time and I hope it is a runaway success. I would like to think there is more to "Eddy" than just one album worth of sheer class.

So what are you waiting for? Don't just take my word for it - go and buy this today.

I was in a music store when "Girls Can Really Tear You Up Inside" played. I picked up the album and bought it then and there, not knowing if I would like anything else on it. I am very happy to say I loved the entire thing! I remember when I heard Shelby Lynne's "I Am Shelby Lynne" for the first time. I had never been so moved by an album before. "A Girl Called Eddy" is possibly the first album I've heard since then that has moved me in the same way. So few artists write music like this anymore! Eddy's (or Erin Moran's) voice is beautiful and rich, with strains of Karen Carpenter, k.d. lang, Shelby Lynne, even a little Goldfrapp in the melodies and orchestrations. These songs with their deep, brooding, twisting melodies stay with you long after the CD stops playing. "Tears All Over Town" sets the tone for the album nicely. "Girls Can Really Tear You Up Inside" grips your heart and just doesn't let go. Utterly gorgeous! "People Used To Dream About The Future" sounds like something Burt Bacarach might write. It's the sort of song that might play over the end credits of a movie (I mean that as a compliment!). Very touching. "Heartache" is beautiful with its jazz-influenced percussion. The biggest surprise is "Life Thru The Same Lens". A meloncholy lyric coupled with an upbeat tempo. It works very well. It's a great song. This is a fabulous album. So mature and polished. In the midst of skantily-clad pop wannabe's, with no substance whatsoever, being cranked out right and left, what a thrill it is to hear music like this being made. I already can't wait until her next effort.

This is the finest cd to come across my ears in many years. I have not stopped listening to it for a sold month. My favorite piece has changed several times as I have gotten cozy cut by cut. Now that I have listened thoroughly I can report that the last track, "Golden", is not only my favorite on this CD but the best new song I have heard in at least ten years.
To appreciate Golden's rare power you must hear it in context. As the final cut, this stirring, life-affirming song is the coda to an otherwise moody and melancholy album. It takes all the preceding heartache and loss expressed so tenderly and evocatively and makes sense of it. It evokes joy and pain simultaneously, like the greatest eulogy you've ever experienced.
What is more, on this astonishingly beautiful vocal recording the last word is given to the guitar; a soaring slide solo with delicate phrasing that seems a comprehensive review of the complex emotional themes covered throughout this great work of art. This is a watershed moment rarely achieved in popular music. Imagine the climax or Orbison's Running Scared or the searing guitar at the finish of Springsteen's Incident of 57th Street, where the music makes you feel precisely as the lyrics intended.
This sort of brilliance is not attained by accident. This is a supremely talented group of artists who, if they get their due, will be busy on Grammy night.

Erin Moran is, for reasons of her own choosing, A Girl Called Eddy and her debut cd is a sterling example of `Adult Pop' (hey, catchy name). Moran has written a batch of moody, mostly melancholy, accessible songs in a style reminiscent of Bacharach and David. Produced by a pair of outstanding musicians, Richard Hawley and Colin Eliot, the album takes on added dimension with each listen. Moran's (or Eddy's, if you will) rich, supple vocals are, nevertheless, the highlight. Amongst the modern singers this Jersey girl resembles most are Aimee Mann and Chrissie Hynde, while her earlier influences would appear to be Dusty Springfield and Karen Carpenter. Don't tell us that we might finally like The Carpenters at this stage of our lives.

Erin Morans "A Girl called Eddy" album is simply wonderful. Something very heartfelt and warm to listen to. It's good to hear an artist really pour themselves out into the words as they sing.

TEARS ALL OVER TOWN - This was the song that grabbed my attention to "A Girl called Eddy". This song has a laid-back, folkish sound to it. Erin Moran sounds nothing short of beautiful here.
KATHLEEN - This song as a similar beat as "Tears all over Town". In the background, you can hear all sorts of instruments beautifully streamed together..
GIRLS CAN REALLY TEAR YOU UP INSIDE - This song sounds as if its about a girl who is fatherless. She is waiting for her father to be a part of her life, and he just runs from the situation. (It is possible I have interpreted this wrong, but that is just what it sounds like.)
THE LONG GOODBYE - I'd have to say this is my favorite song on the entire album. Ever want to just drive down the road with your arm out the window singing along to the perfect song? Well, this is the one.
SOMEBODY HURT YOU - Ever dated someone who just won't let you in, maybe because their scared or because of past relationships. This song sings all about it.
PEOPLE USED TO DREAM ABOUT THE FUTURE - This song isn't even holiday related, but when the chorus kicks in..I can't help but think of the Christmas Holidays. I think it's just the beat to it.
HEARTACHE - This song starts off with Erin singing a capella, and she does it marveously.
LIFE THRU THE SAME LENS - This song has a good little beat to it. I love how the chorus picks up during the song.
DID YOU SEE THE MOON TONIGHT - This song is like a beautiful lullaby to doze off to.
LITTLE BIRD - Not one of my favorites ones on the album, but nonetheless, Erin sounds absolutely wonderful on it.
GOLDEN - Not sure why but this reminds me of something similar to artists such as Joni Mitchell. I love how the beat picks up during the chorus. The perfect song to end the album on.


Even if you're new to A Girl Called Eddy (as was I), pick up this album.

This CD has such beautiful instrumentation. The fuzz on The Long Goodbye works perfectly. It's nice to hear a sincere artist for a change. She uses all kinds of romantic imagery in her lyrics without sounding corny or mushy. Close your eyes and you'll think you're listening to Chrissie Hynde, except with more heart.

This girl puts my faith back in music. A great sound!

Eddy/Erin Moran's music is simultaneously warm and edgy. Her lyrics melt into a fusion of city dreams and melancholy wishes. Tears all over Town introduces you to a mood of loss and longing which is perfect for entering into the poetic contemplations in Kathleen which is melodious and warm, capturing your emotions, holding them for seconds and then releasing you into the rest of the moody moments.

The Long Goodbye is a wakeup call at the start, but soon delves back into an ocean of intimacy and almost contains a country element. People who used to Dream about the Future brightens the album even if the lyrics are still about failed dreams, the mood is nostalgic. Heartache introduces breathy whispery lyrics where Eddy's voice is even more the focus and classic in beauty.

Life through the Same Lens is almost bouncy when compared to the rest of the album.

When you are in a "Did you see the moon tonight" mood (pure, beautiful and filled with longing and memories), this is an album to consider. It lets you relax into contemplation all while embracing you in a warm summer night of songs.

The honesty in the lyrics is highly appealing as is the 60s mood (especially in Somebody Hurt You) the entire album creates. If you like Norah Jones, this might also be your style, although the mood is much more melancholy and downbeat.

"But I want you to remember me
If you see the moon tonight
I hope it finds you all alone
Maybe sitting by the phone..."

~The Rebecca Review

Having heard A Girl Called Eddy, there's so much sense of familiarity yet a distinct sentiment evoked. A Girl Called Eddy sounds like multi-cross hybrid of Beth Orton, Dusty Springfield, Tracey Thorn, Karen Carpenter, Suzanne Vega and even smatterings of PJ Harvey but with a smothering breathy voice.
Most of what you hear on this record are melancholic songs made all the more wonderful by the deeply emotive and engaging lyrics. It's hard to pin her style down but essentially it's a record you wouldn't want to miss and is definitely a thrill to listen to on a quiet evening.

It may all be sombre in mood but the after-feeling is certainly wonderful, at least for me.

Best album of 2004. Soulful, moving performance by a woman who is true to her vision. She's like a 100 of your favorite singers in one voice.