Customer Reviews

Give Yourself a Hand

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

This CD came with a warning label to the effect that this is not your usual CTD recording. What an understatement! Unlike A Worm's Life, which I came to like after a second listening, this recording contains only a few tracks that I can listen to in their entirety. If you like street-language rap, graceless sexual references, songs which rely on a heavy beat to mask their lack of musicality and message, and are prepared for CTD lyrics to deliver a numbing lack of profundity, this CD is you.

P.S. I am sure the band had fun recording this one; it's just not much fun to listen to.

Everyone should give this album a serious listen. It reminds you that music is art, a product of creativity not marketing strategies. I was impressed with this album as the end point of much evolution in CTD. I didn't even recognize them upon listening to the first few tracks. I enjoyed the addition of new rhythms, sounds and, especially, of Ellen Reed's vocals to all the other good things CTD had going on. Also, my husband perceived the two vocalists as having a sort of conversation about their romantic relationship (which is in trouble). Listening to it that way gives me a whole new perspective.

I suppose if 2 1/2 stars were "givable" I would give that. There appears to be a lot of back and forth argument between those who give 5 stars and those who give 1. My problem with it is not simply the drastic change in music style. This change should have been expected, since there is quite a difference between "The Ghosts that Haunt Me" and "A Worm's Life," for instance.

"Give Yourself a Hand" bothered me because the lyrics have become less clever and funny. And why aren't the lyrics included with the CD? They always did that before, and reading through them was almost as much fun as listening to the CD itself. The sexual references were kind of a shock too. I mean, they've always been present in their music, but they used to be more subtle.

I guess what summarizes my feelings about this album is that it makes me uncomfortable when I listen to it. I'm not saying the band should head back to their roots, necessarily. One of my favorite things about them is their ability to change. But please don't change everything. Hold on to the articulate and witty lyrics. CTD's progression seems to have gotten a little sidetracked

This is bright record in my collection, one of the kind that longer you look at, more you like it. I would suppose artists had possibility to do what they want on this one. Therefore, if you have respect for what real CTD are, you cannot dislike it. Certainly it is very different from their radio-hit, as it is more contemporary and more complicated. But this one is RECORD. Actually, we have been dancing to it with great pleasure, too!

Having owned this album since the day it was released -- and having recently seen the Dummies live in support of the new "I Don't Care That You Don't Mind" -- I can begin to see it in perpective.

1) These guys can't record a truly awful album, try as they might. I'd take that any day over 95% of what I hear on the radio.

2) The three Ellen Reid tracks are great; her new solo album should be a real treat.

3) It may be about sex, drugs, et al, but that doesn't mean it isn't witty. "I Want to Party!" get funnier with each listen.

It's no "God Shuffled His Feet" (their most popular) or "Worm's Life" (their best), but it's worth a listen.

While this album is nothing one would expect from listening to their previous works, it is nonetheless an amazing album. When I first heard it, I sat back and thought, "WTF? This sounds nothing like what I expected." After listening to it a couple more times I realized that while my expectations were not met, they were instead surpassed once I stopped comparing it to the other albums. The songs are catchy, sexy and fun to listen to. I had the chance to see them perform songs from it live and the songs worked beautifully in concert as well.

Crash Test Dummies, that odd Canadian band, has produced yet another uniguely interesting album. If you've enjoyed the past releases of "A Worm's Life", or "God Shuffled His Feet", be sure to pick up the band's forth album. Beginning with the "Mod Squad" favorite, "Keep A Lid on Things", all the way to "A Little Something", the album really shines. Moving their sound from alternative to a more electric feel, the album doesn't disapoint. All is topped off by Ellen Reid's harmonious sopranic voice. Pick up a copy of "Give Yourself A Hand" and see why the Dummies have continued their success.

What can I say...for those of us who worshipped at Brad Roberts feet after "God shuffled..." are ready to throw up on his feet after "Give yourself a Hand". The first track is catchy, but it's not worth wasting your $ for the whole CD. Buy a single if there is one! For shame, CTD, you should have stayed with your original, slick style.

Read it and weep: LONDON TIMES - 25 JUNE 1999 CRASH TEST DUMMIES Give Yourself a Hand (Vik/Arista/BMG) THEY may have declined commercially since hitting the big time with Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm in 1994, but Give Yourself a Hand finds Crash Test Dummies making the best music of their career. Chief Dummy Brad Roberts, known for his unusually resonant baritone voice, has discovered a strangely affecting falsetto to go with it. By playing one register off against the other he produces an intriguing Yin and Yang effect between verse and chorus on several songs, especially the powerful rap-funk rumble A Cigarette is All You Get and the moody, trip hop groove of Just Shoot Me, Baby. Keyboard player Ellen Reid takes the lead vocals on three songs. With a clear, frosty tone somewhere between Beth Gibbons and Beth Orton, she lends a further dimension of mystery and melancholy, most tellingly on Just Chillin'. Wonderfully produced by Greg Wells, this is an album of rare wit and vitality.

This album certainly wasn't what I expected. I love God Shuffled His Feet. Give Yourself a Hand is an entirely different animal. But it's the sort of animal you can't help but love- affectionate, likes to be pet, does a little dance if you hold up a treat, and humps your leg at every opportunity. You may be put off by it at first, but it will soon charm you.
Keep an open mind and give it a proper try and you shan't be disappointed.