Customer Reviews

Giving Birth to a Stone

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Wow. I see this album got 3 1/2 and 4 stars from a couple reviewers. Let's get real. A four star album is a near classic. Something like OK Computer, In Utero, or Aenima earns four stars. Anyone wanting this album thinking your are going to get something reminiscent of Tool should save his or her money. The songs are banal and thin, and the vocalist sounds like he is singing underwater. Sure it's got Justin, and Adam helped out with the artwork, but their collective talents can't save this one. The songs are just re-mixes of the first Peach album. Nothing has changed. If you want an album that reminds you of an early-years Alice in Chains bootleg then buy it, but try to get it used. But if you are searching for something of quality with musical depth and intrinsic lyrics, you'd better keep looking.

It's a really wonderful thing that this album, with publicity from friends and tourmates Tool, got its chance at resurrection. Lyrically, it's as interpersonally insightful as Tool's Undertow, and the vocals work rather well as a sort of breathy alternative to the more melodic voices of other art rockers. The metallic bass lines and heavy drum beats both seem to make the comparisons between this band and Tool at least somewhat fair. Certainly, Peach share their intelligence and good taste.

From the opening track, "Spasm", this CD fights--literally--for your attention. Perhaps the best thing about Giving Birth to a Stone, though, is its odd duality from the outset: it is both lightheartedly enjoyable and easily understood, but it is also very deep and thoughtful and upon only a few listens you'll probably begin to take the lyrics very seriously if you enjoy dissecting song meanings. The King Crimson cover, "Catfood", is a good example of this trait (that King Crimson also embodies), immediately accessible for its ubiquitous bassline and darkly comic lyrics, yet very brooding and frightening upon deeper contemplation.

This CD presents something newer and deeper with each listen. A smart, thoughtful masterpiece, those of us who are latecomers to Peach should be very grateful that this ablum was brought back to the forefront, at least for a while. If you appreciate rock music that is heavy, brooding, and somewhat tongue-in-cheek, check this out.

NOTE: This listing is currently much cheaper than the identical re-release which refers to the same band under the name Peach gb for clarification purposes. Take that into account before you purchase either.

I am a hard-core TOOL fan and have been for about 3 years. I heard about this band a while ago and decided to download the cd. I was very impressed with the instromental parts but the vocals are weak. I guess you start to like it better and better the more you listen to it. I think any TOOL fan would enjoy this cd to a certain extent but its just not something that I would catagorize as great.

First off, there are actually twelve songs on this album, not two, as Amazon currently has listed. That said, I mainly bought this album because I'm a huge fan of Tool, and I wanted to hear what Justin Chancellor's old band from the UK sounded like. I definitely like them. More straight-ahead than Tool, with hard, driving riffs interspersed with some atmospheric breaks and melodies. The only problems I have are that the production is a little weak (the sound quality is a bit flat,) and Peach's vocalist- while he doesn't necessarily have a bad voice- doesn't have much range. Other than that, I recommend picking up a copy, especially for Tool fans. Some of Justin's bass riffs sound like they'd work great in a Tool song... I guess that's why he's playing with them now.

Cat food is a cover of a King Crimson song off their album "In the Wake of Poseiden." King Crimson is a pretty big influence on tool (and I think they opened for Tool on the last tour). Check out King Crimson's album "Red" especially (and the newest "Reason to Believe" is pretty heavy as well). On to this album, pretty good, similar musically to Tool in some spots, but completely different as far as the vocals. This is a worthwhile pick-up for Tool fans, but don't be expecting the lost tool album.

I bought this CD because I'm a huge Tool fan. Since Justin Chancellor played in Peach before he joined Tool, I thought I'd give it a shot. I love every single song on this album. I simply love the riffs and the basslines. The lyrics are great, and you'll find som similarities to Tool/A Perfect Circle here (Both bands have covered songs from this album). The gitar is intense and soothing at the same time. I recomend this album for everyone that likes rock/heavy metal, and wants something more than a scream vocal and headbanging (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Peach plays a number of styles, some becomming popular in the British musical venacular, one being Nu New Wave as heard on Track #7, Signpost in the Sea. It's an appealing update of the new wave genre with a bit more balls and nowhere as twee on the vocals..
The King Crimson cover, Catfood is an interesting choice that reminds me of something Robert Fripp might have done in his 80s solo career; the rock part, not the soundscapes.

In general there's a good deal of rock styles from the semi-tech sounds of Naked to the 90s-esque thud rock of "You Lied".
The music, performance and overall sound are very enjoyable to listen, if a bit dizzying at the shifts of eras, styles and identity, but for me that is also Peach's endearing quality. Based on these aspects the album is a solid "4".

So why a "3" for the review? In part because I was listening to some pretty intense music, Explosions in the Sky, actually, and I noticed that the production of Peach's Giving Birth to a Stone was a bit confusing and lacking in identity.
The album seems incapable of making up it's mind if it's a "lo-fi" kind of feel, which it is not by any means although it sounds decidedly dressed down on several tracks. Take "Don't Make Me Your God" followed by "Peach". It is a sonic identety crises, let alone like listening to something like Bloc Party followed by a better sounding NiN track.

As I said, it's not the change of pace or attitude, it's the production, or if not the production a questionable mastering job.
The sound of the album gets in the way for me. It calls attention to tracks, sometimes those nowhere as good, as in the example above.

That said, if you like Tool you're probably giving consideration to Peach and quite honestly, it IS a good album that perhaps I have a bit of technical issues with. It is very possible it won't be something many people pay attention to, I admit to being a snit to a degree, but when you have the resources available to a band like Peach it seems kind of wrong not to do everything 100%. Then again, I could be totally wrong about my conceptions which is why I still highly reccomend Giving Birth to a Stone.

It's a really wonderful thing that this album, with publicity from friends and tourmates Tool, got its chance at resurrection. Lyrically, it's as interpersonally insightful as Tool's Undertow, and the vocals work rather well as a sort of breathy alternative to the more melodic voices of other art rockers. The metallic bass lines and heavy drum beats both seem to make the comparisons between this band and Tool at least somewhat fair. Certainly, Peach share their intelligence and good taste.

From the opening track, "Spasm", this CD fights--literally--for your attention. Perhaps the best thing about Giving Birth to a Stone, though, is its odd duality from the outset: it is both lightheartedly enjoyable and easily understood, but it is also very deep and thoughtful and upon only a few listens you'll probably begin to take the lyrics very seriously if you enjoy dissecting song meanings. The King Crimson cover, "Catfood", is a good example of this trait (that King Crimson also embodies), immediately accessible for its ubiquitous bassline and darkly comic lyrics, yet very brooding and frightening upon deeper contemplation.

This CD presents something newer and deeper with each listen. A smart, thoughtful masterpiece, those of us who are latecomers to Peach should be very grateful that this ablum was brought back to the forefront, at least for a while. If you appreciate rock music that is heavy, brooding, and somewhat tongue-in-cheek, check this out.

NOTE: This listing is a re-released version of the original Giving Birth to a Stone, listed under the artist name Peach (not Peach gb). The original is currently a good deal cheaper than the re-released title, so keep that in mind before you choose to purchase this.

I have to say that like everyone else, I bought this CD after I discovered that there were ties within the band to TOOL. I did, however, buy it before Salival was released. At first listen, it is very difficult to get used to the vocals. They are a bit of a mismatch to the music. However, once you begin to appreciate what the music has to offer, you begin as well to appreciate the vocals, in a strange sort of unexpected way. If you like TOOL, you will probably like Peach. Although there are no similarities vocally, the music is very fitting for the listener with a taste for TOOL.

This was what Justin Chancellor was in before Tool, and this is what convinced Tool to take Justin into the band. Trust me when I say this doen't sound like Tool; so if you want a cheap knock-off look into Earshot. Peach is great in it's own right. NO: JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE BRITISH DOESN'T MEAN THEY'RE PUNK! This is 30 Seconds to Mars meets soft Mudvayne. It is very good with a dark Tool feel but not Tool. It's not the best thing you'll ever hear but it is great. If you had not heard of Tool you would like this band, but since many of you know only of this band because of Tool it is not going to reach it's full potential, but to those of you with open minds you will like this. Nirvana isn't a complicated outer-space trip like Tool but it is great nonetheless, having said this check out this album.