Customer Reviews

Gold Medal DVD Audio

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Ever since hearing Spend The Night, I've been a fan of The Donnas. I find their music fun to listen to and hum along. They may not be revolutionary nor groundbreaking but they don't have to be. These 4 ladies can more than hold their own weight in a male-dominated industry, and for that I say, good for them.

And now The Donnas are back with Gold Medal, their highly anticipated new album. Before I go on, I should say that the only Donnas album I own (other than Gold Medal) is Spend The Night, so my comparisons will be only to that album. That out of the way, I think Gold Medal lives up to the hype for the most part. One thing you'll notice, perhaps the first thing you'll notice, is that this album has a mellower feel than Spend The Night, even during the heavier songs. At first I wondered why this was so, and then realized it's because of the slightly less-polished production than Spend The Night. I can't help thinking of the overall sound of Gold Medal as 70's "fuzz" guitar. Not that that's a bad thing, mind you. It's as if The Donnas want the listener to focus on the music itself this time, rather than just the chunky, loud power chords that Spend The Night consisted of. Which one is better? That will be a personal preference, but I have to say that I liked the production on Spend The Night better. Don't get me wrong though, Gold Medal sounds great too. It's just another type of "great" if that makes sense.

Lyrically, The Donnas have injected a little more maturity into their songwriting, although their desire to party is still ever so present: case in point, the opening lines of "It's So Hard":

"I'm not obsessed, I could care less. I just want to get you undressed." If that's not trademark The Donnas, I don't know what is! But it's all tongue-in-cheek, so why not just go along with it.

This album has been released in this limited edition "Dual Disc" version in addition to a single disc version. Unless you're an avid collector of limited edition releases (or just love The Donnas so much that you absolutely must own both versions), I would recommend just getting the single disc edition. It has an enhanced section with the video of "Fall Behind Me" (which is WAY COOL), a link to their website and a link to ring tones. So basically all the multimedia stuff you would want. This Dual Disc edition offers a dual-sided disc with the album on one side and a DVD on the other. The DVD offers the entire album in Surround Sound (really not that different in terms of sound quality, unless you own top-of-the-line speakers), the video of "Fall Behind Me" and a making-of segment for the album. Sounds good at first, but there are some drawbacks. For one, the Dual Disc format is nothing new, and I along with many DVD owners HATE them. They are much easier to scratch and get fingerprints on, since one can't touch either side. Anyone who has ever owned a DVD film on a dual disc format will know exactly what I'm talking about. And if that's not bad enough, the DVD will not play on certain models, nor on certain models of DVD-Rom drives on one's PC. The only real bonus of the DVD is the making-of segment, but this will only appeal to die-hard fans. For everyone else, the single disc edition is the way to go.

Though this is a good album, I do have a couple of complaints. Number 1, the album is way to short. If an album is less than 40 minutes, it just doesn't seem to be worth the money. This is a minor drawback though. My second complaint is that the dualdisc is flawed. The DVD side works fine, and because I have surround sound, it is worth it. However, the CD side is defective. The last song, "Have You No Pride", cuts off after 53 seconds as if it were misrecorded. I don't know if all the copies are this way, therefore I don't want to waste my time taking it back. By the other reviews I've read though, it sounds as if the single disc probably is the way to go. If anyone else does have a problem with the CD side, please post it on here.

I agree with the post from Ohio: This release is good, not great. This time around the Donnas has more variety, at the expense of the aggression. Most of the tunes are well written, but are too laid back and dont pack enough punch. This said, I believe the album is good enough to warrant a purchase but....what is up with track 11 on the dual disc? Mine cuts off at 53 seconds also! I exchanged my copy that I bought in NYC, and the second copy I got had the same problem! Looks like I will have to pick up the regualar version. (Too bad 'cuz the misic video IS really cool)

The Donnas sound great on the DVD-A, and the DD is an amazing value for money. But here lies the complication--the CD section of the DualDisc cannot be ripped into iTunes. So while you can listen to the disc in your car or any other CD player (try not to travel with it unless you enjoy fingerprint art), you can forget about getting it into your iPod. Not really the ideal way to listen to the CD for an iPod + Playlist lover like me. So if you own an iPod, get the regular edition instead!

This record reminds me of the sulky Samantha Jones in the 5th season of Sex and the City, during her train trip to San Francisco. Her fuse fizzled when she confronted the shabby linoleum-floored world of Amtrak, but she recovered by the 29th minute of the episode. Her resuscitation gives me hope the Donnas will convalesce successfully and return to full mattress-rocking form on their next album. This time, they left their catchy hooks at home on their nightstands; the hooks, like the one in `Don't Get Me Busted,' or the one in `Midnight Snack,' that goes `I want a little piece of you for my midnight snack' aren't heard. On the old records, conquest was either proposed or achieved; it was a fait accompli; here it's a struggle; here there is a bruise, but no pleasure. What pleasure there is comes from the expert production. Letting the sound on this record wash o'er one brings some relief. Let us sincerely hope, however, that the `Matrix' never shows up on a Donnas record.

The tunes are adequate, but no more. I thought the first cut released, `Fall Behind Me,' was a compromise between competing forces - those of the band, and that of the record company, because it seemed so unrepresentative of the band's previous work - and that its release was the result of the confusion that almost saw `It's on the Rocks' released as the single from `Spend the Night,' instead of `Take It Off.' On further listening, it seems to be about the catchiest tune on the CD. I would probably have released `I Don't Want to Know,' which rocks harder. It sounds better to me than the insipidly coiling and uncoiling lick on `Fall Behind Me.' And whoever was listening should have spotted the similarity of `It Takes One to Know One'to `A Little Like a Refuge.'

The source of my discontent is that the Donnas have changed genres from punk/pop to indie pop. If I wanted to hear some sensitive guy tunelessly mewling about failed relationships I could go to Ludlow Street (NYC) on any of the seven nights of the week. I want the Donnas to smash me in the nose, as if with their palms, with joy in their liberated sexuality, not wrap me in Leonard Cohen's cold, clammy fog. I'm wringing my hands - they should be too, because they've lost their way to the back seat and into my heart. We turn to the Donnas for relief from existential torsion.

Hey girls, give me the kiss in the sun that was your previous recording. Authenticity comes in the fleshly variety, too. I want your desire and your sweat, not your darn poetry, unless you can write like Byron or Keats. And I want to be inspired to further understanding of how you feel about it, the way that Sex and the City aspires to furthering the understanding of the psychological and physiological need for connectedness, never otherwise admitted in the mass media, let alone explored.

Maybe you could take up drugs and drink to get over this barren patch. What's behind the curtain? Because of the double standard, women who write songs about sex are supposed to be engaged in irony - I remember, despite your high-school gum-cracking style of conversation in the segment about making the video, that Cynthia Lennon was a well-hidden secret. But then, maybe there should be a little mystery. Liz Phair's once shocking revelations have become dull.

You know it, Donna's: AC/DC isn't dull. That's the attitude!

I've probably misunderstood the whole thing, haven't I? Unlike Fox Mulder, I don't want to believe - that things could be as dull and untheatrical as seem to be.

To add insult to injury, your new web site is nowhere near as good as the last one. Bring the old one back.

Women, take a vacation, you've been working too hard, too long. It's about art, talent, and giftedness. Working hard could be considered important, but it'll never bring to your work what recharged psychic batteries can.

THE DONNAS NEW CD 'GOLD MEDAL' IS WORTH JUST THAT. ALL OF THE SONGS SOUND GREAT WITH HARD, CATCHY RIFFS. THE CD HAS A 70'S

FEEL TO IT, WHEREAS 'SPEND THE NIGHT' HAD AN AC/DC FEEL TO IT.

IF YOU LIKE HARD 70'S RNR, BUY THIS CD.