Customer Reviews

Gold Medal (Mcup)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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 a limited edition "Dual Disc" version in addition to this 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 this 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. The 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.

Sure, they're not nailing crunch chords like before, but they're riffs have a lot more thought put into them.

They're growing up, and like it or not, getting a little more sophisticated.

I wouldn't sweat them turning into 4 Avrils just yet...

BTW I got my hands on a dualdisc, the last song ends after a minute on the CD side, but plays all the way through on the DVD side...

The Donnas' sixth album Gold Medal isn't really what it promises. This isn't even silver...It's more like Bronze...The album starts with a great punk track "I Don't Want to Know..." which I find a very positive track although the lyrics aren't so happy. "Friends Like Mine" is quite basic rock stuff but then comes "Don't Break Me Down", "Fall Behind Me", and "Is That All You Got for Me" which are all good. "It's So Hard" is again a boring track. "The Gold Medal" is somethin' new. It sounds like Garbage but has the attitude of The Donnas. The song "Revolver" is quite a good one but the rest of the album isn't that good. If you liked "Turn 21" excellent, you probably like this one too. I like more the albums "Spend the Night", "Get Skintight", and "American Teenage Rock 'n' Roll Machine". This album isn't so bad but may be a disappointment for some fans...it sounds too poppy...just like some Blondie fans were disappointed for "Parallel Lines" after Blondie had made two punky albums.
Stars: I Don't Want to Know (If You Don't Want Me), Fall Behind Me, Gold Medal

_____Today I purchased the DualDisc version of Gold Medal. It was the same price as the regular version, so I picked it up. My portable CD player has a hard time playing it, even though it has no difficulty playing any other CD (it is, however, a very old and dilapidated CD player).
_____It eventually began to play the disc consistently and I was eager to hear The Donnas' new music. After listening to the entire album about three times through, I am very disappointed. The overall drive from their previous release, Spend the Night, is missing from most tracks. It sounds and looks as if The Donnas were trying for more of a mainstream appeal via taking cues from Jet. The power has left the music in lieu of unimaginative parallel diction and rhyming phrases and poppy guitar riffs and lead fills. The cover art for Gold Medal is also very reminiscent of Jet's Get Born, a coincidence a true rock band in their right mind would never let occur.
_____I have heard in interviews from the Spend the Night period that when The Donnas sit down to record an album, they put their heart into every song they record and try to make every last track great. This is not what Gold Medal sounds like. I was drawn into buying it not just by how much I enjoyed Spend the Night, but also by hearing their first single from the album "Fall Behind Me" by way of the internet. I do enjoy this song on the album, as it falls victim to the aforementioned problems only to a lesser extent. The other songs on the album do not sound like they received the same amount of time, effort, and preparation for the album "Fall Behind Me" received. This is not an album I enjoy listening to from start to finish.
_____I am not very satisfied with the album that is Gold Medal. If The Donnas truly wanted the album to sound like this, then I am glad they got their wish, but it is my belief the album's loss of edge either stems from Atlantic wanting The Donnas to go more mainstream so they could make more money or The Donnas wanting to go more mainstream so they could make more money. It is, after all, called "music business, not music fun" and what people do in it generally depends "how badly they want or need that quarter." This album will sell more copies than Spend the Night, however, because of its "new & improved" sound, but I wish one of the youngest and biggest true rock n roll bands did not have to compromise their style to do so. I really wanted to give this album a great review, but I can't. The bottom line is that it doesn't rock, something you used to be able to count on The Donnas to do.

It's been mentioned before, but the thing that struck me most about "Gold Medal" is the production. There is NO reverb or delay or ambiance at ALL - in some ways this makes the end result more immediate and accessible - but in others, oddly enough, it makes the band (make no mistake about it - this is a GREAT band!) sound somehow distant and sterile. The appeal of previous Donnas CDs was the sense that you'd turned the wrong corner on your way home and just happened upon the coolest and most rocking band on the planet. Listening to The Donnas was a bit like being in the garage while they cranked it out like only they can. They CAN crank it out and they do so here with a maturity and a willingness to expand their horizons that takes some serious balls. I'm sure they could recycle the familiar Donnas formula if that's what they wanted to do - but, to their credit, they're smart enough to know that in the end they'd end up being little more than a parody of themselves (unless I've missed something there's not a single reference to underwear on the entire CD!) After repeated listenings I realize that I LIKE these songs - I'd love to hear them in the garage - or on the stage. As good as the production on this CD is (Hell, I'm considering experimenting with a similarly "Dry" sound on my projects - I can see places where it would work well..) it's just WRONG for The Donna's. They need the "live" feel for their songs to have the immediacy that hits you between the eyes and keeps on hitting. They are growing as artists and musicians and I salute them for the effort and I'll be in line to buy the next effort. Go Girls! (Women?) This CD will one day be seen as the boundry between "The female Ramones" period and whatever they decide to become as a unique entity carving out a place in Rock'n'Roll history of their own. (PS - I'm available to produce and my rates are extremely reasonable!) But PLEASE - next time choose a producer who understands what makes The Donnas special instead of one who only knows what makes HIM special.

Some time ago, before the release of "Gold Medal" I saw a Donnas show on tv which already included some new tracks. The first impression was that these tracks were quite weak compared to their older stuff. Now we have the final result out and it's a true disappointment.

The first thing to notice is the sound, which is quite weak compared to "Spend The Night". No roughness, no power, I wonder what happened in the studio.

Well, still good songs can let you forget about bad sound but in this case the songs are quite as weak as the sound is. Some people might call this a development or a step forward or whatever, in my opinion it's a big step back, far back, so that this album is by far the worst Donnas album ever.

All you will find are a few good ideas, maybe a few good songs (like "Revolver") but this is too less for a band like "The Donnas".

Sad to repeat that this album is a true disappointment for me and probably for many others aswell.

I wonder, if their label invented when they produced the album. Nowadays you never know if a manager or someone else not knowing what they're doing people breaks into a production and wants it to be more "catchy", more "soft". In this case (if it is like this) it didn't work at all.

Sorry to say - Donnas you are dismissed.

EDIT:
Some time after writing this review and after forgetting the album, I gave it another chance and I must admit, it got better. Not as good as the previous Donnas albums but at least I can see something good with it. Still I'd like the Donnas to go back to their "old" style but at least I have made my peace with the album. I like it but I don't love it like I did with the other Donnas albums and especially "Spend The Night".

There's still hope for something good in the future. We will see/ hear.

Now I would rate them with three (and a half) instead of two stars.

I would listen to this album regularly during a very hard part of my life. However, listening to it now, I feel, is even better.

I read in an interview with Allison Robertson that she didn't care to impress anyone on the guitar but herself. However, I was impressed by what she did on this album more than anything else that she has ever done. Her guitar solos are some of the most effective guitar solos that I've ever heard.

Maya Ford gets to do more than just play the basic notes for each song. She has always been a great solid bass player with Screen, Ragady Anne, the Electrocutes, and with the Donnas. She still is solid, but on "Don't Break Me Down," and the title track, she's playing a bit more than she usually has.

Torry Castellano was recovering from tendinitis operations, so she was in a lot of pain when doing this album. However, the other three were more than happy to do everything much slower for her, to make things easier for her. With that in mind, that had a positive impact on the songwriting. Also, her drumming on this album is very different from what she usually does. I think that's a good thing for this album.

Brett Anderson's voice has never sounded as beautiful as it does on this album. She's always been a hard rock singer, but this time, she's doing something different.

To conclude, on this album, the Donnas are doing something much more experimental than their other stuff, and although a lot of fans hate this one because it's softer, I love it. Also, THEY ARE NOT SELLING OUT ON THIS, THEY ARE EXPERIMENTING!!!

The person who wrote the amazon review for this album must have been a complete idiot. This album is great. I love every single song on it. It is a great CD to turn up really loud and sing to at the top of your lungs while driving with all your windows down. I have always liked the Donnas and yes, this album does sound different, more produced and less punk/garage/party - esque, but it retains the spirit of what the Donnas are all about through and through. I think it is a move in the right direction for them and I look forward to their new album coming out this year.

I am not much for old rock n roll, but mostly because i dont like old recordings with hums and hiss's and background noises. But the donnas make Rock Rock again. Dont ever say Donna R is pretty good at guitar for a "girl" Shes better than most guys in the industry. Her guitar work is never boring. the lyrics actually have more of a point this time around too, although i love songs about smoking cheeba hotboxed in cars and getting laid, it seems more meaningful. if you download any one song to check out go for REVOLVER, youll want the whole album after seeing how awesome there rock is...

Gold Medal stands apart from other Donna's releases in that it actually sounds like an album instead of a quick battle of the bands set...I can actually tell the songs apart! Don't get me wrong, they always deliver, but this more mature, polished sound with no less spunk is refreshing.