Customer Reviews

Grace / Wastelands

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a rich, beautiful, muted, heartbreaking and occasionally exhilarating CD. All the media crap aside, Doherty is the real thing, an artist who can put deepest and sometimes his darkest impulses into memorable, if often heartbreaking songs. His singing is perfect: he never gets in the lyrics' way and his phrasing is totally his own. And there's not enough to be said for the production. It's immaculate.

What's worrisome is that most of these are old songs. I'd be terrifically happy to hear a dozen new songs, if only to demonstrate that Pete's still turning them out.

But this is a collection that just gets richer with repeated listening.

If someone played this CD for me and didn't tell me who it was, I'd never guess Pete Doherty. If they then told me who it was, I'd say "The Pete Doherty who's been on a slow motion trainwreck to self destruction on the front page of tabloids for much of the last decade? That Pete Doherty?".

Most people probably wouldn't characterize Mr. Doherty's heroin induced public conduct as mature. Well, folks, I'm here to tell you that after just a couple of spins of this CD, this is mature music and songwriting. With the possible exception of "Sweet By and By", which, with its New Orleans brass band sound doesn't quite seem to fit in with the rest of the album, for the most part, this is a great record.

It's been said that good songwriting comes only from people who wrestle with problems, internal strife, psychological issues, etc. Who knows whether that's really true or not, but if there is any truth to that, then Grace/Wastelands is a good record to use as an example in support of that argument.

It doesn't hurt matters that the great guitarist and creator of retro ambience, Graham Coxon, plays on most of the tracks.

This is music that will stand the test of time. Now, if Mr. Doherty can just keep the momentum of what he's done here going, we can look forward to more good stuff, and hopefully, look back at his self destructive tabloid days as just a phase.

Pete Doherty does it again! If you're going to properly listen to this album make sure to enter into it without any preconceptions about who Pete Doherty is. Ignore the tabloid stories, ignore what you've heard about his drug abuse, enter into it with an open mind. If you do you will find one of the best albums of the last year.

This is an album worth hearing because it feels very natural and intimate. Whether or not you enjoy this album, it will give you the opportunity to see the world from the sad, witty perspective of a person who excites the public's curiosity. I don't think the songs are fantastic, but they are good. After a first listen, the lyrics, insidiously hypnotic grooves, and jazzy changes make this excellent background music, especially if you are feeling contemplative and gloomy. Moods too subtle and delicate to survive an incessant backbeat are given room to sprawl out and linger. I found it cathartic to brood with Pete and indulge in his arty kind of melancholy.

This is Peter at his best, elegant and beautiful.
Hauntingly beautiful melodies which are deeply atmospheric.

He has the most amazing voice...wrapped around those lyrics...

Peter has done it again, and I can't wait for the next solo release.
Although I still dream of a Libertines reunion.

Pete Doherty is one of the most talented musicians of our time. Big things to come if he manages to pull his act together and stay alive long enough. Love it. Gracefull, inteligent, soothing...

First thing I noticed about Pete Doherty's solo debut was the addition of an "r" to his forename, an attempt to leave the papparazzi infested past behind and forge ahead with more seriousness? Perhaps!

Second thing I noticed was the song titles. I'd read in an interview he gave where he confessed to being influenced by literature. "Titles are almost the be all and end of the song" he stated. Well, a look at the song titles and one could be forgiven for mistaking them for chapters from some literary classic.

Produced by Stephen Street, Doherty will shock most who had written him off due to his battling with Amy Winehouse for tabloid supremacy, thanks to his extra curricular drug activities which tend to overshadow his excellent songwriting skills, especially on display here.

Much more sublime and uncommercial than songs from his previous groups Libertines and Babyshambles, much of the album is acoustic and Folky, from opening cut "Arcady", through "1939 returning" (with an intro that sounds like some TV show theme, and lyrics portraying wartime imagery), "I am the rain" (a nice sing-along which picks up tempo towards the end), to the tender "Sheepskin tearaway" (which finds him harmonizing with some breathy female - Dot Allison).

"Sweet by and by" is horn-peppered piano-driven Cabaret. So languid and laid back, he yawns and sings at the same time, adding to its kitsch and charm.

For a fuller sound, we have songs like the groovy "Last of the English roses", "Salome" (with lyrics alluding to the biblical daughter of King Herod that demanded John the Baptists head on a silver platter), "Palace of bone", "Broken love song", "New love grows on trees" (with sporadic bursts of fuzzy guitar), and "Lady don't fall backwards".

Standout to me is the cinematic-sounding "A little death around the eyes". Dark and mysterious, yet incredibly beautiful! As with every other song, the lyrics are deeply cerebral with no sacrifice to melody.

Shame that albums such as this rarely get much airplay (it debuted at a rather lowly #17 in his native UK), but it would be a double shame if you fail to get it after reading this. Shockingly good!

Grace/Wastelands being Doherty's debut solo album and 2009 release and was met with generally positive reviews. Allmusic gave it 4 and Rolling Stone gave it 3/5. I would like to give it 3.5 but since I can not it gets a weak 4. The album reach top ten in France, and Belgium and reached #13 on the Swedish albums chart. All the lyrics are included but due to the font they can not be easily read. 2 singles were released "Last of the English Roses" and "Broken Love Song". We also get a list of whom plays what. 4/5.

This years best, and will stay that until 2011.until his next project .PETER great job PeTER. !! CIAO BELLA.....