Customer Reviews

Graduated Fool

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

 

 

The latest album of one of the best female singers around. there are two versions of this cd, but the only difference is the color of the package. I own the black version, so I review this one. Anouk recently became a mother, but the only influence that has on her music is the lyrics. This album is more rock than the previous one. It shows a more mature women. A woman with an extremely powerful voice. If you know Anouk through her other albums, I don't have to explain anything. You can just buy this record and be happy with it. If you don't know Anouk, but you do appreciate good music, sung by good female singer, way much better than a Britney or a Christina, this is an album you won't regret buying. Just as her other albums. So buy this, and be jealous at her child for having such a cool,talented and handsome mother.

Anouk is a famous female rock star in the Netherlands. She comes from Dutch rock city, The Hague. Anouk has a powerful voice, that you can hear on songs like 'Everything' and 'I Live For You'. These songs were hitsingles in the Netherlands and some other European countries. She is one of the rare artists that is live even better than in the studio. You can hear and see this also on a DVD-video called 'Close Up' on which Anouk blows you away with 'Everything' and in particular 'I Live For You'. Unfortunately this DVD is not released in the USA.

Besides the more heavier rock side, Anouk has also the talent for soft rock songs such as 'Hail'. She is not only an excellent vocal performer but she has the ability to write songs as well.

In short, 'Graduated Fool' has everything what a rock album needs!

It's the best album by Anouk by far!!

Ok, so I reviewed Anouk's debut yesterday and now I feel compelled to review all of her albums. So, I'm going to continue on with her third studio album `Graduated Fool'. I actually have all of her albums except her sophomore album `Urban Solitude'. I really want that album, but iTunes doesn't have it right now. Why, I don't know. Anyways, so `Graduated Fool' is a huge step up from `Together Alone'. She completely ditches the pop influence and actually creates an inspired and original album that showcases her own style and manages to embellish her already pristine vocals.

So let's start with perfection.

`Hail' is probably my favorite track here. A very political song, it is strong and opinionated without being overbearing. Her beautiful control is made evident in the soft way she delivers each word, and the chorus is just effortless. I love the fact that she incorporates an almost reggae smoothness into her music, giving her such originality. Look no further than `Margarita Chum' for that island smoothness. I just adore this woman's `coolness'. This song is just pure perfection, incorporating folk with alternative and topping things off with that relaxed drum beat. Think sophisticated Jason Mraz; maybe like a fusion of Mraz and Damien Rice but in female form.

Flawless.

`Everything' and `Who Cares' carry a very strong rock edge, complete with riffs that would but nu-metal acts like KoRn to shame. The fact that this girl can handle this form of music without a tinge on discomfort is remarkable. She can go from the softest and delicate of ballads and then straight into a harshest and heaviest of anthems with so much ease. Personally, I think that `Everything' is one of the best tracks on the entire album. Just the opening alone is impeccable and instantly gets my blood boiling. `Who Cares' has grown on me a lot. At first I was turned off by the chorus opening, but it has proven to be such a nice contrast to the straightforward brutality of the verse's construction.

One track that I am completely in love with is the albums closing track `Bigger Side'. Anouk's voice just melts into your ears with this magical ballad, something so pure and fragile. I love the way is stands out against the rest of the album, and it is the perfect way to end this album.

There are a slew of very, very good songs here that aren't `perfect' but actually stand up very well.

The title track is one of these. You can add to that `Stop Thinking', `Searching' and `No Time to Waste'. I made a comment about her debut, that she reminded me on some tracks of Natalie Merchant, but in a bad way...flip that here. She reminds me of Natalie Merchant on songs like `Graduated Fool', but in a very, very good way. I love the groove that sets into `Stop Thinking'. Anouk has a very smooth style here. `Searching' has an alternative edge to it, but it also has a blues feel to it. It's not one of my favorite studio tracks, but it cleans up real nice live (I'm telling you, her live albums are the way to go). `No Time to Waste' is nicely constructed, but it just isn't very memorable.

There are only two songs here that I don't like much. One of them is the opening track `Too Long'. What's funny is that I had listened to her album `Update' before I listened to this one and it has an acoustic version of this track and I just LOVED it, so when I heard this I was taken aback. I don't like this one at all. Since it was the opening track I was worried that this whole album was going to be in line with this one. Thankfully it is not. The other song is `I Live for You'. It just doesn't work for me. It sounds kind of like garage metal, and by that I mean poorly constructed amateur rock. It can't hold a candle to `Everything'.

In the end this is a huge improvement and just paves the way for even better and better material from this Dutch goddess.

This is the third official studio album Dutch rock singer Anouk has made. After her outstanding second album she released "Lost Tracks" to fill up the gap. After being off for two years she has returned with a new album and a new band.
This particular album is meant to definitely establish her name internationally. It has been released in Europe by Dino/EMI where she will promote it with a tour and by performing on several festivals this summer. After that, the album is due to be released in the rest of the world.
However, I must admit I doubt if Anouk will achieve her goal. It's just that the album doesn't contain a song that will be able to do what "Nobody's Wife" did. Her bluesy voice is as strong as ever and the overall sound of "Graduated Fool" tends to be of a more alternative one. It contains some real blasters like the first two singles "Everything" and "I Live For You", but they're just too raw for frequent wide radio airplay. Or the reminiscing ballad "Margarita Chum" problably written in the same period as "Michel" from her second album, has to do the trick.
"Graduated Fool" is a sound album. Opening song "Too Long" shows a funky sound and "Who Cares" has a real nu-metal edge to it, with an up tempo Rammstein-like riff in the catchy chorus. The ballad "Hail" shows political commitment and the title track is a modest beautifully sung semi-ballad. The album will give Anouk international credibility and recognition within the genre, but I don't think it will generate many international hit singles. Still, go for it Anouk!!

After recieving this item I found out it is copy protect. I did not open the schrink wrap so I could return this. I only listen to music now from my Ipod. Thi smeans that I cannot purchased copy protect CD's. It would be nice if Amazon could give us a warning about this before we order an item.