Customer Reviews

Great Expectations

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

 

 

Even if you don't know who Tasmin Archer is, you may have heard her debut single "Sleeping Satellite". While not a huge hit, this was one of the most distinctive mainstream songs of the '90s. Not quite R&B, not quite folk rock, and not quite ambient, the song almost guarantees that once you hear it, you won't forget it.

On her debut, Archer was a little similar to Tracy Chapman in her presentation -- a young black woman who didn't belong directly to an R&B/soul genre, with songwriting and arrangements that beckon more to white traditions -- confessional folk in the case of Chapman, and polished pop/rock in the case of Archer. But both artists were able to add a distinctive flavour to their music with a huskier, soul-inflected vocal style, and so Chapman's folk songs and Archer's radio-friendly pop-rock sound like nobody else, both harmonious black-white amalgams with unique personalities.

"Sleeping Satellite" was a hugely impressive debut single, all the more so because it's a very low-key song. The melodies don't soar, the arrangements are subtle and even (a chiming piano, acoustic guitars mixed very far back), and the backbeat stays in a quiet, pensive groove.
But somehow it sounds anthemic (the larger-than-life lyrics help), another one of those songs you feel like should have been written a long time ago. Archer has more tricks up her sleeve, though -- "Arienne" is Byrdsian folk rock in the classic car-radio tradition, but "Lords of the New Church" is high-energy rock, harkening to Bruce Springsteen, and "Somebody's Daughter" is a moody midtempo rock number with a memorable lyric hook but a very Europop string section which spices up the arrangement nicely.

I'd stumbled upon Archer's music once again while going through my music library randomly, and putting on this record reminds me of the dozens of times I've spun this CD since I'd first bought it way back in 1992. It's a record that ages gracefully, sounding as up to date as it did 12 years ago, and Archer's appealing musical mix continues to delight.

Unfortunately for Tasmin Archer, this album came years before the Lilith Fair phenomenon. Nowadays, women rockers singing about women's issues are as common as bad music reviews. But considering 1993, a date which even pre-dates the Internet as we know it, women balladeers were still very much uncommon. Not nonexistent, just uncommon. Black women balladeers were and are especially rare. She's no Joan Armatrading, she's no Tracy Chapman. She's Tasmin Archer, and she's in a class by herself. Tasmin Archer simply came on the scene too soon to be appreciated. This is a great album.

I fell in love with this as soon as it came out years ago...I was hoping it would at least be nominated for a Grammy; I wanted Tasmin Archer to win best new artist...I don't think she was even nominated, but the first Seal album came out that year, too, and didn't win, so this at least is a testament to the worthlessness of the Grammy Awards.

I'm very seldom excited by female singers...I have never been a fan of high voices. Johnny Mathis is about the highest voice I can handle! Tasmin's range is right up my alley. All ten songs are are GREAT. I can listen to my Great Expectations CD all day with my ears intact.

Sleeping Satellite may have been the single, but the best song, out of ten very good songs, is When It Comes Down To it. This song is definitely soundtrack material, and I hope a movie picks it up, if only to rekindle interest in this wonderful album.

Tasmin is backed up by two very capable musicians. I especially like the guitar work in Somebody's Daughter.

If ever there was a case of somebody dropping the ball in the promotion department, it is the case of Great Expectations. It's a crying shame this recording didn't get more PR.

Oh, and for the record, I love the messages in this song, and I got them LOUD AND CLEAR!

I think this is a very strong album: it may sound kind of dark and heavy at first, but it grows on you. 'Sleeping Satellite' is brilliant (the instrumental solo in the middle of the song always gives me goosebumps), 'When It Comes Down to It' melancholy but beautiful and 'Halfway to Heaven' is a very good finishing touch for the album ('when you're flat on your back you can still see the stars/guiding you through the night'). Very nice work.

I was captivated by Tasmin Archer after hearing "Sleeping Satellite" via "UK Chart Attack", a Top 40 program featuring hits from Britain in late 1992. After buying the cd upon its release in the U.S. in early 1993, I was pleasantly surprised. "Great Expectations" covers an array of various styles and tune smithing that reveal polish and melody. Some of the production is a bit glossy and formulaic in parts - but I find that this approach likely helped the cd to find a footing in mainstream music. Interesting subject matter abounds of which in conjunction with some melodic arrangements and strong vocals, tends to reel the listener in. "Sleeping Satellite" (written about the implications of space travel) has a nifty organ instrumental in the middle of the song that stands out nicely; "Lords Of The New Church" which details disillusionment with religion, is very catchy and rife with pop ambiance and hooks. Yet, it is lyrically deeper than your everyday pop song. "Hero" also has a strong chorus that has you humming and reflecting on the song long after its conclusion. "When It Comes Down To It" has a nice melancholic aura about it that lingers through subdued arrangements and poignant vocal delivery. "Somebody's Daughter" has a pop/rock "by the numbers" feel that again, impacts the listener on a number of levels. "Ripped Inside" is an earnest, heartbreaking account of betrayal and love lost. The other tracks on here are all solid and very accessible. Some may contend that the songwriting misses the mark on some counts and the production is "overripe" - but I beg to differ. "Great Expectations" is a great piece of music from a truly great (and seriously underrated) singer. Check it out and enjoy.

This album is fantastic. Her voice is unique and soulful. In my opinion the best songs are "Sleeping satellite", "Lords of the New Church", "In your care" and "Somebody's Daughter". The whole album it's outstanding! Buy it.

One of the better cds I have heard...lots of insight and very mod. The synthisis is great, as is her voice. I worht buying and adding to future music collections.

What a great talent - seems undiscovered in the U.S. Should be on everyone's iPod!

This pop/rock disc is a talented sparkle that hit in 1993. Although variable quality it's still a strong effort and a brave attempt to celebrate an era in pop/rock history. It's also challenging for the 90s and aternatively breeding new to a variety of listeners to it. Influenced of different music like gospel, jazz, folk, blues it swings mostly seemlessly between and renders doublefolt to those predecessors. It has the strength of a deep crooning and wailing voice that is rather explaining and stating than definite. Great Expectations allows the listeners to sink in the texture of the work and make your own opinion about it by confronting it's active path. It's a great debut. Listen to the single choice Lords of the new church for example with the strength of the speaker alongside with its accompanying rhythm and fairlight and the heart breaking ballad of Ripped inside. With its different perspective of emotions althrough I could have rated it higher up if only the songs altogether would have been better. It lacks of really strong engaging songs but those that are there are good listening.

Okay, I first heard the track Sleeping Satellite and fell in love with it. This song was great. It was a song you could kick your feet back to, pop open and beer, and just soak up life. Sleeping Satellite is the first track on the cd, and after that, unfortunately, the rest of the cd fizzles off into pure progressive-pop rock boredom. The songwriting is horrible. The last nine songs on this cd sound like something Wilson Phillips would have released.

Keep in mind though, this is only a debut cd, and there is a lot of promise here. Tasmin Archer is very talented. This is evident from listening to Great Expectations. However, her talent needs time to mature. I am anxiously awaiting her second cd, because I believe that she will have realized this album's weaknesses and invested in some better songwriting.

Album otvara ultimativni hit 90', Sleeping Satellite, koji i danas jednako uzbudljivo zvuci bas kao i kada je izdat i plasiran da pretstavi debitantsko izdanje Great Expectations. Sjajne pesme se samo nadovezuju jedna na drugu Arienne, Lords Of The New Church gde je vidan uticaj Annie Lenox,When It Comes Down To It, sarmantna i pevljiva Steeltown, The Higher You Climb, odlicno otpevana In Your Care koja je svakako i najbolja pesma na albumu zajedno sa Sleeping Satellite i Ripped Inside, Somebody's Daughter daje pravi ritam i pomera album za jedan stepenik vise, Hero je jedina pesma koja skripi na ovom albumu jednostavno ne pripada tu ni tekstualno ni konceptualno, jednostavno nikako, i Halfway To Heaven koja zatvara album sigurno i suptilno dajuci oblik albumu.
Ako volite Annie Lenox ili Tracy Chapman, ovaj album je za vas.