Customer Reviews

Guest Room

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When a band I like puts puts out an album of covers of other artist's songs, I am always interested to hear it and then usually a bit disappointed. Usually, there are some great covers and a lot of filler that you never listen to. This is NOT the case here. The band picked some truly eclectic tracks to cover and they do so incredibly well. I was truly amazed that the band must like the same music I do, because, included are some of my all time favorite tracks from years gone by. "Kite" by Nick Heyward, "Streets of Your Town" by The Go-Betweens, "I Don't Know Why I Love You" by the House of Love, and "Let's Go to Bed" by The Cure all get incredibly brilliant treatment by this talented group of musicians. This is an album of sophisticated pop that will appeal to fans of the originals and to people that have never heard these songs alike. Ivy takes each song and makes it their own. An absolutely brilliant release. Buy it...you will not be disappointed.

This album of covers is an absolute joy, like ice cream on a summer day. The sound is spacey, melodic, and just a little twee, without leaving a saccharine taste in your mouth. Ivy do such a good job interpreting other people's songs that you'd think they were the band's own if you didn't know otherwise.

Two years after its release, Guestroom is still one of my favorite albums. It's just a great blend of pop and ectronica and pure Ivy magic ranging from upbeat and bouncy to slow and dreamy and almost other-worldly. Maybe it's because I only know one of the originals, but these songs really feel like Ivy's. Half the songs come from previous, mostly rare now, recordings, and half are new. All are great.

"Guest Room" is somewhat of a surprise release from Ivy, seeing how they get no airplay or publicity (a crying shame..) I picked it up knowing it was a collection of interpretations of covers from a diverse group of artists. No tour plans, due to the fact that lead singer Dominique Durand is pregnant with Adam Schelsinger's child (their second).

Cover albums are usually the mark of a band low on ideas (Duran Duran's "Thank You" comes to mind...shiver) but this one does not come across as a stopgap between releases.

It starts off with the Cure's "Let's Go to Bed" done with a rather techno beat. (It works). Next is Nick Heyward's lovely "Kite" (a song that should have been a hit for him), faithfully recreated (almost the same song with Dominique singing over it). The House of Love's "I Don't Know Why I Love You" is another standout track done acoustically rather than with the electric guitars that were the hallmark of the original.

Steely Dan's "Only a Fool Would Say That" has a French feel to it (and that's not meant as an insult). The Blow Monkey's "Digging Your Scene," previously available on their last relase Long Distance is included here again.

Ivy covers a proper French song as well "L'Anamour." Not being familiar with the original, I chalk it up as a typical French tune (organs, poppy beat, etc.)

Finally, their version of the Ronnettes' "Be My Baby" is slow, sung in hushed tones. It transforms the mood of the piece, and now it has an etherial feel, like the backing track to a weird dream.

All in all, this collection works. Ivy's style is imprinted on the tunes, to great effect. If you liked their earlier discs, you know what to expect. It leaves you feeling happy that Ivy checked in to this "Guest Room," and hoping next time they'll stay a little longer. With a total running time 36 minutes, it leaves you wanting more. No problem. Just hit "repeat" and let it play. It will play 3 or 4 times before you decide to take it out.

Ivy became one of my favorite groups the very first time I heard them. I have since purchased each of their four cds and they are no longer "one of" my favorites. They have the top spot! While I truly love their songrwiting skills, Guestroom (which consists of only covers) does not disappoint. Especially Ivy's rendition of "Kite" and "I Guess I'm Just A Little Too Sensitive". At the top of their game once again. I can't wait for their next cd, next five cds, next ten cds. I will be on a waitlist to get everything they put out.

"Long Distance" quickly became my favorite album, and now "Guest Room" is spending a great deal of time in my CD player as well. I quickly became enthralled with this groups sophisticated style and they certainly didn't disappoint with "Guest Room". The only one of these songs I recall being previously familiar with was "Be My Baby", and what a surprise to hear the ethereal sound that Ivy gives to it.

Plus -- what an awesome surprise, if you think Dominque Durand sounds wonderful singing in English, what an impressive surprise to hear her singing in French on "L' Anamour".

I only became familiar with Ivy's music relatively recently, and it couldn't have come at a better time. I've desperately needed something to soothe my soul and make me smile, and this group's music does it like nothing else can. I wish I could rate it higher than 5 stars!

A delightful forty minutes. According to web sources, this is Ivy's fourth album and the first devoted solely to covers. I haven't followed the band's career, and am not enough of a connoisseur of seventies and eighties pop to recognize all the artists they cover here (Steely Dan and The Cure ring a bell, but I must have been napping during the Blow Monkies' career). The crucial thing is that the album works beautifully from start to finish: the songs are all strong, the performances beguilingly cool, and the arrangements fresh enough to justify the lack of original material. The album sustains a nostalgic, slightly whimsical mood while changing tempo and tone enough to avoid monotony. Not a track is wasted; even the slow take on "Be My Baby" makes sense on repeated listenings. "Only a Fool Would Say That" provides a good example of the alchemy involved. The song is slightly reharmonized in spots, the vocal replaces Donald Fagin's hardbitten irony with something more innocent and taunting, and the original version's guitar solo (which couldn't possibly work in this context) gets replaced with a new, insistent melodic riff. Plus, hey, what a sweet tune to pick out of the Dan's vast catalogue. This is pop, not rock - it's more likely to inspire martini mixing than air-guitar. If you like sophisticated, melodic music, Guestroom will be an instant favorite.

Ivy is a terrific band. This disc is full of wonderful covers.

"Let's Go To Bed"- a classic Cure song that Ivy further stretches into beauty.

"Kite"- full of lasting and melodic hooks.

"Streets Of Your Town"- some of the best alternative pop I've heard, with great background vocal ins and outs.

"Only A Fool Would Say That"- i like some of Steely Dan's stuff and particularly Donald's solo album, and Ivy does this song full justice. some of that cafe melancholy.

"I Guess I'm Just A Little Too Sensitive"- a perfect song of subtle acoustic longing and contemplation.

Great CD. Pick it up.

I have always liked Ivy, especially their early stuff, and this album got me listening to them again. Ivy does a wonderful job with this eclectic mix of covers, making them their own. There is a very warm, friendly feel and a stylish electronic sheen running throughought the songs, making this a nice CD to put on on a lazy Sunday afternoon or a rainy evening. Ivy actually improve upon or at least update the sound of several works, including Steely Dan's "Only a Fool Would Say That", House of Love's "I Don't Know Why I Love You" and the Go-Betweens' "Streets of Your Town". There are a few cases where a cover seems unnecessary, including the atmospheric treatment of "Be My Baby" and the pedestrian cover of Orange Juice's "I Guess I'm Just a Little Too Sensitive", although anything that shines a spotlight on that fantastic band is always a good thing. Enjoyable

This 35 minute maxi EP is a very mixed bag. I am a big fan of their work on Apartment Life and Long Distance and this CD was a real disappointment.

Here there is little effort made to really make the songs their own. Sure there is some cutesiness added to most, but this is hardly palatable much less appreciated. Be My Baby is given an interesting twist, which is probably appropriate given Durand's pregnancy, but many of the songs simply remind you how much better the original song is which is not the impression you want to create on a cover album.

You really have to wonder why Ivy put out this CD. There are no new musical horizons covered here and Steve, and the rest of the band, seems to be bored while supporting Durand's vocals. Maybe a cash flow crisis? Speaking of cash flow, anyone want to buy my copy? If you are new to Ivy, buy Long Distance instead.