Customer Reviews

Of The Heart, Of The Soul And Of The Cross: The Utopian Experience

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I originally bought this album only hearing "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss". I also wanted to get the song which sampled Kraftwerk "If I Wuz U", being that I collect songs that sample Kraftwerk, so I went to Amazon.com and listened to the 30 second samples they had. I liked what I heard. So, I wait for the mail to arrive....

I got the album and it started off with "Reality Used to Be a Friend of Mine" and I was floored. This was REAL HIP HOP, it reminded me of De La Soul, except more poetic. "Amazing" is the only word to describe it.

Following was "Paper Doll", such a beautiful song. Just the way everything comes together is perfect. I actually had no clue until I bought this album that Be did all the vocals singing/rapping. What a versitile man.

Basically, every track following this IS perfect. Except "Shake"...I don't know about that one, but other than that I couldn't ask for anything more in an album. I want to say ONCE AGAIN, THIS ALBUM IS DAMN AMAZING!

I really needed something as beautiful as this album in my world at this time of my, and I thank P.M. Dawn for it.

lets say you take dream pop,and put spoken word type hip-hop vocals over the lush musical landscape and you get this masterpiece of an album.i was roughly 13 years old when i heard this album in 1991,and thought it was beautiful.it was a weird contrast to my N.W.A,GnR(guns-n-roses),public enemy,living color,ice-t,and geto boys album collection. eitherway its a great cd to have in my collection.

this album is just so smooth my fav tracks are paper doll,set a drift,and even after i die,this album is verry eclectic moody.when i was younger the album would just take me away.


the album isn't reallly ground breaking but it is verry well done enough to be considered a classic.i'm glad hip-hop didn't go in the direction of PM Dawn.because honestly that would make them obsolete in a world of simuler clones.besides theres enough room for all types of rap music.theres no neeed to follow one formula

I got into these guys by accident. I got a remix of "Set adrift on memory bliss" on Red Hot and Dance, a compilation. I liked it so much I bought The Bliss Album, then Jesus Wept. That was years ago. Finally I went back and bought this, the first album. It is just as great as the others, perhaps more musically varied, since the others have a more consistent sound. I don't know why I didn't buy it sooner. But it is great. Personally I would never have bought a religion-inspired album by anyone. But I never knew their music was such because the religious message is so low key it can apply to any relationship, romantic or otherwise. The result is a rarity- meaningful lyrics that don't overpower the music. I'd compare them to what I've heard from Creed in that way.

I bought this cd about eight years ago trying to broaden my musical horizons. For some reason I couldn't get past the intro. I decided to give it a shot recently, figuring I'll just sell it and was totally blown away. I still can't get into the intro but otherwise its just a beautifully poetic masterpiece. The thrill of this album is how it works on so many different levels. The mastery of hip-hop style, the ability and subtly of mixing other songs without hitting you over the head, and the lyrics that can blow you away without pretentiousness. For me it really all comes together in the song 'Even After I Die'. 'Tell me father what you think of me... I'm tired and want to come home... floating in a sea of doubt.. I love you father so I can't lie, I think I'll be scared even after I die..' I could listen to this album with headphones on and noone around or with a group of friends at a party and enjoy it on either level.

'Of the Heart..' was the first cd I ever bought.(I had been using tapes and vinyl before that....agh, I'm only 20!) And since then, it's never been out of my player for more than a few weeks. Prince Be and J.C. are my greatest musical influence, because they have transcended so many musical genres--rap, alternative, rock, pop, soul, et. al. This first album gives the listener a taste of this mixture that dominates all their albums. Rap songs like 'Comatose' and 'Reality Used to be a Friend of Mine' and 'Shake' fit easily alongside elaborate exploratory tracks like 'Paper Doll' and 'Even After I Die'. There's many samples on this album, and I recall this getting the duo in some hot water for a while, but it sounds fine. The last number, 'The Beautiful' samples a line from 'Baby You're a Rich Man' by the Beatles, and leaves the listener pondering their relationship with themselves, and with other races. A very deep album, throughout.

I purchased this CD years ago and still the vibe that the music conjures blows me away. The songs are sharp, poetic, and hungry for your attention. The real gem on the album is a great track called "Even After I die." Give this album a chance and you won't be sorry!

Now its just too bad that Hip Hop didn't go in the direction that PM Dawn went.

I had been looking for this album for ages! It is the best for excercise, or just laying and chilling out. I highly recommend this album to everyone!!!!

It's interesting people compare them to De la Soul - P.M. Dawn doesn't have a humourous bone in their collective body. But what they do well is write emotional and heart-rending melodies in the back of their hip-hop poetry. Not all of the lyrics are choice, steeped in a faux new-age romanticism. But the tunes drive the point home, especially in "To Serenade a Rainbow" and "Even After I Die". Oh, and they deserve big points for humility.

I remember when my dad first bought this album, I think I was 7 or 8 years old. But I remember when I was a child, we would always listen to it in the car. If you were to currently browse my CD collection, you'd find that the majority of its contents contain either punk rock or heavy metal. As there are exceptions to every rule, the originality of P.M. Dawn's soul rap caused it to reserve a solid spot on my shelf. I have never been a fan of rap, and as a genre it couldn't be further from what I typically listen to. But the combination of its music, lyrics, and feeling, paired with its own brand of tranquility make this album a must have in my opinion.