Customer Reviews

Hello Mannequin

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

 

 

Joy Electric has been the driving vehicle for California-based musician Ronnie Martin since 1994. In today's world of guitar-oriented, larynx-shredding alternative rock and monotonous gangster rap, Joy Electric brings in fresh synthesized pop music that draws heavily on the likes of Erasure, Kraftwerk and early Depeche Mode (ala 'Speak and Spell').
"Hello Mannequin" is Joy Electric's 17th release overall and its third in a series of conceptual albums subtitled "Legacy". The musical approach to "Mannequin" is the same as previous Joy-E releases in that it was performed with analog synthesizers and vocals only. The overall sound is dryer than the band's more recent efforts but still is loaded with Ronnie Martin's ear-catching melodies, inventive lyrics and trademark English-accented vocals.
Standout tracks include the aggressive danceable "Disloyalist Party", "The Works of Unknowns", "Song for All Time" and a tribute to early electronic music pioneers entitled "I Am A Pioneer" (what else?). Indeed, every track on "Hello Mannequin" is something special and are among the best Martin has written yet.
Joy Electric continues to grow with each album they release while retaining their trademark sound. "Hello Mannequin" is no exception. It is simply Joy Electric's best album to date (until the next one comes around).
Highly recommended for fans of Melodic Synth-Pop.

I'm sorry this review took so long, but Amazon wouldn't let me post! Very fast shipping and the CD was in excellent condition. I'm very pleased.

All music is mathematical, but with Joy Electric, Ronnie Martin's calculations seem more methodical, more precise than many if not most of the modern musical groups. The music on this record is a journey, at times whimsical ("The Singing Arc") and at other times ominous ("Who Are Friends"), but at no time does Ronnie Martin stop calculating every sound, every beat, every noise, creating within his reflective lyrical framework his own universe. It's a place where a good handful of music fans have gone, but not enough. It is time for the world to know Ronnie Martin's music - the mathematical genius found in this universe is limitless and open to exploration.

Joy Electric, in all of its variations, is electronic music for the soul.

I have to say first, in response to an earlier review, "A Page of Life" is one of the very best joy electric songs to date. Definitely best of the album. this one's different.
first let me say that joy e is possibly my favorite band, they never cease to amaze and entertain me. this album is probably my least favorite of the legacy series. i think i find the synth arrangements a little less appealing although they are still very intricately put together. this one is darker than the past couple but i would say "ministry of archers" is more perfected "dark" album while "mannequin" has a little more trouble evoking a specific theme. not that, as all joy e albums, it doesn't work well as an album. just not quite as focused. other great tracks: "wolf in the bend", "i am a pioneer" and "song for all time".

I've been listening to Ronnie's music for at least 8 years. Each time he releases a CD, you are sure to hear something that is different than his last. This CD is no exception, however he really seems to blend a lot of styles from his older stuff while experimenting a bit. Ronnie seems to try a bit more with vocals and more eerie and warm synth riffs than his recent CDs. This takes me back to Robot Rock, with a bit of We Are the Music Makers and White Songbook all blended together. There seems to be more cohesion in the synth melodies, and while it lacks the "rawk" appeal of Robot Rock's tracks, the tracks seem to have more complexity and seem to be more inspired. I was disappointed by Ronnie's last CD, Tick-Tock Treasury, to a point of where I only listened to it a few times. He seemed to be in a rut or was burned out after working so hard on The White Songbook. Hello Mannequin seems to represent a comeback of sorts, in my opinion. It's sad that Ronnie has always been his own worst critic, almost seems ashamed of his old CDs (even though they are great), and takes things so seriously. It almost seems as though he finally realized that he could have fun while making Hello Mannequin, and just write the kind of music that he really wants to write. While it may not be my favorite of his CDs so far, it probably best sums up Ronnie's sounds, and shows how he's really mastered his own style and sound, pulling things together over more than a decade of writing music. In the process, he ultimately accomplishes what he seems to have always wanted, by making music that is totally unique. Don't be fooled by the "Christian" orientation. I'm not a Christian, but I can appreciate good and unique music. This is definitely one of JE's best.

What is wrong with the music industry? How can an amazing talent like Ronnie Martin remain hidden for this long? Hello Mannequin once against astounds me with Ronnies amazing talent for infectious, meaningful, happy, sad, electronic pop operas. This is the third album in his "Legacy" series and he manages to regain the magic that he started with in "The White Songbook". This album has JE's best track record to date of having one amazing track after another. He's upped the tempo on the whole record and doesn't have as many sad songs as the Tick Tock Treasury. His layering of melodies has improved even more so and I'd love to see anyone who isn't instantly in love with this record. Why isn't this album in the front of record store shelves? Why isn't this on the radio putting JE high on the billboard record charts? No one deserves it more and this record proves it.

The record seems to surround two central themes. One is of friendships and how you figure out who you're real friends are and the second theme is about leaving a legacy and the fear of being forgotten after years have passed. Both of these I'm sure are close to Ronnie's own feelings since the guy always sounds so down beat in his interviews. With another release planned for August of this year JE never stops working and with so many records I can't believe he still has so much left to say both lyrically and musically but he does and he says them extremely well.

This is my favorite CD of 2004. So it is in utter dismay that I see the lack of exposure that Joy Electric (and Hello Mannequin) is receiving. Even though Joy Electric is electronic, it is not techno...perhaps many have not experienced how wonderful electronic music can be when it is pop music instead of just something to dance to. This album has catchy pop songs with thoughtful lyrics. Not only that, but it is all done with Ronnie Martin's trademark: analog synthesizers and vocals only. There is no doubt that this his best release. The album is dark at times, bright at others, but always full of wonderful melodies. Isn't that what music is about anyway? So open your mind a bit, and your ears a lot and experience the joy of Joy Electric.

Once again Ronnie Martin proves that he is the most under rated musician out there today. This album is an awesome album, if you are a Joy Electric fan, this is a must have. This is one of those album that when you first buy you listen to it for a few days without taking it out of your CD player.

The only complaint one could give about "Hello, Mannequin" is that every song sounds similar (it's also slightly cheesy, but it's hard to find a synth pop album that isn't) and a little simple. This turns out not to be a bad thing because each song is wonderful in its own right (in fact EVERY song is, though some songs are noticably "better" than others. The songs tend to be complex with several different interesting sounds going on at once, and this helps keeping the songs fun). This album, along with Soviet's "We Are Eyes, We Are Builders", are great contemporary synth pop albums, even if they won't really appeal to non-fans of the genre. Like Soviet, the material isn't groundbreaking and the lyrics aren't that interesting, but it remains extremely fun and catchy (every song has a special something to it that draws you in, and that's the key to its rating. 80's and synth pop fans will no doubt enjoy this release. If you liked this then chances are that you'll like Soviet's "We Are Eyes, We Are Builders". Highly recommended!

Highlights include:
the entire album! (though "A Page Of Life" is arguably the "worst").