Customer Reviews

For Him & The Girls

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

 

 

i bought this album on a whim after following hawksley's personal ads in the back of toronto's 'now' magazine, and at that first holler i was a bit hesitant, but after a few listens it gets under your skin, and never gets out again. i have since been a hardcore hawksley fan, and while all his albums are fantastic, 'for him and the girls' remains my favourite. melodies that you can't get out of your head, along with poetic lyrics, makes this one of my favourite cds. i definately recommend.

I honestly can't say enough about this cd, so I'll keep it simple: Hawksley Workman, in one emotion-laden swoon, can single-handedly wound traditional pop-music and erase its preceived bounderies - period.

I come from the same small town as Hawksley did, and I remember quite a long while ago I saw him in concert in a United Church. Right there I began to think, this guy has what it takes to be a very successful musician! He has the talent and ability to make an absolutley magnificant album and on For Him and the Girls, he proves this exactly. After a lot of hard work, he has come out with one of the most original pieces of work around today, and frankly, this is much needed in our music industry. His rich and witty lyrics, beautifully placed guitar rythms and other instrumental talents, and his unique voice make this an amazing experience throughout! It is very hard to compare him to anything out there, but he is very similar in the ways of say, David Bowie, who has reinvented things, created a new style and experimented musically to whole new degrees. And this being his debut, I can only imagine what is to come in the future!!

So if you are reading this, and are deciding on whether to purchase this item, I strongly suggest you go for it! You've already come this far, and you won't, you CAN'T, be disappointed with Hawksley Workman's masterpiece. It does take a little time to acquire the taste for it, but this makes an album timeless. And "thank God it's timeless, because I just lost my watch!"

The best Canadian CD released in 1999. This album is one hit after another! Do yourself a favour and buy this CD.

If I have to compare HW to other artists to get you to try him out, it goes like this:

Bob Dylan meets Steely Dan and Nick Drake filtered through Spoon, with a smattering of Cake and the faint aroma of They Might Be Giants.

The most enjoyable thing about Workman is his completely unselfconscious songwriting. He doesn't live and work in a genre; he writes melodies and, more importantly, backing arrangements that compliment and evoke the meaning in the lyrics. The lilting waltz lullaby of "Safe and Sound", the heady calliope of "Paper Shoes" that bleeds into a classic Bowie-esque chorus, and the yearning, vulnerable broken-voice declaration of "Baby This Night" could not be more different from each other, but they fit gorgeously in a progression and are equally evocative.

Those who want a singer's pop single to represent everything on the full length album will no doubt be perplexed by Workman. For the adventurous, and fans of songwriters with real heart and cojones, he's not to be missed.

Hawksley Workman deserves a much wider public awareness, but - as long as it means I can enjoy his gigs at intimate venues like the one I attended last night - there are some advantages.

Really, you're missing out on one of the best singer-songwriters around.

If you draw lines of comparison from Billy McKenzie of The Associates to The Sensational Alex Harvey Band to Neil Diamond to Prince and back to Billy McKenzie, Hawklsey fills the resulting "diamond" shape

He's funny, he's witty, he's strange, and man, can he write melodies of Elton John-proportions. This debut lacks the unity and fun of the second album, however.

Another great album from Hawksley Workman! I could just listen to his voice all day. It's one of those albums that grows on you the more you listen to it. He is definitely a favorite of mine!