Customer Reviews

How Bizarre

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

OK, so many opinions on this CD. And ALL of them are right, sort of. Making sense? No. How bizarre. Lemme see if I can sort this out.

OMC has only released the one CD. And it's available used for the closest price to free. Yet it's almost indispensable!? How bizarre. I bought it new at a closeout price from one of the biggie mail order companies. Did I feel rooked? No. If I had paid full price, would I have felt cheated? Probably. Like many others, I had only heard the song "How Bizarre". A true 90's one hit wonder. I still enjoy it when I hear it, but, this CD has many other joys waiting to be discovered. "Right On" and "Pour Out Your Eyes" among them.

One look at the credits and you realize that OMC would not exist without one Pauly Fuemana. Take Ray Romano, ship him off to New Zealand and have him write music instead of comedy and you might have Pauly. The lyrics are witty, yet if you turned your back on them, they just might bite you on the behind. The instrumentation is tight, yet, just a bit off.

As far as Pauly's vocals, um, I guess I'm just not used to New Zealanders rapping. But it's much more refreshing than anything Vanilla Ice ever did.

In other reviews, the other two songs that are talked about the most are "She Loves Italian" which many disliked, well, I liked the song. And as far as Randy Newman's "I Love LA", while most liked it, I didn't think it had anything new to offer.

Summary, a real mixed bag. I'd recommend buying it, used or at a discounted price. You're either going to love it or hate it. Perhaps, this will be the most wishy-washy review I've ever done. Guess that's how this CD makes me feel.

This is a different genre of music, at least very eclectic. If nothing else, it is a fun listen. There seems to be a little of everything here, a little hip-hop, touch of rap, blues, Latin, Country, and some poetic lyrics. This is a sleeper album and will sneak up on you when you least expect it. Nearly everyone has heard the single "How Bizarre" off of this album. Nothing else sounds like it, and if you're hoping for a whole album of the title track, stick to the single.

Most of the songs here are actually very good. "Breaking My Heart" has a country-ish sound to the solo slide guitar, but more of a hip-hop feel with the percussion, and a jazzy sounding horn blaring a killer solo. It makes for an interesting combination for the song. Most of the songs follow the same formula using different components. The opening track, "On the Run" has a good groove to it, with hybrid-rap lyrics with an acoustic guitar backing. He opens "Angel In Disguise" with violins. A very ballad-like song. "Land of Plenty" is similar with more horns. The trumpets on "Right On" have a beautiful Latin sound, then he throws in slide guitar.

It is nearly impossible to classify OMC as his songs are bits and pieces of so many different types of music. This New Zealander is worth it though, and since this album can be found rather inexpensively, it may be worth checking out. This sleeper may wake up on you too.

I have owned this collection of songs for a good long while now and never tire of hearing it. I have never responded to any music review previously although I own over 3,000 cd's and used to own several music stores. I was wondering how this cd could only have a 3 1/2 overall star rating so pulled up the other reviews. My , my , my seems as some metal heads and popular fm radio listeners bought the wrong product. The song "How Bizzare" although a fm/am hit is perhaps the worst tune on the record with the remainder being an imposing collection of lyrics and musicianship. Seems as if the uninformed and tin-eared folks that rated these tunes less than three stars either didn't know what they were purchasing (oops!) or listen to too much radio. Pauly Fuemana writes from the heart and covers many idigenous issues with anger , humour and itelligence. the circle of musicians he has surrounded himself with should be proud of their heritage and musical accomplishment. For those who deemed these songs forgetable , ditto to you and may the force be with you on your mucical journies , you need all the help you can get. Indigenous rap works for me.

I remember when the song 'How Bizarre' came out. I didn't listen to modern music at all, but it was an inescapable part of life in '96/'97 in Australia (and elsewhere apparently). Everytime you turned on the T.V. there was the video blaring at you or when you went to the supermarket it came loud and clear through the store speakers. It became embedded in my memory and a couple of months ago it resurfaced. I will never forget the line 'Everytime I look around...' and actually searched for that lyric using google. It came up with a website that had that lyric, and the song was 'How Bizarre' by OMC. I went out and searched for a copy of the song itself on a 2nd hand compilation.

But I had to get a copy of the album itself... And now that I have it, I was pleasantly surprised. The best track probably is 'How Bizarre' but there's plenty of others that are essentially just as good. 'Breaking my heart' is a laid back country/hip hop fusion with some nice dobro and saxaphone playing. 'Angel in disguise' is just awesome. It's a really upbeat number with a nice chorus where Pauly Harmonises with himself and he sounds good, and there's some spirited violin work on the track too, plus don't pass over it's melody. 'Lingo with the gringo' is an ambient groove that combines a haunting piano riff with an electronic buzz-y sound and a really groovy beat. The chorus is really catchy. 'Land of plenty' is really traditional, and again very melodic. That's four cracking songs in a row! Another favourite of mine was 'Pours out your eyes', another 70's-ish ballad with tasteful violin playing, but the best it is probably the acoustic guitar riff that drives the song.

There are also some really fun tracks, like 'Right On', 'She loves Italian' and 'On the run'. In the liner notes Pauly thanks the musicians who worked on the album, who's contributions made it stand out from the crowd. I certainly agree. Zina sings backing vocals on the song 'How Bizarre' and must say she really know how to lay down a groove! Her vocals were the main hook to that track, and it's a shame we probably wont hear more of her. Anyway, great album.

The little-known talent PAULY FUEMANA headlines this fresh set of sweet South Pacific-inspired melodies. He has a beautiful voice and the style on guitar is quite admirable: I especially enjoyed the bit in "RIGHT ON". The first seven songs iron out a firm rep for OMC, ranging from bittersweet realism to irony to reverie and reverence, hope and resolve. The next three are a tad more boisterous, but it is this character that brings them to life, as edgy yet irresistible hooks. The final track, entitled "I LOVE L.A.", was one of the most truly happy songs to ever greet my ears. It is at once like a breath of cool air and a splash of warm ocean~ thus, OMC.

I liked this album and I think it was severely underrated. The only song you ever hear from OMC on the radio is "How Bizarre," which is a great song, but other songs on the album were great too. The only part on this album that I didn't like was that some of the songs were long and repeditive, but for the most part, OMC made a terrific album.

This CD probably has more in common with popular music of the late 1960's and early 70's than it does with popular music of today. I'm 45 and I kept a tape of this playing in my car for about two months. This guy is enormously talented and would sell a heck of a lot more if the boomer generation knew he existed. If you like music at a relaxed pace give this a try, I'm a real music lover, listen to all kinds of music, and this is one of my favorite CD's.

I bought this cd and was mildly surprised. I like most of the songs, except for lingo and Italian. However I see that there is a hidden track, I Love L.A., but I cannot seem to get this to play anywhere. Any ideas?

It's a shame people probably only remember this as a novelty/one-hit wonder-it is so much more.The 90's were probably the worst music decade ever, but this saved it.It has an early 70's feel to it, however it has a LOT of RAP -which I normally hate-but NOT the way he does it.I feel guilty for putting this CD on after criticizing rap. This is an album for musicians, pop fans might not get it.Being a huge acoustic guitar fan, this is right up my alley.If you like Paul Simon,Moby, or Poi Dog Pondering's first 2 albums-you will love this.The very first track has an outstanding mix of techno/haunting slide guitar.Lingo with the Gringo is one of my faves-kind of has a trip-hop feel a la Morcheeba.The best track is Right On-feel good rock of the 70's with what sounds like a sample of Night Moves by Bob Seger.Breakin My Heart sounds like a Lou Reed b-side.The chorus on Never coming Back is very repetitive, but the song is so good, you have to forgive it-musically it is extremely original with the Enigma-style chants in the background. I even like the worst song-She Loves Italian. Land of Plenty makes me want to move to New Zealand!! I would rate this as one of the 20 best albums ever-and I have about 7,000 cd's and LP's.If you ever need to test a stereo-this is perfect,as it has defined sub-bass notes as well as perfect midrange. Somebody said G Love /Special Sauce sounds like them-I will be checking them out in a SECOND!!! PS- SINGLES ARE FOR FLIGHTY FLAVOR OF THE MONTH PEOPLE - buy the CD!!!!!

This is a wonderful example of the liveliness, friendliness and expertise of music from the lands down under. Every Kiwi around the world should be very proud of these guys. Rock on OMC!!!