Customer Reviews

I Believe

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

 

 

...but I kinda like the music. Literally hundreds of cds perchased by me on Amazon and this is my first review. why break the silence? Quite simply because Spain (or more specifically Josh Haden) breaks the same endless silence with a whisper of love and pure genius unknown to most pop music musings. This man is a fractured-tormented-childish weaver of sublime emoting. His dad is best know for some legendary bass string bending in the jazz world but Josh has cornered the market on gut wrenching, heart-felt sentiments that are at once deathlike and birthright. There is virtually no diffence between this and the first two Spain cds. All are courageously brilliant. They make me cry. they make me smile. They make me remember all the times I've cried and all the times I've smiled. Only one other music maker has this power...Scott Walker. Go figure. Go to Spain immidiately. It might be raining there but the sting of drops will feel amazing on your brain.

Don't get me wrong. I loved She Haunts My Dreams. In fact, I urge you to buy that record instead of this one and be done with it. If you have She Haunts My Dreams, you don't need this one. There is something to be said for artists who stick to what they do well rather than veering further and further away from their signature sound with every release. However, Spain is marching in place with I Believe. There is nothing new here that differers in sound or subject matter from their previous release. In fact, the lyrics on this CD seem to have all been written in one sitting and are virtually identical song to song (how many songs on this CD really need to start with "Oh girl..."?). It's a nice, mellow record, but a disapointment from a band that seems capable of more.

I just bought this and it's great. I think their last record
was one of the best records of the year and I listen to as much obnoxious music as the next guy. I'm expecting to like this one just as much once it sinks in. And the vocals aren't awful.
Awful is out of key. There is only in key and out of key. And Josh's vocals are always in. If you're thinking the vocals are awful then you probably don't realize you've crossed into another genre and just need to retrace your steps with a little more thoughtfulness.

I have all three SPAIN albums. The first one, BLUE MOODS..., isn't just my favorite SPAIN release, but one of my favorite CD's all around. I'd give that one 6 stars. I was then surprised and let down by the second release, SHE HAUNTS ME DREAMS. I don't know what happened between the two releases, but I could just never get myself to appreciate the second. This third release, I BELIEVE, is much more like the second release than the first, and I find some of the songs (She Haunts My Dreams, Do you See the Light, Mary, Make Your Body Move) so painfully sappy that I wish I could get my money back.

What happened to songs like Spiritual and Ray of Light?

Listening to "Oh That Feeling" conjurs up images of Barry Manilow trying his best to be emotive. And I can't even listen to "Mary" or "Make Your Body Move" without rolling my eyes.

"I Believe" and "If We Kissed" are about the only tracks I can listen to.

My suggestion is pick up BLUE MOODS OF SPAIN and be done with it. Unless you're about the most hopeless romantic on the planet. It could just be that I'm too jaded to give these songs their due (that's entirely possible), but they're so soft, they came across more as being painfully needy than heartfelt.

I will agree with the reviewers who say that "Blue Moods" is their favorite album, it's mine also. It took me some time to appreciate "She Haunts..." and "I Believe", but after listening to them over and over, slowly the songs would get to me. If you pass over Spain's latter two albums just because they don't sound like "Blue Moods", you're really missing out on a one-of-a-kind band. Josh Haden is one of my favorite vocalists and Spain is in my top five favorite bands of all time. Even though they only released three albums, they didn't make one bad song. I disagree with the reviewer who said "Make Your Body Move" is a cheesy song. It's a great sexually charged song, done in a tasteful way. I think Haden is a very emotional songwriter and even though his lyrics are very simple, they're also very good, and most people will be able to relate to them. I've never thought of them as cheesy. 80's Van Halen=cheesy, not Spain. I love this album, it's very melancholy and soft, and no matter what kind of mood I'm in, I always enjoy a little Spain. Highly recommended, I can't compare Spain to any other bands, they don't sound like anyone else whatsoever. Josh Haden has a new album of his solo stuff available through his website, so check that out also. 5 Stars for an excellent final album.

Some of these songs are catchy, but they sound to be for the lovelorn and the lovesick. Hmm... I'm no sure that's me at this point.

Overall, its a pleasurable sound, and hats off to Spain for doing their own thing!

(...)

I wanted to like it. If they had just mixed the vocals deeper, it would be fine. The lyrics are awful.

Still, it's better than 99.9% of the music available.

What a simple and beautiful record this is. A remarkable collection of sweet songs: down-tempo, soft, slow and lovely.

The insistent lyrical repetitions in these songs turns the inner dialog of an obsessed lover outward. Listening might feel more like eavesdropping for those not, themselves, consumed by yearning. (You almost don't know whether to root for him or pity her.) The drawn-out phrasing of these wistful and oddly optimistic lyrics has a way of delivering its message straight to the soul, where it finds its match in your own subverbal lost-love land. I can't stop listening to it.