Customer Reviews

Keep a Secret

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I used to pop this cd in when driving long distances with child in tow. It's a great sing along record, Jake's voice is so beautiful. The back-up band is all-female and acoustic: stand up bass, drum, and violin - with Jake on guitar. The lyrics are great, especially Alibi and Going Through the Motions. My kid asked me what type of music this was and I really could't find a box to put it in, but I'll try. This is rock and roll after hours

This is one of those few albums that defies all efforts to describe in mere words how wonderful it is. Drummer Freda Love started out in the Blake Babies, them moved on to Antenna, where she first hooked up with Jake Smith, whom she ended up marrying. Together Love and Smith formed The Mysteries Of Life (herafter "MOL"). This band definately outshines any of their previous bands' efforts, although the Antenna releases are also quite wonderful. They don't rock as hard as Antenna, but Jake Smith is a more appealing singer than Antenna's John Strohm, and the music is catchier, more Beatles-ish. In addition to Love and Smith the band features two other women, Tina Barbieri on bass and Geraldine Haas on cello. Haas is MOL's secret weapon - the interplay between her cello and Smith's raw, garage-rock guitar playing is magic. Together they evoke a wide range of feelings, from melancholy to pure, unabashed joy! This is one of the best albums of the 90's, or any other decade for that matter.

I got this album many years ago (97?) when I was in Columbia House's CD club. Not quite sure what attracted me to it, but am I glad that I did! The unique sound of integrating a cello into indie-rock just works. Mostly acoustic, the songs are extremely catchy and the album definitely has a relaxing groove.

My favorites tracks: Going through the motions, Feel my way, Into the light, I guess I'm in luck

This is one of those albums you just play over and over, it's great!

Related bands: Blake Babies, Antenna

You want pop rock? This band has it in spades. "Keep a Secret" is one of the few truly great pop rock albums of the 1990s. The singing and songwriting are excellent. The best tracks include "Hesitate," "Alibi," "Kira's Coming Over" and "Once in a While," all three to four minute explosions of pure pop pleasure. There is not a ill chosen song on this entire collection. Fans of bands such as Material Issue and the Gin Blossoms ought to love it.

The song "hesitate," has the pop hook that should've been a contender, but instead is a memorable forgotten could-have-been hit. The riff, the drum sound, the harmony vocals are enough for any pop rhino release. Do they still do that? Does rhino exist anymore? Wish these guys could have done that even more.

I was at a CD store that was going out of business and I saw a copy of Keep a Secret priced much lower than it's usual retail price. Although I had purchased the record when it came out I bought the copy I saw in the store because if I didn't I knew that I would not be able to find the first copy I had bought. I played the cd in my car player and remembered why I loved this record as much as I did. Hours later I get home and checked my
email and recieved a message from someone who is a friend of Geraldine Hass, who was the MoL's cello player. The very day that I bought Keep a Secret someone went to www.chaoticlifestyles.com and saw that I am a guitarist/bassist who was inspired to study the cello after listening to Keep a Secret. Weird huh?

Buy the record - you'll love it.

"Keep a Secret" doesn't have definitive tracks like "Fingerprint" or "Downhill" on "Come Clean," but it's quite pleasing throughout, and some of the songs only lack a little stronger lyrics to elevate them from "catchy" to "great" - especially "Kira's Coming Over" and "I Guess I'm in Luck." "Hesitate," "Into the Light," and "Shaking" are good fun, and there's plenty more. Four stars because the album doesn't quite reach the standard of "Come Clean," but of course this is some of the best music that's come out of the decade.

I am fron Indianapolis and have had the pleasure of seeing MOL a few times. Last time was at an Art Fair right when their last album was to come out. It never did. I got this album for free through a failed new CD club by one of the big two. This was there thanks. And I thanked them. Going Through the Motions has to be my favorite song. I lost this album and need it bad. It is one of the best albums I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. It's such a shame, that with so much garbage on the airwaves that a great musical couple like Jake and Freda (and their friends in IL) cannot find a real home on the radio. If you can get this - get it. It will be one of those albums you'll own and just have a smug satisfaction knowing that you own it. Out of the thousands of CDs that I own, this curious little one just continues to stand out.

I won't go on, repeating the main points of the other two reviews here, but I will say, honestly, that this album got me back together with the woman I love. We had broken up about a year before its release, but we stayed in contact. I saw the band play a show in Philadelphia and, gradually, my affection for their entire aesthetic became uncontainable. I passed a copy of the album onto my then ex, and we both agreed that they were speaking our secret language, sending us coded messages. But they were messages we knew all along, we had just forgotten how simple it all really should be. Jake and Freda were kind of like the host couple at a couples group therapy meeting. They guided us back to simplicity, hope, and love. Thanks. The record and the band are wonderful.

The only negative thing to say is many of the songs sound similar, but when they are this good, who cares? Combining rock, pop, folk elements, this cd consistently will have you singing along. Eleven of the fourteen tracks get a major thumbs up. For a soothing soundtrack after a day in the office, pop this in. Highly recommended.