Customer Reviews

Lindy's Party

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

 

 

No, not the well known Ballet crowd! The Bolshoi were around in the late 80's and I believe this album sounds like a mix of Duran Duran with a healthy dash of Gothic and Yello thrown in.

The little heard of group have over the last two years had some of their work re-released and a "The Best Of" also compiled. Rightly so as they produced good music that was different from the general mish mash of over commercial tripe that was around at the time.

Lindi's Party is one of those albums that grows on you. Contains much variety ranging from the eerily sounding "Barrowlands" to the eminently listenable "T.V. Man" with it's catchy rhythm. "Crack In Smile" shows the full range of Tevor Tanner's remarkable talent in the vocal department.

If you're wanting music with lyrics that say something more than "boy meets girl" with good music thrown in, then this could be for you. Definitely one for the collection that won't sit idly on the shelf.

Also of note by "The Bolshoi" is "Friends". A more sureal flavour with awesome sounds and lyrics.

One of those great bands that got away. If you are just getting into The Bolshoi you won't be disapointed no matter what album it is. Once you give this album a good listen their music and lyrics will forever burn into your brain. It is full of catchy hooks and melodies. You'll be singing along to their music in no time.

'Friends' was a classic 80's album, raw and bursting with Tanner's biting saracsm, stinging wit and focused angst. This album still has lots of that too but it's more smoothed out and more emotionally mature. Mind you, maturity doesn't mean better necessarily but it's a shift. This album has a number of solid tracks, but it clearly is building to its release in the concluding title track.

The leadoff "Auntie Jean" packs some energy feeling like the a carryover from 'Friends' with its theme of questioning organized religion.... "Do you still believe in the big machine?" The second song "Please" was the big hit on alternative radio at the time but it isn't one of my favorites. It just feels too poppy to be Bolshoi. A friend of mine used to say it sounded like Duran Duran, and that's not how Bolshoi should sound. "Crack In Smile" is an excellent slow, haunting piece that talks about a woman who wants so badly to be happy but just can't seem to get there emotionally; The lyrics here are top notch and display typical Trevor Tanner. "Swings & Roundabouts" lies halfway between the edge of the previous album and the upbeat side of "Please". "She Don't Know" feels a bit like "Crack In Smile" and describes the tale of a man unhappy in his relationship with a shallow, ignorant woman. The next few tracks are medicore but have their moments.

The album exits with the masterful "Lindy's Party"; in my opinion, the purpose for the entire album. The song starts with evenly paced beauty and gradually builds in intensity as Trevor drives the point home. At first, he is recounting tales of his carefree youth and specifcally detailing the exploits of a woman for whom he obviously had strong feelings. He then begins to speak about how she's changed, let her dreams die away and begins guessing why she's faded from her former glory. Toward the end he is surging with vim and vigor railing against the forces that perform this feat on nearly all of us. The design is magnificent.

All told, a wonderful album that probably falls a bit short of its predecessor but still has much to offer. It's a requirement just for the title track and "Crack In Smile".

Tracks are:1. Auntie Jean 2. Please 3. Crack in smile 4. Swings and roundabouts 5. She don't know 6. T.V. man 7. Can you believe it 8. Rainy day 9. Barrowlands 10. Lindy's party.

...First of all, I`ve got to tell you that I`m impressed by the quality of this album, and I believe it is their best one by far. That's why I'm even more impressed to see that (at least at the time of this review), this is the only one album out of the four of Tanner's group, that is still unavailable at Amazon, and and elsewhere too, but I think that's because it has never been fully understood by the world audience,...in fact I've got it almost for free at a supermarket store,....which was even more impressive to me...since it it was in a cassete format,(intended to be more accessible to a larger audience), and, also it was an import (usually sold a very high price) ....then, the fact that it's an excellent album....makes it even more impressive to me, having it found being sold in this way: "almost lost in the waste basket"...haha...but that's how some jewels are found sometimes... It was originally edited by Beggars Banquet, (U.K)., in 1987, it was licensed to BMG, USA, (at least in the cassette format, which is the one I bought originally), but it has been reissued in CD by Roadrunner in Brazil, a couple of years ago, and I bought that import too, although it's costly, and lacks the lyrics and artwork found even in the very humble cassete format sold by BMG,(US)... Well, now getting back to the content of the album,....Yeah, your're right if you think that some of the songs are catchy, a little bit trendy,...even a little bit repetitive, too...but then, in the midle of all this comes a real jewel: yeah... as an incredible surprise, (specially for this kind of albums)....Tanner comes out with that super-excellent song called: "crack in a smile" ...oh god!...It really knocked me out!....'cause it sounds to me like the whole synthesis, summary, or whatever you wanna call it of what the human drama and condition it's all about in this world, or, I mean, in this society at least.... You'll notice this, and maybe, even get to see yourself on it, if you listen to it very carefully and get to analize those incredible lyrics .... besides, the vocal work is excellent too, and the music itself is very astounding...This song is definitely a real piece of art...I mean, it stands alone on its own and also makes the album worth every penny paid for it...., even if you buy it with a high price tag (which is the most probable case for anyone wanting to get it now, 'cause right now, it's only available in England, I think) ...Now, continuing with the song, I was telling you about, (crack in a smile)...let me tell you also that, incredibly, and unexplainably, it didn't make it for somebody to be included in their "best of" album....(I wonder who made that compilation, hmmm).... But well, getting back in this album....another really good song is "Borrowlands", in both: Lyrics and Music....which also depicts a very hard reality:..."the fact that everything in this life is only borrowed"..... As for the other songs, well, "Auntie Jean", "Please", "She don't know", and "Lindy's Party" are good... specially "Please"....which somehow portraits both: the anxiety of Tanner about makin' it to the top, and his fear too about "being sent back to the city streets"...(as the song says)...and "she don't know"....which reminds me that anything you do for her...you know who, it's meaningless, and worthless unless she really gets to know about it...Finally those songs: "TV man", "can you believe it", and "rainy day" are not that good in my opinion...but, well....still worth a listen. This album, hearing some songs individually, or taken as a whole work, is an Honest and excellent job and I highly recommend it.