Customer Reviews

Living Return

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

THE LIVING RETURN IS PROBABLY ONE OF TWO ALBUMS RECORDED BY SWING OUT SISTER THAT HAVE BEEN HEATEDLY DISCUSSED!! WHY, well, most people who have snubbed this recording CLAIM to be fans of true artists,singer-songwriters and musicians.UNFORTUNATELY, ALL THAT TALK IS REALLY A DISGUISE FOR wanting the same sound, arrangements and sentiments.
SWING OUT SISTER HAVE NEVER PUT OUT A BAD ALBUM, PERIOD.Here, on this recording the duo changes its direction with a more melodic,intimate, soulful live feel. ORGANIC would be another word to discribe the feel as well.A more live sound, instruments and vocals flowing and moving together effortlessly.Mellow, laid back but always swinging.Having all of their recordings opens you up to the ever changing lens that Andy and Corrine are experiencing at the time, so I really appreciate the rollercoaster this duo takes you on. Each dip and dive are impressive.
SWING OUT SISTER have been making music for some time and this album shows just how talented they are and how willing this duo is to continue to challenge themselves as well as new listeners and long time fans.ART will always challenge the status quo.Its job is to provoke and bring beauty.To open not just the mind but every part of your sensory perception.So if you have to ask just who is SWING OUT SISTER you will never get it.IF you love music, then the experience of THE LIVING RETURN will capture you,become part of your life's soundtrack.

Those of us who are big fans often debate whether or not "The Living Return" is SOS's best CD. You'll make up your mind, then continue the debate in our chat room at swing-out-sister@lists.xmission.com.

After the sucess of "Get In Touch With Yourself", it would've been very easy for SOS to go on cruise control - I'm proud to say they didn't! The CD from start to finish takes you through all their musical influences and leaves you wanting more at the end. Highlights include "Making The Right Move", a very sensual Francis Lai type of song. "Feel Free" gives off the positive vibes both Andy & Corinne were feeling in the studio. "Mama Didn't Raise No Fool" is lyrically very catchy and often described as one of SOS's best tunes ever! There isn't a weak cut to be found. Some will complain that "Low Down Dirty Business" is out of place. I say they're just having fun and they want to share it with you.

Buy it, listen to it and "Feel Free" to pass it on to a good friend.

To date this is the fourth collaboration of SOS that I have and I like it,"refreshing ". Every track a winner.

The Living Return is one of those albums whose charms aren't fully evident on the initial playing. The studio gloss of their first three studio albums (care of Paul O'Duffy, who is absent this time out) is downplayed, for a more live feel and a more bass-heavy sound. I almost think this album was intended to be SOS credibility move, considering the cover-song selection and the funky, lounge-jazz arrangements. Rather than be thought of as a survivor of the '80s British pop-jazz-lite wave (which also included Sade), SOS try very hard to create a "group" sound that is evocative of a touring jazzband, with elements of '70s funk and late '60s South American Tropicalia. The end result isn't always convincing, but it has many pleasures. The album leads off with a strong tune called, "Better Make it Better," which was treated to a peppier (as in Pop radio friendly) version on their next release, "Shapes & Patterns." Unfortunately, the mellow tempo of this song sets the stage for much of what follows, so unlike their earlier efforts, there aren't as many bouncy, upbeat tunes present. "Don't Let Yourself Down" and several others offer the kind of supportive sentiments one has come to expect from SOS, but without the synthesizer-based hooks of previous arrangements. The brass horn section employed here doesn't really get a workout until "Don't Give Up On A Good Thing," a song that is strongly reminiscent of old Chicago. The high points on this album include "Don't Give Up...", the simmering morning-after lovesong, "Making the Right Move," and "La La (Means I Love You)," a '60s Pop chestnut that stands as testament that SOS can take a familiar oldie and improve upon it without losing the original feel. By the time of this recording, Corinne sounds completely at home with the languid phrasing and sonic precision of most vocal jazz. Her lyrics retain the same worldly-wise tone of previous releases, which is a small hindrance in the sense that the familiar sentiments start to sound a bit too familiar. Though The Living Return offers solid, likeable fare, it's surface-level pleasures aren't in keeping with SOS track record of light ear candy. As such, many listeners may find it a little on the boring side, or at least too stingy with the trademark SOS Pop hooks. Repeated listens payoff, however, and SOS' native melodicism comes through when the listener abandons his/her expectations.

I love this album. Connell and Drewery I think refuse to repeat themselves, which is evident here. This album swings and grooves way more than Get In Touch..which is a great album also but not as "jazzy" as Living Return. It seems as though Great Britian's most talented duo bring the players of their live band more upfront on this album.

Stellar tracks include "Stop and Think It Over" "Ordinary People"
"That's the Way it goes" along with the brilliant "Making The Right Move". There isn't a bad cut on this CD, those mentioned above are simply my favorites. SOS's cover of "La La (means I love you..) is fantastic also. Corrine's voice is very soulful yet gentle on this track.

I first heard "All In Your Mind" on a college jazz station in Atlanta, GA and I was hooked! I bought the tape and listened to it every single day at work - for a year. The Living Return is filled with great advice from "Better Make It Better" to "Don't Let Yourself Down" to "Stop And Think It Over". The lyrics are like listening to the wisdom of a big sister and the music is out of this world. Needless to say, I wore the tape out and had to buy the cd. As a young woman in a big city, the lyrics are right on target and I carry the cd with me wherever I go.

..."The Living Return" contains some of the greatest work that Swing Out Sister has ever produced. I first heard it in September of '94 (ran to the record store on the release date and subsequently got a copy at the radio station to put on the playlist)and now, five years later, it is the album that I listen to most often. Granted, it at first seems to be a "radical departure" from the highly stylized "Kaleidoscope World" (the group's second album), but if one were to listen closely to all of their albums the "path" would be very obvious. I'm anxiously awaiting the next one, just to see where they'll take us next.

I just played this album for the first time in awhile, and forgot how good it is. If you're a new SOS fan and don't have this one yet, read the liner notes if you can. This album was indeed a shift (for the better, if that's possible) from their earlier great works. The reviews for this album are quite mixed, but if you like more of a band sound to back up Corrine, you'll like this! All the tracks are good, and most are great. Feel Free is indeed one of the standouts, but so is Stop and Think It Over and All In You Mind.

Undoubtedly "The Living Return" album put Swing Out Sister on the "Top of the Best in the Pop Music Scene" thanks a pretty interesting mixture of rhythms, lyrics, high quality performance and recording. Corinne Drewery (voice), Andy Connell (keyboards) and Tim Cansfield (electric guitar) performances are memorable. Here SOS has consolidated the good acceptance and fame of previous records with a more personal touch about some classic pop and orchestra sounds. All voice arrangements as well as instrument players are excellent and offer an enthusiastic sense of fun, groove and harmony when listening. It's difficult to select the best track between the 12 included, but track 6 named "Making the Right Move" could be considered a master piece here. Finally SOS is including one track that gives tribute to some outstanding composers of the last decades: Earth Wind & Fire, Ivan Lins, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock among others....

I'm an SOS fan and like their smooth, silky sounds, but was pleasantly surprised when I picked this one up last week and heard some new-found funk! Obviously, they wanted to branch out from their other albums and it worked. Some real, catchy, funky tunes and a great cover. Good stuff from a highly underrated group.