Customer Reviews

Love

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

 

 

There are few albums that can move you unexpectantly. The other Heidi Berry albums drift between delicate and basic folk arrangements. "Love" is a completely different set. The songs are all delicatly arranged, but the session players on this particular release are incredible. The songs are so structured and appear so full. Perhaps it is the keyboards that are washed over the melodies that work so well with her guitar. It could be the drum arrangments that are so well placed. The songs seem to transport you to another time, or another place. I picked up this CD when 4ad was not available domestic in the USA. (1990?) Artistically she will not surpass this one. An incredible effort. The most overlooked track is the wonderful "Silver Buttons", but Washinton Square is still the best. IF you have just been introduced or are new to Heidi Berry music, this one is all you will need. It still holds a place as one of my all time favorite albums. A must have! A+

This is the first of 3 albums that Heidi Berry recorded for the 4AD label. Berry has a beautiful, haunting voice with a clear resonance. Her music at first may seem out of place among other 4AD acts, but the more you'll listen to it, the more you'll come to realize how unique it is.

The Album is excellent...... Not since JUlia Fordham have I been so moved by an album..And Heidi is 10 times better. Her voice is hauntingly romantic... makes you want to fall in love over and over and over again..

Heidi Berry has a lovely sad alto that she uses to sing lovely sad songs on this fine album. The livelier songs sound something like Sade on quaaludes, but most of the album consists of spare but satisfying slow arrangements, with Berry often providing multiple layers of vocals. The idea of recasting Hüsker Dü's "Up in the Air" as a slow ballad is gutsy enough, but Berry pulls this off with jaw-dropping ease. The lyrics tend toward melancholy, such as "Hand Over Head" ("Some of us live too hard/some of us die too young/some are destroyed by all they might have done"). But Berry's singing and the arrangements provide a warmth that offsets the lyrics. On "Bright as Day", she lets the sadness fall away ("Something's lifted off of me/Shrugged it's shoulders, went away"). The perfect album for a mellow night curled up next to someone special.

I didn't like this album at first- it took me a while to get used to the tone of her voice... I couldn't figure out what it was but i found something about it repetitive. There are still some tracks that I dont like at all.
But then there are the others... 'Cradle' and 'Lily' are my favorites.. Unbeliveable songs, able to make you feel more lonely than you could imaging or more complete, lying next to a loved one than you've ever been. Indeed, this is one of the few albums i would advise against listening to alone. The feeling you get from the beautiful clarinet playing in 'Lily' will utterly shatter you. Cradle is so intensely romantic that it suffocates to be alone. The arangements of these songs is deceptively complex; the melody climbs and spirals, and it's intracacies seem to dive down into the dark corners of your being.

While this album doesn't encourage frequent listening, it is definately an album i will keep till i'm old and grey, to play to my children.

My only regret is that 'Heidi Berry' comes right before 'Helmet' in my Windows Media Player library... The majesty of the last track is sometimes broken by heavy metal.

Either this album or her self-titled release are great Berry albums. On this album, the songs are fleshed out with a greater number of instruments and players, while her later self-titled release is simpler and more sparse. This album is the most upbeat of all her releases. The songs are well written and performed, but aren't as emotionally rich as her other albums.

Another great thing about this album is that you can listen through the entire album without having to skip any tracks, because the quality of the songs is high throughout the album, and there are no abrupt stylistic changes between songs.