Luxury of Time

David Mead | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 28, 1999)
• Original Release Date: September 28, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B00001O2U9
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #199,285 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Robert Bradley's Postcard

2. Sweet Sunshine

3. Touch Of Mascara

4. Apart From You

5. Breathe You In

6. World Of A King

7. Landlocked

8. Telephone

9. Everyone Knows It But You

10. She, Luisa

11. Make The Most Of

12. While The World Is Sleeping

13. Painless

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sophisticated Pop Music, September 21, 2001

By 

B Napier (Berwyn, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Luxury of Time (Audio CD)

I bought this disc without having had heard a note of it (or having heard of David Mead himself), based on a Washington Post review that my wife gave me to read, which related it as Britpop-sounding music from a Nashville alum. I'm completely unfamiliar with Mead's work with the band Joe, Marc's Brother, so I can't say what the musical leap was from that outfit to his solo debut, but whatever it was, it was good medicine. "The Luxury Of Time" is full of impeccable pop melodies.

Although this record runs dangerously close to being over-produced--it's as slick as an ice rink--I believe the super-clean sound ultimately works in its favor. The record opens with two dynamite midtempo numbers, the ultra-catchy "Robert Bradley's Postcard" and the slightly more sedate "Sweet Sunshine", the latter of which was made for convertible-cruising down open highways. And the beautiful "Breathe You In" is a track that, in a more just world, would have been a thousand lovesick couples' dedication song to one another. Much of the album comprises ballads (especially in the last half of the disc), many of which toe the line of complete schmaltz. The achingly lovely "Landlocked", for example, sounds as if it could have been plucked from a Broadway musical. But the songs are leavened by a wicked, sometimes perverse sense of humor (with a few dirty words) and Mead's wonderful voice. In an age where few new artists seem willing (or able) to write gorgeous, timeless pop melodies without roughing them up with samples and guitar noise for a more contemporary sound, "The Luxury Of Time" stands apart by embracing its tunefulness.

If you appreciate the music of Crowded House, or the post-punk output of XTC and Elvis Costello, then I highly recommend that you take this leap of faith. This is pop music for grown-up tastes, of the sort that hasn't found any airplay in this country since the eighties, and I truly hope it somehow finds its audience.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars strong power-pop from a promising new artist, October 31, 1999

By 

Chuck Ciany ([e-mail]) (Newport RI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Luxury of Time (Audio CD)

I've been looking forward to this CD for several months now, having seen him open for Liz Phair at a Lupo's show in Providence R.I. last May. And I'm happy to say, it did not disappoint me! Anyone like me who's a sucker for power-pop with that British Invasion influence will surely get a good fix off this record. With a polished sound that heralds back to some of the best Squeeze records, David delivers a one-two punch on such greats as Sweet Sunshine (with those great falsetto vocal touches), Satellite (including an unmistakable tribute to the Beatle's "Tomorrow Never Knows" drum riff) and Everyone Knows It But You (an anthem for the underappreciated- straight outta Marshal Crenshaw's head). Though not every song on the album rates a 5-star, I would recommend it to anyone who, like me, can't get enough of that stuff the Brits left behind...

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars why isn't this guy a star?, March 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Luxury of Time (Audio CD)

In a year filled with great music releases, I have to look to David Mead as my favorite. His songs have a fabulous pop quality without being trite (think Squeeze, Elvis Costello). His voice has a range reminiscent of Tim or Jeff Buckley. Caught him perform at a small coffee shop in our neighborhood--this after having fell in love with the album. Every song was as masterful in person as it is on the album. Buy this. Play this. Love this.