MAKE BELIEVE

Platinum Weird | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP
• ASIN: B000H30CBC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,109,017 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Platinum Weird is the name of Dave Stewart's new rock band. This is no ordinary band, but what it does have is an extraordinary past. Stewart (best known for being half of the Eurythmics) has returned to Platinum Weird 32 years after the band originally split. Don't let Platinum Weird's rich history take away from the band's incredibly moving rock 'n' roll songs. The feature single, "Will You Be Around," could easily be an outtake from Fleetwood Mac's Rumours sessions. The previously unreleased 1974 album, Make Believe, is being released by Interscope Records in North America on October 10, 2006.

In addition to writing hundreds of songs with Annie Lennox via Eurythmics, Stewart has also written songs with Mick Jagger, Bono, Sinead O'Connor, Bryan Ferry, Bob Geldof, Anastacia, Jon Bon Jovi, and has produced everyone from Aretha Franklin to the Ramones. Kara DioGuardi is currently America's most celebrated female songwriter, and has penned songs for Santana, Christina Aguilera, Ashlee Simpson, Hilary Duff, Pink, Kelly Clarkson, and Kylie Minogue.

The history surrounding the original incarnation of Platinum Weird continues to intrigue rock 'n' roll enthusiasts. In 1974 Dave Stewart formed PW in London with female songwriting partner, muse, and soul mate, Erin Grace. Their debut gig was at Mick Jagger's birthday party and they quickly enjoyed a cult-like status and following in London’s rock club scene. Elton John's Rocket label signed the band, putting down an advance to send them into the studio and lay down tracks.

Erin's behavior during the making of the album was unpredictable. Prone to mood swings and emotional insecurity, sometimes she would disappear for several days, reappearing as if nothing was unusual with a smile and ideas for new songs. "She was wispy and elusive," recollects Stevie Nicks. "I wasn't quite sure what she was about, but I kind of copied her look."

With artwork on the album finalised and a confirmed release date, Erin vanished again, leaving Dave nothing but a demo of a song called "Will You Be Around" and a closet of metal hangers where she used to hang her clothes. The intended debut album Make Believe was never released and its name disappeared from public consciousness as quickly as the elusive songstress herself. Dave went into a deep depression, a period he later referred to as his "lost years." Two years later Stewart formed Eurythmics with Annie Lennox and the rest would become part of musical history.

During Stewart's success with Eurythmics, Kara DioGuardi was a young schoolgirl living in the upscale neighborhood of Scarsdale, an hour north of New York City. Her early interest in music was encouraged by an older woman who lived nearby and became her mentor in those formative years. By 2004, having become, as an adult, a successful songwriter, with scores of hit songs to her credit, Kara teamed up with Stewart under the guidance of legendary record producer Jimmy Iovine.

Waiting to rehearse with Kara in his Hollywood home studio, Dave found the old Erin demo of "Will You Be Around." As he was strumming the guitar and singing the song, Kara arrived and immediately chimed in with the chorus. Dave was amazed; he and Erin were the only people who knew that song. Kara explained that she was taught it by her mentor all those years ago in Scarsdale. It could only mean one thing--that woman and Erin were the same person.

Somehow the gods of rock 'n' roll had decreed that Kara and Dave, inhabiting their separate universes and separated by time and place, were destined to meet. The magical synchronicity enabled Platinum Weird to restore its musical legacy and reach out to a new generation.

Sparked on by his current collaboration with Kara, Stewart rediscovered his early recordings of Platinum Weird featuring Erin Grace. It's a miracle those vintage '74 recordings are finally being compiled and mastered for a release 32 years after it was originally intended to be released. The October 2006 release of Make Believe will be followed by the release of Stewart and DioGuardi's forthcoming self-titled album, Platinum Weird, in early 2007. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reminds You Just How Good Music Can Be, October 6, 2006

By 

R. Saldana "rmsaldana" (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Make Believe (Audio CD)

Dave Stewart says these are lost recordings from the 70s, and there are many who agree, disagree, or both. What it boils down to is that they don't make music like this anymore. Dave and partner/singer Kara DioGuardi have crafted a classic sound, one that would seem to be in the Fleetwood Mac family tree, but even saying that is to diminish from it, because its uniqueness disqualifies it immediately from any notion of recycling. A dreamy yet urgent tone permeates the album; highlights are "Love Can Kill the Blues" with Kara's aching vocal and Dave's psychedelic fantasia, and my personal favorite "Lonely Eyes", which sounds like a lost single from 70s A.M. radio and reminds you just how good music can be. Throughout, the guitar work is exceptional and I have to say that its delicate use in "Happiness" is a beauty to hear. My only complaint: I wished there were just a couple more songs, the album clocks in at just under 39 minutes. But the ten here are all keepers. Bottom line: Platinum Weird is cool stuff, whether in the "70s" or today.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Botched concept & Exclusive at BEST BUY, October 13, 2006

By 

Christopher Todd Durnil (Champaign, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Make Believe (Audio CD)

This is, perhaps, the best pop album of 2006 - albeit one that was botched by a convoluted faux concept ala "Chris Gaines" (Garth Brooks alter-ego concept that failed) featuring Stewart's recollection of his 1973 band featuring Erin Grace, the singer who inspired Stevie Nicks (among others). In reality, there is no real Erin Grace, and Stewart was a member of another Rocket Records (Elton John's vanity label that produced hits for Kiki Dee, Cliff Richard, and Neil Sedaka) signed band, the folk-leaning Longdancer (whose excellent debut was co-produced by the legendary singer/songwriter Ian Matthews).

So, as the concept goes, Stewart fell madly in love with Grace during the formation of the band, and Grace's haunting vocals stunned the music world in 1973 that she caused a label frenzy. The band signed to Elton's Rocket Records and Elton personally backed the album and even directed a music video for the band. On the verge of the album's release, Grace ran away with John's boyfriend, never to be seen again. The album then became a thorn in John's side, and, with no lead singer to promote it, the disc remained unreleased. Stewart then had a breakdown and a period of a couple of years of substance abuse before meeting his next muse, Annie Lennox, and forming The Tourists, which the duo later spun-off into the amazingly popular Eurythmics.

So, with this concept in hand, Dave met singer/songwriter Kara DioGuardi while producing Anastasia's 2003 album, and a quick friendship was struck. The two collaborated on a series of songs and decided to put the concept to work, recording versions of the songs as the faux-1973 band and as the modern-day "Platinum Weird." The ideal was to say Dave "re-discovered" his old album and that the songs inspired him to go back into the studio and re-record them in a modern-day setting with DioGuardi. The concept would have worked, if he left it simply at that; however, Stewart & DioGuardi decided to take it one step further and record two versions of several of the songs, with DioGuardi masquerading as Grace on the 70's recordings. They then decided to take the concept to the masses, and the faux-70's version gained more attention than the modern-day recordings. The modern-day album was then shelved, ironically, in favor of the 70's concept, and Stewart & DioGuardi had to return to the studio to finalize the faux-1973 album, which they appropriately titled "Make Believe."

So there you have it, another album shelved that maybe Stewart can look back on in 2040, if he's still alive (Stewart has said that a Stewart/DioGuardi disc will be released in early 2007).

But wait.... You can get BOTH versions! Best Buy has both discs exclusively available in one package. Both discs is definitely the way to go, and it is also amazing to hear DioGuardi in both guises - she literally does sound like two completely different people. It's an amazing performance and one that should not go unnoticed.

And the quality of music on both discs is AMAZING. This is simply one of the best pop albums of 2006. Every song is memorable and instantly recognizable, and Stewart's guitar work is quite masterful. For any fan of Stewart, it's great to see he's found another fine vocalist as a partner (although she does not quite match Lennox's richness as a vocalist, DioGuardi's performance is spellbinding in that she can totally disguise herself into two different styles and do so with amazing success). Despite the botched concept, this album's a keeper, and should propel "Platinum Weird" into the platinum success they deserve.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What the hell is going on here???, October 10, 2006

By 

Larry Davis "powerpoplarry" (NYC/Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Make Believe (Audio CD)

OK, I know of the faux backstory on this so-called "lost" early 1970's band featuring Eurythmic Dave Stewart and singer "Erin Grace", aka songwriter Kara DioGuardi. I find backstories on "fake" bands to be amusing, to be honest. I also know that Dave and Kara MUST have met whilst recording Anastacia's self-titled third album from 2003, as both worked on it, Dave producing 2 songs, co-writing and playing guitar on it, while Kara co-wrote a bunch with Ana, sang harmonies, appeared in the bonus DVD...this must be true, as I, soon after that album was successful, heard they teamed up and where else would they have met??? I thought it was a cool, interesting pairing, that they called themselves Platinum Weird, and were signed to Interscope, cool!!! So, I've been looking forward to this release, thinking they'd be a REAL band, recording and touring, and having a possible hit single on radio...I've been looking forward to hearing Kara's singing voice, after seeing her name in producing and songwriting credits, and hearing her harmonies on Anastacia's 3rd album.

Well, the way things look, this is a one-off, and Kara going under a pseudonym...maybe she wants to remain private??? I mean, no pictures of her or Dave are in the CD booklet. From the DVD, she's a pretty girl, kind of a mystery why she wouldn't want her picture shown??? Dave is still with Eurythmics, and this being a faux former band from the 70s, gives him time to have some fun and a good marketing ploy to gather this CD some sales. Thing is, IS this a ploy, or is it sorta true???

Why do I ask this???

Well, first thing I heard by Platinum Weird was a 3-song CD EP put out by Interscope called "Selections: Past And Present", which featured "Will You Be Around", "Happiness" and the "Unreleased 1974 Version" of WYBA. Hearing both versions of WYBA, I must say Kara on the 1st track and 3rd track sounds COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!!! I must say, it sounds like 2 different singers!!! THEN, the album gets pushed from September 19th to October 10th, and the artwork gets completely changed, and the title itself is changed from "Platinum Weird" to "Make Believe". The tracklisting on the Amazon listing is the modern 2006 album, whilst the album that came out was the "Unreleased 1974 Recordings", a 10-tracker, with the retro-sounding tracks: "Will You Be Around", "Lonely Eyes", "Happiness", "Make Believe", "Picture Perfect", "If You Believe In Love", "Love Can Kill The Blues", "I Pray", "Piccadilly Lane" and "Goodbye My Love". To be honest, this official album is GOOD, and feels authentic to that period of time, yeah, sounding like mid-period Fleetwood Mac, BUT I prefer the modern tracks, which really DO sound modern!!! It's like 2006 rocking girlpop, aka Kelly Clarkson, but with more artful twists and turns and minus the crass commerciality, yet it does sound a tad anonymous...yet Kara's got a GREAT voice!!! Now, here's the thing: BestBuy is selling a version of the album with the original 12-track version (the one listed here on Amazon), with Kara REALLY on lead vocals, as a bonus disc, so you can have fun and compare the discs...I'm just happy neither version is lost!!! I wonder why Interscope decided to release just the "retro" version to most stores??? Also, is that REALLY Kara on these versions??? It doesn't SOUND like her at all, and if it IS her, she makes her voice sound really affected.

Could it really be that so-called mystery woman "Erin Grace"??? Does that woman really exist??? If it is Kara, it's amazing how she can make herself sound like 2 completely different singers. The songs themselves are well-written. I love both versions of the 2 singles "Will You Be Around" and "Happiness", I love "Picture Perfect" and "Lonely Eyes" on the released version, and "Taking Chances" on the modern version really rocks!!!

If this is Kara's only planned vocal excursion before returning to songwriting/producing-for-hire, she should reconsider, as she's got a great voice that matches her songwriting talent, really!!! As for Dave, looking forward to his next project, be it Eurythmics, solo or whatever. Oh, and in that "bio", they goofed...between 1976 and 1980, he was in a band called the Tourists with Annie Lennox, released 2 or 3 albums on Epic, and had a minor hit here with a cool powerpop cover of Dusty Springfield's "I Only Wanna Be With You". He and Annie were a couple in the band, and when the band and their relationship broke up, they retained a working partnership and became the duo Eurythmics.

There ya go. BTW, Platinum Weird is a success...interesting too.