Madra

Miranda Sex Garden | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 6, 1991)
• Original Release Date: August 12, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mute U.S.
• ASIN: B000003Z5L
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,937 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Seek Sweet Content

2. While Joyful Springtime Lasteth

3. Though Philomela Lost Her Love

4. Go Wailing Accents

5. Gush Forth My Tears

6. Fly Not So Fast

7. The Nightingale

8. Lady Those Eyes

9. Though My Carriage Be But Careless

10. All Creatures Now Are Merry-Minded

11. Full Fathom Five

12. See Amaryllis Shamed

13. It Was a Lover and His Lass

14. Those Sweet Delightful Lilies

15. Ah, Look upon These Eyes

16. If It Be Love

17. Away, Thou Shalt Not Love Me

18. How Merrily We Live

19. Sweet Kate

20. This Love Is But a Wanton Fit

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely. But not what you might be expecting., May 16, 2001

By 

S. Gustafson "Holy Roman Emperor" (New Albany, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Madra (Audio CD)

This record is -very- different from, say, -Fairytales of Slavery-. But then, if you have bought many Miranda Sex Garden records, you're probably used to one being very different from the next.

What you are getting here, basically, is straight Elizabethan madrigals, minimally re-arranged for three female voices. This record wouldn't be for early-music purists, but it would probably be more at home among the classical records than as a rock record.

It is a lovely, if quiet, and high class performance. Katharine Blake, Jocelyn West, and Kelly McCusker sing beautifully. This album would probably appeal to fans of Ms. Blake's -Mediæval Bæbes- project.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Madrigal Heaven, March 12, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Madra (Audio CD)

Okay...admittedly, the madrigal form isn't like anything else out there; but if you enjoy a capella female voices, and the idea of Shakespearean songs peaks your interest, this is THE cd for you! Miranda Sex Garden's singers have voices that are best described as ethereal and haunting. Their music is soothing and deeply evocative; it's the kind of music that makes you want to light every candle in the house and shed the stress of the day. The songs may not be headed for the top 40 anytime soon, but they were definitely in the top 40 of the 1500's...give it a try if you like, for example, the 90's cd of "Chant" monastic music.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too Subtle to Be Satisfying, November 6, 2005

By 

K. Franklin "aeternal" (Yonkers, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Madra (Audio CD)

First off, the volume on this album has to be turned up several notches in order to hear much. Then, the mood doesn't really change. The inflections change, but there isn't a range of emotions. Maybe this is due to too much of a soprano emphasis and lower keys never come bellowing through--the small traces of them just dangle in the background.

I understand that the madrigal nature of Madra is not intended to be the same Miranda Sex Garden as seen in later releases like Susperia, Carnival of Souls, or Fairytales of Slavery. But after hearing these delightful albums, Madra is too much of a letdown. For fans of MSG who are considering buying this album, I suggest you listen to samples and decide if it's for you.

It does get points for the concept (I admire any artist who visits medieval culture), the beauty in the voices themselves, and the composition. It takes a lot of organization and proper synchronization to accomplish this effect.