Customer Reviews

Magic & Medicine (Bonus CD)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

`Magic & Medicine' comprises melodic tunes, and begins with the Beatles-ish `In the forest', a short, delightful strumming number, followed by the catchy `Don't think you're the first'. In fact, many groups come to mind as you listen to this, Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Super furry animals to name a few.

`Bill McCai' is a bouncy sing-along tune with a sharp twist to the tale. `Eskimo lament' is a tender ballad with great vocal harmonizing and a superb horn break.

Other standouts are `Secret kiss' and `Confessions of A.D.D.D', a psychedelic rocker with a great instrumental finale. `All of our love' would not sound out of place on a Radiohead cd, with it's barely audible, brooding vocals.

The bonus cd 'Nightfreak and the Sons of Becker' sounds like it was recorded by an entirely different group. It is in no way a throw away, all the songs are brilliant. The sound is darker, more experimental, Radiohead-ish (`Song of the corn', `Sorrow or the song', `Keep me company') and Super Furry Animal-ish (`Precious eyes').

The standout on this disc is the superb, upbeat `Grey Harpoon' with its X-Files/Twilight Zone-like sound effects. Another great track is 'Migrane' with it's twisted finale.

A splendid slice of Brit pop.

Say bye-bye to the Coral's frenzied pirate-rock from their self-titled album. In "Magic & Medicine," the British rock band takes a more conventional, low-key approach to their music. And it pays off, with raw rockers, sweet love songs and dark tales.

It starts off with ghostly love song "In the Forest" ("Out of the forest to the church's gate/By her grave she awaits her fate"). Folkier material follows in due course ("Don't Think You're The First"), along with catchy suicide stories ("Bill McCai"), lighter pop-rock ("Pass It On"), slow songs (piano-led "Eskimo Lament") and solid psychedelica ("Don't Think You're the First").

Accompanying "Magic & Medicine" is the bonus CD "Nightfreak & The Sons of Becker," possibly the weirdest title of the past year. This is a solidly lo-fi album, sort of a halfway point before their next release. It's stripped down and solidly scratchy, like a demo album, with acoustic gem "Sorrow or the Song" and psychedelic ka-bam "Precious Eyes."

It takes a little time to "get" fully into "Magic & Medicine," especially if listeners expect more of the same. Rather than use a theme or gimmick (like the pirate thing), they go through some solid songs where their musical worth can shine through. They do stumble with some of the lower-key songs, like "Secret Kiss" or "Confessions of A.D.D.D." They're not bad, just lackluster. And that is "Magic & Medicine"'s biggest flaw --they lost some of that sizzling intensity.

One thing that hasn't changed is the delicious weird edge of their songs. The evocative semi-psychedelic lyrics are well-suited to the music. The music itself is somewhat less intense, but now more acoustic and earthy. There's even piano and organ here, adding a richness to the music. James Skelly's shouting vocals have also toned down, showing that the man can actually sing.

The evolution of the Coral pays off. "Magic & Medicine is less intense than the Coral's debut album, but more musically rich; "Nightfreak and the Sons of Becker" is less polished, but has that delicious rock bite. Definitely worth checking out.

I bought this CD because the editorial review was interesting. I wanted something different than what I usually listen too because I don't want to get stuck in a rut.... I find this CD to be so enjoyable!! There are many songs that remind me of the 6o's psychedelic era and there are some that are just plain fun. I find myself dancing in the car while I drive... It's a fun toe tapping, hip swinging experience which makes you feel good. I would indeed call it "happy" music. It is also "light and airy" with catchy beats and a snappy rhythm.. The voices are well tuned and the instumentals are groovy. I made a good choice in picking up this circle of song....I would highly recommend it and I look forward to picking up more of their tunes.....

I cant believe more people arent as impressed with this album as I am. First off its two cds for 11.99, second at least 80% of the music is off the charts good! Its certainly better than most music being made today. If you are a fan of fun trippy rock youll love it, thumbs up.

I loved their last album, and I didn't think that it could get any better. Well, maybe it hasn't, but it certainly has become more interesting. These guys have become MUSICIANS! Yeah, they're still having fun, and they're still tinged with macabre, but they certainly know more about what they're doing and how to do it. There is a sense of maturity to the whole thing. Songs like "Liezah" and "Bill McCai" are sharp and poignant, the former a lush guitar ballad, the latter a get-up romp. I thought of SO MANY different artists in the history of rock while I listened to this, that I finally came to the conclusion that this album is quite simply a classic.

Some bonafide awesome songs are mixed with some tuneless bohemian jams. Between this album and the very low rent "Nightfreak" bonus disc, there are only 6 good songs. The rest are either very slow or very bizarre or very stupid. I loved the debut, and I love the 6 good songs. The band is talented and they are capable of some great tunes. But it's OK to not release every track you record...

2 1/2


This quality of output will impress only if low expectations are a starting point.

4 and 1/2 stars. what an accomplished outfit of musicians. highly creative, their sound is all over the place: spaghetti western overtones here, acoustic ballads, r & b overtones, trippy hippy vibes, even a dash of jazz and so much more. splendid stuff. some might say that they try too much in the way of styles here, but i find it all fine. great to have a wide variety of sound all on one disc. hope they keep it going for years to come.

I sort of stumbled across the Coral's debut s/t album thanks to the catchy single 'Goodbye' and was then completely blown away by the rest of the album. In fact, 'Goodbye' is probably my LEAST favourite track on that album these days, which says a lot about the strength of the rest of the songs!

So how is the follow-up album then? Well, this aint no sophomore slump! After my first listen the only tracks that really jumped out at me were the excellent safari-styled 'Don't Think You're the First', the sweet 'Liezah', the catchy 'Pass it On' & the awesome closer 'Confessions of A.D.D.D.'. The rest of the tracks just didn't really stick, but thankfully repeated listens largely solved that problem.

I still don't feel this album is on-par with the s/t debut, but it's an excellent album in it's own right. The only tracks I haven't really taken a shine to are 'Eskimo Lament' & Milkwood Blues', but these are by no means poor tracks; they just don't measure up to the rest of the album.

Outside of these two, every track is stellar, and if you were impressed by the debut you'll find much to like here!

Imagine Arthur Lee's Love played by Teardrop Explodes and sung by a more chirpier Ian McCulluch and you the most fun and interesting and cool album since.....whenever.