Customer Reviews

Magic Position

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well well well, I must say, I am very surprised to see that I'm the first person reviewing this gem. :) I am an American and while I'm probably not supposed to own this album yet (hits the States in May), I preordered it like some smart few as an import from the UK. So when it arrived March 2nd, I threw my hands in the air and danced around my kitchen, grinning profusely and having the sudden desire to bake cookies, fly kites, have water balloon fights with three-year olds, and maybe wear floaties to the beach. It is just that happy. A fan of fine lad's older stuff, I knew this album would be... erm... peculiar... but oh my. Peculiarity is good. It is splendid. If anything, I am impressed that an artist such as sweet Patrick can be so incredibly diverse. He is incredibly talented, every song is unique, and every song has its own bit of creative flare that I have hoped to find floating around the music world for years. I might be selfish to say that I want to keep him all to myself, but this album definitely has potential to go mainstream, and I will be happy for Patrick for whatever success he receives. :) Here's a review I wrote for a class assignment:

* * * * *

If befriending a gypsy in the gardens of a Parisian cemetery is what one has to do in order to ensure for a brilliant musical future, Wolf has quite literally done so, and with his third full-length Britpop folky masterpiece, he has indeed been put under a fantastic spell.

His debut, Lycanthropy, was a discothèque opera of ferocious alter-egos and Wind in the Wires was 2004's seaside requiem of ukuleles and accordions. After a few startling press photographs of Wolf in shiny boots with electric red hair, his fan base prepared for a carnival of flashy optimism, and Wolf did not want to disappoint.

The Magic Position opens with "Overture," the classic self-confident, cheery adventure tune that is sung with a smile so grandiose, one can't help but admire Wolf's Candy Land-like approach into track two, the infamous track so delightful he named the entire album after it. It's as giddy as kindergarten jump rope rhymes, and it is with such wonderfully charming attitude that Wolf can profess himself about his sexual pastimes, unashamed and really quite flamboyantly.

It's only eight-and-a-half minutes into the album and one realizes that Patrick is not only flamboyant, he is sassy. "Accident and Emergency" would be Wolf's cry for help if he needed one, but clearly he doesn't because there is enough catchiness involved in this single alone to cure even the most dreadful states of the doldrums. He is both brazen and positive, singing "If you never lose / how you gonna know when you've won? / And if it's never dark / how you gonna know the sun / when it shines?" over a tumultuous parade of horns, ambulance wails, and xylophone.

And just when one is content to hear about this happiness all the time, Wolf switches his tone completely to take on a sound more similar to that of his days spent by abandoned lighthouses. "Bluebell" and "Bluebells" express a deeper, more morose side of this young, sensitive sprite of a boy. He reflects on the cold nature of a bitter former relationship, and hopes instead for the blossoms of a forthcoming spring. But it is his everlasting sanguinity that leaves a listener with hope, realizing how involved this album is. It reads like a more mature fairy tale, commenting gleefully on the joys of being in love yet truthfully telling of the effect it can have when it is gone.

And like the plot of all complex fairy tales, Patrick Wolf's fairy godmother appears in "Magpie," an eerie graveyard echo of a song that depicts loneliness with frightful honesty. The godmother is actually Marianne Faithful and her vocals, while haunting and strange, provide for beautiful underlay to Wolf's cries. "Kiss" is the first of three instrumentals, and its simplicity prepares for what could be the most emotional song he's ever written, "Augustine."

The first lines are sung so smoothly and such a gorgeous image is described, it is as if the listener really is transported into sleep when Wolf sings, "I pass out into a dream / of whooping cranes and wooden beams." One wants to know who this Augustine is that he is moaning about, but all the same, one knows whoever it is, they are Wolf's secret. He is questioning the future - something that needs to be done with talent like his, and he compares his feelings to both a mother and a maid, nurtured and caring yet having to clean some terrible mess despite the age it adds to his knees. It is a metaphor of the handsome harm of love, one that can only be found in the thick bushes and roots of Wolf's own "Secret Garden," the second instrumental that sounds a storm of electricity puncturing stone walls and water ripping through vines.

But Wolf does not drown in misery yet - in fact he pounces right back into loveliness in "Get Lost," an inviting darling of a song that speaks of movies and bicycles and running away like rebellious, enthusiastic children.

"Enchanted" is Patrick's lounge serenade, and as if he were channeling Sinatra he widens his throat over a lounge piano and bells, expressing the magic that he does indeed feel from whomever his love is.

Just as he is feeling adult and established, "Stars" brings him back to being a boy underneath the great black blanket, admiring the world for all of its changes, amazed by the very varieties he has felt in his short life. It is a beautiful ending to the album, summing the fact that each faculty of the human heart is its own microcosm in the universe, swirling in space debris and just waiting for gravity to make it alive. It twinkles, it shimmers, it is universal, and it is powerful. "Finale" caps it marvelously with a few mysterious strums on a slow violin, ending the album but opening a spectrum of light and possibility. Wolf is at ease.

The Magic Position is so refreshingly different from his past two masterpieces, one is almost in wonderment that Patrick has so many tales to tell and so many ways of telling them. He is the self-proclaimed prince of a kingdom painted with unicorns and butterflies. He drives a chariot whose wheels hum nursery stories, glittery and fantastic. Patrick Wolf lives in a world pulsing with sincerity and yet heaving with passion. He is a truthful troubadour learning the policies of love, and translating them for himself and for his adoring audience into a musical symphony of epically magnificent proportions.




* * * * *

A classic popfolk record by a classically fabulous artist.

I admit it openly -- after hearing that Patrick Wolf was going poppy, I was prepared to hate "The Magic Position." I really was.

But I can't. Instead, his third album managed to sweep me away with his colourful chamberpop, and ever-changing palette of musical sounds. In fact, he masters most varieties of pop -- bluesy, peppy, soothing strings, and even some electropop -- and weave them into some accomplished melodies.

It opens with some taut drums, and a slowly rising violin leads in a sweep of strings, guitar and electronica. Wolf croons over it, "It's wonderful what a smile can hide/If the teeth shine bright and it's nice and wide/It's so magical all you can keep inside/And if you bury it deep no one can find a thing, no..." He follows it with the xylophone-churchbell-violinpop of the title song, a bouncy love song that is so infectious and joyful, it deserves to be on the radio.

But having hooked listeners with those two songs, he sallies out into all sorts of music -- dark electropop with horns, bluesy ballads, passionate piano pop, happy robot dance music, and a strong piano-strings ballad, "Magpie," a duet with the smoky-voiced Marianne Faithfull. And the album ends as it began -- with a twinkly, joyous little song, and a bittersweet string outro.

If I had to compare Patrick Wolf in this album, it would be to call him a male version of Feist -- talented vocalist and songwriter, musically versatile, and poppy without being a slave to the MTV sound. "The Magic Position" shows that off beautifully, albeit with a few dark spots that could have been left out.

The music is one of those rare blends of fun catchiness and clever musicianship -- mostly because Wolf crams it with adept musicianship. Aside from the basic guitar, he weaves in instruments like the weeping violin, accordion, ukelele, piano, drums and harp, as well as stuff like the colorful blips from an autoharp, horns, tinkly little bells, and the kitchen sink.

The results can be lushly effusive pop, sweeping ballads, or a spare ballad woven from flickers of piano and strings. It could have used a tiny bit of trimming, though -- "Kiss" sounds like a violin tuneup, and "Secret Garden" is an awkward mishmash of various sounds. However, they're the only real weak spots on this album.

Wolf's voice is as pleasant as his music -- smooth, strong, and able to convey fun and joy as easily as yearning and love. And his songs are pretty passionate stuff, whether it's the childlike joy of seeing the stars ("Mama, I saw the stars tonight/Orion, the plow, are burning bright"), or a painful confession to a lover ("And that's why, love, you shouldn't stay/Still you will and love me...").

Patrick Wolf goes pop in "Magic Position," but doesn't sacrifice any of his talents. A few songs could have been snipped, but you can forget about those in the shadow of his lovely ballads and dancy pop tunes.

I liked his debut album, "Lycanthropy," but I find that there are only a small handful of songs that I can listen to relatively often: "Wolf Song," "Bloodbeat," "To The Lighthouse," and "Don't Say No." The rest either don't do much for me or flat-out annoy me (no offense to Patrick!). "Wind In The Wires" was a big improvement. Though there were still a few definite standouts (the three singles, along with "Teignmouth" and "Gypsy King."), I really enjoyed the album as a whole. Now we have "The Magic Position," and I must say it's absolutely phenomenal, topping both his previous albums. For whatever reason, it didn't click with me on the first listen and I was a little disappointed, but shortly into the second time around, I was like, "What was I thinking? This is brilliant!" True, it has a happier, more positive, more romantic vibe, but the sound is still undoubtedly his. I would hardly call this album commercial. For those unfamiliar with Wolf, it could still be a bit challenging, but once you let him in, he utterly enchants you.

I didn't think "To The Lighthouse" could ever be replaced as my favorite Wolf song, but I'm pretty sure "Accident & Emergency" has taken that spot now. It's amazing. I can't get enough. The other two singles ("Bluebells" and "Magic Position") are very close behind, and following not too far behind them are the beautiful "Augustine," the unexpected romantic crooner tune "Enchanted," the epic "The Stars," which harkens back to the spastic electronic beats of his debut, and the powerful opener "Overture," which is so much more than the name would have you believe. Yeah, there are a lot of great songs here. Sure, there are a few brief interludes and instrumentals (as there were on "Wind In The Wires"), but for the most part they lend to the general mood and flow of the album. The exception is the rather annoying (but thankfully short) "Secret Garden," which consists mostly of jolting bass and fuzz. I'm not quite sure what he was thinking here, but oh well - It's a minor flaw in an otherwise flawless masterpiece.

People, please give this guy a chance. Spread the love. Patrick Wolf is so unlike anyone else out there, and he's so brilliant. And his style...and his content...everything about him rocks. Me thinks I'm in love.

I don't know how I came across this album, but I must admit that at first I kept it to myself. It was a bit of a guilty pleasure. Beautiful melodies mixed with electronic/casio/nintendo effects and emotionally charged lyrics of an adolescent in search of meaning: not quite what's on my musical shopping list.

In fact I reluctantly shared it with someone who I share music with, expecting a "what-the-heck-is-with-you-this-time", but fortunately got a reply along the lines of "interesting-stuff-you-put-up-there-this time". Phew!

The melodies and arrangements do sound like a gifted teenager: somewhat infantile and not very refined, yet adult and thoughtful. It sounds at times innocent and vulnerable, while it also shows he's been out and about quite a bit for his age. It's definitely hard to figure it out. Even to this day, sometimes I listen to it and think it's brilliant, and sometimes think it all sounds too exaggerated and crass.

Funnily I don't think I'm the only one that does not understand him. Some months ago I saw a picture in one of the London's free daily newspapers that showed Patrick's eclectic sense of style with the caption: "Patrick Wolf, a violinist". What? That's the last word I would use to describe him, yet he is indeed a violinist.

But more and more I'm inclined to think he's got absolute brilliance. When in doubt I listen to songs such as Overture, Augustine, Bluebells, Magpie, Get Lost, Enchanted, and The Stars which speak loads of his musical ability (strangely the ones I liked the least are the title song and the album's first single). It leaves way behind albums with wider critical acclaim like Antony And The Johnsons. My 5-star rating is both deserved and to encourage, a true musician such as him, to continue his journey of musical exploration.

Having said that, I still think he is a diamond in the rough. For instance, I think he needs to use a female voice more often. This will allow him to experiment musically. Perhaps in the same way he currently experiments with other sound making devices. In Get Lost you can hear a hint of where this could take him. This will allow him to use a wider range of notes and it will complement his natural `low' voice.

Also not sure if it was my version or the recording, but definitely it sounded at times rough, noisy, clanky, plus some of the special effects sounded annoying and out of place at times. There are too some odd moments in some songs which are distracting and actually detract from the song (like the "is it?" in Augustine).

From what I gather he is quite adamant to stick to his musical ideas (and I don't want to change that), but if he's able to listen to advice and surrounds himself with the right people he will certainly let the diamond be seen more consistently and by many more people. I can certainly see it. Way to go.

Mr. Wolf has created a pop gem with this latest album. The combination of familiar forms with abstract sound create a beautiful record and one that will last longer than this year. I wont go into comparisons, because he sounds like no one else, but he pushes the boundaries of pop music like Bjork and it provides great results.

this CD is very special with all kinds of special effects
One should listen a few times to appreciate the music!

Patrick Wolf dazzles with his third and latest album, "The Magic Position," a brighter, bolder work than his previous, but no less extraordinary, "Wind in the Wires." In "Magic," Wolf focuses on various states and stages of relationships, from the ebullient title track to the mournful "Bluebells." It all kicks off with "Overture's" mounting pulse and alluring message to "open up now" and "let some light in." Other gems include "Accident & Emergency," "Let's Get Lost" and "The Stars."

The music ranges from symphonic to spare, but always seems multi-layered and rich. Wolf's lyrics are stirring, descriptive and drenched in wisdom and insight. In a word, poetry. And then there's that unique voice that's as strong as it is versatile.

A fearless and original artist, Wolf is truly in a class by himself. As a singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, performer and visual artist, he possesses an unusual amount of talent, vision and appeal--all of which are realized on this amazing and unforgettable album.

I just saw Patrick Wolf in concert at Sasquatch Music Festival. I was suprised to find that while I loved the performances of groups like Arcade Fire, Grizzly Bear and Citizen Cope, Patrick Wolf was my favorite. He was magically entertaining, humble, charismatic and incredibly talented. I am looking forward to his work to come with bated breath. In a nutshell: He's an up and coming artist that is definitely worth paying attention to.

i saw him on a late night show, not the type of music i normally listen too, fell in love with his energy and style. i love the cd, my granddaugter thinks i am regressing. good for me !!

The Magic Position is Patrick Wolf's 3rd album and arguably his most accessible. Much of the darkness from his previous two albums is lost, but even so, he still retains moments of a beautiful, poetic sadness. The album demonstrates a truly remarkable diversity of talents, from the upbeat, infinitely dance-able title track to the heartbreaking Bluebells. But every song features Patrick's beautiful voice and poetic lyricism. This is a fabulous CD. Don't miss it!