Customer Reviews

Make Believe

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

this album is very good i like the bonus cd you get at best buy a little better. But the "1974" (not really from 1974 just kara makeng her voice sound diffrent) is well worth the money laone but why pass up the opertunity to get both at bestbuy the only thing i wasnt crazy was the big hoax about the "lost band" platinum weird from 1974 with "erin grace" (the 1974 songs are kara diogardi changing her voice there was never any erin grace she is complete fiction) i dont know what they thought it would help woth the band is great withought a big scandal but if you can look past that then you will be getting a nice 70's feeling album & if you happen to get the other bonus disk then you will get 2 for the price of one the bonus disk has 12 songs that feel way more modern like the style of music Kara writes but with more substance then some other artists!

I've been a fan of Dave Stewart for 15 years and it's really good to see him back in the limelight again (even though he has worked as a producer and a writer for other people recently). Make Believe is a very good album. I really like the acoustic and melodic sound. And I also find this production better sounding than the production on the modern PW-album that is going to be released early next year. The songs on the album are BRILLIANT - 'Lonely eyes', 'Picadilly Lane' (with Dave on vocals), 'Picture Perfect' and 'Happiness' are my favourites. But WHY isn't Dave singing on more tracks; his voice is so unique and it's perfect for this kind of music.

I bought this CD at Best Buy today and am totally confused as to what female singer I am hearing? If Kara is singing on the extra 12 track disk (which I call Platinum Weird 2006)then who is the female singing on the "Make Believe" disk which was hyped to be from 1974 when Erin Grace is ficticious? If both singers are Kara then I'm at a loss for words. The two voices sounds sound so incredibly different, yet both so enjoyable. With 22 songs between the 2 disks I'm really enjoying comparing the two. Dave can definitely craft a catchy tune and apparently Kara has some major talent also. Is this another Eurythmics? No...no comparison. There is and always will only be one Annie.

Dave Stewart is a very lucky guy, in this work it only gives a hint of what is capable of playing, composing together, or making a muse, as Erin Grace Annie Lennox has a privileged voice and it sounds perfect! a disc indispensable in any good nightclub!

I am disappointed that Amazon is playing along with the media hype about this group. I suggest you check out the Wikipedia entry on Platinum Weird for the truth - all the story about a "lost" group is a hoax to hype the band. It is surprising that a number of well-known artists (Mick Jagger,Stevie Nicks) participated in this media hoax, but maybe that attests to how many friends Dave Stewart has.
If you can get past the idea of being hoodwinked by this, the music is really pretty good (some of the tracks have ben available on ITunes for awhile).

I have been a huge fan of Dave Stewart and Eurythmics for years. I was eager to hear his new project with his "other" woman...(who is definately never going to replace Annie Lennox as nobody can)..The cd is good. It sounds like they tried to make it sound like 1974 style music. I think thats what is up with the silly story about it being a lost album from 1974 that you can read in Amazon's review....just a taste of Dave Stewart's sense of humor again.The cd is more like Indigo Girls or KD Lang though than Fleetwood Mac. It is definately nothing like Eurythmics.Its layed back and would be better if there had been a couple of upbeat songs on there. There is one song Dave sings in and that particular track reminded me of Spiritual Cowboys. The songs are good...but its nothing extraordinary like Dave's work with Annie Lennox is. I dont see mega success with this project. Its good but at the same time not for everyone. I hope Annie Lennox's new cd is released in 2007 as planned...Im really missing her now more than ever!!

Dave Stewart is back as Platinum Weird and a batch of unremarkable songs. I have all of Stewart's solo albums and all of the Eurythmics' albums, but this really was a dud. Not one great song. It was absolutely painful to sit through. I can't figure how Stewart let the music become so bland and meaningless when everything else he's done has be good to great. I feel I wasted my money on this one. If you think you will be getting the Eurythmics or solo Stewart, think again, listen to the sound samples first.