Man Mountain

Blue States | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 1, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Eighteenth Street
• ASIN: B00006JM8O
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #186,335 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From URB Magazine

Where is there for downtempo to go these days? Blue States, the one-man-band Andy Dragazis, might have the map. Dragazis takes the downtempo producer’s mandatory influence list (John Barry, Ennio Morricone and Serge Gainsbourg) and begins to actually follow in their footsteps by exploring new sounds. On his second album, Man Mountain, Dragazis abandons the lugubrious beats that both anchor and confine downtempo and leaps off into a psychedelic, cinematic space. Like all exploratory trips, sometimes he has prophetic visions and sometimes he just rolls around a lot.

Whereas Dragazis’ debut Nothing Changes Under the Sun was largely instrumental, this one relies heavily on soprano Tahita Bulmer. Bulmer sounds a bit like Aimee Mann and she races to catch up at tempos like those in "Only Today." However, it's a welcome change to hear a producer pushing a vocalist, rather than just lingering in the downtempo pocket where everything sounds sexy. In fact, the instrumental "Studio 20" is a little limp until the horns kick in, like it was written with a vocalist in mind who decided to hit the bar instead of the titular studio.

"Bare Bones" is the most overtly James Bond soundtrack-alike, with intertwining horns, strings and tambourines, but it's "Season Song" that is the biggest stunner here. Dragazis deploys acoustic and electric guitars, massive reverb, an epic ebb and flow worthy of Morricone and most brilliantly, a children's choir that comes off as beautifully spooky and not at all gimmicky. Blue States has found one way forward for downtempo.

Rob Geary

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hard to Live Up to the First, October 2, 2002

By 

bordersj2 (Boston) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Man Mountain (Audio CD)

I couldn't wait to get this CD. It came out along with Thievery Corporation's new one, as it is released in the United States by their ESL label.

But when I did get it, I popped it right into the sound system and sat back. Of course I probably put a little too much stock into it - "Nothing Changes Under the Sun" was to me a terrific and album - light, airy and fresh. But with that one, it was almost a "you like it or don't care about it" type of style and sound. Does this one live up to that? Hard to say. The sound and songs do display Blue State's musical talent - Andy D is a tremendous musician. However this album does feature more vocals than the previous. Some of the tracks, like Metro Sound and ONly Today are fantastic with vocals. However a few of the others are to be honest, a little boring.

And that surprised me most about the album. It isn't one where I'd just put in and play all the way through. The sound is similar but different, which I guess is a good thing. But some of the charm from nothing changes under the sun, and what seemed like (to me) a wealth of great originality wasn't there in full force this time around.

All in all, it's still a good album. I'm glad that I got it and perhaps it will grow on me like his previous album did. But if you're just hearing of Blue States, I recommend "Nothing Changes Under the Sun" first, and then pick this one up.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An ornate, complex sound scene, October 4, 2002

By 

Dr.D.Treharne (Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Man Mountain (Audio CD)

This album defies categorisation. Andy Dragazis takes individual writing credits for 7 of the tracks, sharing the rest with vocalist Tahita Bulmer. Her voice fits well within the overall sound that is developed across the whole album.Dragazis plays most of the "instruments" on most of the tracks, the other common factor on all but one track being Jon Chandler on drums who propels the pieces with a very 'live' drum sound.Elsewhere instruments are added carefully in layers, with a skillful use of cello and violins, and trumpet and trombone (Gary Kavanagh & Billy Rumfill-excellent throughout). There's a choir on "Season Song" and washes of other sounds (conga and lap steel for example) but the whole project is clearly driven by Dragazis' notion of what he wanted to create. It's an album that will need a lot of listening to to reveal everything that it has to offer. Favourite tracks for me are "Colouration", which has lots of added percussion, "Studio 20" an electronic confection, "Doublespeak" which has all manner of unexpected instrumentation courtesy of Dragazis, and finally "Adrift" which has some lovely tonal shading.The other really good thing about this album is that it will make your system rattle as it delivers it's extraordinary sound screen. It seems pretty pointless trying to categorise what this is about, it's a remarkable album, best played very loud with time to listen to it as a coherent whole.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Reversal of Fortune, October 29, 2002

By 

eo (Wellington, New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Man Mountain (Audio CD)

"Nothing Changes Under the Sun" was a journey through exciting soundscapes accompanied by the undoubtable musical skills of Andy D. Only on the vocal tracks did the album occasionally dissapoint and sound bland and uninspired.

Great was my surprise then when I picked up a copy of "Man Mountain" just to find it a complete reversal. Here, the vocal tracks are melodious and haunting, downright beautiful in places. The instrumentals on the other hand sound dull and flavourless compared to the excellent work on his debut. Only occasionally do they hint at greatness. Ultimately, this album makes you yearn for his next release, because you can feel that there's another gem lurking beneath the surface waiting to emerge.

Mind you, it's still a decent album and the tracks "Only Today" and "What We've Won" are worth the price of the album alone.