Customer Reviews

Megiddo

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

In today's music, attitude is the easiest thing; emotional resonance harder; musical muscle and songwriting craft harder still; spirituality the rarest. This album qualifies on all fronts.

Lauren uses her voice and guitar in unorthodox ways to tell unorthodox stories. These songs range from the sexily moody ("Blood"), the gleefully irreverent ("Hope You Don't Mind"), the downright hilarious ("The Cannibal Ed"), rock fury ("Rock Star"), seductiveness ("Cold and Gray"), culminating in the sonic scape that is the album's best song, "The Ashram Song", marked by stunning vocal layering and Middle-Eastern-influenced melodies. It's a real feat to make "Om Shanti" a songwriting hook!

Lauren's vocal ability has grown considerably since this and, given the daring she's shown here, her musical future is limitless. For the time being, Megiddo is essential listening.

I actually found this album in a vinyl store off the beaten path in 1997 and bought it from the shop owner as a sample..didnt even listen to it first. When I got it home I was beyond thrilled the music was amazing the lyrics everything, it became my favorite album. I was going through a break up and things were bad and this album saved me. I emailed Lauren and she emailed me back..basically told me to burn all his stuff! haha..of course I didn't but she was great. I tacked that email up on my fridge and there it stayed for a long time. I had lost the Cd in a move and for the life of me couldn't remember anything but the name of a song of the album..I just googled it and it came up and now the CD is on it's way to me again! YAY ...everyone should own this CD ..it should be re released because it would be on top!

This album is full of opposites: it sounds raw and yet lush. The songs are stark, open, and bare emotionally, but full of cautious intent and sly trickery. The instrumental bits seem wild and loose at times, but are also carefully ochestrated.

Some wonderful recording and production by all involved. Especially noteworthy to some are the instrumental bits added by Jon Brion, just before the world at large knew of his talents. "Cold and Grey" is one of the many powerful tracks, I can't stop listening to it, one of my favorite songs of all time!

Hoffman's music is typical of Charlottesville's -- strong, lyrically intense & musically exciting. It's clear that a huge effort went into the production of this album. Very few debut albums can match "Megiddo" in quality. There's no question that Lauren Hoffman is an artist to watch closely.