Oh! Mighty Engine [Vinyl]

Neil Halstead | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl (July 29, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Brushfire Records
• ASIN: B001BTZNQU
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #205,588 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Oh! Mighty Engine

2. Elevenses

3. Little Twig

4. Witless or Wise

5. Paint a Face

6. Always the Good

7. No Mercy for the Muse

8. Sometimes the Wheels

9. Queen Bee

10. Spinning for Spoonie

11. A Gentle Heart

12. Baby, I Grew You a Beard

Editorial Reviews

US only LP pressing. Oh! Mighty Engine is Neil's 2008 solo record. Neil is a current member of Mojave 3 and former member of Slowdive. This a record that can make one be happy, sad, and laugh all at once. Neil is very English and mumbles phrases like 'pithy liner', 'dangerous dolt' and other local slang. Neil has never been blatant or obvious with his words. He writes songs that are very personal to him, and then allows space for everyone to take their own meaning away from his lyrics ('Go skies and thrones and wings. And poetry and things' from the song 'Elevenses'). Neil recorded this record partially at The Solar Powered Plastic Plant in L.A. and the rest in his hometown of Cornwall, England. He surfed in the mornings, then drank beer and recorded with various friends in the evening. Neil is an old soul and this solo record is welcoming, warm, clever and kind.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Neil's mellow mood, August 2, 2008

By 

Lou Silva - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oh! Mighty Engine (Audio CD)

Very strong release from Neil and surely one that will continue to grow on you with repeated listens. After having the cd for a few days, the best way to describe it is that it is very mellow with only 4 songs or so having drums. Neil plays mainly acoustic guitar and sings with a hush. The melodies are great and stay with you after listening. Not as much variety as Sleeping on Roads or any of the Mojave 3 records, but a very solid release. Great pedal steel on the title track, wish there was more.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it, December 27, 2008

By 

Maera - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oh! Mighty Engine (Audio CD)

I've listened to this CD countless times. It would be a perfect CD, if not for the sixth track, "Always The Good," which grinds my nerves (I wish I could explain why, but I haven't actually heard it in quite a while, thanks to the skip feature). Neil Halstead sings very mellow acoustic music (again, with the exception of "Always The Good"). You need to listen to this CD more than once to fully appreciate the music and the lyrics. Anyway, I'm not very good at writing reviews, but I highly recommend this CD! It's ALWAYS in my CD changer. My favorite songs are "A Gentle Heart," "Paint A Face," and "Sometimes The Wheels" (the latter you may have to listen to a few times to really feel the full impact, but it's worth it, I guarantee).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sunny, September 1, 2008

By 

Peter J. Bruinsma "petedrover" (Grand Rapids MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oh! Mighty Engine (Audio CD)

To continue Neil's drifting-along-slowly-on-a-sunny-day-watching-stuff style, this is another successful album. He's "Shoegaze" without being annoying which is tough to accomplish. Fans of "Mojave 3" will find Halstead's string of solo releases highly satisfying.
It is notable that Brushfire has picked up Halstead's new release, considering the company has made a series of recent contracts with a number of under-the-radar very talented male singer/songwriters. G. Love, Zach Gill, Mason Jennings and Matt Costa are four of the best, and it is interesting to see the label recognition of the common features of these artists. Among other benefits of Jack Johnsons new label mates, these musicians probably wont hurt his image to be associated (with the exception of G. Love) with lesser-known artists with (including G) a hip appeal.