Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Instrumental genius once again, March 24, 2002
Fans of the Automator's work shouldn't be surprised by the consistent greatness of this album. Dan Nakamura - under pseudonyms including Nathaniel Merriweather and the Cantankerous Captain Aptos in addition to The Automator - is pretty much far and away the best producer working today in hip-hop; he has a little more competition in the more rockish/alternative end of the musical spectrum, but his less rap-oriented projects almost never miss the mark, as evidenced by the massive success of last year's Gorillaz album and its ubiquitous summer single, "Clint Eastwood." "Lovage," in its original form, was one of those genre-hopping, border-crossing experiments that the Automator is so good at: featuring vocals from Elysian Fields' Jennifer Charles and Faith No More's Mike Patton, it was even better than the Gorillaz album, if more eccentric and vaguely lunatic. Often instrumental versions are merely completists' treasures, relatively worthless without the accompanying vocals, but the instrumental Lovage is well worth hearing. Patton and Charles' vocals, excellent though they are, can distract sometimes from the far-out soundscapes the Automator delights in crafting; on this instrumental album you get all the clever samples, all the subtle turntablism (courtesy of wax wizard Kid Koala), all the sharp humor and irony (who says the nineties are dead?), and, most importantly, all the eminent grooveability. The beats are incredible from start to finish, and listening to the instrumentals one picks up on all sorts of little quirks and craftings in the music that pass by the wayside when put under Patton and Charles' compelling voices. Listen to the original vocal Lovage, or any Automator-produced album, for some of the best and most solid music this century, with the wild collaborations that are his trademark; listen to his instrumental albums, especially this one, to realize what an undeniable genius he himself is, alone.
|
|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Trust me., December 20, 2007
I've played this CD for literally thousands of Chicago area high school kids over the years. Of all the music I play in my classroom, this gets the best response. The first time a class hears it, inevitably the 2 or 3 most interesting kids in the room ask who it is. No matter whether they're going to Yale next year, or going to junior college, whether they grew up on hip-hop or metal, whether they're white, black, or latino -- IT DOESN'T MATTER. The music hounds are ALWAYS interested in this disc. The version with the guy on the cover (the one WITH vocals) isn't NEARLY as good. This is great music for when people are just showing up at your party, for studying, for reading the New York Times, or of course, for making love to your old lady. Buy it for yourself, or buy it for someone cooler than you who thinks you're a square. Abjure disappointment. Trust me.
|
|
|
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
and the music was like wind in your hair, March 16, 2002
buy this on sight. nathaniel merriweather (dan the automator) sets the groove. mike patton (faith no more/mr. bungle/etc.) croons. jennifer charles (elysian fields) plays the sultry chanteuse. lovage could make barry white and the entire love unlimited orchestra rise to attention. it could make beth gibbons weak in the knees. it could remind r. kelly of his jeep. a friend of mine dropped this album on the system at his work, a major corporate record store, and watched the customers transform from mindless drones to players and play-ettes -- numbers exchanged and stories of tawdry scenarios popping up left and right. lovage has the power to stroke your soul. enjoy, baby.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Interact With Your Music: Discover, listen to, and buy new music, all from the pages of SPIN's digital edition, free to Amazon customers.
~ Lovage
~ Dr. Octagon
~ Handsome Boy Modeling School
~ Dan The Automator
~ Portishead
by Lovage 
