Customer Reviews

My Hand My Heart

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

 

 

I'm a very biased reviewer for I believe Russell Crowe to be a god amoung men BUT I will do my best to make this as true to self as possible. 'My Hand, My Heart' states a turning point in Crowes musical career as he says goodbye to longtime band mates of 30 Odd Foot of Grunts and says hello to solo-hood. Now Russell Crowe is by no means the most pollished of singers but his voice has a rasp and deep sentimentality that calls to mind the great Johnny Cash. On songs like the single 'Raewyn' Crowe touches on some personal history that carries his songs from your standard 'that sounds nice' to 'wow, that means something'...and that's what I admire about Mr. Crowe is that no matter what he does, whether it's acting or now singing, he wants it to mean something. His voice shines on three songs in particular, track 2 'How Did We Get From Saying I Love You?' which is actually a remake and it's quite good...track 8 'One Good Year' which starts off brilliantly, and while it's still a good song I think it would have been better all strings...and the final track 'I Miss My Mind' which is just beautifully sung. On track 6 'Worst in the World' Russ touches on the fact that he's media fodder at this point, being critisized for for everything he does and picked apart for just being a human being. I think this is a great shot back at those who have nothing better to do than make you look bad. The opening track 'Weight of a Man' shows the ability for Crowe to be humble, and atribute that too many accuse him of lacking, where he laments over his personal problems and thanks his wife for sticking with him in spite of his issues. Crowe shows brilliant maturity here addressing subjects that most won't tackle, going as far as to attack himself and expose his weaknesses and that's comendable for not only does it make good music but it also gives us an inside look at the man that is Russell Crowe.

Had to purchase this album (the advance copy) from an Aussie, as it is not available anywhere, but it SHOULD be! The emotion written and sung in every track is so tremendous. Russell sings from his gut and you can feel what he's feeling in every word. The subtle touch of the brass instruments gives this album soul and purpose. Russell knows what he's doing, and I do wish he would do more.

The lyrics, the instrumentation and the arrangements are nearly flawless. Wish Russell Crowe had a better voice. But considering the stories behind some of the songs, it sheds a totally new (and complimentary) light on one of my favorite actors.

Love CD! Came from Australia with a week! Great service and Great seller!

the voice of Russell Crowe can be like velvet as well as growly. depends on the song, the ballads are flowing and beautiful and when he rocks, Russell really rocks the house. I especially liked the song about the italian holding court with his children and his grandchildren. well put together album, I had to order it from Austrailia as there were none to be had in the states.

Being a worshiper at the temple of Crowe, I knew walking into this review that I kind of had to strip away all bias so as not to over-praise something that I truly knew didn't deserve it. There are honorable and commendable moments here, but there is also quite a bit that takes away from the album.

The plus side here is that this album reeks of personal attachment, which goes a long way. Despite the flaws that crowd out certain aspects of this album, Crowe and his lyrics are earnest in almost every possible way. He bleeds on these songs, pleading for understanding yet never once coming off as overtly sympathetic to his own faults. He is a man who is often criticized for being just that, and he lets us know that he has his issues but he is also human and just wants to be regarded as such. Songs like `Weight of a Man' and `Worst in the World' show this side of Crowe expertly, while songs like the touching `Raewyn' give us a glimpse of his more sensitive and sentimental side. While Crowe's voice is not the best, he does have a vulnerability that cuts through his gruff exterior and makes him more appealing overall.

All that said, the album as a whole just feel very lacking. A lot of the songs feel very similar and they have an almost sleepy feel to them. Some pop, but for the most part they feel slightly stagnant. Like I said, the lyrical content is nearly flawless, but the presentation just doesn't really work. Take `How Did We Get from Saying I Love You?' for instance. The lyrics are beautiful and very moving, but the track itself feels almost lazy. It is boring, with no needed pick-me-up. A lot of the songs have that feel. I don't know if it has to do with Irish traditional music, which this seems to be influenced by, but it doesn't cross-over as well as I'd like it to. This can be contributed to Crowe's lackluster vocals too, since a stronger singer could have carried the emotional weight of these songs better.

Still, there are some really nice songs here, like the moving `Raewyn' as well as the closing track `I Miss My Mind', which uses the slowed tempo approach to better effect. `My Hand, My Heart' is also paced perfectly for its content, and `One Good Year' stands out as the most well rounded track on the album. Musically, emotionally, lyrically and even vocally it just meshes rather beautifully. And then you have songs like `Land of the Second Chance', which is somewhat of a sloppy (corny) mess.

The album has some great, some poor and quite a few merely decent. Here's how I'd rank them:

Great
1) One Good Year
Pretty good
2) I Miss My Mind
3) Raewyn
4) Worst in the World
5) My Hand, My Heart
Merely decent
6) Weight of a Man
7) How Did We Get from Saying I Love You?
8) Mickey
Mediocre
9) Mr. Harris
Awful
10) Land of the Second Chance