NEVERTHELESS OPTIMISTIC

R. Stevie Moore | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 20, 2003)
• Original Release Date: October 20, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: INNOVA
• ASIN: B0000D9PHT
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,177 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Trouser Press Record Guide

The American record industry’s failure to recognize and promote (R. Stevie) is a case of criminal neglect.

Product Description

NEVERTHELESS OPTIMISTIC was produced by IRWIN CHUSID (of Raymond Scott, Esquivel, Songs in the Key of Z and Langley Schools Music Project notoriety). The album is a virtuoso showcase for Moore's popcentric vision and skill at screwing around with tape decks that don't always behave. Happy accidents make for unpredictable music in the hands of a man who never met a mistake he couldn't tweak to his advantage. The album features collaborations with XTC guitarist Dave Gregory and Shimmy Disc maverick Kramer. It also includes a dubbed duet with outsider music scat legend Shooby Taylor, the Human Horn. The rest of Nevertheless contains lots of guitar weirdness, quirky lyrics, bastard bluegrass, and melodic ballads. Stevie plays most everything, and engineered it too. His daddy played bass with Elvis for ten years, but that's irrelevant. His back hurts. That's relevant.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A TRUE ORIGINAL, January 28, 2004

By 

James R. Ferguson "Roger" (Nashville) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: NEVERTHELESS OPTIMISTIC (Audio CD)

What can one say about R. Stevie Moore than hasn't been said about . . . oh, say . . . Brian Wilson, Todd Rundgren, Frank Zappa, or fill in your own ultra-original creative genius. R. Stevie is a musical machine, having cranked out nearly 400 (count `em 400!) full-length albums since 1968. As Nevertheless Optimistic demonstrates, he is proficient and original in virtually every musical genre. He is a brilliant arranger and producer of SOUNDS, an excellent satirist, biting social commentator, insightful observer of the human condition, a hopelessly romantic poet, curmudgeon, and country comedian. He is overwhelming. His music will draw you in, and then push you away, even though you want to get closer. His music touches, and makes one aware of feelings that one might not wish to be aware of, or feel. Is that not art? For the uninitiated, Nevertheless Optimistic is an excellent place to begin exploring the depth of R.Stevie's musical diversity and virtuosity , equaled by only a handful of people on the planet. Treat yourself, and keep an open mind.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like a Mini "White Album", January 15, 2004

By 

Jeffrey J Grimshaw (Milford, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: NEVERTHELESS OPTIMISTIC (Audio CD)

Everything you've heard about this guy is true. This disc is like a mini-White Album-- hooks galore, every tune sticks in your head, and if you didn't know it from the liner notes, you'd never guess the same guy wrote "Part of the Problem" and "Back in Time" and "Moons." Even when he's goofing around, as on "Funny Child," the melody is so strong you'll find yourself humming it three days later.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Listen to a real artist for a change, January 15, 2004

By 

Chinacatalba (Livingston Scotland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: NEVERTHELESS OPTIMISTIC (Audio CD)

In a perfect world R. Stevie Moore would be recognised for the maverick pop genius that he is. Think Brian Wilson/Beatles/glam rock/punk/new wave/ambient/musique concrete/folk/country and he does the lot, what's more he can do them in the space of one song!! His material has been frustratingly difficult to track down (I initially came across him purely by accident)but since the advent of the internet he has been more accessible to me via www.rsteviemoore.com; This collection is a good place to start for the uninitiated, just a mighty fine collection of Stevie's more accessible commercial material collected from 30 years of recordings. Idiosyncratic? yes, Dull? Never. Fed up with a world populated with dull vacuous pop idol type wannabees? Check this out!!