Customer Reviews

Nurds

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

 

 

It's hard to blame these gifted sisters for trying something new on their second album, but the album was still a disappointment after their brilliant debut. Part of the problem is the arrangements -- much of it is either bland folk/rock ("Bobby's Song" "Louis") or strained New Wave ("Nurds" - like the B52s on angel dust). The failed musical accompaniment was particularly striking if you heard these same songs performed live -- which I did 2 or 3 times during this period; the songs were always superior live (and I'm not a purist who prefers the Roches with just guitar/voice -- I love some of their later "arranged" work.) The other problem was that half of the songs were rather weak -- except Maggie's "One Season" (one of their best-ever songs) and "This Feminine Position" and Terre's funny/scary "My Sick Mind." Their a cappella cover of Cole Porter's "It's Bad for Me" is also wonderful, underscoring the beauty of their collective voices, and in keeping with their own wry/slapstick humor. After this album, they returned to the more spare sound of their debut (and to Robert Fripp as producer) and recorded one of their best albums -- KEEP ON DOING. NURDS is not their worst album - SPEAK and CAN WE GO HOME NOW are much weaker - but unless you're a completist you're better off with THE ROCHES, KEEP ON DOING and A DOVE (followed by ANOTHER WORLD if you can find it).

The Roches' self-titled 1979 debut won many accolades for its childlike, quirky folk music, even making the Billboard Top 100 due to a cover by Phoebe Snow of "The Married Men".

The unusual blend of childlike acoutic guitars and beautiful, almost angelic folk harmonies found on the debut, was, however, to be surpassed on the opening title cut of "Nurds". Here the three sisters show conclusively that they can be much tougher than people think, and what's more they do so without losing any of their superb harmonies. Rather, they seem to sing even better. "My Sick Mind" may be not so intense but its chorus features a similar rhythm and the singing really is incredible.

"The Death of Suzzy Roche" is a remarkably funny tale of people fighting in a public laundry - it might seem offensive but is in fact merely humorous. "Bobby's Song" is more in the vein of the first album but sharper, as is "The Boat Family" which sees the sisters chant about the problems of nutrition. Two older folk songs in the a capella "It's Bad For Me" and "Factory Girl" are performed with a stunning beauty and simplicity, as is "One Season" which is just so touching it cannot be overlooked. "Louis" combines the features of both to give a quiet-dreamy ballad that really was out of place in an era of aggressive, stripped-down rock and roll.

Though frequently overlooked, "Nurds" was in fact a major advance - with more touching and diverse material - on the sisters' very impressive debut. Together with the following Keep On Doing it represents the pinnacle of their achievement.

Well, geez... I don't normally offer up reviews, but it's just a crying shame that this great album doesn't have any. As with all other Roches albums, this one has utterly unique lyrics, lovely melodies, and infectious charm. I doubt that anyone would regret checking it out.

The Roches' second album "Nurds" is a huge slip from the perfection of their debut "The Roches" and their return to that same successful Robert Fripp produced formula with "Keep on Doing". The songs are decent but this doesn't compare with the Fripp produced works.

However, "One Season" is among their finest songs and is the highlight of the album. This song takes the three highly discernable singing voices, establishes them in a pretty harmony, seperates them into a difficult to listen to, purposely out of tune chorus and then brings them back together. "My sick mind" is also a good song with each sisters' voice establishing their own identity.

After all, to listen to the Roches is to be force-fed the completely different voices of Maggy, Terre and Suzzy Roche.

The first Roches album ("The Roches") was astonishingly good. This second one ("Nurds") is preferred by some, and does differ from the first one in some important ways. The songwriting is less Maggie-dominated. The production is a bit warmer and the arrangements a bit more instrumentally varied. And the vocals sound a bit more natural (Fripp put an electronic shimmer on the vocals on the first and third albums that is missing here). And though it has its high points--my faves are "This Feminine Position," "The Boat Family," and "The Death of Suzzy Roche"--it has its weak points too: the title track is kind of funny but doesn't sound good, the a capella cover of "It's Bad for Me" is boring, and the concert favorite "Factory Girl" sounds curiously flat.

Overall it's a good album but I'd advise newcomers to start with the first one.

I have loved these Roches since they started recording. Quirky and slightly old fashioned sound and yet very modern too and quirky. Oh yeah I said that. Fun Fun Fun.

The Roches are unclassifiable. But they do project a self-image of nerdishness, not unlike Weird Al Yankovic. Their songs are not strictly comedic, however.

Nurds is a very eclectic album. Factory Girl is like an old folk ballad from the old country. There are quite a few "relationship" songs. The instrumentation is generally sparse. The Roches have a distinct style of vocal arranging, which I wish I could adequately describe. They never attempt to sound especially "pretty," let's put it that way. At times they are given to deliberate dissonance (One Season) or just off-the-wall vocal noises (Nurds).

I thought the songs on their first, self-titled album were higher quality and easier to take. However, many people might prefer Nurds, with its higher level of experimentation. I don't. Nurds (the song) is a fun self-deprecating romp, though.

Listen before you buy, if you can.

Magge, Terre and Suzzy Roche are the singer's singers, a family group which has been producing tight-knit, innovative harmonies for almost 30 years. Nurds is one of their better albums, a mixture of whimsy and pathos punctuated by biting social commentary. Worth every penny, this is one of those CDs you can listen to for years without ever fully catching every nuance.

....plus the Roche sisters have nice fannies (see photo)

You know, I was just reviewing the Roches' first album, and when I pressed "publish," and leaned back on the stool, a wave of memories swept over me and I realized that much of my negative feelings about the first album really had to do with hearing THIS one at the same time, and finding it hard to keeping the unpleasant feelings it arose in me from spilling over.

Certainly "Nurds" was not a very strong song, and it boggles my mind that they made it the title track. But at the time it was harder for me to understand why my lady friend liked it so much. If you ARE a nurd (or nerd, the proper spelling!), you don't really need to tell everyone, do you? It seemed like singing "I have...athlete's foot!" Why not try to stop being a nerd? And if you're not one, then why would you be so into that kind of song? Perhaps I was a bit too sensitive, but as a computer programmer type guy, dating a fabulous corporate climber, I thought she was telling me, "it's okay, I LIKE nurds." But it's one thing to be nurd and not have any other options in life, and it's another thing to be a wide-ranging intellect and support yourself doing something that is sort of nurdy. She would always insist that she thought what I did was cool ("and that's how we met!") but this song really got on my nerves.

Only now, I realize that inside some seemingly confident people is a nurdly self-image. And that isn't a contradiction. If people can't bring those sides together, they fall apart when they close the door on the world and step out of the public eye. So perhaps the Roches SHOULD have been singing about it--to try to let people know that even if they were rock stars (or almost rock stars) that they thought they were nurds. But they could have done so with a catchier tune. [14]