Customer Reviews

Only Everything

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My first taste of this album came long before it was ever released: The B-side to the "Spin the Bottle" single contained one of Juliana Hatfield's best recorded tracks ever, a lovely acoustic ballad called "My Darling". Dispensing with her sometimes forced witticisms and feistier, punkish electric guitars, "My Darling" just tells of a romantic yearning without pyrotechnics. And it's absolutely gorgeous, fitting Hatfield's candy-sweet voice perfectly, while also showing she has a nice touch on acoustic guitar.

That song was enough to convince me to get Only Everything. On the album, the song undergoes a remarkable transformation -- Hatfield plugs in, invites a full band onto the song, and manages to increase the beauty of the song while dispensing with acoustic guitars. Most bands go the opposite route, and it's refreshing to see someone capable of elevating a ballad by plugging in instead of unplugging. The rest of the album isn't as pensive or romantic, but it's marvellous noise-pop: "What a Life", despite a repetitive bridge (repetition is one of Hatfield's vices), rocks out with nice chunks of guitar riffs; "Fleur de Lys" couples French lyrics (!) with good solid melodies; "Dumb Fun" is one of Hatfield's best uptempo songs, wry and humorous without being precious; and "Universal Heart-Beat" is another well written, well recorded pop gem. When Hatfield reigns in her eagerness to write "issue songs" and writes introspectively, she can be extremely appealing, the approach much more apt to her girlish vocals and pop sensibility than the heavier sentiments attempted on the predecessor, Become What You Are, which despite its tighter band dynamics wasn't as strong or consistent a piece of songwriting as Only Everything.

This is easily one of the top ten releases of the last decade. The songwriting is consistently strong from track to track. Standouts include the energetic opener, What A Life, the crunchy pop of Universal Heartbeat, and the heartfelt whimsy of My Darling. O.K. O.K. and Dumb Fun also provide some upbeat pop/rock hooky energy. Strong lyrics, full of equal parts longing, disdain, alienation, and acceptance contribute depth to the over all experience. Very insightful stuff in an industry where lyrics in general tend to exist merely to support the melody.

Although I'm not overly familiar with all of Juliana's work, to me, this is her strongest effort, even topping her wonderful, yet inconsistent work with the Blake Babies. Add this to your collection.

I have been listening to this CD (origanaly cassette!) consistantly for eight years now and have never tired of it.
Following on from 1993's "Become what you are" popularity peak, this CD should have broken Juliana into platinum territory.However it soon was proven that would not be the case, with both juliana and this CD fading from public view soon after.On release it received a lukewarm reception, which is a shame since this is her most consistant CD to date. For starters the sound is huge, with guitars and drums (by A Perfect Circle's Josh Freese on song tracks) way up to the fore. Then of course theres Julianas vocals, as sweet as they have ever sounded. Unlike earlier JH cd's, this set is not at all helmed in by a rigid "sound". Several tempos styles and moods are explored over the 14 tracks, whilst keeping a unified flow. Great use is made of the varied keyboard touches throughout, Clavinet, organ , piano even Wurlitzer and Mellotron are utilized to great effect. There are so many stand out tracks, "What a life", "Outside", "Live on tomorrow"...And "Bottles and flowers" is the best hit Smashing Pumpkins never had! As i said this CD sold very little, and its follow up "God's Foot" remains unreleased to this day. However Juliana is still recording independently and still producing great music. Apparently this overlooked gem is no longer in print. I recomend it to anyone to seek it out second hand (like right here!), you might be pleasently suprised!

Admittedly I'm a sucker for girls in Rock, but Juliana stands apart...after a stint with Blake Babies (and now a planned reunion) she went on her own to make a solid name for good writing and better rocking. She can play all the intruments on her albums that making them gel (catchword of the day) and become standalone anthems to each topic.

Picture it: It's 1995, I'm five years old and it's the year my sister, Jeneah, graduated from high school; dyed her hair purple and wrecked two cars. It's the year before she left for college and walked out of my life for a long time. It's the year where one sunny afternoon, she called me into the living room, and handed me a t-shirt she had brought back from a concert. And as I looked at that tshirt, I saw a blue background with a painted buffalo with the words Juliana Hatfield printed underneath. Ever since, it's been the point of no return.

Only Everything is the link between me and my sister, the thing that holds us together, our common bond. So sue me if I may be prejudiced. But the album itself, all emotional bonds forgotten, is simply fantastic. It's what other female quasi-rockers such as Jewel (who I despise with a passion) can only dream of. While I'm not saying there are no weaknesses on this album, every song is from Juliana's heart, and every guitar riff is crunched out from her very bone and spirit. Juliana presents "only everything", so to speak, on this album. From heavy rock (What a Life), cryptic French (Fleur de Lys), to aching and brutal honesty (Bottles and Flowers). When I finally found my own personal copy of Only Everything last year at the bottom of a sale bin at the Record Joint, I knew it was fate. I found that album at a low point of my life, and as soon as I put it in my cd player, 1995 came to life again. I was five years-old again, in the living room holding my sister's concert tshirt, holding the bond between my sister and I, feasible in my hands.

Buy this cd, listen to it. See if you can possibly relate to what I'm talking about. If you can't, great, move along. If you see the beauty and the magic of Juliana's best album, welcome to my world.

This was the first Juliana CD I ever got, and it's one of my top ten favs. The music has great melodies without losing any guts. This was her at her best. Blows away "Bed" anyday. As far as any of the "Lilith Fair Gang" goes, Juliana is by far the most rocking without sacrificing good lyrics. Yes, if you're going to go this far to find Juliana pick this one up if you already haven't.

Although many seem to disagree, this album is probably Juliana Hatfield's masterpiece. Full of energy, emotion and groove, this album is an incredible ride all the way through.

Absolutely spectacular CD. Juliana Hatfield's finest hour. Both the songs and the recording are perfect.

Listen to this and hear what Michelle Branch and Avril Lavigne wish they could be. This album is a beautiful contradiction-grunge angst beneath sincere, straight-forward, vulnerable vocals. Juliana's talent as a musician is topped only by her ability to be honest without feeling the need to be OVERLY sentimental and quasi-poetic (take notes, Dashboard Confessional). This album is a must-have, and frankly, it's a wonder she hasn't received more attention on alt-rock radio. Press on, Juliana, press on.

This is my favorite release from Juliana Hatfield. The songs are entertaining, original lyrics, and good tunes overall. Even if you were disappointed in any of her other albums you probably be able to find much more in this album alone!