Other Songs [Import]

Ron Sexsmith | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 17, 1997)
• Original Release Date: June 17, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Interscope
• ASIN: B000001Y40
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,459 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sad Beauty, September 15, 2001

By 

Eugene F. Fama (Pacific Palisades, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Other Songs (Audio CD)

I bought this because it was high on Elvis Costello's recommended records list (always a good source for new discoveries). I've since found out McCartney and others have raved about it as well. I hesitate to give something I just bought five stars, but it's hard to think of another rating for this record. The main drawback is that it's only 40 minutes long.

On first listen Sexsmith seems too simple and maybe a little dreary. He's patently un-hip. Yet he's also unaffected, so much so that when you'd ordinarily find reason to dismiss him he has a hook in and the material starts building in your head. These are the kind of songs that keep you up at night. His melodies are spare and pretty. His lyrics have a direct innocence that is not naive but more like a haiku, stripped down and poignant with a pervasive hint of sadness ("So young we had no choice, we were pulled along by the ancient voice of girls and boys"). His singing is young sounding and direct, like Brian Wilson or maybe like McCartney without all his affectations.

This album has a weird intimacy, not like he's talking to you but like you're listening in to his thoughts--even the passing observations ("Standing on the side of the road near the overpass with a sign around his neck that says 'Carwash, Free Balloons' is a clown in broad daylight").

Producers Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake never get in Sexsmith's way; they avoid their tendency to overlay density and textures to the production. You can hear the grass grow on this record. It's quiet and gentle--and sometimes harrowing.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At Peace, January 15, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Other Songs (Audio CD)

I dare anyone to come home after a rough day and remain stressed out after listening to this album. I heard it for the first time last night, and I am sure no psychiatrist could have prescribed a better medicine or made me feel more at peace with myself. Generic phrases come to mind, like 'breathtakingly beautiful' and 'poignant lyrics,' yet the album is anything but generic. It is a 'breath of fresh air' in a world that, as he says... "is not the one we used to know and love, Can't help wondering if it ever was." This is my first exposure to Ron Sexsmith, and I hope that he continues to be as inspired and inspiring for years to come. I have found the music I want to grow up and grow old with. Thank you, Ron.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow. My new favorite album., August 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Other Songs (Audio CD)

I recently bought this album and "Whereabouts" after a friend suggested I check out Ron Sexsmith.

"Other Songs" is excellent. The songwriting is superb, the production (arrangements, mix, vibe) is inspired, and the performances are assured and heart-felt. There are 6 or 7 (!) gems on the album (e.g. "Pretty Little Cemetary", "April After All"), and the rest are simply good (e.g. "Child Star", "While You're Waiting"). Yeah, a few of the songs are a little weak (e.g. "Clown in Broad Daylight"), but they all have something in them that is irreplaceable, whether it's a melody line, a lyric or the production.

As a comparison, I think "Whereabouts" is a weaker album. The songwriting isn't as good (except for "Riverbed"), and the overall vibe just isn't there. I appreciate Ron trying new directions, but I think he's at the center of his strength on "Other Songs".

So, if you're looking for a new favorite CD, try this one.

Oh, I come from the point of view of being a musician/singer/songwriter, if that helps. Other favorites of mine from the 1990's are Radiohead's "OK Computer", Joni Mitchell's "Night Ride Home", Los Lobos "Kiko", Lucinda's "Car Wheels..", etc.