Customer Reviews

Over & Over

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With just a little research, I found that The 88's song, "Coming Home" is used in a currently running Target department store television ad. My wife thought it was Paul McCartney, but while the song has a style that is McCartney-esque, The 88's do have their own sound that is distinctive indeed. They have a "smart"(as in crisp, tight, focused - not sloppy) style of making music.

Catchy and fun, enjoyable without being syrupy, unpretentious but clever, wickedly talented and simply just a GREAT pop sound are words that come to mind when I think of this band and this CD.

A winning collection of songs from an as-yet unsigned band out of Los Angeles. Jaunty, upbeat, yet with enough growl in the guitar chords so as to avoid excessive sweetness, this is a very fun CD. As other reviewers note, the music is retro, yet still sounds fresh, with apparent influences from The Kinks, The Beatles, and Freddy Mercury, at the least. Ably led by Keith Slettedahl, the whole ensemble is tight and disciplined in their execution - while the music consumer is a fickle lot, I think that this group has a bright future if they can get wider exposure and continue developing their expression. Great fun!

I first heard this band on a live TV appearence. All it took was one song and I was hooked. Finally some good original music out of the West Coast. This is the bands second effort, and if the third is as good as this one I can't wait to hear it. Keith Slettedahl is a name you'll be hearing more of. Not only does he do the lead vocals, but writes the songs as well. In an album of great music it's hard to pick a favorite. This is the CD that has been in my truck for a month. If you like The Kinks, Badfinger or the songs of The Pretenders, you will love these guys. This is an album of soon to be classics, definitely worth the money. If you miss this one, you miss a lot.

I've never really thought of myself as a music afficianado. I don't keep up with the newest bands. That being said, I generally know a good thing when I hear it, and The 88 just became my newest audio addiction.
There's no simple way to classify this band. In some places I hear the Kinks, in others I hear the Beatles, sometimes it's the Scissor Sisters or maybe even a bit of Elton John. Confused yet? Yeah, maybe, but somehow the whole thing comes together and results in a quirky, slightly trippy, fun experience.
To top it off, people will think you're hip because you're listening to The 88.
You just can't go wrong with this one.

It's getting harder and harder to find sparkling, melodic rock songs that aren't couched in cliche, but L.A.'s the 88 have arrived with the goods. All 12 of these immaculately-produced songs are noticeably based in the classics of '60s pop, '70s glam, and '80s skinny-tie noo wave, but are also unmistakably a product of RIGHT NOW. Infectious hookfests like "Hide Another Mistake", "All 'Cause Of You", and "Battle Scar" deserve to be rattling eardrums in iPods everywhere. And as good as the songs are, they're made even better by the fact that vocalist Keith Slettedahl sings the heck out of all of 'em. His amazing voice lands somewhere between the dovetailing falsetto of Ted Leo and the more melodramatic heft of Jeff Buckley (with a little Freddy Mercury tossed in for good measure), and his over-the-top talent makes the 88 one of the most exciting new bands out there.

I'm so surprised that The 88 isn't known by more people. It was hard for me to actually get a hold of this cd, but I'm glad I finally did. Even though this band isn't very well known, they have a sound that many bands can't compete with. What makes the album so interesting is it's diversity and great pop sound. It's so refreshing when a band can pull off a cool song (Hide Another Mistake) and then in the same album pull off a song that sounds like Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" (You Belong To Me). The point is, "Over and Over" has a great sound and with a few listens, it will leave you wanting more.

I'm no professional music connoisseur (had to look up the spelling of that one), but I can tell you that you will indubitably love this album. It is full of catchy tunes that attack what sounds like serious topics, but with a fun approach. It doesn't sound too poppy, but it also doesn't sound too new age retro hippie-ish. Not that there's anything wrong with that. The obvious ones here that are good are Coming Home (featured in commercials) and All 'cause of you. Maybe the last one is obvious just to me, but it seems like it was/could've been a single. We'll call those the popular songs. Next you've got your group that includes "Nobody Cares," "Bowls," and "Battle Scar." These are up-beatish songs that are great in their own right, but not quite as catchy as the first two. They are the ones I listened too after I wore out the first two. In that same category, but a little less up-beat are "Everybody Loves Me," and "Not Enough." I like these a little bit better than the previous category, but they were in that second group of songs one listens to after they start to explore the rest of the songs. Maybe you do that first I dunno. The rest of the songs are good still, but not quite as good as the others. Fin. Hope that helps! I can't believe there are only 6 reviews of this album!

saw them open for RAY DAVIES and I am sold! They are great and surely will go far. buy the record, check it out...you won't be sorry!

This is such a GREAT album and yes, "Coming Home" is the chirpy little tune that was featured on the Target commerical and is so upbeat and catchy. The entire album is awesome.

I was only getting this cd for the song Coming Home, but was very pleased to find multiple songs that I totally enjoy. Battle Scar, Nobody Cares, All 'Cause of You, Hidden Mistake, Everybody Loves Me are all great songs. I'm so thankful that Coming Home was on a commercial that caught my attention, otherwise I would never have known about The 88.