Customer Reviews

Pink Pearl

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What a treat -- more Jill Sobule music. Though it's an acquired taste, it's a taste nonetheless, and I'm glad she's putting out more music for her fans.

On that note, "Pink Pearl" will no doubt delight any fan of Sobule's, with her whimsical lyrics and ability to tell stories with her songs. Starting off with catchier tracks like "Rainy Day Parade" and "One of These Days" and then easing into mellower tracks like "Mexican Wrestler," "Pink Pearl" delivers a great listen.

This CD is harder to get into than "Happy Town," though, and I found that many of the songs were harder to relate to (a trend she has here is focusing the songs on individual women -- "Claire," "Mary Kay," "Lucy at the Gym"). This broke up the rythm for me at first, and made it harder to really get into the CD, though eventually that wore down and I did have a few good listens.

I'd recommend Sobule's "Happy Town" to new listeners of her music, though "Pink Pearl" does live up to expectations of this great musician.

Jill Sobule should be a huge star - she writes great, tuneful, hook-y melodies with sardonic and irreverent, but heartfelt, lyrics. Of course, if you're too clever or ironic, you fly right over the mainstream's head. Which is just where she's flown. However, thanks to three strong releases previous to this one, and appearances on soundtracks for many major motion pictures ("Clueless," "Truth About Cats and Dogs"), she has earned a small but loyal cult. "Pink Pearl" is typical Sobule, meaning it's great. Working in a range of song styles (bossa nova, hard rock, country, pop), she addresses such topics as senility ("Dear Claire"), unrequited love ("Mexican Wrestler"), gym fanatics ("Lucy at the Gym"), procrastination ("One of These Days"), and ends it all with a sweet lullaby ("Rock Me To Sleep"). Though, personally, I don't find it as track-for-track fabulous as her second, self-titled release, it's quite a grand accomplishment all the same. As you can see, other reviews on this site say much of the same thing, but I thought I'd put in my two cents worth to prove that there ARE people all across the country who have discovered what others have yet to - that Jill Sobule is one of top singer-songwriters working today. Let's hope she gets some more commercial success. C'mon, people, let's move some units!

This album was a pleasant surprise. If you enjoy female vocalists and witty lyrics you'll like this. The songs have graceful melodies and are easy to listen to yet reward attention as well. Just like the review quoted on the site says, the lyrics really demonstrate that there are interesting things going on in even the most ordinary events...just as an example from "Rainy Day Parade":
I used to have the stars in my pockets
Now I just watch them on TV
My friends, they've all run away
But they'll come back again
And we'll have a celebration
Getting back on my medication
We'll have a rainy day parade

Other songs include "Lucy at the Gym" about a woman exercising to overcome self image problems, dying and going to heaven..."Mexican wrestler" about unrequited love..."Claire" about a friendship with a woman with Alzheimer's and secrets of that life that are lost to fading memories and ambiguity...
Great stuff - really enjoy the songs - too bad Amazon doesn't have samples foryou to listen to so you could see if you like it.
I would say that the closest performer that comes to mind is the duo of Kate and Anna McGarrigle.

Jill Sobule follows her third album "Happy Town" with a fun, intense, happier sound on "Pink Pearl". Songs that touch on issues of Bulemia, first love, and people's imperfections that they find within themselves. Jill's real talent (aside from being an amazing songwriter and lyricist) is to write music about real people and issues that the masses are dealing with. Bravo for having the guts to do that Jill!

When I first heard Jill Sobule ("I Kissed a Girl"), I wrote her off as a novelty act or another Lilith wannabe.

Could I have BEEN any more wrong? I saw her live when she opened up the Bridge School Benefit concerts (with Dave Matthews, REM, and Pearl Jam, among others) and didn't expect much, but I had to run out and buy this CD the next day! I was not disappointed.

Some reviewers mentioned that the CD grows on you after a few listens, and I agree with that. However, enough of the songs are instantly catchy ("Rainy Day Parade," "Claire," "Heroes") that you keep listening until you notice the rest of the tracks ("Lucy at the Gym", "Mexican Wrestler").

I don't like most female singer-songwriters (eg--Jewel) because I think they tend to be whiney and preoccupied with lost love/relationships, etc. That's great if you've just been dumped, but if you haven't--who cares? Jill's lyrics are incredibly witty and insightful. I mean, who hasn't noticed the anorexic at their gym? ("Lucy...") How can you not love someone who writes lines like "Raymond Chandler drunk and depressed/Tennessee Williams drunk and depressed/Think I'll just get drunk and depressed" (from "Heroes"). So, until Jill comes back and tours the West Coast, I'll be patiently waiting with this CD.

Jill Sobule has delivered a collection of songs so diverse in subject and style that they defy simple labels. But that's the beauty of her work. Topics range from "Mexican Wrestler", a ballad about a first encounter with unrequited love, to "Guy Who Doesn't Get It", a country song from a woman to a man who is oblivious to her suffering. "Claire" is reminiscent of Elvis Costello's "Veronica". My personal favorite: "Somewhere in New Mexico" and its quest for faith.

I found this CD in the used bin and was astounded that someone could sell this. Well, their loss is my gain. Jill Sobule has put out another fantastic record. When I hear the crisp and witty song writing that is characteristic of this artist, I wonder how someone like this could not be popular. These are among the most accessible as well as enjoyable songs out there and yet Sobule remains in relative obscurity. And even writing a song about Mary Kay Letourneau did nothing to increase her popularity. I just hope that there will always be record companies willing to keep releasing Sobule's records no matter what the bottom line.

Jill Sobule is a smart and witty songwriter who keeps gaining maturity with each progressive CD. "Pink Pill" is a more enjoyable recording than Happy Town, in that the songs seem less dark and more peppy. The character songs are still the ringers here, from the body maniac with low self-image in "Lucy At The Gym" who discovers that everyone in heaven is perfect to "Mary Kay," about Mary Kay Letourneau, the teacher who had sex with a 13-year-old student.

I have two favorites on "Pink Pearl," and they are the wonderfully sad tale of unrequited love in "Mexican Wrestler" and the darkly funny "Heroes." In the later, Jill bemoans the fact that all the folks she looked up to creatively were train-wrecks.

"William Faulkner, drunk and depressed.
Dorothy Parker, mean, drunk and depressed,
And that guy in Seven Years in Tibet turned out to be a Nazi.
The founding fathers all had slaves.
The explorers slaughtered the braves.
The Old Testament God can be so petty."

All set on top of a great shuffle with a goofy electric piano solo. The only artists who reach these kinds of musical epiphanies would be Aimee Mann (a lot of "Pink Pearl" is reminiscent of Mann's "Bachelor No. 2") and the late Warren Zevon, who Jill often toured with. While I still rate her second album and "Underdog Victorious" as her better albums, there is still plenty to enjoy on "Pink Pearl."

Album #4 time for Jill brings another taste of her delightfully insightful view of the world, in which even the most mundane citizens have characteristics or quirks worthy of song. Obsessives and eccentrics are typical targets for her lyrics, and both "Claire" and "Lucy At The Gym" slot right into this frame, each subject being coloured-in with a healthy dash of light and shade and sprinkling of unusual personality traits. They may be real or figments of Jill's imagination or a combination of both, but her almost conversational way of delivering the lyric has this infuriatingly subtle way of drawing you in - you don't play her stuff as background because it's just too interesting.

Elsewhere, she opts for the more personal take on songs such as "Mexican Wrestler", a sparse, intimate ballad which uses violent contact sport as an analogy to the impact of unrequited emotion. (Killer lyric: "I can crack all your ribs/But I can't break your heart")

Of her four albums to date, I'd nudge this one just beneath her eponymous 2nd album. Compared to Happy Town from three years back, she's succeeded where that album didn't quite hit the mark. Rather than meander in places, it's straightforward, cut to the chase; you get the lounge cheese from the word go and a stream of 12 songs to be swept up in.

Last thought - here's another great example of why major label deals aren't always the best thing for an increasing number of artists. It can't be stressed enough how repetitious this album could have been if major label A&R tried to coax 12 rewrites of "I Kissed A Girl" purely because it was a minor hit record.

I can't stop raving about this cd. "Pink Pearl" isanother keeper, like all of her past cd's. Her music is smart, ironic,melodic, and sophisitcated. Every song will stick in your head days after you hear them. My personal favourite is "Mexican Wrestler". The title may sound strange at first, but the song proves to be one of the prettiest ballads of unrequited love in recent history. "Mexican Wrestler", much like the rest of the songs on the cd, is presented with a deep meaning. However, deep doesn't always mean sad or overly-sentimental. Jill makes sure that she adds just the right amount of humour to her songs so that they don't border on the edge of being maudlin. These songs are beautifully orchestrated around Jill's acoustic guitar (which she plays very effectivly) and her voice. Another interesting thing about this cd is that she has decided to add a 60's flair to the songs. The opening number, "Rainy Day Parade", could easily have been a Bacharach/Warwick collaboration, and the result is stunning! Her voice is near that of a little girl, but with enough wisdom in her voice that is anything but childish. I think that everyone should listen to this cd. What a gem of a pearl, indeed! END