Poisoned

Scarboro Aquarium Club (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 3, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Le Grand Magistery
• ASIN: B000071WXJ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #843,416 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic., April 3, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Poisoned (Audio CD)

I can't say enough about this release. One fantastic pop song after the other, it's truly fantastic. If you enjoy the bands made famous by él Records back in the '80s, then I think you'll really quite enjoy this disc. Obviously influenced by OMD, Pet Shop Boys, Mr. Wright, The Hepburns, etc. If you get a chance to check this out, you really should. Beautiful stuff.

I patiently await his next release, which I hear is on Becalmed Records? Anyway, like I said, great stuff.

5.0 out of 5 stars "Poisoned" Is Among My Own Personal Favorite Albums, November 19, 2010

By 

Gavin B. (St. Louis MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Poisoned (Audio CD)

I've never understood why the Ontario based Scarboro Aquarium Club (SAR) has never reached the large audience they deserve to have. This 2002 release "Poisoned" is about close to perfection as pop music gets. SAR is fronted by a guy named Corey Schmidt but there are a number of female vocalists doing duty on the album as well. The insightful lyrics and moody atmospherics make "Poisoned" a great choice whether you want to dance or just sit around and brood. I've been listening to this album for nearly a decade and it's selection of songs have never worn thin.

Like "Forever Changes" by Love and "Avalon" by Roxy Music this album is a timeless masterpiece that adds up to far more than the sum of it's parts. It's easy enough to record an album of 12 good songs but it's rare to find an album where the all the songs are linked by shared themes and a unified artistic vision of our lives in the world. "Poisoned" improves with repeated listening because it requires time to fully appreciate SAR's nuanced view of the pleasure principle. One must drink the poison and suffer pain that is the result of our own quest for the intoxicating illusion of romantic love. Like Love and Roxy Music, Scarboro Aquarium Club is preoccupied with sinister undercurrents that inevitably taint romantic relationships.

One would expect some filler material in a 16 song album but even the couple of instrumental tracks have their own quirky charm. "Midnight at the Aquarium" churns with a funky bass line, bubbling house beats and twin synthesizers that mutate to sound like violins, Hammond organs, banjos, and filtered guitars. "Drinking the Poison" and "Hemlock Girls" sound like a couple of lost studio cuts by Roxy Music from their early 70s glam rock heyday. I'd love to hear Bryan Ferry cover both of these songs.

In 2005, SAR released second album titled "Black Swan Days." I wish Amazon would carry this title because I've never seen "Black Swan Days" available at any online music site or retail music store. I've been dying to hear that SAR album for nearly five years. "Black Swan Days" may not be available because Becalmed, the UK label that released it, appears to currently be a defunct business entity.

There's good news for SAR's faithful cult of followers: Corey Schmidt recently said on his Facebook page that SAR plans to do more live performances in 2011. Let's hope that also means a new album released is forthcoming from SAR. Heck... I'd settle for a re-release of "Black Swan Days."

NOTABLE SONGS

Drinking the Poison-Unfire
I Can Feel Angels
Fire
Hemlock Girls
Someone Else
All the Good Things
Midnight at the Aquarium
Sleeping Sound

5.0 out of 5 stars pop, pop, and more pop. you can never have too much pop., December 6, 2002

By 

zach gray (Waterloo) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Poisoned (Audio CD)

I highly suggest this purchase. Everything from "Never Been To The Moon," all the way to "Flying Over Yelapa" will stay in your mind, and keep you coming back for more. Please, for the love of god, buy this album... you will not regret it.