Queen of Denmark

John Grant | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 6, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Bella Union
• ASIN: B00383XZQC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,783 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

John Grant, a man from Denver, sang in a band called The Czars. When The Czars Broke up, John moved up to New York For a change of scenery and found himself playing support to Flaming Lips and Midlake on a few USA Shows. Well they became very good pals and Midlake became determined, nay obsessed with helping John out, recognising like me that it was close to a crime that John remained unknown outside a very small cult number. So they brought him to their hometown of Denton, Texas, and so he lived there for some months, working with them all on his solo record, in the spare moments when they werent working on their own new album. Mixed by Midlake mixer Matt Pense.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Serious contender for album of the year! 5 Stars all the way! April 7, 2010

By Seventhcrow

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a big fan of the underrated Denver band the Czars, I was excited to see that John Grant was back in the studio recording a solo project. And, to add icing to the cake his backing band is the incredible Texan band Midlake (another favorite, check out their new album "The Courage of Others" truly one of the best album to come along in years. An instant Classic.) Grant's Queen of Denmark packs a lot of punches. Here you have an artist who plunges us into a world filled with loss and sadness (TC and Honeybear), lust and disappointment in the breathtakingly beautiful "Where Dreams Go to Die" all the way to the "Queen of Denmark" where Grant's Cynicism becomes an epic anthem. Grant has an incredibly smooth baritone voice that can bring you to tears in a heartbeat. On this album he gives us a candid look into this raw and fragile world. If you haven't heard of John Grant you are missing out on one of the greatest voices and songwriters to come along. Reward yourself and buy this NOW!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A long-awaited album that surpasses expectations! April 18, 2010

By Jack Harms

Format:Audio CD

I've been listening to John Grant for a long while now, ever since he started fronting for The Czars, and I've always found his voice, that rich baritone, so full of depths and sorrows and longings, to be absolutely stunning, especially in songs like "Drug" and in his cover of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren." Since the break-up of The Czars, I've been eager to hear John Grant again, anxious to have more, and then more, and so I'm thrilled to find him deliver so much great material here, with a range of extraordinary emotional amplitude. I love especially the title song, "Queen of Denmark," which builds from its humorous opening to a complex (and even somehow witty) anger aroused by pain and sorrow. This is John Grant at is best, and, as much as I loved The Czars, I've wondered while listening to "Queen of Denmark," Grant's solo album, if The Czars wasn't perhaps holding him back a bit, if it wasn't a bit too small for his large talent. Buy this.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars There's a reason ... January 23, 2011

By Zeitgeist_Brad

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

There's a reason every periodical in Europe has lauded this album. Recently, MOJO named it album of the year, and Q listed it #6 in the year-end chart. Knowing John's past, his frustrations heading a band that imploded - the Czars - his past addiction issues and the depth of a break-up, a close listen to the songs on here can drive you to tears.

There is such raw emotion in songs like Queen of Denmark and Jesus Hates Faggots,you can picture the events in high-def detail that lead to the writing of the songs. Other songs seem light-hearted at first - Marz, Sigourney Weaver - but each listen brings you closer to the heartbreak, longing and wistfulness that comprises them.

The worst thing about the album is the inability to describe it musically to would-be audiophiles who need to know what genre it falls into. It's easy-listening, it's AM-radio, it's lo-fi dance, at times it sounds like Nilsson, at times you'd swear someone unplugged the Scissor Sisters.

In the end, if there is any justice in the world this album will be remembered for years and years. I rarely use this word: it's a true masterpiece.