Customer Reviews

The Real Ramona

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's been more than a decade since " The Real Ramona " was released and the Throwing Muses are certaintly not kids anymore . David Narcizo , Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly are all enjoying a quiet family life nowadays while rarely do they perfom live anymore . Even though both Donelly ( with Belly's million-selling debut " Star " ) and Hersh ( with the acoustic ballad album " Hips And Makers " ) have experienced stardom during the 90's , their band somehow managed to remain all this time an underground secret for the few .

The Muses had always been adored by critics and there'll be a certain core of fans who will follow them forever but they haven't yet reached a wider audience and ...never really seemed to care in doing so anyway . Their music is an exciting , unpredictable mixture of raw pop and rock . 1991's " The Real Ramona " is arguably their best offering yet . Hersh's tortured vocals and wonderfully psychotic lyrics result in some truly gripping and addictive songwritting ( " Counting Backwords " , " Graffiti " ) while Donelly reveals a more sensitive , ethereal side of the Muses' music . From a generally great tracklist the songs which stand out are the moody rock lullaby of " Two Step " and the twisted , haunting storytelling of " Honeychain " .

The thing with " The Real Ramona " is that even though it's clearly a first - class pop and rock release , still it has remained largely unheard . That's so unfair for a record as good as this one - a record that all people who like good music can enjoy and not just fans of the Throwing Muses . A must-have withought doubt .

This cd a standout for me. A lot of other Muses fans can't understand why I love it so much, but there's something about it that just gets to me every time I listen to it. I guess it's more 'catchy' than their other stuff, although I thought 'Hunkpapa' covered that description better. I find this album a lot less disorienting than other Muses stuff, which has always been why I liked them. It was always an easier album for me to get into, and really be able to listen to. But it's a GOOD departure.

If you aren't a Muses fan, this is still a great album. If you've heard some of their stuff and not liked it, there's a chance you will love this cd. I've read that Tanya Donnelly had a lot of influence on this recording, and it is evident. I will admit that is has more in common to her work with Belly, but Kristin Hersch's thumbprint is on many of the songs, and that's always a good thing (the one essential thing Belly lacked).

The best way to write this review, I guess, is to not defend it but just glow about it.

It's an amazing, beautiful cd. There are so MANY songs on this album which just hit you right in the gut. 'Ellen West' ("That last one messed me up, things look bad, things look tragic") and 'Not Too Soon' ("He's just a walker, and he'll never stop walking away") are both sort of historical for me as I used them to illustrate rocky times in life.

This cd is in my "top 5 of all time" list. It may be because I heard it right after it came out (I was 16 at the time), and at that time it was some of the greatest music I had ever heard in my life. Or maybe it is because of the way it's been like a soundtrack for me as a I was growing up. I have no idea. All I know is that I love it a whole lot, and that hasn't faded at all in the last 10 years, although a lot of the music I listened to back then has completely lost it's appeal to me. An album that holds the test of both time and maturity is definitely worth noting.

Just buy it.

Sometimes there are albums that, if you were browsing the bins of your local CD place, you'd actually want to re-buy; even if you already own them.

This is one of those CDs. Music to listen to for years. It's powerful and haunting. Kristin is at times almost too real. Tanya is a bit more ethereal, rising above the pathos that pervades the album. Not that it's depressing; like The Smiths or anything. It's just a state of mind; an exciting, scary, yet at the same time melancholy feeling. The melodies stick in your head, lyrics pop into your consciousness. It stays with you.

"Two Step" and "Honey Chain" are my favorites; which is not a slight to Kristin. They just seem to have a calming effect; a pause in the madness.

You may see something totally different in this album. But it's music to think about. To hum. And to re-buy once the plastic gets worn down.

First, that "The Real Ramona" is the most poppy, easy-to-like Muses album (in my opinion) doesn't make it any less praiseworthy than other TM albums. The string of songs on this album go from the perfectly-hooked pop of "Counting Backwards" to the sublime, dreamy "Two-Step," (the only TM song "equally" produced by each band member). And Tanya Donnelly's brilliance in Belly was portended by her contributions to the album (Honeychain and Not Too Soon). The percussion that bombards its way through the album imparts each already-compelling song with even more infectiousness.

I don't know much about their other records, but this one I've heard hundreds of times. Hooks, harmonizing, happy melodies, it's all on the "Real Ramona". Between the good opener "Counting Backwards", and the excellent closer "Two Step", are the great tracks "Graffiti", "Hook In Her Head", and "Honeychain". All amazing songs. But my favorite is easily "Not Too Soon". That's just such an aggressively rockin', yet beautiful song. I always turn it up for that one. Overall, this has got to be at least one of their best albums, and will go great with your "Veruca Salt" and "Breeders" cd's.

'The Real Ramona' began my torrid love affair with Throwing Muses, and while greatly admiring 'Hunkpapa,' 'University,' 'House Tornado' and the rest, 'The Real Ramona' has gone on to last as the Muses' most consistent and entirely accessible piece of work. It seemed to grab ahold of the post-punk aesthetic that labelmates The Pixies embodied at the time, revved it up with an overhaul of indie-pop hooks and then four-on-the-floored it right past the competition. I've never heard such sharp, glassy edges sound so cool. The one-two guitar-crunch pop-punch of Tanya Donelly and Kristin Hersh was at a high-point on 'The Real Ramona' -- it'll crawl inside your brain and rattle your bones . . . and that's a good thing.

Don't let the "I remember when...." crowd of early Muses "heads" get into yours over this record. I was one of those guys but I was smart enough to know the difference between selling out and maturing. "Counting Backwards," "Red Shoes" and my favorite track and one of my all time favorites "Two Step," make this a must have. These are terrific, well crafted and incredibly well produced songs

This is the best Throwing Muses cd. Hersh and Donelly are both in top form. This is the one that made me a fan of the Muses. It's creepy and exciting.

Dear World,
Energy, swooning guitars, lyrical passion, and great musicmanship between the players. Easily their best and indefinitely their "Swan Song" so to speak. With the departure of T, the muses have never been the same formation of sonic strikers. This indicative issue has always been "bagage" and yet confirmation for the young Miss Donelly. Anyway, if it wasn't for decision, this interconnected world would cease problems, peace, self gratification and entropy. Yes?
Best Wishes and Kishes Mad World. FJE

Just nudges out The Pixies "Doolittle" as my all-time fave. Poppy, edgy, beautiful and dark all at the same time, it's the perfect soundtrack for a hot summer night--or a dreary winter day. The various facets of the disk (starts off poppy, builds up tension, releases in equisite beauty) make it that flexible.

As a Muses fanatic, this album holds a dear place in my heart because it's the one that reeled me in and allowed me to discover a band that would literally change my musical life. After countless listens, it still holds up. If anything, it's taken on new meaning to me over time.

Some consider it overproduced, but I disagree. The production complements the songs and performance perfectly. And the fact that it is Tanya Donelly's swan song as a member of the band only adds to its depth, with tension--personally and musically--captured brilliantly throughout.

If I was stranded on a desert island with just this disk, I'd be perfectly happy, as long as I had an unlimited supply of batteries for my CD player.