Red House Painters [Original recording reissued]

Red House Painters | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 2, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: 4AD
• ASIN: B00002SWSY
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #222,840 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Evil

2. Bubble

3. I Am a Rock

4. Helicopter

5. New Jersey

6. Uncle Joe

7. Blindfold

8. The Star Spangled Banner

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the most underrated of them, December 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Red House Painters (Audio CD)

This is DEFINITELY the most underrated of any of the cd's that RHP have put out to date. I've heard/seen it called boring, bad, etc. The fact is that this album is my favorite of them is irrelevant; what is important is that Mark Kozelek and co. offer probably the most representative work in their discography, and every song will play an emotion to someone. "Evil" will drag out the paranoia in you, while "Helicopter", probably the most beautiful song ever written, will display the one glimmer of hope you have seen in the last decade; very uplifting. "Uncle Joe", "Blindfold", and a disturbingly wonderful cover of "I Am A Rock" will make any listener understand both isolation and acceptance. What's more is that, musically, this album takes the parts of DOWN COLORFUL HILL which were downplayed and makes them more relevant, and even hints of what is to come on OCEAN BEACH; think of having your eyes made larger or even getting a tattoo. The ambience and texture of Mark's vocals against the battling drones from the guitars and sometimes piano, adding the sheer power which results, will make this almost a religious experience. No REAL RHP fan can deny these songs or what they mean to both the listener and the man who wrote them. Sure, the CD may be the songs that didn't fit in anywhere to the ROLLERCOASTER album; think of this as the BreakfastClub of CDs. It's these odds and ends which make both the magic of the cd and the true magic and humanness of RHP's music tangible. Try listening to it again.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars On par with their best, December 17, 2002

By 

Mark Mazurek "spazurek" (Chapel Hill, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Red House Painters (Audio CD)

I've kind of immersed myself in the Red House Painters over the last few months so I can compare this one pretty confidently to the others. I'll say without hesitation that this is equal to anything they've done and possibly my single favorite album. 4 tracks are masterpieces (Bubble, Helicopter, Uncle Joe, Sundays and Holidays) -- how many other albums by *anyone* can you say that about? The remakes (I won't call them covers since they're so altered from their originals) of I am a Rock, Star Spangled Banner, and the 2 versions of Shock Me don't work as well, but I attribute this mostly to the weakness of the source; I mean, how good can a Kiss song ever really be ('Black Diamonds' excepted)? Yet even these make for fairly enjoyable interludes between the moments of brilliance.

If you like these guys at all, please do yourself a favor and pick this one up. It's a little harder to find in the stores, and if you're the instant-gratification type like me and prefer having the little sucker in your hands when you purchase it you may be put off by this. But it's worth the week of shipping time, I assure you.

4.0 out of 5 stars Red House Painters - self-titled, II (4AD), April 1, 2010

By 

Mike Reed (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Red House Painters (Audio CD)

I remember catching these guys umpteen years ago a mid-sized venue - without even having any knowledge of who they were. Call their music dream pop, indie rock, alternative - whatever you like. Point is this band has something to say. Tunes I got the most out of were "Bubble", their cover of Paul Simon's "I Am A Rock", the uplifting "New Jersey" and "Uncle Joe". Line-up: Mark Kozelek - guitar & vocals, Gordon Mack - guitar, Jerry Vessel - bass and Anthony Koutsos - drums. I read somewhere that these eight songs were sort of left-overs from the band's previous CD - Red House Painters - self-titled, I. Don't you love it when bands do that? I sure by all means do.