Roads Don't Love You [Import]

Gemma Hayes | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 22, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: EMI Import
• ASIN: B000B8Q8M0
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #472,438 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Two Step

2. Another for the Darkness

3. Happy Sad

4. Easy on the Eye

5. Keep Me Here

6. Undercover

7. Nothing Can

8. Helen

9. Something in My Way

10. Horses

11. Tomorrow

Editorial Reviews

The Roads Don't Love You is the follow-up to her Mercury nominated debut Night On My Side. On its release in 2002 Night On My Side met with phenomenal critical acclaim. After writing a whole new batch of songs, Gemma moved to Los Angeles last year to recruit a producer and musicians to record and play with. She met renowned drummer Joey Waronker (credits include R.E.M., Beck, Paul McCartney, Air, Smashing Pumpkins, Johnny Cash and many more) who offered his production skills. After assembling a band of musicians she admired greatly through their individual work with PJ Harvey, Beck and Remy Zero, work on The Roads Don't Love You commenced - with stunning results. Includes the hidden track 'Pull Me In'. EMI. 2005. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Loving The Roads.., November 6, 2005

By 

Stephen Doig (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roads Don't Love You (Audio CD)

Gemma Hayes' debut album Night On My Side revealed her to be a complex, mercurial talent with a gift for making inspired music, and the album itself proved to be a considerable critical success. For those, like me, who've been waiting patiently for her new album to drop, and wondering whether it could live up to her brilliant debut - it's finally arrived, and the answer would appear to be a definitive YES.

The Roads Don't Love You is a slightly more conventional singer/songwriter album, less mind-bending than Night On My Side, but no less beautiful in execution. Recorded in L.A, Gemma has surrounded herself with a crack team of musicians including renowned drummer Joey Waronker, bassist Cedric LeMoyne from the sadly missed (well, by me at least) Remy Zero, and a disciplined, demanding producer in Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Travis, Pavement, Beck) who has a way of extracting excellence out of whoever he's involved with. Apparently, Gemma suffered from writers block leading up to this album - but you wouldn't know it from the consistently lovely results here.

Gemma Hayes' songs inhabit a world of beautiful strangers, undeniable attractions, deep longings, lost chances, unresolved feelings and fleeting glimpses of happiness. She addresses all of these themes in the chorus of album opener 'Two Step' - "...stop chasing every little thing that sparks, you carry all you ever need in your heart". This song is Gemma Hayes personified. So too, the bittersweet first single 'Happy/Sad', which, like so much of her work, straddles the line between being happy/sad, calm/on edge, beautiful/ugly with intoxicating ease, and builds to a beautiful climax. 'Easy On The Eye' is hauntingly resonant, and my personal favourite 'Undercover' has a definite Rumours-era Fleetwood mac vibe to it - needless to say it's great - "...man you left me undercover, a gypsy out in nowhere".

As much as I adore Night On My Side, I do have to feel in the right mood to play it - it's a record that demands your full attention, and not really ideal to do the dishes to I guess. Conversely, I can listen to The Road's Don't Love You anytime, anywhere and always really enjoy it.

The Roads Don't Love You is an impressive feat, it's an album that should broaden Gemma Hayes' appeal without sacrficing any of the quality or individuality that make her so compelling to listen to in the first place.

The roads mightn't love her, but I sure do.

4.0 out of 5 stars Why didn't this get a US release? Criminally underrated singer/songwriter, December 2, 2006

By 

G. Mitchell "greggmitch" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Roads Don't Love You (Audio CD)

If you're a Gemma Hayes, you already tracked this 2005 sophomore CD down in the import bins - why? Because the her label didn't see fit to warrant a domsestic U.S. release for this, one of the best albums of 2005. I'm not kidding. Hayes is a superb singer/songwriter with a lilting, warm, yet haunting voice and a clutch of delicate, insightful tunes, really not a bad cut in the bunch. One of the few recent albums you can put on and never skip ahead until to the end, ROADS is a modern classic, it's that good. But few will ever hear it, since it looks like it's already OOP?! Pick it up while you can - she's one of the most overlooked, underrated performers out there.

4.0 out of 5 stars Need to listen a few times, February 15, 2006

By 

Gearoid McMahon "gearoidmm" (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roads Don't Love You (Audio CD)

I read pancake repairman's review and I can't agree with him more. I waited and waited for this album to be released. I listened to 'Night on my side' over and over again when it came out - it became the soudtrack of that year for me and I was hoping for more of the same.

Instead I was horribly disappointed when I heard this album first. It seemed overproduced and lacked the originality of the first album.

However recently I listened to it a few more times and it seems to improve each time I hear it. It seems to always be on my ipod these days.

Highly recommended.