Rough Dreams [Import]

Shivaree | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 17, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: EMI Europe Generic
• ASIN: B00006668Y
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,825 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Wagers

2. Gone Too Far

3. After the Prince and the Showgirl

4. All Because You Told Me So

5. Thundercats

6. Snake Eyes

7. Stealing Home

8. John, 2/14

9. Reseda Casino

10. Ten Minutes

11. Queen-Sized Tomb

12. Flycatcher

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Shivaree's quaintly titled debut, I Oughtta Give You a Shot in the Head for Making Me Live in This Dump, offered a respectable run through self-deprecating Americana. But on her sophomore disc, singer-songwriter Ambrosia Parsley takes a seismic leap forward. Embracing distorted electronic breakbeats, quietly tuned gothic ornaments, and heavy-lidded torch songs, she carries out a metamorphosis similar to the one that produced Radiohead's masterpiece, OK Computer. She comes on like Billie Holiday on the rustic techno-folk of "Wagers," blooms into Joni Mitchell on the soulful "After the Prince and the Showgirl," and mixes sugary doo-wop harmonies with a grim sonic landscape on "John, 2/14." This is a weird and languidly addictive record. --Aidin Vaziri

Product Description

Eagerly anticipated followup to 1999's 'I Oughtta Give You a Shot in the Head for Making Me Live in This Dump'. A laidback mixture of lo-fi blues songs in the same vein as Tom Waits & Sparklehorse. Special guests include Blue Note legend Don Byron & Scott Minor from Sparklehorse. 2002.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Original sounding band, September 5, 2002

By 

Sandy (Brussels, Belgium) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rough Dreams (Audio CD)

This is an intriguing band. "Rough dreams" sounds more polished than their first album on the production side, but remains imaginative. Ambrosia's voice is one of a kind and can be mesmerizing. Listen to the difference between the short opener "Wagers" where she sounds like a more than girly Gwen Stefani and "After the Prince and the Showgirl" where she turns into a Soul diva... You feel the girl's character and personality in her voice.

"Gone Too Far" is a little jewel of electro jazz with a touch of pop. "Thundercats" is a great rock track with electric guitars and recitative vocals. "Stealing Home" sounds a little bit country. "John, 2/4" and its tango rhythm makes me think about some Hooverphonic songs. With "Reseda Casino" (which reminds me of Garbage), it is one of the most radio friendly songs on the album. "Ten Minutes" and its urban feel is also a potential single. "Queen-sized Tomb" is a rock ballad with fragile and passionate vocals flying above the electric guitars. I wonder about some strange and cryptic lyrics though (murder, mental disorder?). Maybe they are connected to the album title?

Varied, changing, surprising, it is rare to find a band who dares to leave the beaten paths... If they keep on that way they might turn into a great original alternative band.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible, March 7, 2004

By 

Matthew S McCaw (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rough Dreams (Audio CD)

I first found Shivaree by accident when they were playing at student unions in London, and I have yet to find anyone in the US familiar with the band. It's a pity. Ambrosia's voice captures the eerie nostalgia of twentieth-century middle america perfectly. In fact, when I was writing my senior thesis on mid-twentieth century Appalachian poetry, I put their first cd on repeat and I credit Ambrosia with giving me the inspiration to finish my work. ROUGH DREAMS continues the nostalgic exploration of Appalachia, Southern California and all the campy, beautiful products of life in between. A constant sense of urgency and danger pervades the cd, and I'm pretty sure the strongest track, After the Princess and the Showgirl, is about seducing an underage girl. I hope this band, already seductively if tragically marginalized, will continue their work.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing, January 9, 2003

By 

"stephlaz" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rough Dreams (Audio CD)

This is an amazing and, apparently, under appreciated album. If Capital would make any effort to sell this band in the US, everyone would be listening. Ambrosia has a voice like a goddess: it is all music and soul. The band explores music in a way that incorporates an array of different styles. For example, "All Because You Told Me So" sounds like a 1930's torch ballad, while "Reseda Casino" is as catchy as anything by the big names in pop - it just happens to be very well written and musically interesting. This album is truly like nothing else I have ever heard before - beautiful, melodic, exciting, and so diversified while still maintaining the total integrity of the band's sound. I can't recommend it highly enough.