Customer Reviews

Sex Age & Death

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I can't stop listening to this album! Since the second Boomtown Rats album, there have been hints that Geldof was capable of making records this powerful and honest--but who would have guessed that he would actually do it! It contains so much rage, beauty, fragility, and love that it is hard for me to write about it without gushing. It is unlike anything Geldof has done before. In fact, the only record I can really compare it to is John Lennon's "Plastic Ono Band." "Sex, Age, & Death" has the same fearlessness to it, the same emotional nakedness. In fact, there is an achingly beautiful song on the album called "My Birthday Suit" (which might have been a better title for whole album).

And, like Lennon, Geldof names names. He casts aside the embarrassment of being human and goes for it. There's no worry of what we might think of him. He gives us the pure, crack-cocaine emotion. And if that emotion is bitterness, so be it. If, on another song, that emotion is grateful, worshipful love, so be it. And if, on another, it is an inability to understand why someone would take his own life when he had a beautiful little baby daughter who needed him in this world, well that comes out too. Geldof asks "What the **** is going on inside your head?!" But all one has to do is listen to the CD to know what the **** is going on in Geldof's.

All of the songs sound organic--like they were pieced together out of his consciousness--rather than trying to sound like any music which was already out there. A good example of this is the song $6,000,000 Looser. It doesn't make any logical sense at all. But it makes emotional sense. And it is almost imposible to get it out of your head for days after you hear it.

"Sex, Age, & Death" is not always an easy album to listen to, but it rewards close and repeated listenings. It sticks to your ribs. With so much lightweight crapola out there, it is nourishing to hear an album with these kinds of emotional heights and depths. Whether this album sells millions or not, I hope Geldof himself realizes what he has achieved here and carries on making music from his heart. For me, he has proven that, whatever other accomplishments can be credited to his name, this is truly what he does best. This is what he was born to do.

And, on a more personal note, I feel that this album actually helped me in my own life. It shows man incapacitated with sorrow and bitterness clawing his way back to happiness. You're right there with him. And it feels good. By the time you hear the very personal, very beautiful song 10:15 at the end of the album, you can't help but be moved. Someone else knows how it feels!

I liked some of the old boomtown rats stuff. Never really thought much about Geldof's solo stuff. This record, however, is incredibly good. Powerful. Emotional. The guy is singing his guts out. I have listened to this cd at least 30 - 40 times since I bought it a couple of weeks ago. Even if you don't understand the lyrics completely, this record won't leave you untouched. Enough said. Get it or miss out.

The new Bob Geldof Album "Sex, Age & Death" is a masterpiece. It impresses with innovative music and profound lyrics. "One For Me" and "Inside Your Head" sounds like the songs from the previous Bob Geldof albums with the "Vegetarians of Love" and "The Happy Clubsters". But most of the songs of the new album appear in a new, progressive style. "Mudslide" and "Mind In Pocket" invoke the young Peter Gabriel. "Scream In Vain" is reminiscent of the "Happy Mondays" and "10.15" cite Leonard Cohen. "Pale White Girls" and "A New Routine" are strongly suggestive of David Bowie in his "Sound and Vision"-phase, when he recorded "Hereos" and "Low" in Berlin. "Sex, Age & Death" is a milestone for the pop music in the 21th century.

I must admit that I've been a Bob Geldof fan for a very long time so it isn't too surprising that I found these new songs intriguing. What is unique is the brutal honesty that Geldof uses in his songwriting here. If you've followed his story over the past few years you know how tragic his life has truly been, but he has channeled the hearbreak and tragedy into a remarkable CD.

Bob Geldof's recent appearance at the LA House of Blues was incredible. The live performances of the songs on this CD are emotionally unsettling. You want to avert your eyes and ears but you can't. The raw emotional of these songs has got to make them difficult to perform. It is unfortunate that so few turned out for the HOB appearance. If you have an opporutunity to see Bob live, by all means do so.

The Worst Thing About Band Aid is it pretty much assurred the Boomtown Rats' career as a pop band was over. Too bad for fans like me because they were a favorite, but most people could care less. I don't understand though. How did everyone resist songs like the one about Eva Braun where she goes on a date with Hitler. Her family teases her about going out with such a loser while Hitler defends himself in the verses. He also wrote brilliant songs about Howard Hughes, bringing out his eccentricities in a joyous pop explosion, commiting suicide with a smile on his face with scenarios that go overboard to make the topic funny. He wrote equally well about serious topics, from teen angst to political exploitation. He captured their pain with humor and wit, using real world analogies that were interesting and poignant. Musically they experimented as much as anyone, successfully creating an incredible body of work. When Geldof went solo it just didn't seem right. Even though he was obviously the leader of the Rats it seemed like he was always part of a group. His first solo record was mercilessly criticized. It wasn't that bad and had some entertaining songs, but was a let down for Rat fans like myself and of course one that would never chart. The next two releases contained only a few memorable songs and I just figured Geldofs' solo career was not that interesting. I really liked his personality and think his work with the Rats deserves his fans support. I therefore bought Sex Age & Death. I listened to it basically scanning through and thought it was another half hearted release without anything that warranted another listen. Then after reading the previous review I decided to give it another chance. I am so glad I did. This is a truly great album. His monologs are half sung and much more entertaining. His pop efforts are very addictive and compliment the other songs. I hope people give this a chance. It is truly a great piece of work.

"Sex, Age, & Death" is, at times, hard to listen to. But it is harder to stop listening to once you've taken the plunge. Impossible, actually. Since the second Boomtown Rats album, there have been hints that Geldof was capable of making records this powerful and this honest--but who would have guessed that he would actually do it! "Sex, Age, & Death" contains so much rage, beauty, fragility, and love that it is hard to know where to start describing. If these emotions were food additives, it would have "the most allowable by law." It is unlike any previous Geldof album. The only record I can really compare it to is John Lennon's "Plastic Ono Band." "Sex, Age, & Death" has the same fearlessness to it, the same emotional nakedness. Speaking of nakedness, the 7th track is an achingly beautiful song called "My Birthday Suit" (which might have been a better title for whole album).
And, like Lennon, Geldof names names. He casts aside the embarrassment of being human and lets it rip. There's no worry of what we might think of him. He gives us the pure, crack-cocaine emotion. And if that emotion is bitterness, so be it. If, on another song, that emotion is grateful, worshipful love, so be it. And if, on another, it is an inability to understand why someone would take his own life when he had a beautiful little baby daughter who needed him in this world, well that comes out too. Geldof asks "What the [expletive] is going on inside your head?!" But all one has to do is listen to the CD to know what the [expletive] is going on in Geldof's.
All of the songs sound organic--like they were pieced together out of his unconscious--rather than trying to sound like any music which was already out there. There are dance beats. But they are used in an unusual, intelligent, emotional way. A good example of this is the song Six Million Dollar Loser. It doesn't make any logical sense at all. But it makes emotional sense. And it is almost impossible to get it out of your head for days after you hear it. It also contains one of the few traces of the famous Geldof humor to be found on the entire album in its hilarious use of "Six Million Dollar Man" SFX, Elvis sampling, and the pure absurdity of trying to make sense of a deep hurt--the ridiculousness of trying to put humpty back together again.
Even a song that sound like throwaway track on first listen will subtly get its hooks into you and you'll find yourself wanting to hear it again and again. There's a song called Mudslide, which should please all the Pink Floyd fans who liked Geldof in The Wall. Though it fits perfectly into this album, it is also reminiscent of the best Pink Floyd stuff (in fact it is better than anything Floyd has done in the past 20 years).
"Sex, Age, & Death" rewards close and repeated listenings. It sticks to your ribs. With so much musical junk food out there, it is nourishing to hear an album with these kinds of emotional heights and depths. Whether this album sells millions or not, I hope Geldof himself realizes what he has achieved here and I hope he continues making music from his heart, broken or otherwise. For me, he has proven that, whatever other accomplishments can be credited to his name, this is truly what he does best.
For anyone who has felt deep melancholy, "Sex, Age, & Death" is essential listening. For anyone human, really. It shows a man incapacitated and emasculated with sorrow and bitterness clawing his way back toward happiness. You're right there with him. And it feels good. Uncomfortable at times, but good. By the time you hear the almost embarassingly personal, very beautiful song 10:15 at the end of the regular tracks, you can't help but be moved. Possibly even to tears. Someone else knows how it feels!
Of the two extra tracks, The Original Miss Jesus is, by far, the standout. I don't want to just assume who it is about, but like the rest of the album, it comes from Bob's experience. It is Eulogaic, lovely, and perhaps a counterpoint to the bitter opening song, One for Me.
For my money, "Sex, Age, & Death" is easily the best album of the year.

I desperately want Bob Geldof to be happy. With Live Aid and Live 8 and everything else he's done to ease suffering in the world, I'd hope some solace might come his way.

And while it can be dangerous to read any artist's work as autobiographical, Sex Age & Death is at once a disturbing self-portrait and a vitriolic rant centering around the whole Paula Yates/Michael Hutchence affair. "One For Me" and "Inside Your Head" are primal screams directed at Yates and Hutchence while "$6,000,000 Loser", "Pale White Girls", and "My Birthday Suit" show a very exposed Geldof dealing, perhaps not so well, with the aftermath.

This album lacks the joy and spontaneity that permeates both The Vegetarians of Love and The Happy Club, which is only natural because of the subject matter -- which deserves the parental warning label more because of the disturbing content than Geldof's penchant for saying "f@ck."

The best way I can think of to describe the album is this: "10:15" is like The Happy Club's "The House at the Top of The World" after the singer has gone through the ringer and come out the other side. Instead of an innocent, almost juvenile, anticipation fueled by youth and lust, "10:15" is sex mixed with depression that gives way to a tenderness and faith in other people.

Maybe Bob will end up with a little happiness after all.

I've been a fan of Bob Geldof and the Boomtown Rats since the 2nd album. While they were not all gems, many of the Rats albums have earned spots near the top of the 800+ in my collection. "Vegetarians" was a very respectable solo CD, and this CD should be placed alongside that as containing some fine songs. If you are a fan, you'll like it, if not, don't even waste your time. If you don't know of him - where have YOU been?

Deep, dark and depressing. These would be words to describe Bob Geldof's "Sex, Age & Death", his first cd in nine years. Compared to his three previous solo efforts, Geldof changes his sound again. This time out, it's hushed singing, hypnotic rhythms, electronic noises. There's nothing here as upbeat as "The Happy Club" or spiritually philosophical as "A Rose At Night", and there's nothing as political as "This Is The World Calling". Instead, these ten tracks are personal statements about Geldof's relationships with people, namely Paula Yates, Michael Hutchence and Jeanne. At times, "Sex, Age & Death" sounds reminiscent of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" on the track "Mudslide" and sometimes Bob Dylan as on the track "One For Me". I found two songs particularly intriguing: "6,000,000 Loser" and "Scream In Vain". Neither of these two tracks sound like Bob Geldof at all, and it's a credit to him to be able to stretch in new directions musically after a nine year absence. "Pale White Girls" would be a close third for Geldof showing a metamorphosis. Most of the lyrics on this cd are ruminations, rants, diatribes on love, trust, pain and carrying on. Only the final track, "10:15" offers any solace and peace of mind, leaving the listener with a spark of hope. I found the track "Inside Your Head" to be a little much with Geldof's chorus repeating the f-word over and over. The song is Geldof's address to Michael Hutchence (who had an affair with Paula Yates, Geldof's wife at the time). While I like anything Geldof does I didn't feel that "Sex, Age & Death" was as captivating a journey as 1992's "The Happy Club" or even better, 1990's "The Vegetarians Of Love". It is also not quite as good as 1986's "Deep In The Heart Of Nowhere". Still, it is Geldof, and Geldof is good at what he does, and this is a four star entry. If only his inspiration came in shorter than nine year intervals!

Since I read that a kangaroo didn't like this CD I had to make sure I gave it 5 Stars which is worth. Long live Bob Geldof and may we all meet at the Happy Club. Buy this CD and you will not be disappointed. It is very heavy, raw and fun.