Customer Reviews

Simple Pleasure

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

But it is...This CD sounds like a Barry White record as recorded by Leonard Cohen. At first I didn't like 'Simple Pleasure,' certainly not as much as their brilliant first album, mainly because the ornate orchestral arrangements just weren't there. But slowly this record worked it's way into me, and hasn't yet left. This isn't as dramatic, or even as sad, as some other Tindersticks stuff. There are very few horns on this record, and certainly nothing like the grand flourishes that marked the best parts of their last record, 'Curtains,' such as on the song "Let's Pretend." Also, this is the shortest Tindersticks record ever--before this, all three records had been double LPs, while this one is only nine tracks long, features a cover and an instrumental. Still, what's here is totally fantastic. It works splendidly as a whole, and the first single, "Can We Start Again?" is a gem. The back-up singers add a terrific touch. This isn't your usual Tindersticks, but as much as I miss their old style, I'm glad to see them branching out and trying to sound new. A beautiful mood record--I'll be listening to it for years.

Though I normally hesitate to compare bands to great literary figures, I look at Simple Pleasure as a 'Dubliners' to the 'Ulysses' of the earlier albums.

The first Tindersticks albums were huge (60 to 74 minutes) works, with a narrative line carried from the first track to the last. Songs repeated, but with different lyrics, or arrangements. Orchestras, alarm clocks, overlapping lyrics and spoken word were used masterfully to tell complex, often upsetting but sometimes funny stories. Tindersticks exploded songs, and then reassembled them in fascinating ways.

Simple Pleasure, however, is not an ambitious masterwork, like the earlier Tindersticks albums. It, like 'Dubliners', is a couple of carefully constructed pieces built around a (musical) theme -- R+B or soul music.

Of course, in addition to being conceptual artists, Tindersticks are great musicians, and that is just as clear here as in any of their other works. Their rhythm section is still amazingly tight and inventive, and Dickon's arrangements still fit perfectly within the song. And Stuart Staples' singing is always a pleasure to hear, especially since he seems to be enjoying the change in pace.

I haven't listened to the album enough times to decide if the lyrics reach the heights achieved in their earlier albums. They do seem to be less maudlin (especially compared to Curtains), which is either good or bad, depending upon your outlook.

In short: would Simple Pleasure be the first Tindersticks album I recommend to a friend, probably not, but it is still better than almost everything else out there.

For me there's no other band out there to touch the Tindersticks. Within days of buying their first album four or five years ago, all my other albums started to lose significance. I kid you not. Every album from them since has ensnared me further, and now Simple Pleasure has finally forced me to give in and accept that nearly every album I've ever bought that's not by The Tindersticks is, relatively speaking, rubbish. In some ways Simple Pleasure is perhaps not as strong as its predecessors; it's got only 9 songs on it, and a couple of those (Pretty Words and From The Inside) are decidedly average. But the other seven are so astonishingly perfect that you may well find yourself wondering, like me, why the hell anyone else even bothers. The songs tackle a huge palette of emotions and thoughts effortlessly without once forgetting to fit them to gorgeous, utterly appropiate melodies. Just remember this: once you've listened properly (for background music it is definitely not) to Simple Pleasure and the other three complete albums from the band half a dozen times each, you'll find yourself totally addicted, unable to play anything else and unable to do anything else while you're listening. Don't say you weren't warned...

This is a wonderful work. I think that some of the other reviewers might have written their reviews prematurely when they said that this was less sophisticated than their earlier albums.

Yes, the album doesn't stretch out over 70 minutes, but there is a grace and a beauty to songs like "If she's torn" and "I know that loving" that is as profound as anything else that they have recorded. Besides, the relatively stripped down production lets you really appreciate how well they sound as a band without an orchestra behind them.

subtle, lush, and so beautiful that it's painful to listen to, the tindersticks' most recent release ( i finally broke down and paid import price for it ) not only encapsulates the moody murky sensibilities of their first 3 records, but provides us eager devotees a glimpse of whats-to-come from future releases. whereas curtains seemed (to me, at least) an overblown and even forced version of their first two records, simple pleasure seems to retrace the intricate melodies they found in the first two albums, as well as treading more intriguingly experimental ground, dipping their toes into the sounds of soul and gospel. this listener welcomes the tindersticks' ever-evolving new sound, and cannot wait to discover where they take it next.

Yes, probably way too light-hued for me, I wanted it to sound broader and as mesmerizingly maudlin as usual, I'm probably still wondering what the hell are those girlie back vocals doing there, or how come strings and horns and voice overlaps and even sarcasm and plain sense of humour were kind of swept up all of the sudden. I actually sleep with Tinderstick's 2nd album and "Curtains" under my pillow, and dammit, was I eager to listen to the sequel or what, but come on, like they weren't entitled to change their pace, work on forgetable, candid lyrics, take a chance on some peeled off kind of production. They've already earned the right to try whatever they feel like doing. And even playing "Jingle Bells" just by whistling the tune all drunk out of their minds, they are good as hell. It will be no dissapointment, disregard each and every one of those complaining reviews, ask yourselves if you don't feel like doing something a little different just for the heck of it sometimes, go buy it, finally you'll enjoy it.

Now that 1999 is winding down, I feel safe in judging Simple Pleasures as the album of the year, and one of the decade's best. "If you're looking for a way out" and "Cf Gf" are two of the best songs I've ever heard, full stop!

You've had someone special back to your flat. Your time together was intense, and the person left with a smile and a kiss. You're not sure you'll see each other again.

This is where you are when you listen to 'Simple Pleasures'. It's not exuberant like "City Sickness" (on album 1), not volcanic like "Let's Pretend" (on Curtains); reminiscent of "She's Gone" (on album 2). Lovely, really.

On some level, I tend to agree with some of the reviewers who feel that on Simple Pleasures, Tindersticks is losing what makes the band special as it drifts off into easy-listening top 40 land. But wait! If you listen closely, you'll find the old Staples magic is still there.
It did take me a while to get into this CD because I focused initially too negatively on the superficially disco aspects of a couple of the songs. But then one day I put it on and let it play a couple of times through. That's when Simple Pleasure opened up and presented me with unexpected pleasures.
This CD is easily the most accessible of Tindersticks recordings I've heard to date. While it lacks the edge and the inscrutibility of the first two albums, the writing and arrangements invite a wider public to sample the talents of Stuart Staples and company. If I were to introduce Tindersticks to someone with fairly generic musical tastes, I would start them on Simple Pleasure.
Here, Staples' vocal talents are on full display. His delivery is soulful and sexy, and the band is tight. I like the entire CD, but the tour de force is the Hammond organ-driven ballad If She's Torn. I've played that through over and over.
While those fans who are expecting a reprise of Tindersticks first couple albums may be disappointed at first listen, those who are willing to give Simple Pleasure a chance will find that though the recording is not complex, it is simply pleasureful. The only negatives are the skimpy liner notes and the relative brevity of the CD. Buy this today and introduce your friends to the band. They should not be disappointed.

By no means as epic as the three albums that came before it, this is still a fine Tindersticks record.

Who else could pull off such a great cover of an Odyssey song?

The sound is very sparse compared to the majesty of 'Curtains' but is great as it gives you a taste of the 'live' Tindersticks experience.

A great album and much lighter in tone than the ones before it. I'd recommend this but get the second album first if you are just starting out your Tindersticks collection.