Customer Reviews

Sleep with You

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

 

 

This CD is rivetting from start to finish! Ed Hale's voice portrays deep emotion with a sly smile. I would recommend this CD to anyone who appreciates creative imaginative music.

I could write one of those awfully redundant reviews on how this is the
greatest album of the year, and use a bunch of clichés that have been
milked for every last drop over the years. It seems to me like there is
a bunch of generic review write-ups that critics use for any band by
picking them out of a hat. They use the normal hype/jargon and drop a
few names i.e. Buckley, Bono, Radiohead that rarely pertain to the band
being reviewed. After I have read most reviews I am left with knowing
nothing about the band and how it really sounds.

Ok I'm done with my rant, and in response to the above rant, I'm going
to write a specific review about the new Transcendence album and how it
makes me feel. Hopefully giving people interested a real idea of what
to expect.

Instead of getting too heady about the new album, I have put sleep with
you in my ear drum damaging walkman so as to get as emotionally
connected to it as possible as I write this review.

Ok volume is turned up all the way and my ears are in pain, here we go:

>From the opening track you can tell this is a whole new Transcendence.
It's like the whole band is on the edge, and at any time could lose it.
The guitar sound is so much heavier this time around, but still retains
much of the melodic sound Transcendence is known for. The crazy amount
of creativity in the guitar work alone should keep most listeners happy
for a LONG time. If you are sick of the typical guitar sound that is so
trendy right now, Transcendence will blow your mind; and your ears if
you listen to it as loud as I am right now. I firmly believe this album
really needs to be listened to as loudly as possible to really get the
full rush I've come to expect from the new album. Drum and bass
intensity have also been turned up drastically making the album
absolutely roar! Now for vocals, God damn, I want to know what the hell
happened to Ed Hale between RAS and SWU?! What ever it is, I'm not going
to complain. He is singing from a whole new place on SWU, and volume for
that matter.

He now shifts from guttural emotional screams to falsetto that leaves
you nodding your head with a satisfied grin on your face. You can
honestly feel that he is serving up his heart and soul for you to sink
your teeth into; the vocals are that raw and vulnerable at times. Ed's
vocals are so real, not some formulated processed sound. Absolutely
nothing is held back on this album-he is so raw and vulnerable. And the
Transcendence boys played like this could have been their last album
ever. Even the slow songs have an underlying tension and intensity that
is the trademark of SWU. The whole album is much more focused this time,
and you can really hear and feel the chemistry of everyone coming
together. If this size leap from RAS to SWU is what we should expect, I
can't wait or imagine how the next album will sound.

Transcendence has a particular tone that is unmistakable---Ed's vocals,
the guitar sounds, the intricate bass lines, and the unique keyboard
lines. I feel this new album will get some serious airplay even though
it doesn't follow the boring formula that infects our airwaves on a
daily basis.

To anybody reading this, sorry for the lack of continuity throughout the
review it's damn hard to write as you have your ears blasted.

Even though this is a departure from Ed Hale's last album, Rise and Shine, THIS CD IS REALLY GOOD. I am known by my friends as one who is constantly looking for new and GOOD music. They expect to hear something new when they are over. Recently I put this cd on and straight away my friends were asking "Who is this?" This was just at the first song, Sleep with You. I knew then that I was not the only one that was going love their new cd. I really like the lyrics throughout, the song Veronica is one of my favorites. I think Minnie Driver is just a good time and Beautiful One is very expressive.

To fully appreciate the depth of Transcendence's new record "Sleep With You", you must get past the ultra catchy, yet somewhat cheesy pop rock songs like Sleep With You, Superhero Girl & Minnie Driver before you can dig deeper into the troubled soul of singer/songwriter Ed Hale on the Radiohead-like Vicodin or the seven minute Lou Reed/U2-like Junkie. But the album's true gem is the Queens of the Stone Ageish I'm Not the Only One which features Fernando Perdomo's sonic guitar assault, and keyboardist John Rose's haunting rhodes melody.

After thoroughly enjoying Transcendence's Rise and Shine, I was wary of the harder edge sound. My fears were put to rest about 45 seconds into the first(and title) track....instantly reeling me in as any hook to a great song should do. It would be hard to pick a favorite on this CD...Veronica is one of the milder tracks, yet one of my favorites sounding a bit like Filter...and I'm Not the Only One rocks with a hint of AudioSlave. I am grateful that Transcendence is brave enough to search for new sounds, but alas...they can stop looking!!!

Some fans are too hard on their favorite artists. Critics even worse. Having already established themselves as something eclectic and off the beaten path with Rise and Shine, Transcendence released Sleep With You, offered an entirely different sound, and the lyrical content made it appear at least at first listen as if lead singer Ed Hale had perhaps gone off the deep end, or worse, been kidnapped and replaced by a look-a-like. Filled with catchy hooks and choruses, a new rock and roll swagger filled with references to sex and drugs, almost-danceable beats (gulp)!, and a very polished commercial sound, Sleep With You WAS a big surprise. But it is also a great rock album. The irony of course still being that though it was critically panned by all but a very few intelligent souls who were willing to stick their necks out and hear the brilliance of songs like Vicodin or Keep moving on, Sleep With You was a big success for the band commercially, selling more than any of their others to date, and yeilding two minor commercial radio hits -- superhero girl and minnie driver. I'm not the only one is still one of the best rock songs of all time and a staple of their live shows. For all its pomp and glitter and when all of the dust of controversy settles Sleep With You will be regarded as one of the band's best albums at the peak of their music making abilities. And it should be. Yes it is kitchy and over the top in some places. But it is also deep profound poignant and downright beautiful in others -- the song Little Tree, or Junkie.

The music's ok, but I really bought the album for the gorgeous woman on the cover. :)