Customer Reviews

Sleeping on Roads

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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I'd like to say that I've been following Neil Halstead's musical career since Slowdive, but I'm not that hip. My introduction was Mojave 3's first album, Ask Me Tomorrow. I immediately fell in love with that album's gentile, almost Leonard Cohenish songs, and cherish it still to this day. Later came Out of Tune, which was a noticable departure from the sound they had on the first(still just as excellent), and Excuses For Travelers carried on the sound of Out of Tune with a few nods to Ask Me Tomorrow. Up until Tuesday, I didn't think that it could get any better than Excuses For Travelers. I'm happy to say that I was very wrong.

Sleeping On Roads lies on a different plain than the Mojave 3 albums, yet still manages to coexist. The pace of the album is somewhere in between Ask Me Tomorrow and Excuses. It's very acoustic, with plenty of clean guitar, banjo, cello, glock, warm trumpet, piano and even some subtle electronic warbles that fill in the cracks perfectly. The songs are all dripping with beautiful melody and lyrics that are Neil's best yet. Noticably absent is any sort of slide guitar, which helps to set this apart from Mojave 3.

I'm no critic, so I can't think of any nuances that I should pick apart in an effort to make myself sound like a music expert. Sure, it doesn't break any new ground, there isn't anything revolutionary going on, but if you're a Mojave 3 fan you're probably not expecting it to be such a record. The sound throughout is very familiar, very comfortable, very peaceful and genuinely pure, which no doubt comes from the whole thing being recorded at Neil's and Nick Holton's homes, and mastered at Abbey Road. It really is a wonderful gift from Halstead, and I will treasure it for years.

Ever since his first band, slowdive, and his current band, mojave 3, neil has never wrote a song that wasn't, at least, excellent. Most of them are brilliant. And this record could only come from him. All of it's 9 songs are beautiful, enchanting melodies, with wonderful lyrics yet simple and relaxed. Slowdive usually makes you want to do some mind-altering substances and go into the furthest space, mojave 3 usually brings you down to earth after a long night and relaxes you more than you can imagine, and neil's album... well, just play it and you'll be taken to a desert beach, were it feels like you're alone in the world, and loving it! The songwriting's awesome, the guitars, drums, pianos and stuff are wonderful, but it's his vocals that keep on shining thru it all. It a must-have masterpiece! But anyway, so are all slowdive and mojave 3 records... wonder why...

I've been digging into all the discography associated with Neil Halstead's artistic life in the past year. First, I listened to Mojave 3, and I loved what I heard. Then I went back to the music he did under Slowdive, at the beginning of the shoegazing movement, and I loved what I heard. I had a chance to listen to the free download Amazon offers from this album, "Two Stones In My Pocket", and I loved what I heard... so the natural thing for me to do was to get the album, and I did.

I didn't love what I heard. Not that the album was bad or anything remotely like that. But I found it to be monotonous compared to his work with Mojave 3. Most of the songs, all of them fairly folk-rock in nature, felt like they dragged longer than they should have, which is an issue I admit I even had with some Mojave 3 tracks. So, all in all, if you haven't heard any of Neil's previous work, I think you will enjoy the album, but if not, check out Mojave 3's "Ask Me Tomorrow" or any of Slowdive's albums first. I think you will find them far more enjoyable.

Thhis album is one of the most beautiful that I have ever listened to. This is quite possibly one of the best roadtrip albums ever. Music such as this is perfect for reflection - quiet, slow, contemplative, complementing your thoughts instead of crowding them out. It is music to fall asleep to, music to wake up to, dreamland music, that stuff so right, so perfect that at times, it becomes a part of everything around you, and you only miss it (and miss it so acutely) when it is gone. Try this album out. After the party, when only your REALLY good friends are around, place this album in the player. Sit down and talk. Listen. Enjoy.

The soundtrack to my most difficult breakup, Neil Halstead's Sleeping On Roads will always be entangled in my biography. I'm sure that years from now I'll happen to hear any one of the album's failed relationship songs, and instantly I will be back in that parked car by the side of the road, struggling to look into the eyes of my longtime girlfriend to say goodbye.Neil Halstead played in the car for us when things were ending, and, alone now, he plays just for me.Like a true singer-songwriter, many of Neil Halstead's songs deal with the dark dimensions of love gone wrong. And like a true masochist, I've been listening to these melancholy songs all the time (I should stick with the Buzzcocks), succumbing to their spare and drifting mood. Written with simple honesty and delivered with passion, Sleeping On Roads is loaded with the kind of brutally heartfelt love laments you'd find on an old Van Morrison or Nick Drake record. In song after song, Halstead pours out a broken heart's worth of feeling. Left homeless after splitting up with his girlfriend, Halstead started Sleeping On Roads while living (and yes, sleeping) in the studio. Out of that pain, these nine songs were born. When they weren't included on the last Mojave 3 record (his regular band), the idea for a Halstead solo album emerged and these orphaned songs found a home.Gently understated and distinct in sound, Sleeping On Roads stands solidly alongside Mojave 3's best output. The music mixes folksy acoustic and electric guitar rhythms and textures with piano, organ, bass, drums (played by M3 bandmate Ian McCutcheon), banjo, cello, glockenspiel, dobro, vibes and trumpet, all delicately layered to give the album its lushly hushed ambience. Consistently flowing but far from one dimensional, Sleeping On Roads balances heavily instrumented and expansively atmospheric tracks ("Seasons" and "See You On Rooftops") with spare, stripped-down torch songs and ballads ("Martha's Mantra" and "Hi-Low And Inbetween").Like the best heartbreak classics, Sleeping On Roads slowly reveals its sonic complexities with each successive listen, but its bittersweet mood is instantly captivating. With its haunting melodies, confessional lyrics and dreamy sound, this solo album spotlights why Neil Halstead is the dominant creative force behind Mojave 3.

Having been an avid fan of Slowdive, I was a little disappointed with Mojave 3. Don't get me wrong, although I enjoy listening to Mojave 3, I always feel there is something missing. With Neil's first solo release, I feel that void has been filled. Although lacking the perpetual drone of guitar that was Slowdive, the album excels as a masterpiece of blissful ignorance coupled with an understanding I don't believe could have been realised by Slowdive. Neil writes and plays well. Both fans of Slowdive and Mojave 3, will enjoy this latest effort. Although, I cannot sit down and listen to the album straight through, I savor every note and every word. Each additional listen adds to the depth and meaning. Two Stones in My Pocket borders perfection. Highly recommended, I wish you happy listening...

Ok, I thought Mojave 3 was about the best it got in contemporary music. Then "Sleeping on Roads" comes out and I'm absolutely blown away. This record is beautiful and touching without ever veering toward corniness or cliche. It is so original and fitting for the time period we are in right now. Neil's sound is a perfect, poignant blend of traditional folk stylings with a few organic-sounding electronics bubbling under the surface, perfectly complementing the beautifully constructed songs. I recommed it to anyone who expects nothing less than the best from their records.

I've listened to a little Mojave 3 and Slowdive, and while I like it, Halstead's solo album hooked me right from the first listen. Seasons is just a great way to kick off the album. It has a feeling of motion to it. It's not all that adventurous, but it has such a gentle, dreamy quality to it that you won't mind. Two Stones in My Pocket is another simple, but catchy song. This song provides a sort of "theme" for the album, as it is revisted in the hidden track at the end. If I had to pick, Driving with Bert would be my favorite song on the album. It's a very yearning, heartfelt song that always brings up emotions in me. The trumpet really makes this song, and I think it's really cool that Halstead went with some unconvential instruments on this album. See You on Rooftops suddenly makes you wake up, and is much more lively than the rest of the album. It also has a very nice melody. Dreamed I Saw Soldiers is apparently based on the melody of another song, and I actually think it's the weakest song on the album, which is certainly a compliment to Halstead. Now this is why I hate picking a favorite song on this album - the closing track, High Hopes, is just vocals and guitar but have such an enchanting melody that I can listen to it over and over again. The album closes with a hidden instrumental track after High Hopes, which, in my opinion, only serves to make Two Stones get old a little faster, and besides, High Hopes would be a great closer for the album. I'd suggest skipping it when you listen to the album, but I warn you, if you let the cd come back to the beginning, the opening chords of Seasons will make you want to listen to it again! This is one album that I think I'll always want to listen to once in a while because it's just right for a quiet, relaxed mood. On a side note, this album makes three albums from 2001 that are among my favorite all-time albums (including Ben Folds' Rockin' the Suburbs and Zero 7's Simple Things), and that crappy site I will only call PFM said 2001 was a terrible year for music! Go figure.

This record is absolutely inspiring! Halstead's velvet smooth vocals complement the hook-laden psychedelic folk beautifully. Perfect for late night wine drinking. There is not a piece of filler on this record. In fact, it's worth the price of the CD just for the one song "Hi Lo and Inbetween." The beautifully poetic lyrics of this song are only upstaged by the simple and heart-tugging melody that's gently propelled by an understated, tinkering piano riff. Powerful. After I bought this CD, I went back and discovered Halstead's previous bands, Slowdive (brilliant wall-of-sound psychedelia)and Mojave 3 (a little more folk-oriented than Slowdive, and great songs). This guy's a musical genius.

... I felt most of the songs were mellow, but upbeat. There is a quiet optimism that shines through Neil Halstead's work. I am new to his music. I picked up some Slowdive, Mojave 3, and this one all at once. What amazing talent and variety. All great, all different. Slowdive "Souvlaki" has that MBV-style dark crunch, while "Excuses for Travelers" has a country-fried sound and deals with darker themes. So all in all, I think this solo effort is the brightest of Halstead's work that I've heard.