Customer Reviews

Sound of Music By Pizzicato Five

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pizzicato Five is back with another stereophonic sound spectacular. Their second US release can brighten any day. The sound is a bit more trippy, kicky fun than Made in the USA. I love the four tracks "The Night is Still Young," "Happy Sad," "Groovy is My Name" and "Strawberry Sleighride." They will have you singing them long afterwards and bopping along to the music in your mind. The style is still groovy, still full of the unexpected sample or musical find, and still that instantly identifiable but indescribable mix of influences. Think of that party scene in "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Don't you want to be Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly and throw crazy fun parties too? This is the CD she would play. Try it.

After first being introduced to P-5 by a friend a few months ago, I have been obsessed with finding out all I can about this shibuya-spun group. After purchasing a few of the albums, I've found this to be my favorite, leaving my car CD player seldomly. The songs are melodically beautifull, happy, and catchy. So catchy in fact, that I found myself actually learning the japanese to sing along. "Groovy, sekai wa totemo groovy!"

that's all i can say about this album.some might view the five's music as being simple bubblegum pop for kids, i suppose it could ironically be a compliment on how successful the five have meshed bossa nova,jazz,disco,funk with a devil may care attitude into one of the best albums this millenium. once you turn on the headphones, no matter where you are you just want to get down and shake it like a swinging dandy.this is music that takes you places, you could be in 60s london or fashionable paris carefreely skipping on the street in a funky get-up, not giving a total hoot about anything....pop pop pop that's alive and kicking, resurrecting the kitschy 60s to paint our bleak and boring millenium....what are you waiting for, grab your turtle-neck,cadillac and this album for a real party!

Never can it be said that Pizzicato Five doesn't have fun with their music. In "The Sound of Music," this Japanese band revels in glitzy sound and poppy melodies. Dancey, sparkly, plastic, sugary and enchantingly earnest, this is kitschy pop at its most entertaining.

After a brief intro with children singing about how they love "P. 5, oh yes we do," the band launches into the thoroughly danceable (and ill-named) "Rock'n'Roll," an infectious little song that would be maddening if it weren't so much fun, and so darn cute.

To judge from "Sound of Music," Pizzicato Five seem to be cheerfully cannibalizing various popular American music periods: There's a disco tune, a bit of bossa nova, bouncy funk, jazz, dance, and bubblegum pop that refuses to be serious about anything. A few -- like the conversation-filled "Groupie" -- are somewhat less charming, but it's hard not to be charmed by the repeated sentiment of "If I were a groupie..."

Pizzicato Five made music for years before "Sound of Music" started to capture American listeners. It's amazing that these guys didn't get attention before that. Rather than the wild experiments of Cornelius and Buffalo Daughter, Pizzicato Five are out to enjoy themselves (okay, they experiment once or twice). And they do so with great gusto -- the entire album sounds like a party where nobody cares what's cool, only what's fun.

Perhaps one of the most entertaining things about "Sound of Music" is that the band does absolutely nothing halfway. If the music is jazz, it drips jazz from every note. If it's dance, the tempo is mad. If they inject weird sound effects, it sounds like a haunted house. Synth, keyboard, wild drums and samples add to the fun, colorful maelstrom.

For anyone who doesn't speak Japanese: Most of the lyrics won't make any sense at all, despite the odd English word ("groovy!") thrown in. "Happy Sad" is one of the exceptions, with a the upbeat question "shoop-e-doop-e-doop/happy sad/are you feelin'/are you feelin' bad?/Happy sad..."

Pizzicato Five enchants in "The Sound of Music," a delightfully unpretentious album that tries out just about every variety of pop there is. The hills are alive!

Recipe: Take 100lbs of glitter/1 ton of sugar/1/2 tsp. English/A keyboard. Mix the above into a martini and garnish with a disco ball and pom-poms. Serve to me! P5 is still a favorite of mine and The Sound of Music is brilliant. So many musical styles combine into a strange mix of Japanese pop ala Teen-craze. I think one of the songs could describe the whole CD, Sophistocated Catchy.

I like this album for listening in the car when I am driving. There are some slow parts on this one that I wish that weren't there ^mainly rock and roll^.

My favorites on here are The Night is Still Young; Happy Sad; CDJ; Peace Music (actually St. Etienne Remix); Strawberry Sleighride; and Airplace. The biggest problem that friends have with this CD is the fact that there are only a few English songs on here. I reccomend that you get Happy End of the World if you want an Pizzicato Five release with english on it. For those of you who do like to listen to Japanese music, this one is a good one for the collection. Although I won't say that it is a must have.

Todos estamos acostumbrados a consumir la incomparable manufactura japonesa, sin conciderar los exponentes de música clásica, japón no supera sus fronteras en el pop, sin embargo P5 es una notable excepción eso sí no es muy masivo muy cultores de la fusión y del estilo del pop inglés de los años 70...esta es una muy buena recopilación a precio accesible....Ojo con las letras en romanji, pues no se ajustan mucho a la verdad

The Sound of Music is yet another entry by Japanese Pop group Pizzicato Five. The group ventures into several different things on this album and they go for the gusto. At no point in this album did I feel like they half did anything. While the track "If I Were A Groupie" isn't as infectious as the rest of the tracks, it is still listenable. Everywhere you look on this album you'll be sure to find something so catchy that you'll find yourself dancing in your seat before long. This is pop when it goes down the unbeaten path and isn't just another clone of mainstream pop. I for one am thankful for groups such as P Five and they will be missed.

This album is certainly worth a listen and I'm glad I spent what I did on the purchase of it.

The boys and girl of P-5 put out another crystal sugar album for your diabetic delight. Who cares what she's singing? Even in English, the songs are somewhat...obscure, but who cares? "Strawberry Sleighride" might not mean much to you, but that's not the point. "Groupie" is hysterically funny, interspersing tortured English vocals with tapes of Pamela Des Barres describing her experiences. This is our future - buy it now!

I liked the album, don't get me wrong. But if this had been the first Pizzicato Five album I had heard, I would've never purchased more. All in all, not as good as 5th release or Happy End of the World (the only two I have for comparison).