Customer Reviews

Spanish Johnny's Opera

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was a disciple of rock and roll but lost interest in my mid-twenties when I felt that after a dozen years the well had begun to run dry on new acts that cut a new path in the genre. You discover the Beatles after the fact, maybe REM a few years late, and lament the lack of popular attention to Chris Whitley and Jeff Buckley, and figure that verse/verse/chorus/verse/chorus may just be the only way people feel there is to go. Arts die. It happens. Maybe rock has run its course. But a band like SJO shows that you can harness the beauty of a music and still forge a new color; borrow from the past but not photograph it for later use; cut a record that has more to do with exploration than the clearest path to radio. I admire and love this record. May it burn brightly for a long time.

CD combines narrative imagination, a creative and soulful use of voice, and edgy yet elegantly orchestrated instrumentation. Can't wait till this band cuts another album. :0 peace

This music is uncompromisingly moving, incredibly rich, a veritable journey filled to bursting with vivid portraiture so lacking in most of today's music. It is difficult to confine this band to a musical type because I haven't heard anything like it before; it trancends categorization. It tells stories which are deeply insightful, intriguing, impossible to forget. Ferrar's vocals are vast and diverse enough to give you chills. The accompanying strings have an eerily space-expanding effect. You will find yourself singing these songs to yourself after a single listen, and you'll be listening again and again.

I'm not particularly inclined to write reviews of any kind, but after reading what Mr. Williams said, I feel compelled to offer my comments. I, too, received a solicitation by e-mail promoting this CD. I'm glad I did.

Stunning. It's rare that I find a band whose music engages me in many different ways and is refreshingly original. The songs are rich with emotion and intelligence, both lyrically and musically. I keep finding more in them every time I listen to the disc.

I hope there's another coming soon!

Spanish Johnny's Opera will appeal to fans of Nick Drake, Elvis Costello, Daniel Lanois, Jeff Buckley and other songwriters who are as interested in creating a mood with sound as in telling complex but gripping and emotional stories. This EP speaks of much potential, and leaves me wanting more. Two songs, "Schoolgirl" and "Private Eye" are epic and grandiose in a Buckley/Radiohead fashion, whereas others ("Diary Entry," "Needles") lean closer to 3-4 minute string-laden pop. Rich string arrangements, strange organ sounds that seem to come out of a dream, an almost choir-like voice drenched in reverb - if you like these kinds of sonic textures, Spanish Johnny's Opera will make you happy. If you like the mystery of R.E.M.'s "Murmur," Springsteen's "Nebraska" or the work of American Music Club (whose steel guitar genius Bruce Kaphan produced this), then these guys will appeal to you. When's the next one coming?

Spanish Johnny's Opera craft ultra-literate, sophisticated, aurally exciting song-stories. A pop band that has completely side-stepped that initial phase of trying to get people to shake their asses, SJO has moved directly to the songwriting phase--and it's a bold and important first record. Using strings and cello, mostly clean electric guitars, minimal but dramatic drumming, and a vocal styling that lands somewhere between Freddy Mercury, Elvis Costello and Roy Orbison, this is a band that demands being LISTENED to. There will be no dancing to Spanish Johnny's Opera! But the rewards of careful attention to this music will certainly make up for the deficit.

In order to appreciate the music of SJO you have to listen to it, I mean really listen to it. Every aspect of this CD seems like it was put together with a purpose in mind. The lyrics are thoughtful and poetic, the music soft and smooth. This is not your average flavor of the month pop music. I highly recomend this CD to anyone looking for some music with brains.

I too learned about this band from an email solicitation, and after hearing the clips, I took a chance & bought the cd. Glad I did. Josh Farrar's songwriting takes several listenings to be fully appreciated, and it is well worth the effort. Psychedelic influences, masterful, often poignant storytelling, amazing depth of sound created from simple instrumentation, and a great Kinks cover to boot. I look forward to their next release.

  

When I play a CD by the Beatles, I'm taken by the melodies, the bass lines, the clever lyrics, the balance between chorus, verse, and refrain,the production, the backup vocals, and countles other details that make the listening interesting on every level. However, what really draws me in is the cumulative effect of all these details coupled with the STORY. The ballades make me think of people, imaginary or (biographically) real, and their worlds. A whole world is created. This is exactly the effect of 'Spanish Johnny's Opera.' The above mentioned details in the hands of this skilled band and bandleader, Josh Farrar, are all sound, interesting and professional, however, it is the sound world and story world that move me. In the best moments on the album, like 'Two Sisters', and 'Umbrellas', the sound is so intoxicating that you forget you're listening to just a song. True to the band's namesake, you're listening to an Opera. The influence of the strings on the overall sonority of the CD makes one think of songs like 'Eleanor Rigby.' The most delicate song on the album is the bittersweet farewell of the album "Umbrellas", a lovely, though ultimately abrupt, way to exit the dream. An terrific CD, full of musicality, feeling, and promise.

This music is uncompromisingly moving, incredibly rich, a veritable journey filled to bursting with vivid portraiture so lacking in most of today's music. It is difficult to confine this band to a musical type because I haven't heard anything like it before; it trancends categorization. It tells stories which are deeply insightful, intriguing, impossible to forget. Farrar's vocals are vast and diverse enough to give you chills. The accompanying strings have an eerily space-expanding effect. You will find yourself singing these songs to yourself after a single listen, and you'll be listening again and again.