Customer Reviews

Strangeitude

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is absolutely incredible. Here, the Ozrics' diverse amalgam of styles comes together in some of the most logical, coherent, and especially exciting ways. If you've never heard this band before, imagine (if you can) a band playing instrumental progressive rock, techno, world music, and psychedelic crazy bits and you've got a bit of an idea of what these guys are like. Ultimately, they defy classification...you just have to listen. Their songs range from groovy, atmospheric "jungle jams" (does that make sense?) to out-of-this-world space rock with some of the neatest synthesizers I've heard.

Compared to other Ozrics albums, this is one of the better ones. Their albums are all pretty similar, so it's difficult to pick out individual constituents and identify the better qualities...there's just something ineffably "right" about this album. And it's killer! There is absolutely no other band I know of that sounds anything like this, which adds to their alluring mystique. I don't know what else to say...it's just freakin' good.

Strangeitude is an amazing album, particularly for Prog Rock fans who like a more Rock-Guitar sound. It has the traditional Time-Signature changes found in some Progressive Rock, yet keeps a more mainstream sensibility. Some sounds can be dissonant, but they soon melt into tangible music than can be soothing or energizing to different people. Songs like Sploosh (which I refer to as "music to wash dishes by" because of the background sounds) will have you moving to the pulse of the music, and the title track had some of the most innovative use of an oscillator on a keyboard that I've ever heard. Truly an incredible album if you would like something out of the ordinary yet familiar enough not to be scary.

EXCELLENT CD ONE OF THIER BEST. IF YOU AREN;T FAMILIAR WITH THE TENATCLES, THIS IS A GREAT ONE TO START WITH. THE DVD IS NOT A DVD BUT A CD COLLECTION FROM THE ARCHIVES WHICH IS EXCELLENT. 5 STARS. BUY IT, YOU WON'T BE SORRY

Since we have a slew of reviews here already, I'll keep this short...

WOW!!!

I've been curious about this band for a long time. I finally took a chance on this disc. Having read the other reviews, I was expecting something mildly interesting of the "psychadelic" persuasion. But I never expected such a technically proficient quasi-prog jam band!

To begin, these guys are tight instrumentalists! Each track is river of shifting themes and groovy jams. Rather than actual "tunes," most pieces are simply a skeletal frame for a collage of interveaving jam passages that ebb and flow, carrying you along.

It's hard to really lump these guys under any genre label, because they're too weirdly unique. They come accross sounding a little like techno--but only superficially, because they're much deeper than any tecno I've ever heard (I'm no fan of techno).

Basically, these guys are impossible to categorize. And after hearing this one disc, I've become an instant fan. :D

This is my favorite Ozric album, and it has been one of my most consistently enjoyed CDs for a decade. What I like about this album more than other Ozric releases I have heard is the relative richness of solid music versus to much "fluffy" ambience-- whereas some albums strike me as New Age, this one works more as Progressive. "White Rhino Tea" is a solid opener but one of the weaker tracks. "Sploosh!" is a throbbing voyage into a world so juicy it can quench your thirst. "Saucers" is my favorite track (and in fact on my Top 50 Songs of All Time!), due to the brilliant acoustic guitar riffs and the infectiously atypical time signature. "Strangeitude" leads in with sonic effects so powerful they'll make your heart feel like it's slowing to a stop, only to then bust out into a rocking riff that will certainly get you a speeding ticket if you're in your car at the time. "Bizarre Bazaar" is a heavy world electric guitar piece, and the final 2 tracks are decent though pale in comparison to the meat of the album described above. If you've avoided Ozric in the past because it seemed like too much ethereal soup without enough solid musical steak, I think STRANGEITUDE is just what you're hungry for.

I currently have two cd's of Ozric Tentacles. A friend turned me on to O.T. by letting me borrow some of his. One of those disks was Strangitude. In fact, I had to purchase Strangitude a second time because the first one "disappeared".

I liked it instantly, the way various sounds are brought together to make music that sounds alive, not just reproduced. Even the limited samples available through Amazon.com show the diversity of this album, and the energy in its tracks.

None of the tracks on the cd sound like the track before or after it, and the final track "Live Throbbe" has a serene echo that sooths yet is filled with the energy of the song.

If I had to sum up the album, I would say, look up the definition of serene...

serene /adj/ 1: characterized by absence of emotional agitation; "remained serene in the midst of turbulence" (1)

This ablum is just that, they take sounds from nature, sounds from industry, blend them together, but not as noise, as music that has energy without anger.

Two of their other albums have not done the same throughout the whole cd, but on selective tracks they do. One of those cd's is Jurassic Shift. I would recommend it as the 2nd Ozric Tentacles purchase.

Strangeitude is an essential Ozrics disc. Aside from containing one of their concert dance staples, "Sploosh," this disc boasts a wide, innovative range of space-rock compositions that really show how unique their sensibilities were as a band in their first incarnation. Joie Hinton and Ed Gwynn made a fabulously talented dual-leader combo in this first Ozrics lineup and this disc, along with Jurassic Shift and Erpland, form part of an incredibly productive and consistently excellent body of work. Highly listenable, challenging, and resistant to the formulaic prog-rock sensibility.

This band may not be well known, but they are a real treat. Lovers of psychedelic music and creative Rock should own at least some Ozric Tentacles. I own what I believe to be their best music. I have Erpland, Jurassic Shift, Strangeitude, Pungent Effulgent, Curious Corn, and the Floating Seeds Remixed album. Strangeitude is one of my favorites. But the others are great too. They utilize so many things to make their music. It is really interesting, and never offensive. Pick up some or all of the titles I just mentioned if you like their vibe. It's all good!

Many times during this CD does the band's creativity defy description. My best advice is to just sit back, put the earphones on, close your eyes and just let your mind work. My favorite song on this album (and, I'll admit, on any of their albums) is "Sploosh!" While a bit repetitive it is an incredibly fun listen.

Ozric Tentacles is in my opinion one of the most energetic bands I have ever listened to. They seem to flow with this energy as it knows no bounds. I think that Strangeitude is wicked and an auditorial testament to their talents.