Customer Reviews

Strung Out in Heaven

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

every one of their albums is solid, and this is no exception. it's their 'major label' debut (and finale), so it's a little more tame than previous efforts, and ones that followed, but it's ear candy.

but do yourself a favour... go buy this on e-bay. TVT printed 100,000 or so copies and flooded record stores with it, but it only sold about 25,000, so there's tonnes out there. average price on e-bay is about $0.99 US.

dig.

Back in 98 I saw a video for "Going to Hell", the first track on Strung Out in Heaven by the Brian Jonestown Massacre on 120 Minutes. I downloaded the song and burned it to a disc and forgot about it. Recently I found and listened to the song and decided to order it off of Amazon.com. I'm glad I did. From beginning to end the album is great. Most of the songs start with an acoustic guitar and build droning layers of organs and electric guitars and great harmonies. They touch on alot of styles from the 60's and at times sound like mid 60s Rolling Stones, early Pink Floyd,Velvet Underground,the Byrds and others. Stand out tracks include "Going to Hell", "Lets Pretend that it's Summer", "Wasting Away","Got My Eye on You", "Nothing to Lose" "Love","Maybe Tomorrow","the Lantern",and "Dawn" but really, the whole album is one psychedelic swirl of excellence and brilliance. Anton Newcombe and company are great songwriters and its honestly hard to believe that this group isnt more well known. This is a great starting point for anyone just hearing about them or is curious as to how they sound. Now I'm going to try and get other releases available by the Brian Jonestown Massacre starting with their debut "Methodrone".
Thanks for the music..

This album may not be a favorite (1997's Give It Back earns that distinction), but Strung Out In Heaven is the closest thing the Brian Jonestown Massacre have made to a "proper" commercial record, and it's a great place to start for the uninitiated. Sure, the case can be made that Strung Out is a little derivative, but the Brian Jonestown Massacre have never made any effort to hide their influences. Bob Dylan, the Spacemen 3, Syd Barrett, the VU and early Stones lurk around every part of this disk, but given the lack of appreciation most modern bands have for history, is that really such a band thing? Sit back and enjoy, there isn't a dull moment to be heard here...

This is one of the best psychedelic retro 60's sounding albums ever. If you have most of the old stuff from the Stones, Jefferson Airplane, and the Byrds and want something new, yet with that good familiar spacey vibe than this is what you need. This is one of the best bands ever, they know all the good stuff from the better days. Tracks 1,2, and 5 are simply great. Some of it sounds like Nuggets garage psychedelia while others are blissed out acoustic numbers. Anyways some great stuff here, a must own!

i'm glad the world seems to hate this band and grab on to whimpy cheese-rock bands like creed. if it's a challenging, rough around the edges (way rough around the edges) rock band you're after, then check out the brian jonestown massacre, and see what rock and roll is all about: medication, pain, love, and loss. on second thought, stick with your creed records, you'll be happier.

The Brian Jonestown Massacre's "Strung Out In Heaven" is a classic, even if it (arguably) lacks the "wow" factor of a Radiohead or U2 album. It's just very well done. It's a great album to play in the background and also with high volume - it flows really well. Anton Newcombe's vocals aren't perfect, but they do fit the band's style well. Every track here is good, and there's even a good amount of great songs ("Going To Hell", "Wasting Away" and "Maybe Tomorrow" are some). It has a relatively good amount of appeal, though it's essentially just for indie rock fans. It also sounds a tad similar to The Verve. The instrumentation is great and the production is also crisp and clear most of the time. It sounds like country-influenced indie garage rock. What makes it "5" stars is that the lyrics are also incredibly interesting and catchy - this is definitely a bonus. It's just very pleasant - chances are you'll really like this album! Highly recommended!

Highlights include:
the entire album!

When I first listened to Strung Out in Heaven I liked it but I considered it my least favourite of the Brian Jonestown Albums. However over the years it has grown like some crazy forrest in my brain. It has the direction and coherence that some previous Brian Jonestown Massacre albums may have been missing. And it is a testament to the genius song writing that a catchy album like this can last. But these songs aren't just catchy pop songs, some of them are just down right beautiful. Yes beautiful, haunting calls through the halls of time.

If for some reason you could find this set of songs unappealing I would have to question your life experience, give it a listen and if by the end you're not digging it then I don't know what planet you came from, as this is a set of tunes that I continue to listen to year after year and still gets frequent rotation which is saying alot for I have over 5,000 slabs of vinyl about 3,000 cd's and over 400GB of music on an external hardrive, have lived on earth for almost 50 years and have been playing and collecting music since I was 5, so if you have read this far buy the cd and get ready to enrich your life thanks to Anton and his rare genius then go buy the rest of his music..

This record really steams, it's amazing. "jennifer" is worth the purchase price alone."got my eye on you" is outstanding. this anton character is an amazingly underrated song writer! matt hollywood and joel gion also rule my universe. and the guitar riff in "dawn" might be the best sound ever made in music. you judge for yourself but really, really love this record. now it's on to "take it from the man!"

You can almost name the influences that seep through each song, but BJM does it so well, you can't care. The disc is vibrant and murky all at once. As far as comments on the recording style goes, it's all technique just as Beastie Boys use scrtaches and pops reminiscent of the true vinyl sound. BJM is a testament to the fact that true, raw rock & roll doesn't die. I recommend it heartily.