Customer Reviews

Stupid Love

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been a Mindy Smith fan since her first CD. Preordered this one based on her previous releases. The first track, What Went Wrong, is a disaster......it is distorted and seems to be mastered at an excessively high volume level (compression????). Mindy's previous CDs were beautiful in their simplicity. This one is sometimes over-produced and Mindy's wonderful vocals sometimes get pushed back in the mix.....with ?drum machines? and other unneeded racket in the forefront. This recording style, which worked great for Beth Orton's "Daybreaker", produced by the Chemical Brothers, sometimes falls flat on this CD.

That being said, there are five tracks on "Stupid Love" I'll be keeping on my playlist:

1. If I Didn't Know Any Better
2. Telescope
3. Surface
4. Disappointed
5. True Love of Mine

Mindy, if you read this, it's your voice we love. Please let it be the lead instrument on future releases and think about going back to your earlier recording style. Or, try recording with the Chemical Brothers so this style of music is done well.

I'm a huge HUGE Mindy fan and think this is her best work yet. I think I already know all the lyrics to this new album and it's only been out one day. I hear her music in my sleep! She is so talented and her music speaks to me like no other artist. My favorite track is "Surface" - I just GET it! If you love a truly talented artist with lyrics that are simple but deep, she's the one man!

I have received (download) and played Mindy Smith's "Stupid Love" many times, on the computer and while riding in the car. I would give it between 4 1/2 to five stars. I would have sequenced the tracks differently; and I wish the 1st and last track had better previewed and retrospected the other 10 tracks of the CD. Having said that, let me assure you that Tracks 2-12, beginning with "Highs And Lows" all the way through "True Love Of Mine" are among the best I've ever heard on any CD, anytime, anywhere. What I love about them, besides the songwriting and vocalizing, is that the are perfectly "seasoned," production-wise. Too much production, as you know, can overpower a song -- just like too much seasoning can overpower the taste of food. These songs are produced -- excellently seasoned -- as well as any you will hear. You will absolute LOVE them! Of course, her lyrics (which stick like velcrow in your mind) and her vocals (incredible -- hard to characterize accurately but so easy to enjoy and adore) occupy front and center stage. Plus, you will personally identify with what she is communicating. She's spot-on when it comes to painting a picture of life in a fallen world where stupid love is more fact than fiction. You will feel both the hurt and the hope in each song. I cannot honestly tell you with any degree of accuracy just how excellent tracks 2-12 are. In fact, those songs are all nothing short of amazing. Is it worth buying / downloading? Yes and Yes! BOTH! Support this young lady! She's special -- a national treasure!

If you purchased Mindy's first 2 CDs, you are familiar with her gifts. Her 3rd CD "Stupid Love" will not dissapoint. Mindy brings up the tempo on several tracks and seems to have a bigger sound. If you are a Mindy Smith fan this will be an easy purchase.

Mindy is as wonderful as always, but I have to agree with a previous reviewer: the recorded sound quality is poor - flat and mushy. I previewed the album on Rhapsody, but I'm having reservations about purchasing the download on Amazon. I probably will because the songs are great and I want to support Mindy, but I'll do it with a lot of disappointment.

I've been a fan since Mindy's first release and I have loved every one. "Stupid Love" is no exception. She has become one of my favorite artists. The voice of an Angel who can stir deep emotions in the listener. My favorite tracks are "If I Didn't Know Any Better", "Love Lost", "Couldn't Stand The Rain" and "Surface".

I do admit the sound quality is a bit more muddy than the others, but that hasn't stopped me from loving this disc.

I've been a fan of Mindy Smith's since 2006 when I first heard her song "Falling" on Smallville and ever since the folk/country singer has had a profound affect on my tastes in music. I don't like folk music. I don't like country. Yet somehow, I love Mindy Smith. It seems you either don't know about this artist at all, or you completely love her.
In her first outing, One Moment More, the thing that grabbed me was the sadness and longing and love showcased in the lyrics, but also accompanied by some extremely moving and original melodies. I didn't find I related quite as much with her second album, Long Island Shores, but after a dozen or so listens I'll grant it still has a touch of what makes Smith's music so relateable. I don't want to include My Holiday in this grouping as it's not 100% original.
I was excited long before Stupid Love was released. Ever since 2007 I kept checking up on the websites to see when she would be releasing any new material. When Stupid Love did finally appear, I downloaded the song "Telescope" first, something which strikes me as ironic now given it's my favourite track on the album.
Somehow, Mindy has managed to take what amazing originality she had from her first album, add a lot more colour and wonder, take out a little bit of the sadness, replace it with beauty, and has released it to the world. I love this album. Every few years an album comes along that you're able to listen to from start to finish without stopping. This is one of them. I just like the style, and the path the music goes down. The melodies are so incredibly attractive it's a wonder Smith isn't more famous, and the lyrics aren't just lyrics either. They're stories about, well, love that may sound silly to others, but means a lot to the individual. At least that's what I took from this.
Some of the production qualms I have though are small but there. For instance at the start of Telescope, the right speaker starts before the left. Love Lost also has too many background vocals becoming front vocals when they should have disappeared after the first chorus. But they're small issues.
Top songs, although I love them all:

1. Telescope (this really is just gorgeous, especially the melody when she sings: "And a break of light bursting through the sad and heavy skies")
2. If I Didn't Know Any Better
3. Love Lost
4. Surface
5. Disappointed

This album will appeal to people who want a chill out session, or are feeling sorry for themselves and want to keep feeling sad. It's just beautiful music. I strongly believe Mindy has the most beautiful voice in the world and it's really showcased here. I can't wait to see what she dishes up next, although we've probably got a while to wait.

I own all of Mindy's music and I wasn't disappointed with this one either:
What went Wrong,If I Didn't Know Any Better, Telescope, What Love Can Do, Couldn't Stand the Rain, Bad Guy, True Love of Mine
All of these were great songs on the CD

The first few strikes on the guitar leading into Mindy Smith's angelic voice singing, "Looking for a way to fill my day, I drink a little to dull the pain, but I feel the same," in the wonderfully crafted, "What Went Wrong," already remind you that Mindy Smith is back again with another collection of tales about her trials through love and life, and that once again her story feels like our story, reflecting on the "Highs and Lows," as she sings, "That's how life goes when the little moments shine. Hold them close so they'll never be sold cause they only get better with time." Smith is a little more focused on the relationship factor with this release, and "If I Didn't Know Any Better," pulls you in with a mix of guitar and drumbeats as she sings, "I didn't want to look in the eyes of the one I was drawn to...I'm a moth lost in the fire." "Love Lost," is another highlight as Mindy cues her vocals with a sort of knowing conviction, singing, "If the heart needs a reason to die for, die for, there's no better reason than love lost, love lost." With the first four tracks, Smith has proven herself again and offers further proof throughout the rest of this collection. Smith is not only a singer-songwriter or an artist and musician, but a poet as her lyrics are as descriptive and imaginative as ever to reveal what her heart feels. She could easily turn her songs into simple poems, but even better is the fact that she knows how to put music behind her words, and her melodies continue to be casual and subtle with sounds of country, rock, and blues but never definitive with any category. Overall, Stupid Love is a continuation of Mindy's journey, deeply reflective in matters of the heart and soul, but always able to use her creative talents to show us how finding an artistic outlet helps us to heal from the hurt and loss.

I didn't hesitate for a minute buying Simple Love via Amazon download when I learned Mindy Smith had released a new CD. Mindy's emotionally nuanced songwriting and fragile, lovely voice make her one of my favorite artists. I own everything she has recorded (I hope) and find that she more than holds her own with the other, more established singer-songwriters in my collection. I was not disappointed with the songs on this CD, nor with Mindy's voice or how she presents her songs. In fact, I have had Love Lost stuck in my head since I first heard it. However, I totally agree with the other reviewers who find the sound quality of this CD to be very poor. Although I really enjoy the song What Went Wrong, I can barely listen to it for the static or distortion or whatever that ruins the song for me. In fact, the first two songs are nearly impossible to listen to. You have to know something went very wrong when you dread putting on the new CD of a favorite artist, or feel like you have to skip the first part of the CD entirely. I am not bothered by what some are calling over-production of Mindy's songs--just the poor audio quality of some of them. I find myself looking forward to a greatest hits compilation when the songs on this CD will be cleaned up and made entirely enjoyable. I just regret that I can't listen to this CD now, without considerable ambivalence.