Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Success distills everything great about the Posies, November 19, 1999
By A Customer
For their last album, the Posies emptied their songwriting drawers and came up with their best, and most relaxed, effort. The surprise here is that nearly every song here was written between 1991 and 1995 - some predating even Frosting on the Beater. That doesn't mean these songs are inferior by any means - they just never found their way onto albums. In fact, when DGC was trying to sell them as a "grunge" band they overlooked out-and-out pop masterpieces like Somehow Everything, Beautiful One, Farewell Typewriter and Every Bitter Drop. DGC's loss is Popllama's gain. Each of their previous albums had been rather 'extremely' produced in one way or another (reverb drenched, entirely distorted, etc.) as though DGC were desperately trying to sell the Posies to a certain market demographic. For Success -tellingly, on an indepenent label- the Posies finally distilled their sound. Brilliantly. Success contains many of the Posies best songs, idiosyncratic as they can be sometimes, and would make an ideal introduction to a misunderstood, often overlooked band.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Posies at their most interesting., June 5, 2003
By A Customer
Musically, this album posseses somewhat less brilliance than my favorite Posies record (Frosting), or my second favorite (Amazing Disgrace). Nonetheless, it is more sonically interesting than either, featuring a highly unusual production style, and communicating a sense of the bittersweet more strongly than any other record I have ever heard. Some of you will probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but there is an indefinable emotion of beautiful sadness that some music evokes in me, which to me is the highest attainable goal for anyone who makes music. The Posies captured this with "Song #1," "The Certainty," and others on Disgrace, but it is strongest on this album; notably on "Fall Apart With Me," "Somehow Everything," and "Fall Song." Every song is excellent, however; personally I don't care much for "Placebo" or "Start a Life" (which is a very odd expirement for the Posies), but these are both high quality songs nonetheless, with many good points. And of course any review of Failure would be incomplete without a mention of "You're the Beautiful One," an astounding pop gem that causes your throat to tighten and your eyes to tear up by the final chorus. The ending line "What's so beautiful about you is... you didn't have to explain it to me" alone easily catapaults this song onto the higher tiers of my "top ten songs of all time" list. Highly recommended for Posies fans or anyone who wasn't laughing when I tried to describe this "ethereal bittersweetness."
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Criminally neglected power-pop band, May 1, 2002
For a starting anecdote, let me just say that I saw an acoustic set by The Posies recently in Dublin and they were openly ridiculed by the majority of the crowd - certain people booed and others got up and left.
This has always baffled me !After two (brilliant) albums which were panned by the critics and ignored by the public ('Frosting On The Beater','Amazing Disgrace'), the Posies disbanded to get their thoughts together and pursue some solo work.
On their return they created what was to be their last studio album and arguably their masterpiece. 'Success' boasts a collection of excellent power-pop songs.
Jon and Ken both possess the singing voices of angels and when they sing together ,the effect is fantastic.
Posies have been wrongly accused of trying to develop a more grungy sound because they come from Seattle and to 'cash in' on the success of bands such as Nirvana but hey - grunge never sounded as good as this.
I would like you to imagine Crosby,Stills and Nash coupled with the guitar work of a Jimmy Page or a Johnny Marr as a pointer to the sound of the Posies when they rock out.On their slower numbers which are no less excellent, they have an ear for a melody also and their voices manage to convey sorrow without ever descending into overt sentimentality.
'You're The Beautiful One' and 'Friendship Of the Future' being two good examples.
For my money the highlights on this album are 'Looking Lost' with its unrelenting guitar riff ,superlative drums and harmonica and 'Fall Apart With Me' with its catcy chorus and faultless drumming. All in all this album is a fabulous swansong for a band which was never understood by the critics or the public but which is constantly cited by other artists as a major influence.
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Ken Stringfellow shares his favorite music with Amazon customers. See all artists' picks on our Music You Should Hear page.
by The Posies 
