Customer Reviews

Such Great Heights

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What can you say about this release, other than espouse and praise the songwriting gifts of Death Cab for Cutie's frontman and singer, Ben Gibbard. A seeming departure from the aytpical indie rock stylings of his more recognized band, The Postal Service isnt that much of a musical leap and seems like a natural progession for Ben, whose experimentation with lo-fi and synths can be seen in many All-Time Quaterback and early DCFC songs. With the help of Jimmy Tamborello of Figurine, The Postal Service create songs reminiscent of early 80's heros New Order, and the Human League, except of course, argueably better. Highlights of this Cd Single are the reworkings by fellow seattle scensters The Shins and the heartwrenchingly tender remake by iron and wine, stripped bare and acoustic Ben's words take on a whole new meaning in the voice of Sam Beam, the force behind the one man, Iron and Wine. This, and the full length release is a must have for any fan of either group, and will surely make many best of lists for '03

The Postal Service is one very unique band, and now, you can hear them from a different perspective. 2 originals and 2 more originals covered by Iron and Wine and the Shins. These songs are great, very exceptional.

Such Great Heights was a very poppy upbeat from their album "Give Up", and it's a great song. The drums are active, there is a lot of panning-involved riffs, and some good vocals.

There's Never Enough Time is a simple Electronica song. The simplicity is actually great in this song. Everything is real clear, and the "tss tss tah tss" drums sound awesome. I love the arrangement of this song, and the keyboard riff is soo good.

We Will Become Silhouettes by the Shins is a very nice song. Instead of busy keyboard riffs with saws and snare drums, there's a lot of realism acoustic guitars. They didn't make an exact replica measure for measure and they change some of the melodies (but keep the mood the same). Both the Postal Service's version and the Shins' version are good in their own ways.

Finally, Iron and Wine's cover of Such Great Heights. If you like acoustic guitar work, you'll apperciate this song. It's folky and a very different perspective on this song. Because of the slow tempo, the verses seem a little long, but that's the only flaw I see in this song.

Basically, if you like the Postal Service, this single will be worth it to you. It's only a few bucks to find out anyways.

The Shins and Iron and Wine are two bands that are blowing up right now because of the Garden State Soundtrack and for good reason. The Shins produce very catchy, up-tempo, happy songs while Iron and Wine sing a lot of soft ballads and love songs. It's very interesting to hear their renditions of Postal Service songs which are great in their own right. Ben Gibbard is one of the best song writers of his time and it shows in the lyrics of both of these songs.

I have loved the Postal Service since the first time I heard them. It's too bad they are no longer together since the lead singer is now singing, last time I knew, with Deathcab for Cutie. Out of the 3 singles they have out, I thought this one was the best. Specifically I enjoyed The Shins version of "We Will Become Silhouettes" the most. Some of their other singles have a bad remix on them, but for the Postal Service fan, I'd recommend all 3 since they aren't that expensive plus each one does have the original song plus a remix, good or bad, and/or a cover from another band.

I was going through the used CD bin of my local record store the other day and I couldn't believe it but fell upon this beauty for next to nothing, I just couldn't believe my luck. I of course immediately snapped it up. This maxi-single/mini-EP was released in January, 2003, about a month before the album. It is one of the most imaginative single/EP releases in a long time.

"Such Great Heights" (4 tracks; 15 min.) brings the Postal Service (Jimmy Tamborello with DCFC's Ben Gibbard) with their first single, starting with the title track, a great song. Next follows the non-album track "There's Never Enough Time", an equally impressive track that is as good as anything on the "Get Up" album. After that, things get even more interesting. First comes the Shins' cover of the Get Up track "We Will Become Silhouettes", remember this was released BEFORE the "Get Up" album! The Shins shine, as usual (and the track is a nice variation on the album track). Last but not least comes Iron and Wine's cover/reinterpretation of "Such Great Heights", just Sam Beam on acoustic guitar. It sounds completely different from the Postal Service's song, but equally appealing.

In all, I can't emphasize enough how pleased I am with this maxi-single. I of course have the "Get Up" album, and as great as that was/is, this single is an essential companion release to the album. Meanwhile, there has been no subsequent output from The Postal Service since "Get Up" (and of course since 2003 DCFC has soared big time), but here's hoping Jimmy Tamborello and Ben Gibbard start making use of the postal service again sometime, and create a follow-up.

The debut EP from The Postal Service, SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS, shows little correlation with Tamborello's glitchy main project, Dntel. Instead, it goes for poppy electronica, and with that, it's eminently successful. The title song is gloriously catchy; it's not surprising that it was a moderate crossover hit. "There's Never Enough Time" is more mellow and introspective, but still has an irrepressible catchiness that's hinted at by quiet woodwinds in the background. And it's a strange day when rock musicians cover electronic musicians, but that's what we have here. The folksy, acoustic Iron and Wine version of "Such Great Heights" is the more successful of the two, but that might be a matter of source material.

If you've only heard one song by The Postal Service, there's a good chance it's "Such Great Heights." If you're trying to decide between buying its parent album (Give Up) or buying just the single, I would strongly advise checking out the album. It's a strong, cohesive work, and if you're a fan of "Such Great Heights," you will likely find the other songs appealing as well. However, this single makes a great supplement to Give Up. "There's Never Enough Time" is a simple but effective song that would not have been out of place on the album. The Shins do a great version of "We Will Become Silhouettes" that rivals the original. The Iron & Wine version of "Such Great Heights" is not to my taste, as I find this arrangement drags too much and does not effectively convey the feeling of a well-written song; however, fans of modern folk may find it appealing.

For a great remix of "Such Great Heights," consider also picking up The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.

I got this single for two reasons. First, I had a gift card that was expiring, so I started searching for a CD I could buy for under $7 including shipping. Second, I'd heard this song in many places and already liked it. So I decided to support the group and buy the single.

It shouldn't be a surprise, then, that I like the song. What was surprising to me, though, is that track 4 is the cover by Iron and Wine - which I'd heard on commercials and also liked, but didn't know who had performed. So the purchase turned out to have a bonus component.

I bought this single for Iron & Wine's take on Such Great Heights and was not disappointed. All 4 of the songs, from the original to Samual Beam's amazing rendition of a classic Postal Service song, leave you wanting a whole new album from Gibbard and Tamborello. Where are you two?

Such Great Heights contains four tracks altogether. Two songs performed by The Postal Service: the self titled track which is borrowed from it's upcoming release, Give Up (2003), is very up-beat, almost drum-n-bass like, a very catchy melodic tune...and the other, There's Never Enough Time, which is alright - blends random electronic blips and bleeps and twangy guitars to a steady groove.

The other two tracks are not performed by Postal Service. The Shins perform an "unplugged" version of We Will Become Silhouettes and the last track, Such Great Heights is performed by Iron And Wine - most notably played in a recent M&M's "kaleidoscope" commercial...very slow & pokey folky with just acoustic guitars and vocals.

Very worthy of the $4 price tag!