Customer Reviews

Surf [Vinyl]

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

 

 

If you're down and feeling low and life is flying by you, and you don't really have a place to go, and no one's standing by you, you might be tempted to withdraw in your shuttered home, and play a record just like this one, sitting all alone. If your mind is somewhat literary, nostalgic and tending to blue, and your heart is in a thousand shreds and you don't know what to do, you could do what some have done for years -- retreat inside a song, and these songs are for retreating and protecting and reflecting on everything and everyone.

I'm not kidding. This is a beautiful, melancholy album -- thoughtful, imaginative, intelligent lyrics and gorgeous guitar. The songs touch on relationships (both beginning and ending) and communication. The standout tracks for me are "Over You", "Surf", "Big Ben", "Mixed Up Love" and "For What It Was", but the whole album is brilliant.

I remember listening to "High Land Hard Rain" over and over again when I was a teenager, then I somehow lost track of Roddy. It's great to see him doing such wonderful work. On the evidence of this album, it's a mystery why he does not have a bigger following and record contract. This is an overlooked gem. Buy it -- you will not be disappointed.

Wow!exploding back comes Roddy Frame with a polished acoustic album!.Any fan of aztec camera will be well aware that on every previous Aztec Camera album a gem of an acoustic track is always included.Imagine...a whole album filled with them...Well ,you got it, with SURF.
A very personal album full of wonderful poetry and melody.This album deserves to be heard by a bigger audience.Anyone who appreciates profound lyrics and fabulous melody will surely enjoy this work of art.
A master craftsman doing what he does best...DO NOT MISS THIS ALBUM.

This record speaks to the soul of anyone who is passed their jubilant (read carefree?) twenties and is looking both forward and back at the same time. Like the previous reviewers noted, Frame has a wonderful sense of melody and his lyrics perfectly capture the melancholy of experience and longing. This is in my top five for 2002 and highly recommended.

This album has brought me to tears more than once.. there isn't a lot of other music I can say that about. It's pure magic. It has some of the best songwriting I've ever heard, and Roddy's voice has never sounded better. It's similar in feel to the Aztec Camera album "Frestonia", except that "Surf" is completely acoustic (just Roddy and his guitar) and to me is even more incredible. Buy this album and support one of the greatest singer-songwriters on the planet!! (Buy his earlier solo album "the North Star" too, while you're at it.. it's an import but absolutely worth the price!!)

On the U.S. release there is actually 13 songs.

This CD is so good that i had to buy it twice!
First the UK (where i live) release which was such a work of beautiful , heartfelt genius that when i noticed that the US version had two more songs i just had to have it.A good friend got the first CD and he adores it also.Trust me , it's a solid gold classic for all time.......

I have been a fan of Roddy Frame for a long time. He first caught my attention as the lead singer and songwriter for Aztec Camera. I have almost all of AC/RF albums and this is one of my favorites. It's easy to get sick of an album but this one continues to stay in my CD player. The initial feeling may be that this is just an easy listening CD, kind of light hearted and fun. But somehow it captivates my attention each time I play it. Rather than just listening to it in the background, I often have to sit down and really listen to his music. Give it a spin. Frame really boils it down to the bare essentials with just his voice and guitare. Enjoy!

This is the kind of album most big record companies seem to despise these days. There's certainly no mistaking this for the next boy band. In fact, I can't imagine how this could be performed in a stadium. And forget the flashy dance routines.

But if you like performers who write their own music, play it and sing it all by themselves, without technical wizardry to hide any lack of talent, then you should check it out.

I won't guarantee that you'll like it - it is a little soft, moody and maybe a bit cafe-jazzy. But if you are already familiar with Roddy Frame, that won't be a big surprise. What I will guarantee is that you'll get a album full of great guitar playing, sincere singing and not a single weak track.

The only criticism I can make is that Roddy didn't include either one instrumental track, or a significant solo passage. He is such a great guitar player, and his acoustic solos are always so impressive (going back as far as High Land, Hard Rain's "Oblivious") that I was really looking forward to such a solo. Nevertheless, it is a fascinating and rewarding album.

More artists should consider producing an album in this format. Lots of artists do "unplugged" albums of course, but few are as simply arranged as this: just a guitar and a voice. Who wouldn't love to hear a truly acoustic album by Elvis Costello, Matthew Sweet, Johnny Marr, Neil Finn, etc? Who knows, such an approach might even save Paul Weller from himself...

So, for me, this albums ties for first place for best of 2002. Also in the top slot is Glenn Tilbrook's "The Completely Acoustic Glenn Tilbrook". It's got the same arrangement, yet it has a completely different feel. I recommend them both highly.

This record is the best thing I heard in 2002. Fans of Roddy Frame waited four years for this record and he didn't disappoint us. He is simply the best songwriter of the last 20 years who most people have never heard of, so do your ears a favor and BUY THIS RECORD!