Teenage Symphonies To God

Velvet Crush | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: July 5, 1994
• Label: 550 Music - Epic
• Copyright: (P) 1994 Creation Records Limited
• Total Length: 45:50
• Genres:
• ASIN: B0013AT4CQ
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,542 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Teenage Symphonies" Wraps Around You, January 31, 2001

By 

John Orfield (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teenage Symphonies to God (Audio CD)

I don't hand out five star reviews very often but TEENAGE SYMPHONIES TO GOD deserves it. It's beautifully crafted power pop music with a healthy dash of country for good measure. Velvet Crush (like their pal, Matthew Sweet) subversively combines lonely and sometimes bleak lyrics with a brisk backbeat so you'll find yourself bouncing one moment and crying in your beer the next. Hey, that's like life itself, isn't it?

I will admit, however, that much of the praise that has been heaped onto TEENAGE SYMPHONIES has been a little overwrought. It's a tremendous album but it's not a classic the same way, say, PET SOUNDS is a classic. And I often wonder how influential TEENAGE SYMPHONIES is going to be twenty years from now. First of all, a lot of TEENAGE SYMPHONIES is drawn from the past. Think Gram Parsons, a little Big Star, the Byrds... They even cover Gene Clark's "Why Not Your Baby" and album's title is lifted from a quote from everyone's hero, the great Brian Wilson. The album also sounds like a lot like the work of many of VC's contemporaries - Matthew Sweet (who even writes one of the songs here, "Something's Gotta Give"), Teenage Fanclub, the Jayhawks, and even a little like Uncle Tupelo and its offshoot bands, Wilco and Son Volt. But this is all part of the charm of TEENAGE SYMPHONIES. It's not an album you can hear and say "Oh, that's from 1994," or from the 80s, or whenever. This album sounds like it could have come from 1994, 1974, or even 2004. When you think about it, all of the best albums have that timeless feel to them.

So, no, it's not really groundbreaking and no one I know ever argues that it is. There are plenty of artists out there today who are straining to be recognized as "groundbreaking" but they're not really "reaching" anyone, even if they are selling a million albums in the process. They're here today and gone tomorrow. TEENAGE SYMPHONIES TO GOD is a keeper. It is warm, human, and well-made, without an ounce of pretension. It's one of those rare albums where every single track is terrific and it seamlessly covers an entire range of emotions, when so many artists today can't even put together a single effective three minute song. That's why so many people treasure this album, why it made so many "Best of the 90s" lists, and why so many people are giving it five star reviews.

The stand out tracks, to me, include the rolling "Hold Me Up" and "Atmosphere," the sad, dewdrop fresh cover of "Why Not Your Baby," the wide-eyed and yearning "Faster Days," and my absolute favorite song on the album, the jaw-dropping, gorgeous "Time Wraps Around You." But they're all great in their own way. This album never sold a lot of copies, but those of us who did get it never let go of it and we never will.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This album will still hold up when they're gone, April 28, 2002

By 

PenaltyShot (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teenage Symphonies to God (Audio CD)

This is an overlooked gem of an album. It is more than just power pop, and it is more than just a tribute to the great music of the '60s. Yes, there are the Byrds and Brian Wilson touchstones, but Velvet Crush takes their influences and creates something new, fresh and timeless with them. Track by track:

1. Hold Me Up -- just a great, melodic power-pop song. Rocks with the best of 'em.

2. My Blank Pages -- The title is, of course, a Dylan/Byrds takeoff on "My Back Pages," and the tune rocks in similar fashion to "Hold Me Up." Another rocking power-pop song with a great melody.

3. Why Not Your Baby -- VC turns up the twang and does this old Gene Clark song in style. The slide guitar solo at the end is killer.

4. Time Wraps Around You -- Wow...gorgeous, melodic, wonderful harmonies, a classic all the way.

5. Atmosphere -- I'm not too crazy about the melody on this one. One of the lesser songs in my opinion, though it still rocks pretty well. Sounds like it could've been a cutout from Big Star's #1 Record, which is not really a bad thing.

6. #10 -- VC slows things down here with a tender acoustic guitar-based ballad. Very nice.

7. Faster Days -- a wistful medium-tempo song. One of my faves.

8. Something's Gotta Give -- a song by their buddy Matthew Sweet. It sounds just like something that could've been on 100% Fun. Goes on a little too long, with an extended guitar jam at the end.

9. This Life Is Killing Me -- This one just doesn't do much for me. I think it is a little annoying, actually, with a mediocre melody and the "ba ba ba" backing vocals. Thankfully, it's short.

10. Weird Summer -- One of the best songs on the album. Great melody and a jangly feel.

11. Star Trip -- This one could've been a Teenage Fanclub song off their Grand Prix album. Another favorite.

12. Keep On Lingerin' -- The twang returns on this country song. A great ending to a great album.

I knocked off one star for tracks 5 and 9 (especially 9), which I feel are not up to the level of the rest of the songs. But there are no really "bad" tracks on this album. I keep coming back to it over and over. You will too.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What do you mean it's out of print!?, March 13, 2008

By 

Howlinw (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teenage Symphonies to God (Audio CD)

One of the truly perfect albums of the 90s, this is the blissed-out blender where classicist Beatlesesque pop, amped-up 90s alt-rock and country-tinged harmonies mixed together to form a happy (yet often slightly melancholy) slurpie. Not one note out of place, not one second wasted from beginning to end. Yummy.

So why is it no longer in print? There is so much awful stuff out there these days that passes for pop, it's time for some Teenage Symphonies to come back and save the world again. Maybe a deluxe edition? Think about it, record execs. Think about it...