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The Absence

Melody GardotAudio CD
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)

Price: $9.99 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
 : Includes FREE MP3 version of this album.
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MP3 Music, 11 Songs, 2012 $6.99  
Audio CD, 2012 $9.99  
Vinyl, 2012 $19.98  

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Music

Image of album by Melody Gardot

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Videos

Video teaser for "The Absence" (out 5/29)!

Biography

Following an extensive two-year world tour in support of her highly successful major label debut, My One and Only Thrill, Melody Gardot was restless and ready for new adventure. Setting out on her own, she continued her travels around the world meeting new people and experiencing new cultures. From the deserts of Morocco to the streets of Lisboa, from the tango bars of Buenos Aires to the ... Read more in Amazon's Melody Gardot Store

Visit Amazon's Melody Gardot Store
for 6 albums, 34 photos, videos, discussions, and more.

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Buy a CD or a vinyl record, get a $1 Amazon MP3 Credit. Limit one promotional credit per customer. Here's how (restrictions apply)
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Frequently Bought Together

The Absence + My One & Only Thrill + Worrisome Heart
Price for all three: $28.97

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Product Details

  • Audio CD (May 29, 2012)
  • Original Release Date: 2012
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Verve
  • ASIN: B0073PPKNM
  • In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,280 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

1. Mira
2. Amalia
3. So Long
4. So We Meet Again My Heartache
5. Lisboa
6. Impossible Love
7. If I Tell You I Love You I'm Lying
8. Goodbye
9. Se Voce Me Ama
10. My Heart Won't Have It Any Other Way
11. Yemanja

Editorial Reviews

2012 release, the third album from Grammy nominated singer/songwriter. Produced by Heitor Pereira, renowned for his work as a film composer and world-class session guitarist (Sting, Seal, Caetano Veloso), the Brazilian-born, US-based artist shared Melody's enthusiasm for driving off the beaten path of Western pop, jazz, blues and soul. And he was as adventurous as Melody when it came to inventive sonic ideas. From the deserts of Morocco to the streets of Lisboa, from the tango bars of Buenos Aires to the beaches of Brazil, The Absence captures the essence of each of these exotic locales, while at the same time remaining quintessentially Melody Gardot.

Customer Reviews

The music is outstanding and blends very well with melody gardot's voice. CD version is more better  |  16 reviewers made a similar statement
To me she could have done much better but could not have done much worse. Dizzie  |  3 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
56 of 65 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars What's with the popping on Track 3 "So Long" ??? May 29, 2012
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I would expect this distracting popping/cracking if it was an uncared for vinyl album, but this is throughout the song as an obvious defect, not in tempo with any of the music. You can even hear it with the sample clip playing.

That's garbage to release an album with such a cheap sounding artifact. Otherwise I have enjoyed the past two albums from Melody.

OK, I am adding an update...and I am sure others will have the same concern because it is not in tempo with the music, only on the one track, and no mention of it in the product liner. I had my box outside in the mailbox to return the CD for refund, when after emailing Melody Gardot at her website (in case she did not know about it), and she was gracious enough to reply. As a result, I have changed my rating from 2 stars to 5 stars, and grabbed the return box to Amazon before the Postman arrived. Here was her gracious response, that I am only posting so others having the same concern will have a way to take this into account.

=================================================================================

Hello Charles! Im sorry you find this a defect but this is in fact not an error!

The sound you hear is a small click from the nails - as it has the sound of an old vinyl.
If you could picture the sound, its a small musician sitting beside the group, contributing to the song with only his hands, a smile, and the click of his finger nails. Some of the greatest musician I have ever met have lived on the streets and while being very poor, make sounds with their mouths, their hands, essentially only what they have before them: their bodies. In this way it is an homage to the absence of any instrument beyond the human body. This is also a focus on the nature of microtones (the tiniest sounds!)

I hope the image your mind can create can reharness the beauty you have in your mind while listening to the album.

Kind regards,

xx
Mme
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41 of 50 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Star Talent May 29, 2012
By Tom
Format:Audio CD
First, this is an album full of beautiful, absolutely listenable music - but I do agree with the reviewer who states that the song "So Long" suffers from a strange clicking that I cannot reconcile with the music at all. I can't understand how it was not detected during the recording or mixdown.
Second, for the reviewer who contends that the overall recording was poor, I beg to disagree - and I have an above average stereo system. Excepting the aforementioned clicking, this is an album of nuance and artistry. Melody Gardot is one of those wonderful artists who never loses her core while also never repeating herself. One hears echoes of great artists of the past as she sings, but she is unto herself in mixing those influences with the sensibilities of an old soul in the modern world.
"The Absence" graces us with a five-star talent. Fix the clicks on the one track and the album is five stars as well.

Update: Based on the gracious response of Ms. Gardot to Amazon Chuck, I wish to revise my comments. As I have a highly resolving system, my ears interpreted the clicking on "So Long" as a distraction as it is in timbre close to the sound that I used to hear on poorly cared for vinyl. It also has a correlation to the beat, but is not entirely consistent with it. Understanding it now to be the sound of fingernails tapping interpretively to the music, I appreciate the intent behind it. I can't guess how this tapping will come across on differently resolving systems, but my overall comments from above remain. The music on "The Absence" - all of it - is beautiful. I hope most of you do not find the tapping on "So Long" as distracting as I have, and I hope to put my initial impressions of it out of my mind.
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26 of 32 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Absence makes the heart grow fonder... May 29, 2012
Format:Audio CD
Jazz chanteuse Melody Gardot's new CD "The Absence" is produced by Brazilian composer and guitarist Heitor Pereira, adding a Latin lilt to her soft breezy sound.

Opening is the sunny "Mira", with Gardot scatting and singing to rhythmic guitars. In a similar vein is closing number, the celebratory "Iemanja" which is sung in Portuguese (with a hidden instrumental jam after a 10 minute wait)."Amalia" is Folky, "So Long" is a tender acoustic piece, while "So We Meet Again My Heartache" is an achingly beautiful ballad with lush strings and emotive vocals - my favourite. "Lisboa" starts with chiming bells leading to a Jazzy guitar-driven ballad.

Everything stands out really; "Impossible Love" (with enchanting guitar, clarinet and strings, and some spoken vocals with Gardot flitting between French and English as she tries to share her frustration at trying to get an affair to work), the prowling "If I Tell You I Love You" (with some Eartha Kitt-style purring and growling), the horn-sprinkled slow shuffle "Goodbye", and the spare hushed "Se Voce Me Ama" (with tenderly plucked guitar and some harmonising with Pereira). Regally understated and beautiful!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars The Absence: Melody Gardot - Another restrained and beautiful album...
Melody Gardot has to date released two impressive albums (`My One And Only Thrill' and `Worrisome Heart') in which she delivered beautiful, heartfelt songs in her trademark low... Read more
Published 1 day ago by Victor
5.0 out of 5 stars Love Melody Gardot
I wish her gobs of success. This is my second Gardot album, and I appreciate it's available on vinyl. Great album, lots of presence. She sings from the heart
Published 3 days ago by Nathan Losman
4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice but not her best.
I didn't feel it was up to the quality of Worrisome Heart & My One & Only Thrill. Maybe a little too much French taste for me. Read more
Published 18 days ago by Ted
3.0 out of 5 stars Online MP3 Album Purchase Lacks Hidden Track?
Music is fine but given that online purchases are only available in a lossy format, it seems like a low blow to ALSO be missing the hidden track... Read more
Published 23 days ago by Piglet2
5.0 out of 5 stars A real rival
I love Diana, but Melody gets better and better while Diana stays the same. Really, I don't want to compare, but enjoy the fact that we have them both.
Published 1 month ago by dr r bryce
1.0 out of 5 stars Huge Disappointment
I was a big fan of Melody Gardot and waited impatiently for her to release a new CD. The Absence is dreadful. I can't stand to listen to it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Dizzie
2.0 out of 5 stars Meh ...
I'm sure Melody Gardot is experimenting, as is her right being a talented artist. Well, this one failed ... Except for a couple of tracks, nothing stands out. Read more
Published 1 month ago by A. Rafiq
5.0 out of 5 stars Melody Gardot hits a home run
I love Ms Gardots music. Her other albums are timeless and so is this one. It is different then the other ones and still spectacular.
Published 2 months ago by axel
4.0 out of 5 stars Melody is Melodious
Didn't enjoy the cuts on this one as much as her "My One and Only Thrill", but still glad to add it to my collection.
Published 2 months ago by Susan Otis
5.0 out of 5 stars good
very satisfied with the shipment... enjoying the record so much... the packaging is very good and i received the shipment earlier than i expected..
Published 2 months ago by d koswara
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Topic From this Discussion
Melody Gardot's New 'Absence' Marks Long Awaited Return
She absolutely gave the most sultry, sensual yet classy live performance I have ever attended; just don't quite understand the soft porn alblum cover and video-sometimes less is really not more.
Apr 21, 2012 by Donna Burge |  See all 4 posts
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