The Natural Bridge

Silver Jews | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: October 1, 1996
• Label: Drag City
• Total Length: 35:40
• Genres: Alternative Rock/Indie & Lo-Fi, Alternative Rock/Singer-Songwriters, Pop/Pop Rock, Pop/Singer-Songwriters, Rock/Singer-Songwriters
• ASIN: B000W16DFS
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,637 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible., March 26, 2005

By 

J. Dintzer (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Natural Bridge (Audio CD)

In the view of some, it was actually the bewildering perfection of this disc that drove Malkmus to disband Pavement (there's an apocryphal story that he admitted they'd never make an album as good as this one.)
Berman's a songwriter's songwriter, and it's no wonder he's got such a loyal cult following. This album encapsulates a worldview and a loneliness so vast and profound that listening to it, you just fall inside. If you're the kind of person who drives all night, you'll never feel the same way about the world after you hear it. All the other SJ albums are good -- Starlite Walker (the previous album) especially -- but none has the degree of imagery and startling revelation that this one carries from start to finish.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece, September 23, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Natural Bridge (Audio CD)

This is my favorite Silver Jews album of all time, but more importantly, my favorite album, by any artist, of all time! DC Berman writes how most of us dream. If you haven't listened to the Silver Jews yet, start with American Water. The Natural Bridge takes a bit longer to get into, but is very rewarding in the end. DC Berman's genius continues to amaze me!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An album more in the "photo" sense, October 27, 2011

By 

Alex Garnett (Vancouver) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Natural Bridge (Audio CD)

A couple disclaimers on this five-star review that I don't feel like I've been generous enough with:

- I'm an "American Water" guy. It's the album that got me into the band; while I have no problem with Malkmus' absence here, I don't think that the music Berman writes without him is any better than the bonus of having him around.

- Most of the praise I've heard for Natural Bridge mentions how beautifully cohesive it is. "Cohesive" is in a very small minority of compliments that I would never think to pay this album. I can't explain why I feel that way, or why that seems to be so anachronistic, other than that this was the Silver Jews' first really polished effort, and the first time that everything really worked. Berman's poetry being what it is, I don't think that makes it an unreasonable candidate for "second-favourite album by my favourite band" -- which it absolutely is. It's just that it sounds to me more like a miscellaneous catalog of some of their best material. As an album, it doesn't do anything special; as a band, they're magic. In this case, there's no reason to differentiate.