Customer Reviews

There's Nothing Wrong With Love

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Spin magazine placed TNWWL in the top albums of the decade, if I'm correct. The unfortunate part, though, is that Built to Spill's 1994 release should be closer to the top than it was placed.

This album is unbelievable. There is so much emotion put into every note that Doug Martsch launches from his guitar that the album requires so many listens to absorb it all. "Car", "Fling," and "Cleo" are some of the most beautiful songs ever written. "Big Dipper" is just plain guitar-pop fun. The best song, in my opinion, is the closer "Stab." It starts off simple, gets loud, changes to a mournful string-based session, and closes the album with the most haunting solo I've ever heard. This song, and especially the last few minutes of it, stir something inside of me unlike any other song that I have heard.

Even though I have close to 200 CDs, this one is in my compact disc player every day. Phil Eck did a great job with the production of this album and deserves a lot of credit. A few more notes, though. Brett Nelson's bass playing is unbelievable. Andy Capp's drumming is decent, but Nelson plays the bass like it's a part of him. The last thing I'll mention is the last, untitled track, which still gives me a laugh. This "preview" pokes a little fun at the mainstream punk scene and modern rock radio.

So if I could give this album six stars, I would.

I am compelled to write my first review here because I have such strong feelings about this CD. This is a near perfect album. I am certainly not a music reviewer, and have a hard time explaining exactly why this album remains one of my favorites after first hearing it in 94.

Some random thoughts, in no sensible order...

I'm not particularly concerned with a band's guitar and vocal chops...others have covered that plenty. For me, this whole album just feels so consistently good. Someone said this was a happy record, I dunno about that. I see more of a wistful innocence to some of the songs ("Twin Falls", for instance, just kills me in the same way White Stripes "We're Going to be Friends" does). There's a certain charm and sweetness on this album, for sure, but more than enough edge, maturity and intelligence to keep it interesting and never cloying or obvious.

And to whoever said there was 'nothing going on lyrically', HUH? The lyrics are a big part of the reason why I can listen to this album for days on end. Even in some of its straightforward simplicity, there's always a line or phrase to latch onto and ponder and smile and sigh about...huge ideas distilled to the bare essentials. Sometimes odd, sometimes vague, but never esoteric-just-for-the-sake-of-being-obscure, which was (and is) so refreshing in the hipper-than-thou, indie heyday of the early-mid 90s.

This was my first and only BTS for years (never could get into earlier BTS or Caustic Resin), and didn't buy any of their subsequent releases as they came out, for fear that nothing could match the perfection of TNWWL. Since then I've decided that 'Keep It Like A Secret' probably comes in second. If you're looking for a slightly more polished sound, I would highly recommend KILAS...otherwise, I see no reason why not start with TNWWL, I don't think it's any less accessible than their later releases, just different.

And one more thing about the 'promo' at the end...Come on...jeesh! If you listened to it and didn't end up laughing out loud, or at least smirking, by the end...then perhaps you just don't get it, which helps me understand why you didn't appreciate this album.

I have rambled, but I think it's fair to say that this album is capable of changing your entire musical outlook, depending on where you stand when you first hear it.

---Starting out being a huge Modest Mouse fan, I started hearing a small buzz for this little known influence. I sampled a few songs and settled on this as my first Built to Spill album... That was 8 months ago and I still listen to it at least once a week.
---This is the definative BTS album... Whether or not their others are better, this is the album that should come to mind when you hear someone say Built to Spill..You can sing along to every single song on this CD and it holds a very cute "Denis the Menece/Calvin and Hobs" youthful quality to it. Musically this album recalls Pavement meets a Flaming Lips jam session...But to compare bands is not completely fair, for BTS has a very unique sound that is very much all their own.. Even Modest Mouse and Death Cab for Cutie (who are often compared) have a much different sensibility and aproach..
---Pure and simple this album has everything an indie rock geek can love about music. Its not overthought yet its not lazy.. Perfect pop album... Buy it now...

Doug Martch uses his guitar prowess strictly for good and, on this album, his skillful guitar is used to move these gems forward. On later albums he is prone to extended solo's, but they aren't the kind that exist to show the dexterity and speed of the guitarist. They are extentions and explorations into the songs.

Built to Spill is the best band actively putting out music in America. I don't know of many other bands that make it so hard to choose your favorite album, I go back and forth all the time. I think if I had to have one, it has to be There's Nothing Wrong with Love. After repeated listens, it never seems to get old. From skewed perfect pop, to epics with a twist, this album is just perfect; perfect songs, and perfect sequencing. The lyrics are so original and fun. This album is just charming.

Give it a few listens and I'm sure you'll feel the same. The first four songs jump right out, the rest will come after each listen. The last hidden track is hilarious. You need to get this CD.

I am a huge BTS fan. I have seen them live several times, and I own most all of their albums. This is my first online review--I thought it best to start with the album that has the most personal effect on me.

TNWWL is, in short, a masterpiece. I hate that term--it implies something academic and studied. On the other hand, it conveys the awesome power of this set of songs.

Production--Phil Ek is a mastermind. If you look at his work with BTS and the new Shins album you'll see what I mean. TNWWL is very quiet with minimal studio trickery. There are numerous spots on the album where you will hear vocal mistakes or off-kilter recording levels. Those are part of the genius! The last track ("preview of next BTS album") is hilarious.

Songwriting--Dug is never better than on TNWWL. The songs are mostly intimate and very autobiographical. There is a definite difference between this album and Keep It Like a Secret or Perfect From Now On. Later in his career Dug gets more and more vague. It almost as though he changed songwriting styles. I love PFNO and KILAS, but TNWWL is on a different plane. The song Cleo is amazing--it's told from an unborn baby's perspective. I also love Distopian Dream Girl, Twin Falls, and Car.

Playing--organic and raw. They aren't as loud or as feedback oriented as they would get in subsequent albums...but they rock all the same. I would pay close attention to the acoustic songs and the string arrangements (again--Ek is brilliant!).

Value--there isn't one song on this album I skip over. It's awesome that BTS still plays many of these songs in concert. A friend asked me to recommend a good first album by BTS to buy. I told him Perfect From Now On. That album rocks harder and is more likely to show the musical force behind BTS. I was a little selfish in making this recommendation--I wanted to keep the lyrical beauty and grace of this album to myself.

This is a great album, especially for those who are looking to get into them for the first time. I just saw them last week, 9/30/03, and it was one of the best shows I have ever seen, if you ever get the chance go see them, dont even think twice. this album has many BTS classics on it and shows where the band started. Great indie album from one of the most influencial bands of the 90's

This first release from Doug Martsch and company remains my favorite BTS recording. BTS aren't confined by typical songwriting structure, i.e. verse-chorus-verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus. Songs start incongruously - see fabulous opener "In the Morning" - and end suddenly - again, see fabulous opener "In the Morning". Rough-around-the-edges melodies, masterful guitar work, and uncanny, slice-of-life lyrics abound throughout TNWWL. Anyone who has ever been less-than-stellar at spotting constellations will smile knowingly when listening to "Big Dipper". "Twin Falls" and its reference to Thumbs Up Seven Up will charmingly harken some listeners back to elementary school, while the David Bowie "Lodger" references in "Distopian Dream Girl" will bring a smile to the most jaded music listeners. ("My stepfather looks/Just like David Bowie/But he hates David Bowie/I think Bowie's cool/I think 'Lodger' rules/And my stepdad's a fool.") And seriously, who can't identify with Martsch when he sings, "I want to see movies of my dreams" in "Car"?

I bought TNWWL on a blind recommendation, never having heard a note of Built to Spill's music. I'm grateful I did - don't be afraid to do the same.

Or they should anyway! If based on none of the other long line of enduring Built to Spill records that they have so thoughtfully graced us with, Built to Spill should go down in History as one of the greatest American Rock bands of all time! Many die-hard "Spillers" (as I like to call fans) will tell you that "Keep it Like a Secret" is their best offering, but I fall in the minority when I affirm that "There's Nothing Wrong With Love" is Built to Spill at their finest! This is a disc that gets your heart pumping from the first chord to the last!

This is the Album in the BTS catalog that speaks to the heart and mind of anyone who grew up in the Mountain West (I grew up in Utah)! It takes me back to my childhood and helps me to realize that it's okay to grow up!

I have to say my favorite track is "Twin Falls." That song struck a chord with me in a way that few other songs ever have! It's brilliant way of getting to the heart of elementary crush drama is something that the sheer brilliance of still to this day astounds me. This is a song like few ever written, one so moving that even Ben Folds Five chose a cover of "Twin Falls" as means of tribute to Doug & co.

In Short: Buy this record! You won't be disappointed!

There are things that happen to all of us that, looking back, we feel were crucial to our development as a human being. Encountering this band was definatly one for me. TNWWL was recorded back in '94 - this information is irrelevent. This album is timeless. It is not a way to go back to a time when music was a certain way and people thought certain things. This album is an independant entity. On top of it's independance from time and place IT IS FRIGGING AMAZING! This album will sooth you, energize you, teach you new things, put the way things are in a new perspective, and basically enlighten you. Doug Martsch is a brilliant lyricist and song writer. His songs will make you feel like you're the hub cap of a car tire that seems to spin real fast in one direction, then slow down, stop, and slowly start spinning in the other direction. This music is the kind of stuff you can rock out to, mellow out to and love until the day you die.

1 spin of this CD and you will be a fan for life.

of the detractors. If you distilled indie pop music down to its essence, this would be it. By far the greatest album I have ever owned. It's not big in sound (think Dead Milkmen, heavy Beatles influence), but the writing is amazing and the guitar tracks are all over the place. Perfect (their next album) is also good, but in a very different way - this one is more stripped down. Oh, and that reviewer who thought that the last track is really a promo - look up sucker in the dictionary.