Customer Reviews

This Beautiful Mess

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sixpence to me, represents all that is worthwhile in the existence of music. Somewhere in Matt Slocum's little brain, there was a beautiful experience in life, something precious and rare - something most of us do not possess. Call it cultural knowledge or enriched intellectuality. I don't know. Maybe he just has a gene that possesses musical genius. "This beautiful mess" is so powerful, dynamic, and quietly loud (indeed it has its moments of release, such as in the powerful - and loud - climax of "Within a Room Somewhere" and also the frustration expressed in the opener "Angeltread."). There are so many parallels drawn within this little 45-minute library of music - the pain of humanity vs. the love of God, the pain of God's love vs. the pain of our understanding of his love. Look at the paradox within its title - it continues throughout the album. In a certain light, it teaches us (TEACHES - what a lost word within modern day music) the circumstances in life which one must go through before they realize that life without God is, indeed, a paradox. No amount of soul-searching or humanistic experience and knowledge will ever recover what a lost cause humanity will always be. Which is why, in our mess, things become beautiful - but only if we decide to take the difficult, painful road of faith in God. There are many stories in this album, only you won't hear them. What you will hear is the emotion, the knowledge, the life that was gained as a result of those stories. I don't know what inspired Matt to write a song like "Love, Salvation, the Fear of Death." What I do know is that that mountain (I would call it a gem, but a mountain seems more appropriate) is immersed in what I would call a real, deep, and healthy existence. Matt, as much as he claims to "hate himself" has lived what most of us wish we could simply understand - a life with meaning. That, in the end, is what "This beautiful mess" reaches to tell us - there is meaning, but you'll have to go through a lot of hell - a lot of mess - before you can look at your life and proclaim, in the end, "this was good. this was beautiful." Thank you, Matt and Leigh, for reminding us how beautiful music can be. Pages of text could not describe how thankful I am for your role in my life.

I have every SNTR album and this one is by far the best. It is a bit harder than their self-titled album, and more Christian-themed. The lyrics are beautiful- very poetic and deep. The guitar and drum parts are nicely arranged, so each track is a gem in itself. My personal favorites are Love, Salvation, the Fear of Death; The Garden; and Thought Menagerie, but they all just get better and better over time. If you first bought Sixpence just for the poppy hooks of "Kiss Me", then beware, you might not click with this earlier stuff at all; but if you appreciate the band for their beautiful music and thoughtful lyrics, you will like this.

This album has twice the substance of the current Sixpence None the Richer album. While it lacks a strong pop song like "There She Goes Again", it more than makes up for it with deeply introspective lyrics and edgy guitar riffs. Leigh's vocals are breathy, haunting whispers which beg you to crank up the volume.

Slap on the headphones, close your eyes and crank it as high as you can take it!

I saw Sixpence in the basement of a church with about 25 audience members more than 10 years ago when there were still 5 or 6 people in the band, including an amazing backup vocalist named Tess. This IS their best album. I have listened to the others, and nothing touches this. This was their best, most substantial work, and I still have it on cassette tape! If you like the other albums, BUY THIS. You will not be sorry.

Good luck finding this album; but if you do it will be worth it. The sound is very surreal, and somewhat dark. The only albums I could compare it to are The Cure's Disintegration and Everybody else Is Doing It So Why Can't We by The Cranberries. Every song is good. The best way to appreciate this album is by listening to it alone from start to finish while reading the beautiful booklet. It is really quite moving.

In 1995, this album felt like a natural progression from "the Fatherless and the Widow," just as that album had evolved from "the Original Demos." When their eponymous album was released, it seemed like an odd tangent. Now that we can look back over the entire catalog of Sixpence's songs (and it's sad that we can do so already), it is more clear that it was "This Beautiful Mess" that was a departure from the core of what Sixpence has become. Of course, there were occasional glimpses of Sixpence as a rock band, such as "Sad But True" and "Paralyzed," but for more than a decade I have longed for more of what this album gave me. Anytime I play this CD, I am instantly transported to the time I first became acquainted with this brilliant album, to the time when this album changed my life. It never fails to evoke an emotional response. There is a very short list of albums that I enjoy from start to finish, and this is one of them. Even after all of these years, it is still thoroughly enjoyable. Sixpence is a band that shot to international fame on the back of what may very well be the weakest song in their catalog (that's the industry for ya). But compare and contrast their pop hits with this album, which is full of raw and gritty substance. "This Beautiful Mess" is an overlooked gem that I tell everyone about. "Kiss Me" is the song that made them huge, but this is the album that made them big. They could have gone anywhere from here. I wonder what direction they would have gone had Tess Wiley stayed in the band, or had they continued to rock without her. To quote one of the (too) many covers Sixpence recorded, "nothing sadder than the words 'it might have been.'" At least they left us with this one.

This album is truly remarkable. Fans of Kiss Me beware! This one will rock your socks off! From the strong opening track "Angeltread" to the perfect finisher "I Can't Explain" Sixpence delivers. Guitarist/backup vocalist Tess Wiley provides an element that is missing from later Sixpence releases and Leigh Nash's vocals make this a truly one of a kind album. The songwriting is crafted in an artful way, much more than their later releases. This was one of the best albums of 1995 and the best Sixpence ever!

This is probably their best album. I am such a big Sixpence NTR fan, I have got every album, and am awaiting their new and final one "The Best of Sixpence None The Richer." My favorite songs on this beautiful mess are definatly Disconnect and Maybe Tomorrow. I also like the painful yet great chorus of Melting Alone. I highly recommend this CD to Sixpence Fans, and Non-Sixpence fans because it is not just their best album, but the best album I have EVER heard.

I got this CD for Christmas and I hadn't really heared anything off of it before, but I was pleasantly surprised. I generally like the vocal style because it's clear and streight forward instead of hampered up with too many trills and frills. Musically and lyrically it's a deluge of passion. Many songs have a rather subtle way of gripping at your heart whith their imersive melodies and honest, introspective lyrics. the best songs are Bleeding, Love, Salvation, The Fear of Death (the coolest song I've ever heard), and Disconnect. I find the last two songs rather dull, and Angeltread and the end of Within a Room, Somewhere are too intense for me. The album has a cold, dark feel to it, unlike those before and after it. I'd have to say that as an album, the self titled is supirior, but Sixpence's best songs are on this album. I can't wait for their new one!

This CD was my first taste of Sixpence, and in my opinion it's better than their (later) self-titled effort. Personal favorite tracks: The Garden, a haunting little ditty with a lot of symbolism; Love, Salvation, the Fear of Death, a very personal set of lyrics; and Circle of Error, which will be stuck in your head for DAYS (but you won't mind). Go out and pick up this CD, which won the Dove Award for Album of the Year.