Customer Reviews

Till We Have Faces

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I saw OTR twice on tour with the Cowboy Junkies and they sparked my interest. I picked up one of their disks at a show in DC and Loved it. I have bought everything i can get my hands on and they are Amazing. They are sure to be up and comming and they are a generally friendly band. This CD has some great stuff on it...and the songs you don't like right away will grow on you with just a few listens....don't let these CD's pass you buy.

Linford once described Over The Rhine's music (somewhat tongue-in-cheek, I think) as "post-nuclear, pseudo-alternative, folk-tinged art-pop" and their first album "Til We Have Faces" shows the origins of the band. The opener "Eyes Wide Open" is a representative track for the OTR sound referred to by Linford.

It's been eleven years since this first came out, and it is striking how upbeat the band sounds throughout most of the album (in contrast with some later albums such as "Patience" and "Good Dog Bad Dog"). Equally striking is how Karen's voice has gotten stronger over the years (compare this with "Films for Radio" for contrast). The album contains several songs that would define OTR for years: "Like A Radio", still a concert fave these days and "If I'm Drowning" (compare it to the live version on the "Besides" album, though!). Other great tracks include "Iron Curtain" and "Paul & Virginia". At 55 min., the album is a bit long, but it is a very strong debut.

I also note that the version listed here on Amazon must be a reissue (1995 apparently), because the original 1991 version which I have lists 14 tracks, not 16: the last 2 listed here ("Radio Coda" and "Downfall") do not appear on the original. Either way, you will enjoy the debut of Cincinnati's best band!

I saw OTR first at a music fest in Illinois in 1993...Karen's intoxicating voice drew us in like the siren's song...this is the most beautiful music...i'd have em play at my wedding if i could...I've since seen OTR four more times...if you can get your hands on Patience buy as many copies as you can...any OTR album makes the best gift...so romanatic...so enchanting...perfection...try to find Eve and Besides as well.

I saw OTR first at a music fest in Illinois in 1993...Karen's intoxicating voice drew us in like the siren's song...this is the most beautiful music...i'd have em play at my wedding if i could...I've since seen OTR four more times...if you can get your hands on Patience buy as many copies as you can...any OTR album makes the best gift...so romanatic...so enchanting...perfection...try to find Eve and Besides as well.

Till we have Faces is Over the Rhine's first project. Its poetry has a life of its own. It breathes. It is everything human and a little something divine. Raw. Gentle. Violent. Very much alive.

This record has been reissued under the IRS label as well as the original Scampering songs label. If you look hard enough, you may be able to find it in Cincinnati, and the search is well worth it.

This album is my favorite of all OTR's work. If it shows up here as having been reissued, buy it without hesitation. Joyful, melancholy, pensive, playful--the songs are varied in tone and topic but never in quality.

Honestly, they are the most amazing band. I've been looking at the lyrics and they are truly an expression of the soul, in a tangible way.

OtR is simply the best band around. Definitely underrated. Buy any of their discs you can get your hands on!

You'll never be dissapointed with Over the Rhine, and if you ever get a chance to see them live - don't turn it down. They play every so often at Madison's Cafe in West Seattle.