Customer Reviews

Transfiguration of Vincent

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This, M Ward's third CD, places him in the forefront of a modern movement that is clearly progressive while simultaneously sounding regressive, feeling dusty with age, and manifesting a genius that is pure and untempered. His music defies description except to say it is coming from somewhere seeped in the early blues with a Neil Young overlay and the feel of country, blues, pop, and folk. I am beginning to believe, the more I listen to this CD, that if Neil Young heard it he would say: "That's it...that is what I was trying to sound like...listen to those chord progressions and chord changes...that's it". People point to Tom Waits and others as Ward's forebearers but the muse here is genuinely unique and the sounds are those that only a budding genius could make. The opening rif of "Fool Says" feels like it came from Abbey Road but by song's end you have been dipped in Young and Dylan. I dare you to listen to "Get to the table on time" and not imagine yourself there as the Ward family calls their prodigal son to come down from the attic for dinner. M Ward makes beautiful music---sounds like you have never encountered---and he sings along with the melodies as if he can't help himself. Who could if they had this much soul? It is all coming from a very deep place inside him and you owe it to yourself before you pass---the main issue he is addressing on this CD---to hear these songs because they are the most soulful and melodic tunes you will have heard in quite some time. This man lives in his own songful world and I can't thank him enough for sharing it with us on Transfiguration. If you put this CD on your stereo it will be a long time before you take it off. The more you listen the deeper it gets---just like M Ward, I suspect. This is genius, pure genius, and you need to hear it. If when you have given Transfiguration a good listen and find yourself wanting more of the same (yet beautifully different), then go backwards on the Ward Highway to End of Amnesia or forward to Transitor Radio. You will be very glad you did. Enjoy!

Don't listen to some of those over analytical reviews you'll find about M. Ward. The guy is a genuine artist. If you are looking for cool hooks, or something that tries too hard to be clever, then this isn't your album. However, if you want to hear someone explore their soul during a darker time in their life, this it. It's a beautiful album, when I got it, I listened to it over and over again. It's brilliant, but it's from the heart not the head. That's where music should come from. So pick it up and listen to it on a late night drive or a quiet night at home. Don't give up on it if you don't like it the first try, but that won't happen I swear.

I don't write reviews, and very rarely take them to heart, but M. Wards 'Transfiguration Of Vincent' is so wonderful that I can't help myself. I just recently stumbled upon M. Wards music, but I'm already hooked. I imagine I'll still be listening to this record 30 years from now. The sound is so timeless. Ghosts from the past seem to creep in and crawl around throughout this record, but it's still very original. There are some very possible influences such as Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, maybe even The Beatles at times, but Matt never seems to steal from them like many new blues/rock acts seem to be doing lately. I think that's what sets this record apart from a lot of other new bands, that are good, but don't seem to be cutting their own path like Matt Ward has been doing so very well. Words really can't do this music justice. I highly recommend checking it out....I'm sure you'll understand what I mean.

this album is GORGEOUS! I was already an M. Ward disciple, of sorts, and this album indeed seals the deal. His skill at fingerpicking an instrumental piece that is anything but background or filler is a marvel to hear and to watch (I have been lucky enough to have seem him perform three times now). Further, he is a talented lyric writer and never fails to turn and twist my insides with his warbled and then again high and drifting voice. "Vincent O'Brien" and "Sad, Sad Song" flow one into the other like a first and second course meant to leave you still hungry for more and the desserts do not fail to please. The Bowie cover, "Let's Dance" destroys me live and comes close on the recording as well - it is slow and mournful in the most joyful of ways...it is his own. He seems to draw upon such a variety of influences (old folk balladry, blues emotion, william blake, tom waits, bob dylan) and mull them into a cider all his own. And what a tasty cider it is - such talent in this one - such beauty and kindness too - all things that come through when someone is writing music like this. Don't let the opportunity to become acquainted with Ward's music pass you by and do not let another day go by without having this resource of emotional and spiritual renewal at your fingertips.

Throw the Velvet Underground's "Loaded", Tom Waits "Swordfish Trombones" a few old bakelite `78s and a dash of those sad-sweet memories (the ones that you love to recall and long to relive) into your kitchen aid mixer (or an audio mixer for that matter) and the result would be something similar to M Wards "Transfiguration of Vincent". This album is a real gem and has a sublime and profound quality that lies just out of reach of proper description. I will admit the fact that I bought this album only after buying (and falling in live with) "Transistor Radio". If you've heard this latest of M Ward's works and enjoyed it I am positive that you will also appreciate this earlier work. While "Transfiguration of Vincent" is somewhat more muted in style and form than "Transistor Radio" it doesn't make it a lesser album.

Sometimes crooning, sometimes strong, Ward's voice hovers between pointed focus and some dreamy oblivion. The music equally is not definable in one genre. One could say that this album is of a progressive/experimental folk style but even this seems limiting once you hear the music. It is evocative of some other time yet at the same time current.

Yes, M Ward delivers a great album with "Transfiguration of Vincent" if you are a fan of Uncle Tupelo, Tom Waits, Wilco or even Elliot Smith you should certainly appreciate this album. It is great background music for social events and also great quiet time music while also being great driving music. You'll like this album... Its Involuntary...

-- Ted Murena

This is my favorite album of 2003, possibly my favorite album of the last ten years, maybe ever. Want to know more? M. Ward is possessed of a voice of almost unearthly beauty - sweet and raspy at the same time. His songwriting is amazing and the emotion that comes across is a breath of fresh air in the world of today's music. The album has not got a single weak track on it, but particular favorites of mine are "Vincent O'Brien" (great feedback, great singalong lyrics), "Fool Says," "A Voice At The End Of The Line" and his cover - deconstruction, really - of "Let's Dance." I found out about M. Ward in an interview with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes and I'm traveling to Chicago to see them play together, since they aren't coming to Michigan...

Beautiful, (at times) melancholy songs of hope and bereavement from the Portland troubadour who, if there's any justice in the spotty music cosmos, will leave more than a vapor trail across the sky this time out - his last one, "End of Amnesia" was the best late-night-with-a-bottle-of-wine album of 2001. Eschewing the straight and narrow path of precious, cloying folk music, these songs are hammered together with painstaking attention to the arrangements. Barrelhouse piano, mandolin, shades of harp, clean guitar picking/strumming, even crickets have been lured to this low-key shindig: these are the campfire songs your scoutmaster never taught you. Instrumentals alternate with vocals, sometimes sung in a higher register as fleeting as the precisely picked guitar notes - think a skewed Elliot Smith or the lyrical dirges of Will Oldham.

I'd be willing to wager that M. Ward knows his John Fahey, Howlin' Wolf/Tom Waits (he's getting the growl on), and Captain Beefheart (the tweak factor) backwards and forwards. Like any jazz player worth his salt, he also knows how to use the silence between notes as an inviting guest room. One of the warmer aspects of this and his previous album is that there is enough room for the listener not only to pull up a chair and kick up his/her legs, but to haul in the sofa - there's room for everyone and everyone will hear something different. For a sense of Ward's range, listen to "Undertaker", a beautiful lament, and then "Helicopter", which will have you stomping your foot on the sawdust floor. "Get To The Table on Time" feels like a song out of time -it has a catchy guitar riff and ends before you can say, "Beam me up". "Dead Man" is just plain timeless - haiku with guitar.

To finish things off, there is a deconstructed, hushed, almost deadpan version of "Let's Dance" reminiscent of Cat Power's skinning of "Satisfaction" - it's been transformed into an aching ballad. Ward removes the tonsils, gall bladder, and all those pesky appendages to get at the essence of his craft. And what are the best songs anyway, but heart and guts?

I'm constantly putting myself in front of new artists in hopes of finding the next album that will consume and reassure me why I spend countless hours listening and discovering new albums. Transfiguration of Vincent is a brilliant album from start to finish and deserves a few complete listens through to truly understand its brilliance.

`Outta My Head' and the beautifully remade rendition of `Let's Dance' by Bowie are tracks that propel this album to folk perfection.

Firtsly let me say I'd never heard of M.Ward before buying this CD. He's not exactly a household name around here, but going on a good review in a local paper and a few snippets from the Net I bought it. Well all I can say is, it's the album of the year so far for me. This is timeless stuff, with real emotion coming through from Matt (just who was Vincent O'Brien ?), and such diverse styles,yet it all flows so beautifully.I won't bore you with details, but basically there is no filler here, just great music. Also had the privelege of seeing Matt live in Melbourne, Aust recently...sensational. Keep making great music Matt.

get this album if you like to just chill and listen to music straight from the heart. great for deep thinking and long drives in the dark. Nothing ive heard so far can compare to this guys great lyrics, voice, and overall talent. Get this album.