Customer Reviews

Twelve Mondays

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have always liked Ari Hest's albums - moderately - they were OK.

This one is different - VERY different - it includes songs from Hest's personal (self produced and published) project titled 52, in which he released a new song every week for a year. All songs on this album are his fans' choices of "the best" of that collection. And THE BEST they truly are - it's not too often that one can honestly say that there are NO weak songs here. This is such an incredible qualitative (and quantitative!) improvement over the previous albums - everything is somehow new, fresh, and sounds emotionally sincere; from technical point of view, all elements of this albums are close to perfection (or just perfect). Hest's songs are beautifully crafted, his voice is now more mature, and has impressive dynamic range; gentle back-vocals harmonies are used with restraint, and the record is outstandingly produced: even though it maintains a stylistic consistency, and to a certain degree his own "signature" sound, it's varied, and never gets boring, creating interesting soundscapes and arrangements on many songs. My personal favorites (although I like them all) are "Cranberry Lake" and rhythmically spectacular "Binoculars."

It's gutsy for a singer/author to go back to "independent" after recording for a major label. In this case, it seems it was a carefully planned, and well thought out decision, backed up with creativity, tenacity, hard work, and lots of talent. I hope it is a new start for Ari Hest, on his own terms: a beginning of a great career.

Attach a great vocalist to a great acoustic guitarist and you expect nothing less than a great CD. Ari's other recordings will soon be added to my library.

First of all what a great voice. Such range on this CD. His fans voted in the best 12 songs that he wrote for the past 52 weeks and they are great selections. My personal favorite is "Ride the Brake". If this is your first taste of Ari's style I promise you you will be buying his past two albums to satiate your taste for great music. (The wife and I saw him live at a house concert in Indy and he not only sounded great but his band and he were very nice and personable)

My 2nd Cd from Ari Hest and I enjoy this CD very much. Every song here is lovely to listen to. Check him out on Youtube if you have any doubt about making the purchase.

Ari Hest released one song each week for a year in his project 52. Upon completion of the the project, fans voted for their favorites among the 52. The finished result is 12 Mondays, an album comprised of the top 12 songs, and it absolutely shines. It is a collection of superbly crafted songs driven by emotion, rich vocals, and great guitar work. There is not a single weak song on this album. Each one evokes a different mood upon listening, yet Hest's distinguishable style is present throughout. Do yourself a favor and grab a copy of this album. It is Ari Hest's best yet.

This is definitely Ari's best work to date. The songs are nicely constructed and catchy. Ari's fan's did a good job picking 12 of his best for the compilation. This album separates Ari from being just another guy with a guitar and the band does a nice job as well, providing good support. The lyrics are very well written, heartfelt, and inspirational (the song "Reason to Believe" was used as an Obama tribute on a Youtube video with over 20,000 hits). This is definitely an album where every track is worthy of a listen rather than just one or two.

This album is absolutely amazing! I now have two new favorite songs: Binoculars and Cranberry Lake. This album has songs to fit my every mood, and I can't express with words how much I LOVE it! I think this is truly the best album of the year so far. I HIGHLY recommend it!