Customer Reviews

Twentythree

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I like this cd very much. I first heard "Love Love Love" on a free compilation CD called New Noise, and I absolutely loved it. I'm a big Jason Mraz fan, and I told all my friends it was like Jason as a girl.... imagine my surprise when I found out they were dating! Anyway, Tristan Prettyman has a gorgeous voice and her songs are wonderfully written. There are some with lush accompaniment and rhythm(Smoke, Love Love Love), and some with only Tristan's rich voice against a guitar (Songs for the Rich, Electric). It's all good.

As for the copy protection issue that Stevio described, it can be overcome. If you want to put the CD on iTunes, for example, there are two options. If you have a Mac, then it should work perfectly normally. If you have a PC, you'll have to upload the music to Windows Media Player, then burn a new copy of the CD from there, and upload the COPY to iTunes. Record companies sure are smart, huh? They don't want us to make any copies of the CD, so they spend money putting software on them. Then we HAVE to copy them in order to use them, so everyone who buys the CD probably has an extra copy lying around that they wouldn't have if the software wasn't there.So yeah, it'll waste a blank CD, but if you want the music, it's worth it. I hope this helps Stevio, if he ever comes back.....

The music is excellent, which is sad because the disk is copy protected and can't be moved into iTunes or an iPod without doing a bunch of stuff you shouldn't have to do. Burn a disk, read the burned disk, import licenses, copy this file and not that file, download a piece of German ripware -- If you want the music in iTunes or on an iPod, buy it from iTunes. If you think you have the right to listen to music you paid for on your player of choice, Virgin records thinks you're wrong. Their BS story about how Apple won't enter into a contract with them is just another excuse to screw us, the buyers, while they try to make even more money off the artists they force to use their distribution networks.

This CD is copy protected. If that is of concern to you, do not purchase. On the back cover is a warning that this CD may not play in some CD players, DVD players, and computers. It also states that if it doesn't play you're screwed as you won't be issued a refund. If that is of concern to you, do not purchase.

Sorry Tristan..Her music is great, but do not buy this CD if you use iTunes / an iPod on a windows computer. EMI has decided that it will only allow Tristan's music to be used on Windows Media Player. You cannot add the music from the CD to iTunes! Such a strange move given the dominance of the iPod and iTunes. If you see an EMI executive, tell him/her that this move was moronic and only impacted the HONEST PEOPLE THAT BUY THE CD.

Tristan Prettyman continues the 2005 renaissance of the female singer-songwriter with her highly entertaining debut album, Twentythree. Often referred to as a female Jack Johnson due to her surfing background and energetic acoustic style, Tristan Prettyman shows a greater depth of emotion that is all her own. This is an album you need to pick up and give multiple spins to. Prettyman is a refreshing change in a world of manufactured pop confections, and her honest and insightful yet breezy songs wash away the dreck of modern pop and invoke a laid back vibe perfect for summer and beyond.

Prettyman's voice is often reminiscent of Heather Nova and Natalie Merchant; at times bouncy and rhythmic and other times soft and sultry. Her music is melodic and a jangly acoustic guitar plays a predominant role. Each song is structured in a fitting manner, hooking you with great melodies and vocals to match; this is a record you will singing along to in your car or at the beach. Prettyman's lyrics are mostly cheerful, infusing her songs with a energy sorely lacking nowadays. When she takes a turn for the serious, such as the painfully emotional tale of addiction in Song for the Rich, you pay attention. And that is really where Prettyman impresses. Instead of taking the easy way out and making a pure upbeat album, she includes songs that are darker, touching on every corner of her emotional palette.

If you are looking for energetic singles, check out Love Love Love and Shy Like Me (featuring ex-boyfriend Jason Mraz) and the excellent Always Feel This Way. Song for the Rich and Electric are two songs that touch on the more somber moments, and Smoke is a great balance of upbeat melody with creatively flowing lyrics. Prettyman asks "Shouldnt it be that easy..to just be happy for a while", hinting at the challenges of love and life at an early age. With this album and an impressive live presence, Prettyman is well on her way to success as a musician and as a person.

A.G. Corwin
St Louis, MO

Tristan Prettyman makes breezy music than gives you visions of sitting on a beach at night around a bonfire with friends around as one leisurely strums an acoustic guitar. This description quickly brings to mind a comparison to another surfer turned rocker, Jack Johnson. Prettyman's debut album Twentythree, which alludes to her age, starts off with a breezy acoustic guitar that turns into the bouncy first single, Love, Love, Love. The song should not be confused with Natasha Bedingfield's, These Words where she repeats "I love you, I love you, I love you." Tristan's song sets the beach mood with lyrics like, "When the summer's here, the waves are crashing, no time for thinking, don't even ask me" which make the album a great addition to any beach party or barbeque this summer.

Tristan also puts her mark on what seems to be the new female singer-songwriting staple, Breathe (also see Anna Nalick, Michelle Branch, and Faith Hill for other songs on the subject or if you want to go way back, and male, try Pink Floyd). But as the others are tranquil songs, Prettyman makes it into a song of longing, "I wish I could breathe. I wish you couldn't take your eyes off of me. Oh, but it's never as easy as it seems."

Jason Mraz, recovering from a poor sophomore album, makes an appearance on the coy Shy That Way. The two singers trade verses about the pining that is usually reserved Middle School dances but somehow avoid making the song sound childish. Tristan starts off, "If you were more daring maybe you'd stop staring and come over and talk to me." To which Jason responds, "The way she keeps her distance keepin' my interest so I'll keep it consistent."

Saw her on "Real Music" very very promising...unfortunately this album is copy-protected. After decades of price-gouging they have the nerve to inhibit fair use...you'd think they would have been fattened enough by the millions and millions of Twenty dollar cds they sold us in the eighties...apparently not. The record companies are struggling because of bad business decisions, not illegal copying.

Sorry Tristan, It has to start somewhere.

I'll never let someone else (a music company) decide what I can do with a CD I pay good money for. Take a leap, dudes, and apologize to a great artist who deserves a company that won't play politics with her music.

And hey, label executives: SUck it.

I had heard "Shy That Way" and "Beautiful" on the radio and was impressed, so I ran out to buy Tristan's studio album, not realizing that it was copy protected. Big bummer, as most of my music I listen to on my iPod or on my car CD player that doesn't play most of the fancy formatted type discs. So this is a partial downer on the cd itself, since I don't know how much I'll be able to listen to it.

However, Tristan the artist is great and I love her music. Don't dismiss her just because of the crappy record labels and their desire to control how consumers listen to music -- trust me, it's NOT her call! She allows taping and trading of her live concerts, so she WANTS to get her music out there! Buy copies of her older, non-protected singles and EPs so she can make a living, but just search for Tristan Prettyman's live archive and enjoy this fantastic artist to your heart's content.

WARNING: THIS DISC IS COPY PROTECTED!!!! Using a computer to copy it to your MP3 player requires you to install licensing software on your computer, and you may or may not be able to load the music onto your MP3 players, depending on their DRM capabilities. And you can bet money you won't be able to use anything other than an approved lossy compression format (i.e., you'll lose sound quality). Shame on Amazon for selling this disc without providing proper warnings.