Customer Reviews

Volo Volo

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

 

 

Volo is one astounding album. It is a marriage of 50's rhythm and blues with violin, horns, rock n' roll, and even some hip hop beats. Then it is combined with Frank Orrall's lyrics spun with a gypsie -like wisdom (whatever that means). With the exception of Camper Van Beethoven, no other recent band has been able to combine so many musical types so successfully. This album ages well. Poi Dog is also a great live band.

It baffles me that so many great bands go unnoticed. I only heard of these guys because I worked in a clothing store and one of the girls would play it. How many bands these days have lead singers as opposed to screamers? The acoustic instruments, electric guitars and vocal harmonies make for a night-in-an-abandoned-warehouse jam session.

What I really love is their refusal to play one style. 'Collarbone' speaks to the hopeless romantic, 'I've Got My Body' to the starving artists who refuse to sell out. 'Te Manu Pukarua' takes you to the tropics, directly followed by rock anthem 'blood and thunder'. I always like bands that don't stick to one style, because we are multi-faceted creatures. We love, hate, adore and envy the same person at the same time.

Released in 1991, this is Poi Dog Pondering's third CD. It is 55 minutes long and the sound quality is very good.

Poi Dog Pondering started in Hawaii where they released two EP's that were combined for the group's first major release. They moved to Austin where they did two more CD's, broke up, and reformed in Chicago with mostly different musicians and a slightly different sound.

For the first 3 CD's Poi Dog Pondering had an accoustic, folk, world music sound, very similar to Rusted Root. At the peak, there were 10 members in the band, with instruments include violin, sax and all kinds of percussion. Like many such bands, they stretched out more live than on the studio CD's.

This CD starts out with a bunch of very nice songs. It just gets stronger as the CD goes on. There is more innovation and depth to the music.

It does end on a bad note of a 5 minute instrumental that is mostly just noise. But, it is at the end of the CD so you don't have to listen to it to get to the good stuff.

If you like Rusted Root, you will like this.

PDP is my all time favorite band, from my first live show in 1990 in a cafeteria-like college bar to today (1999!). I have been continuously thrilled by the dozens of people that seem to be on stage, the highest energy around, the smart, evocative lyrics, the unique instrumentation... I recommed any Poi album, but I think Volo Volo is the most accessable to the pop crowd. I loved The Hardest Thing and Lackluster from the moment I heard them. THT has fabulous, moving lyrics that touched my heart and the boisterous opening to Lackluster can quicken anyone's pulse. Buy this CD! Then buy the rest of the PDP collection. You won't be disappointed.

This CD is great... plain and simple. The third major album from Poi, it provides music that can be catagorized as a transformation from their first two albums ("PDP" and "Wishing..") to their most recent studio effort, Pomagranate. The songs "Collarbone", "Hardest Thing" and "Ive got my Body" are three of the greatest Poi has ever produced. This album, I feel, is the first to truly showcase the vocals of Frank Orrall and the violin stylings of Susan Voelz. If you go to a Poi show to this day you will still hear many cuts from this album - a must for all fans-o-Poi.

For many who were hardcore Poi fans from the Austin days early in the band's career, this cd was a bit of a stumble for a group that had released nothing but masterpieces. Musically, it seemed that the band was in tension with each other, and I think that that's clear from looking at the album cover - see the band divided, and one wearing a shirt that says "Judas"? It was no surprise when after this cd, Poi Dog Pondering changed much of its line-up and moved to Chicago.

But that doesn't mean that this cd was a disaster. Far from it. Perhaps my favorite Poi song of all time - "Lackluster" - is the lead track. Although, having heard it live several times before it was recorded, I was really disappointed in the over-production. I blame the record label for that (why not, it's a paranoid fantasy that might be true). The cd does feature some exceptional moments, but there are enough rough spots on this cd to warrant a rating of simply "good" and not "exceptional."

This music is like time traveling for me! Poi Dog is a group whose sound never gets old. And the lyrics only get more relevant as I age...

Poi is all energy. I love every song on Volo Volo - especially Be The One, I've Got My Body and Jack Ass Ginger. Every song manages to show the wide range of talents of the wonderful Poi Dog Pondering members. Listen once, and you'll see why Poi fans are some of the loyal in the world!