Customer Reviews

Welcome Home

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been listening to this album for at least 12 years and it rarely leaves my CD changer. I played the cassette version until it literally would not play any more, and it was one of the first CDs I bought. A relative first introduced me to this album and of course "Coming Up Close" was the reason I bought my own copy. But I came to love each song and appreciate Aimee Mann as an exceptionally gifted songwriter. It is a great "Road Trip" album and "On Sunday" makes the perfect "Summer Song". The mix is not mainstream pop/rock. It is not a 1980's anthem, but it is one of the defining moments, for me. The lyrics have meaning, which sometimes defies what the '80's were about. The only other thing I can say is Listen to this CD! I am sure you will find Mann's unique voice as captivating as I do. It is a definite must have for one's CD library!

For viewers who want to go to the next chapter of 'til tuesday after Voices Carry, welcome back, or should I say Welcome Home?

First up, the melancholy is still there, but it's more polished.
Gone are the dirge-like wails that characterized Voices Carry. Aimee Mann's voice is stronger here, but with just as much feeling.

The two singles, "What About Love" and "Coming Up Close" are good openers. "What About Love" seemed more accessible. "Coming Up Close" shows 'til tuesday's slight dip in the waters of country. I wonder if any female country musicians have covered this tune--lyrically and thematically, it has the right feel for a country ballad.

"David Denies" and "Lover's Day" are two examples. "Lover's Day" demonstrates how high a register Aimee Mann can go one moment and then drop down very low. It's also one of the stronger songs on the album.

"Sleeping And Waking" has an opening melody that would later be utilized in "Fifty Years After The Fair" from Aimee Mann's Whatever.

"Angels Never Call" is curiously the first 'til tuesday where it is a woman being sung about instead of a man. The verse "angels never help you/because angels always fall" might as well proceed from the saying "What goes up, must come down." So, Satan is not the only fallen angel. That figures.

Best for last: "No One Is Watching You Now" is a haunting sad song (all of them are), about the emptiness afterward and why the narrator is so, so sad. To illustrate: "Something has torn me apart/oh but what do I care/about watching my heart/I know that sadness bleeds through/and my sadness for me/is now sadness for you."

The songcraft is more polished here than on Voices Carry. The theme of loneliness competes for sadness on this. Look at the lyrics and see how many times "loneliness" or "sadness" pops up.

...with this album. I bought it when it first came out, having been entranced by the first single, "What About Love." Now, almost 15 years later, that song doesn't seem to hold up quite as well as others on the album. Yet, the CD is endlessly listenable... and a vast improvement over 'til Tuesday's first album.

Although WELCOME HOME sounds a bit dated with its heavy synth sound and glossy production, many of Aimee's greatest songs may be found here. "Coming Up Close" remains to this day my favorite song of hers. "David Denies," "Will She Just Fall Down," "Lovers' Day" and "No One Is Watching You Now" are also terrific.

All in all, an excellent effort.

While going through a box of old cassettes I re-discovered this collection of songs. I had forgotten how timely and powerfull Mann's music and lyrics were. While looking for this CD on line I found a great review by David Medsker at the popmatters website and I didn't feel alone in my memory of Welcome Home.

So why write a review on a disc almost 20 years old? Medsker reminded me that there are some artists who don't get the acclaim yet still produce timeless music. This disc carried me through a transition off of a 5 year relationship that lasted from my freshman year of high school to my sophmore year of college. Every word of every lyric speaks to an emotion that I experienced during this stage. David Denies, Have Mercy, No One is Watching You Now and Coming Up Close all have a certain perspective that offers sympathy for failed love rather than simply detailing it. Aimee's vocal gift is one which elevates the words to something tangible and not just someone's story. The power of a songwriter is to make the listener feel as if the song is for everyone. I can't say that we have all been there but I would be willing to wager that if you haven't experienced it, you know someone who has and Aimee will touch that chord in you that evokes the pain and hence will make it seem as if it was your experience.

I wouldn't classify this as your typical 80's bubblegum new wave or pop. This has a more mature sound which works well with the more mature lyrics. You will get your 80's synth in songs such as Lover's Day and for some this may be a tough sell but there is enough subtle guitar work to carry you through. I can't recommend this disc enough

I didn't know 'Til Tuesday until a friend gave me a badly recorded tape 12 years ago. I played it and played it and played it. Today I have all of their stuff on CD and I still play it. Lover's Day is one of the most powerful pieces of 80s pop I've ever heard and I think always will be one of my favourite tracks. 'Til Tuesday have succeeded in being both original and unique in the quality of their material. Compare the strength of their writing and performing ability with bands of today. Buy it - and the rest.

Everything's Different Now is 'different' but good in a slightly more mature way; perhaps without, for me, the same charisma as their second album but nevertheless, pure quality. Buy this too. Their first album I bought last. A disapointment but only in comparison to the second. And about Aimee herself? She has without doubt a fantastic, melodic, powerful and flexible voice which compliments this music like no other could. Her solo albums? To me, a disapointment. She works brilliantly in 'Til Tuesday. On her own she's good. My advice? Buy everything from this fantastic group and make your own mind up.

Til Tuesday, the former band of the now legendary singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, will forever be remembered for their unique debut single ("Voices Carry", perhaps one of the most striking songs of the 80s).However, there was much more to this band than meets the eye. As demonstrated on their sadly overlooked sophomore album "Welcome Home", this band was powered by a unique artist (Aimee Mann) backed by solid musicians that seemed willing to take chances. It would have been easy to try to come up with a sequel to "Voices Carry", but what we got instead was an album filled with personal songs and musical settings that were totally untypical of the era in which the album was released. The moment you'll hear the second song on the album (the brilliant masterpiece "Coming Up Close", one of Mann's finest compositions ever), you will know how special this album is. This was the first pop song of the 80s to heavily feature acoustic guitars, a few years before Indigo Girls, Suzanne Vega or Melissa Etheridge became millionaires with their good old six strings. And the rest of the album is just as good : "Have mercy" and "No-one is watching you now" are heartbreaking tales with a haunting melody and an achingly expressive vocal, "On Sunday" is a smouldering uptempo number that slowly builds up to an intense finale, "Will she just fall down" is reminiscent of the Beatles, and songs like "Angels never call" and "David denies" add layers after layers of floating notes until it all becomes an aural reverie.

Don't look for a weak spot on this album, for you won't find one. Some songs don't have the same emotional depth or musical originality ("Lovers day" and "What about love", for instance), but they remain powerful compositions nonetheless. If there's only one thing wrong with this album, it's the poor reaction it got from the record-buying public, which clearly wasn't ready in 1986 for this kind of vintage, song-oriented music; the first single "What about love" created very little waves, and the two follow-ups ("On Sunday" and "Coming up close") went totally unnoticed. But now that Til Tuesday's good fortunes on the charts don't matter anymore, music lovers will be well advised to check out this courageous album.

Aimee Mann's loyal fans will have just as much fun (re)discovering this album; it became clear with this album that she was a truly unique artist, and she started to find her voice and her persona as a songwriter on this album. The eventual demise of Til Tuesday eventually allowed her to spread her wings and to make the kind of music that she wanted to make, with no regards to commercial conventions. Saying no to these conventions and expectations with "Welcome Home", Aimee set a path for herself as an artist that she would stick with for over twenty years : the path of an artist whose vision and creativity wouldn't be restrained by trends. It was a rare quality in the 80s... and it's still just as rare today.

I bought this album on a whim about 12 years ago in the used CD bin of a local record store because of "Coming Up Close". To my great delight, every single track is tremendous. My personal favorites in addition to "Close" are "On Sunday", "David Denies", and "Lovers Day". You know an album is good when you can anticipate the next song as the previous one ends after only a few listens. That is the case for me with Welcome Home and even all these years later it still is among my favorites.

Perhaps it's nostalgia, but I slid this disc into the player the other night and it still sounded wonderful. 'Til Tuesday will never be remembered as one of the seminal bands of the '80s, but anyone who appreciates the how music of that era embraced a stripped-down simplicity without losing melody will appreciate it.

Today, the disc reveals some of the chronic production stylings of the 80s - its final mix was overcompressed and, as a result, tends to produce a Phil Spector-ish wall-of-sound feeling with minimal instrumentation. A little overdone, in this post-Nirvana/hip hop world. Even so, it shouldn't detract new listeners from Aimee Mann's lovely voice, sense of melody and heartfelt lyrics.

Its uber-romanticism might turn some listeners off - to their own loss. This is lovely, wistful pop music, and I always thought this band should have been more successful than it was. There were other bands of the era that had more of an impact, but few that consistently created such a beautiful noise.

Fans of Aimee Mann, particularly anyone who likes 'Til Tuesday's bigger hits, will love this album. Much like 'Til Tuesday's subsequent album, Everything's Different Now, almost every song on Welcome Home showcases Aimee Mann's songwriting talent and her lovely, haunting voice to wonderful effect. There are only one or two "throw away" or "album filler" songs; all the rest are very strong and worthy of being 'Til Tuesday favorites.

This album sits very nicely in the middle of the band's three original studio albums. The songs feature equal shares of the appealing hooks and 'new wave' sound prevalent on their first album and, at the same time, they exhibit signs of the maturity and polish so evident on their final album. So, there's plenty to like for those who favor earlier songs like "Voices Carry," and for those who perfer Aimee Mann's later solo work.

"Coming Up Close," the second track and one of this album's better-known songs (along with "What About Love"), is a standout. The melody, the musical arrangement, and the lyrics work together beautifully, delivering a palpable sense of loss for love that might have been. Like much of Mann's best work, one can appreciate this album on several levels: the songs are catchy but not monotonously repetitive; her lyrics and vocal delivery tug at your heart and stay with you; and the recordings boast exceptional musicianship and production value.

If you love Aimee Mann's music, especially either of 'Til Tuesday's other two albums, then don't hesitate to grab this one -- you won't regret it!

Aimee Mann and Til Tuesday were one of the greatest "unappreciated" bands of the their time. They possessed great song writing skills and execution with Mann at the helm and Shear in the background. I think they would have gone farther if they had done more touring to promote their work. I have everything that they put out as a band. It was all INCREDIBLE.
Their second LP "Welcome Home" is considered by most of their fans to be their swan song and a masterpiece despite it's dismal showing on the charts at the time of it's release. It's more of an AOR LP than a singles LP and this is one of the reasons why it may have gone undiscovered for so many years until in early 2000 it seemed to be re-discovered and garnered a resurgence and a new following that establishes it as a cult classic.
Many people believe that the lack of promotion for the LP to be part of the reason it didn't do as well as it should. It's still one of my favorite LP's of all time and rarely leaves my CD player or rotation for very long. I have a void when I don't hear Aimee's voice for long periods of time.
This LP shows Aimee begining to take more of the helm of the band and give it some direction. It's haunting pictoral lyrics and beautiful melody make it a musical trip you'll want to take again and again.
There is not a bad cut on the LP. From the opening of Coming Up Close to the closing notes of the disc each song is a snapshot of life told in living color and sound. Mann is a master of her bass guitar and it shines on this LP as well as her accomplished band mates. This is their best work to date and deserves the following it's begining to garner.
All three of the studio LP's released by this band were classics from beginning to end. Most fans believe that Aimee Mann's split from Jules Shear to be the begining of the end for the band and also for Aimee Mann's career as far as producing good solid pop music for the masses.
Voices Carry is still a classic and deserves a place in your CD rotation or on your playlist regularly as well as this LP and their final offering "Everything's Different Now" (another unsung classic). It is reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" as it signals the break of a classic pop romance between Jules and Aimee. If you get the opportunity to listen to any of their studio work beyond Voices Carry you'll see what the rest of Til Tuesday's fans have known all along.
But, everytime you put on this CD you will feel the Aimee and the band give you a genuine "Welcome Home" and you'll be glad your back!