Customer Reviews

?What

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There is something to love on every one of Davis' albums, but this one here? Wow. This one borders on flawless. When I first saw him perform live, I was completely mesmerized. On stage (and, I hear, off) the guy is a bizarre and brilliant combination of a deeply mystical seeker and an ever-expanding id on overdrive. His albums seem to ping-pong back between these sides. (Perhaps following the journey of the man himself?) But with this one he seems to have found the sweet spot between the two Stuarts, blending them seamlessly, elegantly, raucously into an album of wild and gorgeous alternative pop/rock songs. One great one after another. Seriously... give this one a go.

Stuart is amazing. When you want great tunes that make you think, choose Stu!

Stuart Davis is a fantastic and provocative artist. His music blends scathing social commentary with a flamboyant, coy irreverence, woven together by elegant lyrics and imagery. Some of his songs are incredibly dense with allusions, such as in "Easter". You can preview most of his music on his website,[...].

My recommendations to fans of Stuart Davis who are starting out with "Something Simple" (2008) are to pick up (in no particular order) this trinity: "Stuart Davis" (2001), "Bell" (2003), and "?What" (2006).

"?What" is probably the slickest of all of his albums, in the best sense of killer production and infectious background vocals, and would be a solid first choice. "?What" features the single "Parker Posey" which was up on the actresses' own MySpace site for awhile, and will appeal even if you don't know who she is. (She was great in Blade 3, imo!)

Stuart is one of the most lyrically adept introspective songwriters of our generation, and fortunately he's enough of an exhibitionist to express himself through decibels rather than ink. Though he has written a book or two, too.

If you want to delve into the early, more homespun albums, I'm partial to "Nomen Est Numen" (1996), but start out with the three above if you want a taste of state-of-the-art Stu.