Customer Reviews

When We Were Young

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

 

 

I was originally turned on to Dusted by a track's appearance on one of the "Back To Mine" mixes. It was the track 'childhood', and i'd never heard a techno track sound so...sweet... before. Like laying on your back on a grassy hill, spring breeze running over you sort of sweet. It was definetly chilled out and soothing, but far from being boring or monotonous. It called to mind a softer version of the song "Five" from Lamb, which was one of my favorite songs to begin with.

The album represented a bugaboo for me... could it live up to the promise of that one track? The answer for me is yes, yes, and yes again. The album works wonderfully as a cohesive whole, and while childhood and dreaming is a definite theme, I wouldn't go so far as to call this a concept album or album-with-plot. Its just that somehow the music captures the feelings, textures, and emotions of childhood amazingly well. The whole album is certainly not all sweet, etheral tracks like the first 2 on the disc, as some tracks contain a fair bit of menace ('the oscar song'), and others are more driving, persistent ('oh, how sweet')in their execution. If there is one complaint I would level with the disc, however, is that I feel it begins to wander a bit near the end of the album, and ends on a somewhat strange note. Either with 'if i had a child', or with the 'always remember' remix, neither of them serve as perfect capstones to the album in my opinion.

I end up prefering the softer songs on this album, but i'm sure others will disagree and love the songs with more edge to them. But one thing this album always does for me is elicit emotions, and for me, that is always a mark of quality music.

(a special plus is the beautiful artwork and packaging of the disc)

I must confess I often walk into a CD store with the intent of buying a CD or record that has the most unique and beautiful cover. This album fit the criterion, so I spent the money on it. I put it into my CD player not knowing what to find. A year later, it's one of my favorite CDs, and it is easily one that defies genre; the songs skip along the forest's path from jazz to dub to trance to downright avant-garde...the instrumentation is always dreamy and gushing with emotion of beauty and sadness. It is the only CD I have purchaced that truly lives up to its cover, and unearths the whimsy of childhood, the respect for family, the desolation of growing up, and the nostalgic dusting off of past memories.

I cannot recommend this CD enough. Its texture will take about three listens to sink in, but once it does, it is one of the most beautiful stories you will ever hear performed in song.

Highlights: Want U - Jazzy and great.
Always Remember pt 1: Beautiful child singer.
If I had a child: What an amazing song. Everything is perfect.

Lowlights:
Under the Sun: Perhaps a bit too happy. It unfortunately comes off upon first listen as far too...preachy.

I originally bought this disc because I couldn't resist the bizarre fairytale cover art. I was pleased to discover an odd mix of Alpha-style melancholy, sample-rich atmospherics combined with bejeweled melodies reminiscent of the Gentle people.

The rough, simple lyrics and singing at first seemed out of place, but like crunchy and creamy, the contrasting textures complement each other and successfully evoke the experience of childhood. Most of the album is well crafted and consistent, but unfortunately, the album sputters at the end, particularly the albums closing big beat dance number.

When We Were Young has spent a few weeks in my car's CD changer, and I'm not done listening to it yet. Quite a testament in the high volume world of electronic music.

You love Faithless? Then you sure know about Rolo, the man behind the music. Dusted is what people call: A side project. Don't misunderstand. "When we were young" is a true miracle. A concept album that works. Think 70's. Think big concept albums with keyboards and mythic stories. Twenty five years later Rolo tries the same concept only in a modern approach. The story is not told. You can imagine parts of it through the sleeve artwork and the track names. Then you are invited to a journey into sound. On the way you even get to meet choirboys. Anyway. This is getting too long. So let's just say: Rolo has created a perfect record. It's pretentious in a good way. It's beautiful. And if you are a chart kid please note that (now) famous sister Dido is here too.

I was browsing casually the Amazon.com bins of electronica when I stumbled upon this album. The reviewer for the Import version mentioned that Faithless'Rollo was behind this album. I bought it, and boy, has it fulfilled my expectations! The album is seamless, with deep, rich orchestrations, soulful vocals, and depth of meaning...The "leif motiv" of childhood, dreams and growing up is present all througout...but some songs acquire dark, almost menacing undertones. But it all somehow coalesces and blends seamlessly. The ending seems a little forced (there is a bonus track of "Always Respect...Pt.1" that remixes the song as a club anthem. But all in all, I highly recommend this album!

Nothing but a pleasing voyage into your inner child. I love CDs that can magically take to places. In this modern made fast paced world, it's easy for us to get lost in all the technology and concret around us. But it's the little jems like Dusted that can save us from ourselves. Don't pass this lil baby up, you won't regret it. Make sure to take a look at Faithless' new CD coming out soon "No Roots".

It's not just that the music is far more lyrical and beautiful than I usually expect electronic music (trance/trip-hop/whatever?) to be. It evokes a definite mood of nostalgia and melancholy, and not just through the music: the lyrics (the songs, sung by a man, a woman, and a choirboy, seem only parts of a vast musical landscape--i.e., it's well-mixed) are intense, evocative, difficult, and ambiguous, and touch on a lot of the raw emotions connected with childhood and parenthood.

For example, in "hurt u" a woman memorably sings (presumably to her child) that she'll feed him/her when she's ready, and concludes "I was hurt, so now I'm hurting you." Later on, a choirboy sings over and over again, beautifully, that "I'll do anything for you, and I'll go anywhere...." as meanwhile a very wise-sounding man exhorts, "So please son, always remember, to respect and honour your mother." So there you have it: the anguish of the human condition on a trance album.

Maybe I'm making it sound pretentious and/or arty (sure, they have a serious "artistic intent" beyond mere musicality, why not?), and some people apparently think the choirboy is gimmicky, but they do such a good job of putting it all together. It's rather moving, actually.

I found Dusted, probably like a lot of other people in America, by following the Dido trail (Dido -> Faithless -> Rollo -> Dusted). It was like going from a stream to the ocean. Not to denigrate her talents as a songwriter--she helped write some of the songs I've been praising.

In the last few months, I have become a fan of Faithless. I purchased REVERENCE, OUTRESPECTIVE and the BACK TO MINE CD, which features the opening track of this album.

After a few listens, much to my surprise, I like this album better than the Faithless albums. The tempo and feel of the album is more consistent. Don't get me wrong, I dig Faithless, it's just that they throw a lot of different styles into their albums. WHEN WE WERE YOUNG has been billed as the first electronica concept album. I haven't listened to it enough to pick up all the nuances but there is theme sound.

WHEN WE WERE YOUNG is cool, relaxing, and uplifting. It shows off Rollo's talent to make dense, multi-layered but highly listenable music. This is not some throw-away "side project." Now I hope that each year (or two) will bring new FAITHLESS and DUSTED CDs.

When I heard "Always Remember to Respect Your Mother pt.1" on a compilation, it did not take me very long to fall in love with Rollo's side project Dusted. I was enrapt with the haunting and frail melodies of "Always Remember to Respect Your Mother pt.1". If you really want to compare Dusted with Rollo's main baby Faithless (one of my all time favorite bands), Dusted's music lays more into ambient than trip hop (like Faithless). But to be fair, Dusted and Faithless are totally different in their own right and should not be compared. If Dusted was to be compared to anyone it would be Delerium. Their music is more in tune with each other as far as haunting ambient music goes. The cd artwork is wonderful, reminds me of the children's story of "Where the Wild Things Roam" (or something similiar to that title). All in all, "When We Were Young" makes for an excellent appetizer for the ears while waiting for Faithless's third studio album.

Hi everybody. The album is a little wonder : a perfect evolution in tempo putting you in a positive mood.Quite nsurprising also seen the connection with Faithless. You feel like going to a new world where everything is so nice. And with this CD Limited edition, this feeling is even greater since you can enjoy the "cartoons" or better said the "movies" that you can look at while listening to the songs....Really nicely designed, arranged,mixed,...Looking forward for the second CD and movie !