Customer Reviews

Where Our Love Grows

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Most people probably think S.O.S. faded out sometime after their mega-hit "Breakout", and even many later fans must have figured they broke up after their last domestic effort "Shapes and Patterns". Rather, they continued on, releasing several Japanese-only albums at outrageous import prices - (just take a look at the cost of the Japanese version of this album!) Finally, they get a Stateside release again! I generally go for heavier, moodier fare than this, like Depeche Mode, The Cure or Black Sabbath, but listening to S.O.S. is like taking a ride on a sunny summer day, the warm breeze blowing in your face on the open highway. In fact, when I go on vacation in the summer, three-quarters of the ride is spent with my S.O.S. collection in the car deck. This album continues their perfect penchant for breezy jazz-pop, with the always impeccable vocals of Corinne Drewery, one of the best voices in modern music. Still evident, too, is their reliance on bits and pieces of the 60's soundscape - a little Bacharach here, some Ray Conniff Singers there. A great album, even on a cold autumn day, where the unique stylings of S.O.S. make you feel like you are on summer vacation in your car - even though you're just heading to the office again! And all this without paying 35 dollars per CD anymore! Welcome back to America!

I am NEVER disappointed when I hear a Swing Out Sister album, whether I'm hearing it for the first time or the umpteenth. "Where Our Love Grows" is no exception.

Each song is melodic in it's own way, drawing from the themes of a few of their previous albums. Most notably represented are the melancholy and edge of "Filth And Dreams" balanced with the sheer beauty and cinematic soundscapes of "Somewhere Deep In The Night." But pervading all is the cosmopolitan cool late 60's/early 70's sound that SOS provides us with, featuring plenty of nods to the genius of Sergio Mendes, Burt Bacharach, Marvin Gaye, and Ennio Morricone without ever giving up a thing of their own originality and vision.

The production and arrangements are top-notch, as with any Swing Out Sister project. (NOTE: I also own the import version of this set, which I received as a gift ... and the U.S. version actually has a fuller sound with richer bass.)

And then there's Ms. Corinne Drewery, the lovely lead vocalist and co-songwriter. She sounds better than ever on this recording...and that is saying a lot since her voice is always perfection for their music.

It really warms my heart to know that music of this type...lush, late 60's-early 70's pop/jazz...is still being made, both artfully and lovingly. If you also feel this way, then "Where Our Love Grows" is a masterpiece that undoubtedly belongs in your collection.

SWING OUT SISTER HAVE CREATED ANOTHER GEM IN THE POP ENGINE OF THE MUSIC WORLD.ANDY AND CORINNE HAVE BEEN UNDER THE RADAR, BUT THAT HAS NOT STOPED THEM FROM QUIETLY ESTABLISHING AND DELIVERING ALBUMS THAT SPARKLE ARE LUSH IN SOUNDSCAPE AND GIVE A NOSTALGIC NOD TO THE SIXTIES.THE ALBUM WHERE OUR LOVE GROWS IS ANOTHER TRIP INTO THE PLAYFUL MINDS OF SWING OUT SISTER.FRESH AND ALIVE WITH THE OBVIOUS TOUCHES OF BACHARACH,THE EARLY PHILADELPHIA SOUND WITH A HINT OF MOTOWN AND THE CARPENTERS.IN OTHER WORDS SWING OUT SISTER ARE JAZZY,SOULFUL AND GROOVE AND MOVE COMFORTABLY IN AND OUT OF THEIR INFLUENCES TO BRING SOMETHING NEW BUT FAMILIAR. I REVIEWED THIS ALBUM FROM THE JAPANESE IMPORT. I STILL SAY IT AND I WILL SHARE THE SAME THOUGHT HERE IN THIS REVIEW TOO... IT IS WORTH EVERY DOLLAR, FROM YEN TO POUND TO DOLLAR.SWING OUT SISTER ARE QUITE SIMPLY UNDERAPPRECIATED AND THAT IS A SHAME. ALMOST 20 YEARS OF RECORDING.START HERE WITH THIS ALBUM IF NEW TO THIS BAND. REALLY ALL THEIR RECORDINGS WILL SPEAK SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO EVERYONE.HANDS DOWN A GREAT ALBUM. PERIOD.

I mean us SOS fans. I have yet to hear anything by the band I just plain did not love. Corrine Drewery has one of the best voices in "pop" out there, and I could listen to her all day. There are so many events in my life that the songs of this band (not specifically this album) tie into it is scary.

This is a very mature offering that still stays true to the roots of the music that started with the "Better to Travel" album. Clean, polished, precise -- and beautiful. I lost track of SOS sometime in the 90's, and am glad to have found this (and a few other albums I missed).

It feels good to be back in the fold!

For those of you who don't know, SOS have been writing perfect pop songs and putting out perfect pop albums for, well, close to 20 years now.

Who knew??

Remember 'Breakout' from 1987- the only one of their singles that still gets played on commercial radio these days?? Everyone loved that song and its message- I loved Corinne's goofy running through the park, the armfuls of bangles, the big rolls of fabric, the silly bit where the guys come in singing on different angles to Corinne- ahh, the mid-80's- I remember it all as if it were yesterday. Unlike a lot of people I went out and bought the album 'It's better to travel', fell in love with SOS and have been a big fan ever since. Their music has been with me through my teens, my 20's and now well into my 30's!!

The one thing I really love about SOS is that they have always proudly displayed and have been true to their influences- you can hear them on this album, indeed any of their albums- Motown, Bacharach, Sergio Mendes, The Mama's and ther Papa's etc. They were there right from the start and perhaps that's why commercial raidio lost interest in them after the first album- they were looking back at a time in pop music when it wasn't fashionable to do so. I like to think they were ahead of everyone else- for me their music looked ahead to the huge nostalgia boom in the mid-90's. (Bacharach and Elvis Costello- who would ever have dreamed up that combination??) But regardless of the trends in pop music, SOS have always turned out beautifully crafted pop songs and their albums have been remarkably consistent over the years. They're huge in Japan- and have been for years but for a while there we fans could only get new albums imported from Japan. (expensive!!) But a change of label in 2001 remedied that- firstly we had the brilliant 'Somewhere deep in the night' and now we have the even more brilliant 'Where our love grows'.

I got hold of this album 2 weeks ago- and it's been in my CD player ever since. If anything, the album bears some comparison to 'Kaleidoscope World' in its evocations of the late '60's, both in its sound and its layout (instrumentals, vocal tracks w/out instrumentals etc) but there is a very natural progression of moods and the album feels very unified- almost as if it were one great big track, so to speak.

'Where our love grows' includes some of the catchiest songs I've ever heard from SOS. The title track is a killer, the sort of song that takes your breath away- a perfect pop song if ever there was one. 'Love won't let you down' has a great brass arrangement and a vocal hook that draws you in straight away. 'From my window' showcases Corinne's fabulous voice and all the colours in it- from the husky opening to the soaring lines in the chorus- this track is a winner. 'Let the stars shine' is so feel-good it almost hurts- note the Sergio Mendes/Brazil 66 sound- right down to the 'twang' in Corinne's vocals. Latin colour gets into a couple of instrumentals as well- esp 'Certain shades of limelight', and 'Caipirinha' which I've found is almost impossible to get out of your head!!

All up this is one of SOS's best albums- light and breezy, summery, melodic but also highly accomplished on many levels. I love it. Buy it and tell your friends!!

Have Swing Out Sister, been swung out?
The answer is NEVER! Their latest offering to fans is another jewel in their musical empire. "Where Our Love Grows" is as vibrant as any work they have done. Unlike many bands SOS have remained true to their own unique sound and to their own musical influences and roots. SOS are not afraid to be who they are. Track after track offers surprises and delights, catchy melodies and brilliant lyrics. Listening to the velvet voice of Corinne takes me back to heady days of the sixties and voices such as Dionne Warwick and Shirley Bassey. Andy's sounds bring to my mind Burt Bacharach and Sergio Mendes (good company to be in). So many composers today forget lyrics and treat them as a secondary concern, not so with SOS. Their lyrics are carefully crafted poetry and the music is jazz, pop fusion, I love it!

Anyone who loves SOS (and we all should) must have this album, if you don't know them, discover them. I am a child of the sixties, the sounds and feel of that era are a part of me, SOS give me my sixties fix and more. Highlights of the album are the groovy "love wont let you down" the melancholy "when the laughter is over", brilliant poetry in "from my window" and for a dose of evangelistic uplifting, "let the stars shine". Andy's music would not be out of place in a movies soundtrack (Why isn't he doing Sountracks?). The instrumental "Caipirinha" demands to be put to film and ball room dancers everywhere must get into "Certain shades of limelight". Go get this album now!

swing out sister's latest effort, "where our love grows" is a lush, rapturous experience paying homage to a period (late 60's/early 70's) when pop music was something to get excited over. the influences are clearly here and well respected, while SOS adds their own unique flavor of british pop sensibility to the mix.

my only gripe with this cd and why i gave it four stars instead of five? it should have been longer with more vocals to music.

this is a band i've come to expect nothing short of quality product from. i already know before i shell out some ridiculous sum of money for a japanese import that my investment will pay off with more than pleased eardrums.

these songs should be modern day classics. it's tragic that commercial radio (particularly here in the states) doesn't allow an aperture for rare talent like this.
it's cultural deprivation of the worst kind (as they knowingly promote product that is dismal and destructive), and it's criminal. we wonder why everyone's so angry and depressed? they have no music that uplifts them or brings them joy.

What a welcome relief from the CRAP on the radio today. Why the record companies let talented acts like SOS disappear from American radio & video channels is beyond me. DO YOUR FRIENDS A FAVOR AND PLAY THIS CD FOR THEM - THEY'LL BE FOREVER GREATFUL!

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK SOS - NEVER CHANGE YOUR CLASSY SOUND STYLE

Of course I just had to get "Where Our Love Grows" before it is widely released, and this CD was definitely worth it. Back is the upbeat sound of SOS - Andy & Corinne worked hard on this one and it really shows with the high quality sound. It's a pity that more people don't know about Swing Out Sister's productions other than "Breakout". Maybe they're just too good for wide release! I'd definitely recommend this one, and if you can't wait for it to appear in small quantities at your local music shop, get it online anyway, you won't be disappointed!

I have been a fan of Swing Out Sister for years. I really like their "synth-jazzish-pop" of the past. When I was told that this release had a "60's flavor," I wasn't so sure I'd like it. I was wrong. In fact, this is the best collection of songs that I have purchased in years, if not the best ever. I can't put this CD down. Corrine's voice is as lovely as ever--velvety smooth. The songwriting is brilliant. The musicianship, mood, textures, harmonies, and melodies are incredible. I hate to sound like I'm gushing over about this CD, but I am! I can not think of a single complaint except that I want more. Impeccable, beautifully done. This is a masterpiece.