Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Windmill well worth tilting at., February 13, 2006
Do you ever pick up an album, look at the cracked jewel case, count the nicks, thumb-prints and scuff-marks on the CD, and realize that not only can't you remember where or when you bought it but that you've had it so long & enjoyed it so much you can't imagine your music collection without it? That's experience I have with "Dulcinea." It's that good. Part of me shakes my head at the fact that it isn't better known and part of me is selfishly glad that so few of us share the secret.
I want to qualify these remarks by saying that I grew up in the big-hair 'n lipstick 80s and when I got to college militantly opposed Satan and all of his works -- by which I mean "alternative music." I used to say, with the air of actually making a clever remark, that it represented an "alternative to quality." Ha ha! (slap). In my mind "quality" was represented by Motely Crue. Luckily, I also liked the Police, which at least forced one corner of my mind to be receptive to music that didn't suck.
Once in a great while, an album comes along that I do not think of as a collection of individual songs but rather as a piece of whole cloth woven together by a single, unifying mood. I've listened to this album so many times it's practically worn smooth, yet I couldn't name half the songs on it. This is because, like Mazzy Star's "So Tonight That I Might See", I believe "Dulcinea" was meant to be swallowed whole, from first to last song.
I s'pose I could go on at length telling you how good songs like "Fly From Heaven" or "Crowing" or "Begin" are, but I think "Something's Always Wrong" is pretty representative not merely of the album's brooding melancholy tone but also the hammer-over-the-head brillance of the lyrics:
Another day I call and never speak
And you would say nothing's changed at all
And I can't feel much hope for anything
If I won't be there to catch you if you fall
Again
It seems we meet
In the spaces
In between
We always say
It won't be long
But something's always wrong
Another game of putting things aside
As if we'll come back to them some time
A brace of hope a pride of innocence
And you would say something has gone wrong
[Refrain]
"Again we fail to meet and mend
The spaces safe between intents
We say too much and long been gone,
Oh but something's always wrong."
"Again we fail to make amends
And wend our way between intents
And looking back, not moving on
Oh but something's always wrong."
"Again we fail to meet and mend
The spaces safe between intents
We say too much, too long been gone
Oh but something's always wrong."
Has anyone living and breathing not felt this way at one point or other in their life -- that they were tilting at windmills like Dulcinea's husband, that they were doomed to come so close and no closer to the person that they loved most in the world? We all experience this sooner or later, and the greatness of this song is not that it is telling us something new but rather something that we already know, in a way more beautiful than most of us could have ever expressed it.
"Dulcinea" is not an album to everyone's taste, I'm sure. Some will find it too understated, too acoustic, too melancholy and lacking in the old crash-bang department. But hell, if an idiot who once stood in line 4 hours to see Motley Crue play the Capitol Center can dig an album like this, certainly a non-idiot can enjoy it all the more.
Hey, like the song says -- "It's all worth waiting for."
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
And now for something totally different..., December 12, 2005
Ok, sorry for that, but I couldn't resist. Anyway, Toad the Wet Sprocket were truly something different, and something great. One of the pioneering bands of the alternative rock scene, they had melodic sense that is nearly unrivaled in this or any other genre. "Dulcinea" is 12 tracks of pure melodic rock brilliance. The musicianship won't wow any guitar prodigies from Berklee, but it is perfect nonetheless. The whole album is awash with mesmerizing layers of guitar and keyboard melodies, perfectly complementing the amazing Glen Phillips, who has about the most perfect melodic tone you can expect to hear.
There is plenty of diversity here as well. From the uplifting and catchy "Fly From Heaven", to the brooding "Woodburning", to the energetic rock of "Fall Down" and "Something's Always Wrong", to the truly divine balladry of "Crowing", to what is quite simply one of the most beautiful songs ever, "Windmills". The band shakes things up a bit with "Stupid" and "Nanci", which are shorter, more light-hearted country-folk type songs. "Inside" is pure melodic goodness, with Glen singing some excellent high falsetto notes, and "Begin" is dark and haunting, with a deceptively positive lyrical message. The closing track, "Reincarnation Song", is the biggest surprise at all. It is slow and plodding at first, finally building to a stunning climax, with Glen singing in a more fragile, scratchy Neil Young type voice, completely contradicting his richer and more powerful tone on every previous track. A very unexpected but excellent way to end the album.
There's really not much to say here other than this album is fantastic. The melodies are memorable and captivating, the songwriting is modest and solid, the lyrics are warm and thought-provoking, and once again, Glen Phillips is an absolutely stellar vocalist. If you love alternative rock, or anything with great melody, this is a must-have. Their previous release, "Fear", is essential as well. Don't expect the wackiness that their Monty Python-inspired name might suggest, but do expect a nearly perfect album you won't be able to take out of your player.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Desert Island CD #4, July 16, 2005
Having been with Toad since their debut (Bread and Circus), through their demise, I believe this is Toad at the apex of their career-- both musically and commercially. To put things in perspective, when I saw them for this tour, Hootie and the Blowfish-- who eventually way surpassed Toad in popularity before fading into oblivion-- opened for Toad. This CD was in HEAVY rotation in my players for years. It is full of the best of what Toad has to offer-- heartfelt, gentle (but sometimes edgy), superb harmonies, melodies, and it is also the tightest they have sounded.
There is no filler on this CD. Each song is distinctive and immediately pleasing to the ear, from the first listen to the thousandth. What I have always been a fan of with Toad was the acoustic base, with Glenn's mellow and reassuring lead vocals, and Todd's ringing lead guitar, and the rest of the band's superb harmony. This CD has it all, and even a great song sung by Todd (Inside).
There are a few heart-tugging numbers-- Crowing and Windmills are great, soft, sweet songs. And Something's Always Wrong is a classic.
Overall, you can't beat this CD for pure listenability. If you are only going to own one Toad CD, this is the one, and it would certainly be a super desert island companion-- it never fades or gets old. I can't believe its been 10 years since this CD came out, because I still listen to it.
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