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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure Pop Pleasure, February 14, 2000
Having enjoyed "Bellybutton" so much, this release was eagerly anticipated, and did not disappoint in the least. Sort of a 90's update of "Sergeant Pepper," the band covers a lot of musical ground in a dream concept. Beginning with the gentle, Queen-like a-capella "Hush" to the overblown, hallucinogenic carnival sounds of "Brighter Day," from the feedback roar of "All Is Forgiven" flowing into the peaceful acoustic "Russian Hill," I never fail to be impressed by the craft of the whole effort. The instrumentation runs a bizarre gamut of guitars, harpsichord, organs, banjo, brass...the vocal harmonies echoing Queen (of course), the Beach Boys, the Beatles and the Association. Hard songs, mellow songs, even a polka thrown in for good measure. This is one of those disks that I can listen to for days on end without tiring. Irresistably cheerful and upbeat and always amazing. Perhaps best of all, the disc ends where it begins, so I can go right back to track 1 for another listen. All of the songs are standouts. The music world should be mourning the breakup of Jellyfish, one of the truly great bands to emerge from the decade. I was lucky enough to see them twice on the "Spilt Milk" tour, and I was shocked at how much they were able to duplicate the incredible production on the album in a live setting. With brilliant songwriting, production and musicianship, "Spilt Milk" most definitely gets my 5 stars. It is truly a pop classic.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure joy captured on one little cd, June 3, 1999
By A Customer
Okay, how many cds do you own that you can say this about: I remember the very first time i heard this cd about 4 years ago. I remember sitting on my bed after i pressed play, and this huge grin just spreading across my face. I was in love at first listen! These guys are amazing! The perfect production, strong vocals, and varied music styles from the classical strings on "Hush" to the guitar rock on "Joining a Fan Club" to the polka style of "Bye Bye Bye", achieve masterpiece status. The lyrics tell some interesting stories as well. I love that 70's groove they invoke on "New Mistake." Complete with sound effects and atmospheric arrangements, they've thought of everything to round out this album to its keeper status. The fact that the band broke up is a shame, and i have only heard Jason Falkner's solo efforts, both of which are good but do not touch this greatness. I will admit, Jellyfish had given themselves a sort of silly image with their wierd hippie/costume clothing, but the music is far from silly. The Queen references can't be ignored, but there's so much more here. This is another one of those desert island discs, and always will be, ever since the time i bought it for a few bucks in a used cd store. Makes you wonder what kind of person would give it away.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Lost Classic, April 19, 2002
It is only a matter of time before the grungy, negative haze that was 90s rock and has morphed in to Nu-Metal falls out of fashion and people realize that in the angst driven fuzz of Nirvana and the minions of Nirvanawannabes, a truly brilliant American band was overlooked. The band was Jellyfish and their two albums of pop bliss will one day reach a level of cult respectibility not seen since Big Star, the early 70s power-pop group lead by Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, that thankfully was re-discovered in the late-80s and finally given some respect. Jellyfish never enjoyed large crowds at their shows. They never had a hit song (although they came close with "Baby's Coming Back," and "The King Is Half Undressed," which had some video play on MTV). They didn't have a gold record, or even sell enough records to get half way to gold. But they did record 2 albums worth of pop gems, meticulously crafted to the point where they were too good for their own good. The music was far too polished and happy for the grunge wave that hit just as they were getting started. Jellyfish was definitely a band in the right musical place at the wrong time. Thankfully these albums are still in print (for now) and folks who hear "Spilt Milk" for the first time can still experience the initial chills up the spine when they hear "New Mistake," and wonder what "My Best Friend" is all about, before it finally clicks ("A-Ha! I get it now. It's about. . .). "Bellybutton" and "Spilt Milk" are beautiful albums, with the latter enjoying a few more production tricks. If you want to dig deeper into the world of Jellyfish, check out the Merrymakers, a pop group from Sweden, who were lucky enough to have Andy Sturmer of Jellyfish sit in on drums and pen a few tunes ("April's Fool" is about as good as anything he wrote for Jellyfish - "She packed in January, She left in February, It took til March to realize that I was April's fool"). And then there's Jason Falkner's solo stuff, Roger Manning's Moog Cookbook, Puffy Ami Yumi, The Grays, Logan's Sanctuary, the Black Crowes (if you know which album Andy Sturmer helped make good), and other projects where ex-Jellyfish members pop up (how about Andy and Roger on Ringo Starr's "Weight of the World," where they also appear in the video). It is too bad that things appealing to the lowest common denominator usually succeed in this world, but it is wonderful to know things as beautiful as Jellyfish can still exist, even if only a few people are lucky enough to experience them. If you love the Beatles, XTC, the Beach Boys, Cheap Trick and/or Queen (in other words, good pop/rock), you must listen to Jellyfish. You'll be glad you did.
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