Sleeping on Roads

Neil Halstead

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 22, 2002)
• Original Release Date: January 28, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: 4ad / Ada
• ASIN: B00005UCZQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #76,079 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Given that Brit guitarist-songwriter Neil Halstead's work with both Slowdive and Mojave 3 is as sleepy as it is pretty, you'd think his first solo record would provide him the chance to stretch and maybe even break a string in pursuit of a bona fide rock moment. Instead, Halstead's Sleeping on Roads--basically, a home recording featuring a bunch of his friends contributing everything from "computer skills and technical stuff" to "funny noises"--dims the lights even more. While tracks like the chiming, trumpet-tweaked opener "Seasons" point to a keen sense of melody, Halstead wastes no time in shifting the mood, and gaslight weepers like "Martha's Mantra (for the Pain)," "High Hopes," and "Dreamed I Saw Soldiers"--all almost unbearably downcast ruminations--dominate the set. Still, Halstead's delicate touch with guitar and his barely-there vocals sustain the sense of quiet introspection throughout the album's nine tracks. Winsome, ethereal folk never sounded so good, or so haunted. --Kim Hughes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazingly Perfect Record, January 24, 2002

By	E. Scott "escott" (north country) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'd like to say that I've been following Neil Halstead's musical career since Slowdive, but I'm not that hip. My introduction was Mojave 3's first album, Ask Me Tomorrow. I immediately fell in love with that album's gentile, almost Leonard Cohenish songs, and cherish it still to this day. Later came Out of Tune, which was a noticable departure from the sound they had on the first(still just as excellent), and Excuses For Travelers carried on the sound of Out of Tune with a few nods to Ask Me Tomorrow. Up until Tuesday, I didn't think that it could get any better than Excuses For Travelers. I'm happy to say that I was very wrong.

Sleeping On Roads lies on a different plain than the Mojave 3 albums, yet still manages to coexist. The pace of the album is somewhere in between Ask Me Tomorrow and Excuses. It's very acoustic, with plenty of clean guitar, banjo, cello, glock, warm trumpet, piano and even some subtle electronic warbles that fill in the cracks perfectly. The songs are all dripping with beautiful melody and lyrics that are Neil's best yet. Noticably absent is any sort of slide guitar, which helps to set this apart from Mojave 3.

I'm no critic, so I can't think of any nuances that I should pick apart in an effort to make myself sound like a music expert. Sure, it doesn't break any new ground, there isn't anything revolutionary going on, but if you're a Mojave 3 fan you're probably not expecting it to be such a record. The sound throughout is very familiar, very comfortable, very peaceful and genuinely pure, which no doubt comes from the whole thing being recorded at Neil's and Nick Holton's homes, and mastered at Abbey Road. It really is a wonderful gift from Halstead, and I will treasure it for years.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!, January 29, 2002

By	Ricardo Fiel Santos (Portugal) - See all my reviews

Ever since his first band, slowdive, and his current band, mojave 3, neil has never wrote a song that wasn't, at least, excellent. Most of them are brilliant. And this record could only come from him. All of it's 9 songs are beautiful, enchanting melodies, with wonderful lyrics yet simple and relaxed. Slowdive usually makes you want to do some mind-altering substances and go into the furthest space, mojave 3 usually brings you down to earth after a long night and relaxes you more than you can imagine, and neil's album... well, just play it and you'll be taken to a desert beach, were it feels like you're alone in the world, and loving it! The songwriting's awesome, the guitars, drums, pianos and stuff are wonderful, but it's his vocals that keep on shining thru it all. It a must-have masterpiece! But anyway, so are all slowdive and mojave 3 records... wonder why...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not as impressive after hearing Mojave 3, April 18, 2005

By	Manny Hernandez "Author of Ning For Dummies" (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

I've been digging into all the discography associated with Neil Halstead's artistic life in the past year. First, I listened to Mojave 3, and I loved what I heard. Then I went back to the music he did under Slowdive, at the beginning of the shoegazing movement, and I loved what I heard. I had a chance to listen to the free download Amazon offers from this album, "Two Stones In My Pocket", and I loved what I heard... so the natural thing for me to do was to get the album, and I did.

I didn't love what I heard. Not that the album was bad or anything remotely like that. But I found it to be monotonous compared to his work with Mojave 3. Most of the songs, all of them fairly folk-rock in nature, felt like they dragged longer than they should have, which is an issue I admit I even had with some Mojave 3 tracks. So, all in all, if you haven't heard any of Neil's previous work, I think you will enjoy the album, but if not, check out Mojave 3's "Ask Me Tomorrow" or any of Slowdive's albums first. I think you will find them far more enjoyable.