Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Masterpiece From "Mister Twisted", February 8, 2004
As a long-time fan of Love and Rockets, Tones on Tail and Daniel Ash's previous solo efforts, I was initially somewhat disappointed with his latest self-titled album, although several songs immediately rocked my little world and took me to 'places' I'd never been to listening to music- which in the past had always been something that his music did for/to me. After a few more listens and "adjusting" my head to what I was hearing as opposed to what I had expected to hear, I began to recognize and appreciate the real genius of Mr. Ash, as I have on what I consider to be his finest works: 'Foolish Thing Desire' and Love and Rockets' 'Earth, Sun, Moon', 'Seventh Dream of a Teenage Heaven', 'Hot Trip to Heaven', 'Lift' and the masterpiece 'Sweet F.A.'. I agree with two other reviewers who suggest that critics of this work don't get it. Daniel Ash is obviously not content to rehash his past successes- he continues to create music which in additon to being extremely creative both lyrically and musically, stretches the boudaries of rock music. I had the pleasure of seeing him perform some of the new songs live with a three-piece band- Daniel, a bass guitarist and a drummer and they were quite incredible live. Daniel's voice was amazing, his guitar work typically 'Daniel' (great), and the trio sounded very well-rehearsed considering the nearly fatal accident which the band was involved in just prior to the start of the tour forcing Daniel to find a new bass guitarist at the last minute. No this album is not for everyone, but the 7 or 8 "gems" on it make up for the somewhat weaker tracks- all of which is subjective as with any artist's work. Daniel Ash is true to himself when writing and creating his music; something which is quite evident on all of his solo work and the songs he wrote and sang with Love and Rockets. I applaud him for not "selling out" and trying to be something he's not.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid and Sometimes Sublime, June 3, 2003
By A Customer
This is a really good album. Daniel Ash's previous solo efforts have been favorites of mine over the past several years. "Foolish Thing Desire" in particular is an album that I still listen to frequently, even a decade after it was released. The "Daniel Ash" album may be a bit disappointing if you expect the somewhat traditional rock of earlier Ash recordings. This album is more electronic oriented, like the last few Love & Rockets records. With the exception of "The Money Song", the first few tracks on "Daniel Ash" are fairly unremarkable techno. They aren't necessarily bad, but they're not particularly interesting. The rest of the album contains solid songs interspersed with a few sublime ones. "Ghost Writer", "Chelsea", "Sea Glass", "Trouble" and "Walk On The Moon" are especially excellent. Some of these songs have outstanding melodies, some have great hooks, and some have hypnotic, droning bass lines. One constant is the crystalline voice of Daniel Ash, as sexy and menacing as ever. My only complaint is that his superlative singing is distorted too often on this album. "Daniel Ash" isn't perfect, but it's certainly worth a listen. If you're already a fan of the many projects that Ash has been involved in, this album is really a "must buy".
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11 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Anemic. Flat. Just plain boring., March 8, 2002
The worst solo outing yet from the man who put the "rock" in Love & Rockets, 2002's DANIEL ASH is most immediately comparable not to either of his previous solo forays, but instead to his former band's HOT TRIP TO HEAVEN, a 1994 techno-oriented release that succeeded musically far beyond this present record.There's nary a winner to be found among the listless mess that passes itself off as an album, each immediately forgettable track distinguishable from the other only by changes in drumbeats. Even the semi-interesting yet quickly boring cover, "Spooky," struggles to earn the obligatory 1-star. To Ash's credit, he has never relied on the "trademark" Love & Rockets sound on his solo releases (though the best tracks on those albums were easily those which closely resembled the hard edge of Love & Rockets), but he hasn't quite found a sound of his own that doesn't immediately offend most listeners' taste. Not quite as good as 1991's COMING DOWN (would you ever have imagined it could get worse?), DANIEL ASH is by far a step - or a leap - backwards from the surprisingly satisfying FOOLISH THING DESIRE (1992). I like Ash best when he rocks out. HOT TRIP TO HEAVEN proved that he could trip out. On DANIEL ASH he not only trips, but he stumbles and falls.
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by Daniel Ash 
