39 Minutes of Bliss (In an Otherwise Meaningless World)

Caesars

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 22, 2003)
• Original Release Date: April 22, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Astralwerks
• ASIN: B00008WFR4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #67,234 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Pop > Euro Pop > Swedish Pop

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Rock may have been born in America, but a national obsession with the trendy has often begat cultural amnesia when it comes to musical roots. Hence offshore bands like the Vines and Hives recycle '90s grunge/punk and '80s new wave with newfound energy, sometimes finding themselves ironically hailed as rock saviors. Sweden's Caesars don't have salvation on their minds. In fact their '60s garage rock shtick seems doubly recycled, seven of the dozen songs here hailing from a previous 1998 incarnation. Which isn't to say they don't do spiritual forebears like the Swingin' Medallions and ? & the Mysterians proud. Powered by pumping Farfisa-clone organ, trashy guitars, and a suitably snotty vocal attitude, they careen amiably through a sharp cover of the Endd's "Out of My Hands" and originals that range from spunky ("Jerk It Out," "Sort It Out," "You're My Favorite") to spooky ("Suzy Creamcheese"). If there's irony at work here (other than a contemporary Swedish band evoking the spirit of '60s American garage punk and '80s UK new wave, that is) the Caesar's have largely buried it in an avalanche of infectious spirit. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description

Full title - 39 Minutes Of Bliss (In An Otherwise Meaningless World). 2003 compilation, culled from the Swedish garage rock act's first three albums, 'Youth Is Wasted On The Young' (1998), 'Cherry Kicks' (2000), & 'Love For The Streets' (2002), all of which are big hits. Their sound combines the Farfisa organ-drenched sound of 60's era garage rock with a contemporary pop thrust. But while 60's referencing power-pop bands are a dime a dozen, what sets the Caesars apart is their reliance on creating as much an infectious groove as adrenalin pumping rock. 12 tracks. Virgin.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heated garages in Sweden?, February 13, 2005

By	William E. Pierce IV "wep4" (Mount Laurel, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

OK...as someone who hungrily bought almost every new garage band single as it got airplay on WIBG in Philly during the 60's, I can say that The Caesars' music is just as exciting as those "hits" were way back when AM radio and transistor radios were all the rage. In the tradition of The Standells, The Hondells, The Trashmen, The Blues Magoos, The Knickerbockers, Bobby Fuller Four, The Nazz, and on an on, these guys have the raw energy, the infectious beats, the Farfisa, the pretensions of psychedelia -- everything they need to make an eminently popular POP tune. The difference between this collection vs. the 60's bands -- this "greatest hits" compilation has a good number of 60's-era-style hits. So you've heard it all before? Sure. But that hasn't stopped you from buying The Hives, The Vines, The Strokes, White Stripes, Inspiral Carpets, Jet, The Black Crows, Early Elvis Costello -- or, if you think about it, almost any other band's CD over the past 40 years. Everyone borrows from everyone. Yet, the music is still fun! Go buy it!

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A few great - though not timeless - tunes..., February 2, 2005

By	Alan Taylor "Music Addict, Pop Culture Guru, ... (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This disc caught my attention when Apple started using it in their new iPod Shuffle commercials. A very catchy song that sounded instantly familiar. "Jerk It Out" is the song that got my attention and also the song that most underscores the fact that as much as some of the songs on this disc are ultra-catchy, I doubt they will age well. "Jerk It Out" for example, lifts an instantly recognizable organ track from Inspiral Carpets and not-quite-so but still obviously, borrows its much of its structure and a good part of its verse's melody from Duran Duran's "Girls on Film." Don't beleive me? Listen to both songs back to back... you'll hear it. This album is a pleasant romp into recycled and sampled 80's sounds rearranged and remodeled for today. I also found myself thinking it sounded a lot like Oasis in spots. It's fun, but I'm prepared to not like it as much as it ages. Nearly every song on here, though good, sounds like something you've already heard somewhere. Overall, I suggest downloading the four or five really catchy tracks and skipping the whole album purchase though.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, January 8, 2006

By	Sparky (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

Caesar's Palace, The Caesars, The Twelve Caesars - they're all the same group. They go by different names depending on location - Twelve Caesars in most of Scandinavia, The Caesars in North America, and Caesar's Palace in Sweden, most of europe, and the rest of the world.

They currently have five albums:
39 Minutes of Bliss (as The Caesars)
Paper Tigers (as The Caesars)
Youth Is Wasted On The Young (as The Twelve Caesars)
Cherry Kicks (as Caesar's Palace)
Love For The Streets (as Caesar's Palace)

I hope this helps clarify some things.

I give EVERY SINGLE ALBUM five out of five stars - great vocals, great leads, great base, great melodies, great everything. If you like rock, don't pass this up.