The Other Side

Melissa Ferrick

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 1, 2004)
• Original Release Date: June 1, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Right on Records
• ASIN: B00025ETXM
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #128,632 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
On her seventh studio album, Ferrick gets in touch with her inner control freak, producing, arranging, recording, mixing, and playing every note. That sound you hear isn't a train wreck; it's her manic, percussive guitar and jittery drumming pushing her strongest set of songs over the edge of polite folk confines. The aggressive, albeit mostly acoustic, sound suits the sexual and personal confidence of her lyrics. She burns bridges and laughs, "I'm a wicked good swimmer/watch me dive." She dares an ex-lover to call her "fearless" and when she finds a new partner she threatens to dance into a romantic "slaughterhouse." But the set's finest moment is the deceptively simple highway song "Westbound," a trance-like groove surrounded by spacey synth loops and murmured vocals urging Ferrick further down the road--an apt closing sentiment for her most ambitious album. --Roy Kasten

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the master class, September 30, 2004

By	Lauren Mitchell (Asheville, NC) - See all my reviews

After seeing Melissa Ferrick so many times live I started to feel like her albums weren't living up to what I knew best became her - getting on stage and breathing it all: the music, the space, the audience. *The Other Side* has broken my disenchantment with her studio work. 30 seconds into the first song, you know it's all her, and you're grateful for every blissful minute of it. 'Beijing', 'Nebraska', and 'Bad Bad Girl' are standouts - perhaps we have a live replacement for 'Drive' in the latter? I haven't seen her perform in almost a year, but I would be ecstatic to see her drag that song out like she has 'Drive'.

If you've never heard Melissa before, this or *Everything I Need* are good introductions. If it's been awhile, don't hesitate to get this album. And if you've never seen her live, save your money and get a ticket. One gets the feeling that she's found her calling and that she is singularly and entirely herself when performing these songs that mean so much to her. Rarely do I feel that so intensely at any show, and to see her is to feel a connection with her and Brian and everyone else in the room who is tossing around and sharing amazing energy. At a good show, it's better than drugs.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!, June 2, 2004

By	A. Andersen "angelsslayer99" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

She really gives it her all on this album. Melissa has crafted a truly incredible record where she plays every single instrument, pedal, and key herself. She has transformed acoustic ballads into rocking bass-beats (Bad Bad Girl) with dazzling effect. She is truly an artist.

Song by song:
1. Beijing: A hopeful, perky song that leaps out at you. With light and cheerful guitar, this song is really the perfect opening.
2. The Other Side:
3. Nebraska: Though not as intensely vocalized as the live version, this version still showcases Melissa's incredible vocal abilites.
4. Streetlight: A possessive, aching love song.
5. I Give Up: mournful song about letting someone go
6. Bad Bad Girl: Favorite song off the album, hands-down. Amazing lyrics, amazing instrumention - turns into an 8 minute jam-out. Fantastic.
7. Fearless: More quickly sung and played than the live version, still expressive and beautiful.
8. Every Three Words: Another love song. Very nice, used to be title Make It Count.
9. Anything Anywhere: This one has special meaning for me, because she played it totally unplugged to tame a drunken audience. Absolutely gorgeous.
10. Westbound: At first sounds overproduced, but on repeated listens I grew to love it. Great closer to the album.

I highly recommend this record!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Other Side...best record since Freedom, June 22, 2004

By	A. Ponti "Aimsel, Freelance Writer and Hopele... (Portland, Maine) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I consider this to be Ferrick's best work since 2000's "Freedom".
From the first track "Beijing" to the last one "Westbound" there's not a dud to be found on this record. It had its claws in me immediately and I'm a tough sell. Can't wait to see this stuff played live as there's nothing like a live Ferrick performance. Current favs on the record are "Bad Bad Girls" and "Nebraska." The stuff is raw, emotional, fierce and musically sound, with Ferrick playing everything herself on it.
I've been a fan since Massive Blur and this album really struck me in a way I haven't felt in a while. It hasn't left the cd player in days. My friend and I sat there the other day giving it a first listen and were nodding our heads immediately that the distinctly Ferrick edge is abundant on this record.