Harmonium [Audio CD, Enhanced]

Vanessa Carlton | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 9, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: A&M
• ASIN: B0002ZYEKA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (152 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,510 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Sophomore albums are dicey affairs. With an early fork in the road before them, fresh-faced artists find themselves with a choice of either repeating the formula that worked before or venturing out in uncharted territory. Vanessa Carlton opts to test her range with her ambitious, admirable, but not always successful follow up to 2002's Be Not Nobody. Collaborating with boyfriend Stephan Jenkins (the Third Eye Blind frontman produced the album and helps out as a writer and musician), Carlton explores new themes and sonic textures throughout the 10-song outing, scoring impressively with the likes of "White Houses" (featuring Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham) and the assured, driving "Private Radio." The naiveté of "San Francisco" is ultimately winning ("Talking in the Mission over coffee/ This is my utopia" she gushes, though the line about "Steinbeck and those old men whistling" is a headscratcher). Still, the elegant arrangements and Carlton's insistent piano lines can't quite cover up a lack of truly memorable melodies. Yes, Carlton is maturing and Harmonium brings her closer to where she's going, but she's still got a ways to go. --Steven Stolder

Product Description

Vanessa Carlton returns with her highly anticipated sophomore album, "Harmonium." With the release of her first album, "Be Not Nobody," Vanessa was met with great response. Rolling Stone listed her as one of the "Ten Artists to Watch for 2002" and sure enough, her 2002 debut, "Be Not Nobody" was nominated for 3 Grammy awards and sold over 3 million albums worldwide.

Now Vanessa is back poised to exceed the accomplishments of her debut. With the help of her producer Stephan Jenkins (3rd Eye Blind), and guest musicians and vocalists which include Lindsey Buckingham and Pharrell Williams, Vanessa Carlton has created, yet again, a truly outstanding album.

ENHANCED CD features intimate behind the scenes footage with Vanessa.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Immeasurably Superior To Her Debut, November 25, 2004

By	Rudy Palma "The Writing Fiend" (NJ) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Brilliant. Alarming. Majestic. Bewitching. Gothic. Melancholy. Cryptic. These words and countless more describe Vanessa Carlton's sophomore album "Harmonium." Immeasurably superior in quality to her 2002 debut "Be Not Nobody," the singer/songwriter displays on her new LP the kind of artistic growth that seldom transpires between a mere two albums. Although female singers who play piano have not exactly been burning up the pop charts as of late, Carlton takes absolutely no notice of this. The result is an album she will doubtless find difficult to top.

Taking off on the strength of its lead single "White Houses," an absolutely outstanding opus about the bittersweet beauty of young love, it is easy to see the album is a worthy purchase if only for one song. The following "Who's To Say," however, completely nips that prospect in the bud with its killer chorus, pensive lyrics sung with full-blast urgency and exemplary piano playing that Carlton provides throughout the entirety of the disc.

Although the album is overall too heady and thought-provoking to find any of its songs in the Top 40, the song with the best chance of getting there is the fervid, rapturous "Private Radio," which gets sticky in the head like gum on a bleacher.

(I'm finally out of my pillow/'Cause I'm lyin' here, but I am ready good to go/If I don't win I'll leave this town/Or not I'll stay and chase the sun now/And you can't deny me/And you will oblige/It's my melody.)

The eerie, stream-of-conscious "Half A Week Before The Winter" concerns vampires and unicorns and exudes an air of a twisted state of grace.

(All the weight of empty promise/As I stand swallowed by the light/Flickering above the highway/I hold my head and know the streets are mine tonight.)

"C'est La Vie" and "San Francisco" contain gorgeous melodies, but even better is that of the hook of the impassioned, reflective "Afterglow."

(And if you could see/What's come over me/Then you would know/'Cause I'm walkin' free/The wind at my back/Bathed in afterglow.)

The final listed track is "She Floats," a tale of a dead woman's corpse who is "watching puddles gather rain" which features a sudden uprising of high-pitched female screams. A hidden track where she waxes on her odd fantasy of crashing her car, "The Wreckage," rounds out the disc.

Featuring pitch-perfect production from Third Eye Blind's Stephan Jenkins, Carlton's lucky boyfriend, in addition to guitar playing throughout by Fleetwood Mac's legendary Lindsey Buckingham, "Harmonium" is a sweeping collection of music that lovers of enchanting melodies and thought-provoking lyrics can devour. Without a doubt, there is more to Carlton than "A Thousand Miles."

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Um...WOW, November 9, 2004

By	Benjamin Norman "Trance Pants" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ok so I admit I had high hopes for Vanessa Carlton's sophomore album. I'm sure everyone did.

I wasn't let down, not in the least.

I was worried when I heard her single "White Houses". Her website continually reported that she'd have a darker, more gothic sound which was definitely not present in this upbeat "happy" song. Well, the rest of the album definitely showcases a darker sound. "Papa" for instance. And "The Wreckage" where she very acutely describes the beginning and afterwards of a devastating automobile accident. I believe it's a personal metaphor, but I'll have to listen to it some more.

Some surprise tracks: "Private Radio". The minute it came on in my CD player I thought to myself that it would be her second single. It's got a very nice radio sound. I'm sure there's a deeper level here, I just haven't listened to the album much since my first listen (and Im still giving it five stars! WOW!) "C'est La Vie" gave me chills down my spine for some reason. I was VERY pleased with this track.

Plain and simple, anyone with a penchant for piano, anyone with an appreciation for good songwriting, anyone who listens out for a wonderful voice...pick this up. Will you be disappointed? I doubt it.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Harmonium, November 9, 2004

By	A. Bilal (Washington DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Vanessa Carlton, slipped under my radar the first time around. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all heard "A Thousand Miles", but c'mon, was it worth an albums worth of material? I dont know. Now, shes got Harmonium, which is just...(searching for the right word) BEAUTIFUL, Vanessa has created what I believe to be what Tori Amos would have sounded like if she'd continued recording in the style of "Little Earthquakes".

Every song on here shows a different entity of her songwriting, from the masterpiece of a first single, "White Houses" (about the process of meeting new friends/falling in love/losing friends...the perfect summer song) to the very very last song "The Wreckage" (a detailing almost ethereal experience about an automobile accident caused by road rage). I wont delve into every song on the album, but I will say this, the highlights on the album are "Who's to Say" (featuring background vocals by Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes), "C'est la Vie" (about coming to terms with life and love and not giving a f*ck about it), and "Annie" which is so heartwrechingly beautiful, it might pull a couple tears out.

However, I must say that my personal two favorites are "Half a Week Before the Winter"...which oh my god, is just quite possibly one of the most beautiful, emotional compositions Ms. Carlton has ever done. It paints a visual in your head, and for those who've heard it, doesnt it sound like she was inspired by "Underworld"? Listen to the lyrics "Half a week before the winter, the chill bites before it comes, and I'm a child of the pleasure, daddy brings before he runs...he whispers dreams into my ear...though I've given him his empire, he delivers me my fear" (Siouxsie and the Banshees would be proud!) My other favorite is "She Floats", a powerful composition, dark yet full of vibrant vocals and strings in the beginning, what a way to end a beautiful album. (It was great live, too!)

Overall, this album is unmistakably great! I highly recommend it!