Haughty Melodic

Mike Doughty

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 3, 2005)
• Original Release Date: May 3, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ato Records
• ASIN: B00080EV7A
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,605 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Finally, the world is treated to Mike Doughty's first "full-band" album since Soul Coughing disbanded in 1998. Doughty has clearly morphed from hyperactive ironic hipster to a world-class songwriter with lyrics that are funny ("I want to run away and join the office") and self-deprecating but never emo ("All my life I've been slow and senseless/Not struck dumb I'm just dumb that's all"). If you're looking for faults you can always find them, and to be sure some of the playing is overly "pro" and not as funky as M.D. live. The perfect pedal steel touches throughout are actually icing on this cake, and the drummer dude from N.E.R.D.'s metronomic bashing's hardly a bummer. The songs on the album will be familiar to fans who've seen him live, and thanks to Haughty being recorded over a long stretch of time (the songs themselves honed that way too) it has a "greatest hits" feel to it: all killer, no filler. --Mike McGonigal

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mixed Emotions, May 5, 2005

By	Jeff D'Arienzo "bromuda" (Florida) - See all my reviews

Though brilliantly written and skillfully crafted, Mike Doughty's latest effort might leave fans that fell in love with his solo career (sans band) wanting more. He is an amazing talent that needs to be recognized but he just doesn't convey the passion through Haughty Melodic that I felt after spinning Smofe + Smang endlessly in my stereo.
There are definitely standout tracks on this album, and that's where I think my problem arises. I'm not one to skip songs but I've already found myself doing so with this new release.
After Skittish and then the experience that was Rockity Roll I think I was just expecting an album with a little more gusto and a little less production.
Nevertheless, if you are new to Mike Doughty or have been a fan of M. since the days of Soul Coughing it is a $15 well-spent. Also if you have a chance to see this incredibly fascinating musician live do yourself a favor and go, trust me it will not disappoint.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sneaky Good, February 22, 2006

By	B. Niedt (Cherry Hill, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This one really sneaked up on me. I'd heard Mike Doughty at an outdoor music fest last summer, and while he was good, I didn't give him my full attention like I did some of the other acts. Then "Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well" really caught my ear, thanks to frequent airplay on XPN-FM in Philly. Then I heard "Busting Up a Starbucks", and this guy, with his husky vocal style and ironic lyrics, got me hooked. Previously, I'd heard some Soul Coughing tracks that I liked, and the cumulative effect of these songs from his ouevre made me a sudden fan. This is a fine album with not a bad track to be found. Doughty's signature percussive style is evident throughout, and the lyrics are something to be savored, too. (Although I keep thinking of an eventual "double irony", if certain songs here end up one day in a Starbucks or Lexus commerical.) Suffice to say, if I'd heard this CD when it first came out, it probably would've made my Amazon Top 20 list for 2005.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IT could be titled-- Hymns for 12 new religions., June 18, 2005

By	Ranj the Obscure (Kansas City, KS United States) - See all my reviews

Always a genius with a line of poetry,
Doughty really seems naked and open-hearted on this album.
From the touching 'Unsingable Name' to the pain of 'White Lexus,' this album really shows me a Doughty that is far less cynical, far more spiritual, in a genuine sense.

Doughty uses a more conventional sounding A&R than Soul Coughing, and the sound is more fully realized instrumentally than his small rock period. Really, this band rocks in the conventional sense of the term. I can't think of a single track on the album that even hints of the avant garde. And that's ok.

Despite the more conventional sound, Doughty takes more chances with his audience on this album. If you listen to Rockity Roll and Skittish, you can hear an evolution in his sensibilities as a writer. Gone is the need to protect himself with entirely oblique lyrical content. He still is clever, still a master wordsmith, but seems less inclined to make you parse and re-parse lines for the sake of meaning. There is still enough to discuss here, but the lyrics are rainwater clear.

Really, I think he trusts us not to turn on him with the truth like a cudgel. And the full monty works for him. He says that the days of uncool decathecting are gone. It shows. He may be looking at the world from the bottom of a well, but he is writing from the synoptic heights.

The band is wonderful, the coloration and arraingment very good, in places even sublime. I hope that he and Dave Matthews continue working together. Both of them will profit from each other's strengths.