Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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84 of 86 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Imagine, if you will..., April 10, 2006
...two adult singer/songwriters who can (1) view the world with a childlike (NOT child-ish) innocence but(2) articulate those views with a deceptively mature sensibility. After agonizing over the words to describe this man/woman musical duo, that's the most accurate I can be.
I'm hesitant to describe anything about these two very fine musicians or this album because to list a quality both limits and overextends that which I mean to convey. Still, in the spirit of trying to help, I'll muddle through.
Their overall effect is soothing and pleasant without being truly ethereal or slumber inspiring. They never rock. The tempo never exceeds that of a mid-tempo pop song. There are no volume extremities or impressive displays of any instruments. There are never more than 4 chords used in any of the songs.
The above descriptors could all be used negatively. In this case they are used appraisingly.
Oh yeah! The harmonies are B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!!
The long and short (or at least less long) of it...
-These two aren't out to impress anybody
-They are very impressive
THE DUO
DEB:
Deb's voice is somewhat challenging to describe because the voice has bits and pieces of everybody yet the combination doesn't sound like anybody. (a) She has the timbre of Patty Griffin... but she doesn't really sound like Patty Griffin. (b) She has the strain-free delivery similar to that of Dar Williams... but she doesn't really sound like Dar Williams. (c) There's a bit of the richness of Natalie Merchant... but she doesn't really sound like Natalie Merchant. I can confidently state the there is a delightful, consistent lack of vocal strain throughout the album.
Deb's lyric style is essentially stream-of-conscious. That said, the ideas are both fresh and poignant. For example...
'What can I compare you to?'
'My favorite pair of shoes?'
'Maybe my bright, red boots... if they had wings'
If anyone feels a bit turned off by the way the above lyrics read, when sung you undoubtedly won't. They just... fit. Can't explain it... They just do.
STEVE:
Steve's voice has a healthy dose of Duncan Sheik's vocal timbre infused with the ease and innate tenderness of James Taylor. You will hear little to no effort in an attempt to use either the extreme upper or extreme lower parts of his register. He simply doesn't use them. Trust me... you WON'T miss them. In fact, he's the first artist to make me realize that you don't have to sing with a wide range in order to be a an effective singer.
Steve's songs are a also a pleasant blend of maturity and simplicity. I feel as though he knows the "rules" well enough to break them. Example:
'I woke up, and wished that I was dead'
'With an aching in my head'
'I lay motionless in bed'
'I thought of you...'
'And where you'd gone'
'And let the world... spin madly on.'
The above lyrics, from the all-too-beautiful song "World Spins Madly On" are neither clever nor complex. BUT, with his delivery and warm vocals, most will appreciate the mature honesty that comes from using (mostly) words that the average 4 year-old would know, though the overall concept would be lost on them entirely. (P.S. - Contrary to expectation, that song will NOT depress your mood or dampen your spirit one bit. It would more likely do just the opposite.)
By the way, if I were ever lucky enough to have any one person to sing me to sleep every night. It would be Steve... Hands down.
CONCLUSION:
Well folks, thus concludes my Weepies review. Hopefully I've included pretty much anything you would won't to know.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Uncluttered, July 6, 2006
Well it's not like me to be completely taken by an album the instant I put it in my player.
But here it is. Simply crafted and beautifully sung there's just something incredibly comforting about this album. Nothing complicated or over-reaching...there is absolutely no pretension to be found....isn't that refreshing? They are making music because it's what they enjoy and it shows in every song. And as a previous reviewer noted they never "rock"...so definately not for the heavy metal crowd...but for the rest of us The Weepies should have an honored spot in your musical rotation.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Suprisingly amazing, October 4, 2006
I just bought it because I liked the cover art. That's not entirely true, I did hear one of their songs on the Paste sample CD. Anyway, this is smart music; smart lyrics, smart melodies and smart writing. It's very soft, subtle music (which is where I'm at musically right now). Most of the songs focus on the vocals which means that the listener will listen to the lyrics. I can't say enough about the song "The World Spins Madly On" Blew me away when I first heard it and still does. It sounds like a Fountains of Wayne song, not to mention he sounds a little bit like Adam Slessinger. Never before have I heard a song about the world moving on while I silently sit still and think about the opportunities I've passed up, sung so well.
I also love "painting by chagall" and I don't even like Chagall's work all that much. This is the Belle and Sebastian album for people who don't like Belle and Sebastian.
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~ The Weepies
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by The Weepies 
