Far

Regina Spektor

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 23, 2009)
• Original Release Date: June 23, 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros.
• ASIN: B00204AA0O
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #319 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #21 in	Music > Pop > Adult Alternative
  #22 in	Music > Pop > Singer-Songwriters
  #28 in	Music > Pop > Adult Contemporary

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Regina Spektor's gold album Begin
To Hope was honored as one of Rolling Stone's Top 50 albums of 2006. Far, her much anticipated follow-up, once again spotlights Spektor's daring piano pop,
vocal acrobatics and offbeat wit. Utilizing four esteemed producers-Jeff Lynne (ELO, The Traveling Wilburys), Mike Elizondo (Dr. Dre, Eminem), David Kahne (Paul McCartney, The Strokes) and Garret 'Jacknife' Lee (Weezer,
R.E.M.) Spektor combines rich soundscapes with evocative and intricately structured melodies and a remarkable gift for crafting intelligent, refreshingly honest odes to life. With Far, major stardom draws near for Regina Spektor.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where Has This Woman Been?!, July 29, 2009

By	Stephen D. Arzberger - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Even though I'm perhaps a bit older than Regina's main audience (I'm 58), I stumbled across this CD after reading an article about it and thinking at the time that this sounded like something I'd enjoy. Well, I was right! This is a terrific CD from someone I had never really heard of before and one of the best I've heard in a long, long time. I can certainly see some Grammy nominations coming her way! A modern classic!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent album, August 8, 2009

By	Efrat Pauker (Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read many reviews before actually listening to the album, which got me to think it's going to be a completely commercialized and soul-less piece. But after listening to it probably 20 times over the past 2 days (I just can't stop listening to it) I think it's an excellent album, complete with creative and insightful lyrics, beautiful vocals and melodies. It might be less raw than her previous work (which she had single handedly produced) but that's just natural. People often expect artists to produce the same product they love over and over and get disappointed when they move on. Only thing is, the artists that do survive trend changes actually flow with them (e.g., Joni Mitchell, Madonna among others).

44 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From edgy to polished. Still remarkably challenging and surprising., June 23, 2009

By	amazon critic - See all my reviews

"Far" is the follow-up to 2006's album "Begin to Hope", whose catchy tunes and quirky blend of folk-pop propelled the Russian-born New York songstress from the obscurity of New York's bar circuit to the fame and fortune of David Letterman and adverts for Vodafone.
"Begin To Hope" saw numerous tracks used on the likes of Grey's Anatomy (this is known as the Gary Lightbody's Goldplated Mansion Method).
Any criticism of "Begin To Hope" however stemmed from it's accessibility, the edges were smooth and the eccentricities muted.
With those reservations in mind, it's nice to listen to a record to hear that features amongst its treats Regina imitating a dolphin and telling the story of a lost wallet.
Three years on, this CD is just as remarkable and whimsical.
At first listen the polished production threatens to push Spektor into Middle-Of-the-Road Katie Melua territory, but her uncanny ability to write melodies that are simultaneously familiar and challenging, coupled with lyrics that are idiosyncratic yet everyday (from an expose of atheism to an aria on a lost wallet) make this a richly rewarding album.
"She enlists four producers - ex-ELO frontman Jeff Lynne (Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Paul McCartney), Jacknife Lee (Editors, Bloc Party) and Fiona Apple mentor Mike Elizondo among them - to perfectly frame a baker's dozen of tracks that take idiosyncrasy to delicious new heights of oddball inventiveness"..."Far showcases a singer-songwriter of considerable (if occasionally unfocused to the point of unhinged) ability. But behind Spektor's cutesy cartoon outlines lie songs full of adult drama and detail that catch the imagination when you're least expecting them to". -BBC
Talking about one of the four producers, Jeff Lynne, Regina admits that she didn't know who he was when she hired him, but the decision to recruit ELO lush soundscapes' maestro to produce numerous tracks on her fifth studio album has proven a happy accident.
In fact he adds sumptuousness to tracks such as "Blue Lips", but the Russian New Yorker is too restless to stay in one mode for long.
She's at her best telling intimate, piano-based fables on the environment, and at her worst when making direct statements (the atheist-bashing banality of "Laughing With", where she sings "No one laughs at God when the doctor calls after some routine tests/ No one's laughing at God when it's gotten real late/ And their kid's not back from the party yet").
All in all, "Far" is a unique and interesting journey that, whilst failing to match the highs of "Soviet Kitsch" shows progression from "Begin To Hope" and finds a nice balance between the odd and the beautiful.
Take your time, don't rush.
The album will grow on you.
My favourie tracks are: "Eet","Blue Lips", "Human Of The Year" and "Two Birds".
Abnormally Attracted to Sin
Soviet Kitsch
Begin to Hope
Pictures