Saturday, June 9, 2007

RetroAlgo: Amazon Reviews

Algo's Public Reviews




1-5 of 5


Lc ~ Durutti Column

Our Price: £7.99 Usually dispatched within 24 hours

Top of Form

Bottom of Form





5  out of 5 starsA master at work.

7 January, 2004

LC is the first album on which the Durutti Column started to sound like the Durutti column, thanks to a quick change of guitar (to a stratocaster), producer and personnel. All the sounds on this album are actually wonderful. "Jacqueline", in particular is a true master guitarist at work, sounding like a love song without any words. Both "sketch for dawn" I and II are great, one an uptempo affair while the other is distinctly depressed, showing both sides of waking up, as far as I'm concerned, as sometimes I bound out of bed, and at others I just want to crawl back under the covers and go back to sleep. As everyone else has mentioned, "Never Known" is a particular highlight, as is the ode to recently deceased (back then) Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis, entitled "The Missing Boy", in which the discovery of Reilly's Piano Skills as a counterpoint to his guitar playing is a true revelation. In short, this is a great album in all ways - a singularly recognisable and gorgeous sound put into well arranged pieces of music and the first sound of Durutti's voice - the speak-singing of Reilly himself. Always a bone of contention among those who hear these records (at least, those I know), I believe that it is extremely important that Vini Reilly expresses himself through his own voice, especially on records as personal as this one clearly is. It merely adds another layer to his individual sound. To sum up I would say that this is the best early durutti album there is - a great place to start!

pixel

Return of the Durutti Column ~ Durutti Column

Our Price: £8.99 Usually dispatched within 2 to 3 days

Top of Form

Bottom of Form





0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3  out of 5 starsSuperb, but not his best

7 January, 2004

Quite simply, no one has ever been as consistently beautiful musically as Vini Reilly's Durutti column. I first came into contact with this amazing, instantly recognisable sound on the soundtrack to 24 hour party people (a great movie by the way) in the form of the fantastic "Otis". This is the first release, however, and sounds very different from the later stuff (mostly due to the fact he was playing a les paul rather than a stratocaster) thanks as well to Martin Hannett's way with sound - he starts the album off with the sound of electronic birdsong, and like some space age troubadour, the sound of vini's guitar appears like the first rays of sun - it's an amazing experience. On al the tracks, Hannett and Reilly play a game of good cop, bad cop - "requiem for a father" being the main culprit, as Hannett's terrifying footsteps dominate the lush sound of the guitarwork completely for most of the record. My main gripe with this record is that the production gets irritating,as in the background shakes on "katherine". "Conduct" is nice, "Jazz" is fun with some nice sounding drums, but overall this album is just not as consistent as "LC" or "Another Setting", with few truly memorable moments after the first few tracks. The extended version also contains what, if there can be such a thing, is a Martin Hannett solo record, first and second aspect of the same thing. Good for curiious completists, but not very musical and quite annoying. Actually, if you want my advice, this isn't the place to start listening to this wonderful artist: try "Sex and Death" first, as it's easier to get hold of, and features a whole bunch of better tracks. That said, this album is a very solid release from one of my favourite artists, but he got much, much better.

pixel

XIII (Xbox)

Our Price: £29.99 You Save: £10.00 (25%) Usually dispatched within 24 hours

Top of Form

Bottom of Form





0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3  out of 5 starsGood fun one player mode

1 January, 2004

This game is worth your money for a couple of reasons:

1. The story and voice acting is excellent. Although the plot at one stage runs very quickly (you find over half the conspiracy in about three minutes and put them out of action in less than that). Duchovny is particularly good - his particular brand of confusion is never less than gripping.
2. You never, ever get tired of the little cartoon scripts that appear in the top left corner.

However, otherwise this is just the basic first person shooter with a pretty paint job and decent plot and acting. It is well worth playing through once, but I doubt you'll play it again afterwards (xbox live mode is truly shocking!).

In conclusion then, it is a very solid shooter, worth playing but perhaps not worth the full price - you'll spot the plot twists early, and you'll be less than enthusiastic to have another go afterwards

pixel









4 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5  out of 5 starsVale and Quality

28 December, 2003

This will be the shortest review ever

If you have any doubts - they are unfounded
Worried About Graphics - Don't be
Want to have fun?

Buy this now.
Don't even think about it.
JUst click on "add to basket"

Now! Dummy!

pixel

Break Like the Wind ~ Spinal Tap

Our Price: £7.99 Usually dispatched within 5 to 6 days

Top of Form

Bottom of Form





4  out of 5 starsWhat? No filler?

21 November, 2003

This band are undoubtedly the best band ever. No question, unless the question is asked very nicely and in hushed tones. There are just some classic moments on this cd and some incredibly enlightening lyrics, giving us a look into the mind of the writer and a startlingly vivid depiction of the subtle meaning of each song. Maybe they're TOO good. I mean, I've actually heard people laughing at these songs! Blasphemy! Iron Maiden learned everything from these boys, and don't they know it - no one ever laughs at their albums. Do they?
The songs on here cannot be judged by usual standards - most people would disagree with putting FOUR guest lead guitarists on one song (break like the wind) or writing a song showing the similarity between the spanish invasion of south america and an unhappy love affair (the sun never sweats).
Simply, if you don't buy this album, I'll come round and force you to listen to it forever.

No comments:

Post a Comment