tis that time again for another review. this album needs some support since it’s so shunned by many Geldof fans which is understandable to some extent… It’s my favorite solo BG album No country/Irish sounds here (with the exception of one track which I’ll get to soon), some very, very pretty tunes. Until now it’s been SA&D, but this one’s now at the top because not only does it have some striking tracks like SA&D…it doesn’t have all the personal and emotional baggage that SA&D holds. I was most impressed with Geldof’s vocal range and control here. Until hearing this album, I felt that he wasn’t the best at controlling his pitch and what he was trying to do with his voice, but this CD proved me wrong. In my opinion, much of his most interesting solo vocal work is right here, he went all over the place! Beautiful vocal work, as good as BG’s voice can get Some things I wasn’t too impressed with here. Most of the music was so, so weak (overuse of synthesizers n such … yikes). and I could not stand the stupid female backing vocals infesting mostly every song, go away! even if it was the cool Annie Lennox (& others), she and the rest of ‘em always made the songs even more cheesy than the music made them already. BG obviously dominated the production and work of this album (more so than any BTR stuff and the other solo albums, I felt), which has its positives and negatives. so, track by track… This is the world calling This one really stands out because I still think of it as a Loudmouth track (where I heard it first), not a DITHON one – it’s hard to compare this to the rest of the album. This was never a favorite of mine. It’s so corny lyrically, any song that focuses on the ‘world’ is usually so. The tune is average and I hate the backing vocals. It’s down there, probably my third-to-least favorite track. In the pouring rain This one’s also average. Nothing special, nothing horrible. It gets better in the end, the whole ‘I’m gonna walk on by’ verse. I like the higher intensity of emotion BG uses there, and the beat stands out more. The lyrics are ok, kinda amateuristic (not even a word but who cares). August was a heavy month A nice track - very soothing and hypnotic, with a decent tune. It’s nice to hear Bob sing in a high pitch range (in the verses, I mean), he pulled it off fantastically, never missing a note. I loved every time he did the ‘alright alright’ bit, cool. The lyrics are mysterious and interesting, though every time he mentions ‘Baby Blue’ I can’t help but think of Pink Floyd/The Wall’s “The Thin Ice” song, where ‘baby blue’s also sung of. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, just kinda random. A relief to hear no wretched backing vocals. Love like a rocket This one seems to appeal to some folks, I don’t get it. I think it’s boring, kind of annoying, and out of tune! The metallic sound striking throughout the track is much flatter than the synthesizer’s work, it’s horrible. The refrain is repetitive as are the verses, it’s just like…all right, we get the point, next song. The wee bit of excitement occurs during the lines right before the refrain when Bob inflects his voice randomly (‘then sighs and mutters something sounding close to despair,’ etc.). And I really can’t get over how phallic the whole rocket thing is, especially associated with love. Gary Oldman once said that a movie was good to him if it made it feel a ‘rocket’s gone up his ass’ when he leaves the theatre. This comes to mind too. I Cry Too This one made my heart skip a few times! I love, love, love this track, wow. A lovely ballad song thing with an outstanding tune. After ‘My Birthday Suit,’ this is my favorite BG solo song. Bob being off tune a little here and there doesn’t even faze me because it’s such a beautiful song. The best, best, best lines ever tune-wise are when he croons “It got so hard…it gets so hard…” aaah nice. So much ‘umph’/power here, and in the refrain. Also adore the key change near the song’s end. heartrending but fine lyrics. The backing vocals (‘baby, baby’) actually work here. When I was young Hmm…this one sounds a little like the Beauty and the Beast title song, it has a part of the same tune (‘when I wa-as young’ vs. ‘ever just the same’). It’s a forcibly upbeat/cheery song, something isn’t working here. I really liked the beginning and end ‘verses’ as they were very unique. The ‘live fast, be a supernova’ line was neat in the first verse, as was a lot of the beat/time changes…I was thinking, wtf’s going on with this song?...but that inconsistency worked. then the end (‘baby baby baby, when there’s nothin left to do…’) blended in nicely and improved the refrain’s tune. Poetic yet slightly cheesy lyrics. Annoying backing vocals. An odd song that sometimes worked, sometimes not. This heartless heart Strange ‘music,’ but the rhythm did sound kinda like a beating heart. The track is almost Bowie-esque. Sorta pretty, sorta not. Again, the backing vocals need to die, and the lyrics leave something more to be desired. Him saying ‘crap’ at the end kinda undermined the seriousness the song seemed to be trying to pull off. The best part of the song is the line “I’m tired of hearing remedies for things that really never needed cures!...” Lyrically it’s neat, but I especially liked Bob’s vocals, a nice punch that line packed into this otherwise average track. The beat of the night Another Loudmouth track in my mind, and this is also one I don’t care for too much. Sounds like an album-filler to me. Confusing lyrics, dumb-as-always backing vocals, boring tune and Bob vocal work. My second-to-least favorite track here. Truly true blue yea for two lame tracks in a row! This is my least favorite song. Pushing country-sounding, Bob’s guitar playing is not that great here. I don’t like his singing either, it’s drawn out and kind of in a breathless ramble. Overall the song is not tight or professional sounding. The lyrics are not bad but the rest of the track’s elements are weak. next! Pulled apart by horses Startling beginning, very upbeat, keeps my attention the entire time. A strong track void of the horrid backing vocals (since ‘they’re’ Bob’s own voice!). Much emotional effort of Bob’s was put into singing this song it seems, and it works nicely. The music has a Western sound to it, appropriate for the horse motif in this track. The frenzied lyrics fit with the overall style of the song. Words from heaven The opening music & refrain sounds like some cheap anime theme song which turned me quite off, until Bob came in and saved the song from its extreme cheesiness! I loved his vocal work here, especially those lovely inflections woven throughout the verses (‘don’t be confu-hoooo-wo-wo-wused,’ ‘I’m happy for you-hoooo-wo wo wou,’ etc.), excellent. Also the tune to the lines “where you lived without a trace,” “you sat till you never cracked,” etc. were quite pleasing to my ears. Average lyrics. The refrain sucks, unfortunately, as does the synthesized music, but the beautiful verses compensate the bad of this song, making it a little-better-than-average track. Good boys in the wrong awesome, awesome rhythm/beat here, very ‘jammable.’ Suave vocal work by the gob throughout. The ‘start me up and help me get away’ line’s tune comes from nowhere, but it’s interesting and kinda works. Once again the backing vocals fail to impress. Otherwise, a good, strong track. Night turns to day Another Bowie-sounding track, more so musically than vocally. Bob sounds most like a Bowie imitation during the “and finds me…and leaves me…” parts of the refrain. Nice vocal work from Bob, a pretty/pushing-corny-sounding tune. The bridge verse (“I never think that there’s any of this will touch you…”) is pretty. Lyrically, there’s an attractive mix of disturbing and hope. The line “His gums a mute and bleeding mess of teeth” is a disgusting contrast to the ‘happy’ tune, but I think that’s cool. Overall, a well-put-together track. Deep in the heart of nowhere A wistful, kinda depressing, powerful little track. Lyrically, there’s a craving for someone, a sorrowful hoping that this person will return. It sounds like a very appropriate song for Paula after she left him, but obviously this song was done before that whole fiasco, so it would be interesting to know the story behind it. The Bob-guitar duet actually sounds good & together here (usually I don’t like this simple combination). The song’s ending is strange and kind of makes you think, since it sounds very open-ended or something. An interesting way to end an album. I liked it a lot. whew

-- Edited by MMbullybuddyGP at 06:05, 2005-05-09

-- Edited by Tina McBain at 17:02, 2005-10-04