My published review of the new album

musicmania · A Hold of Me

My published review of the new album

noelindublin · Loudmouth

Good review Gwen very well written.

The first track How I Roll is basically a steal of Summer In The City by the Lovin Spoonful. If I was a music copywrite lawyer etc.

Geldof does very little to even disguise this fact. Having said that I still like it.

Heres To You borrows the guitar riff from My Sweet Lord by George Harrison so again I'd mark him down for laziness in being too ready to pay homage to other songwriters. This track has grown of me a bit so its not the worst and seems to be a fans favourite on the forum.

I love Mary Says and feel its the most emotional track on the album and its plaintive chorus -Everybodys always saying goodbye. This strangely has a sort of Boomtown Rats feel even though its an acousitic number- I've listened to enough Geldof and the Rats over the years to get this feeling about that song, and I think it might make a good single. Sometimes I think it might be an updating of Mary Of The Fourth Form - with the wisdom the intervening years might impart.

musicmania · A Hold of Me

Thanks Noel! Glad you like it. I was expecting you to hate it considering we seem to like different songs on the album!

Mary Says hasn't hit me in the way it has with you. Maybe it will yet. I'm just relieved to like the album and love some of the songs as I wasn't a huge fan of SAD. It was too dark for my liking! Maybe he was a little lazy with Here's to You but I still rate it as the best song on the album. Now all we need is a tour to see what he will do with Blowfish and Systematic 6-Pack live!

This was my 1st review of 2011 so felt very rusty writing it so appreciate positive feedback. I live in hope someday I'll get paid to write them and for my photography which is my other passion!

Jules · The biggest Geldof fan in the world, bar none!

Beautifully and professionally written. Nice one!

musicmania · A Hold of Me

Thank you Jules xx

noelindublin · Loudmouth

musicmania wrote:

Thanks Noel! Glad you like it. I was expecting you to hate it considering we seem to like different songs on the album!

Mary Says hasn't hit me in the way it has with you. Maybe it will yet. I'm just relieved to like the album and love some of the songs as I wasn't a huge fan of SAD. It was too dark for my liking! Maybe he was a little lazy with Here's to You but I still rate it as the best song on the album. Now all we need is a tour to see what he will do with Blowfish and Systematic 6-Pack live!

This was my 1st review of 2011 so felt very rusty writing it so appreciate positive feedback. I live in hope someday I'll get paid to write them and for my photography which is my other passion!

Writing about music is not the easiest thing to do - its a very slippery subject but you've done very well.

I like five of the ten songs which is a reasonable return though I'd have preferred to like a few more- two or three I suspected would fall by the wayside as is the case with most music I listen to.

I think Bob was straying into Chris De Burgh territory with Dazzled By You - I don't doubt its sincerity or heartfeltness but for me its a bit soppy. Half the fun anyway is disagreeing, and we all have different emotional makeups and temperaments which will pick up on things in music that reflect our psychological biases. It can't be any other way.

I didn't find SAD particularly depressing and would still consider it a better album. Hope some of the unreleased songs get to be heard. I'd even pay for a deluxe edition as is the habit of the music biz featuring the other songs. The Geldof Anthology featured about five or six songs not on SAD which were generally good.

musicmania · A Hold of Me

Writing about music is hard. I find writing concert reviews so much easier than album reviews as you really need to be constructive and listen from all angles. For that reason I always stay within the boundaries of genres I like. Something which always annoys me is when I read a review by someone who doesn't like the genre they are writing about! Fans need to hear from a fans perspective!

I see any disagreements as testement to a good album. The fact we like different songs equals a good record! I'm going to return to SAD as haven't listened in years and I want to see will I feel different about it now!

BTW my review is now on the official Geldof website smile

I posted a link on Tina's FB page to get her opinion which she didn't give as yet but since she posted it there she must like it!

noelindublin · Loudmouth

musicmania wrote:

Writing about music is hard. I find writing concert reviews so much easier than album reviews as you really need to be constructive and listen from all angles. For that reason I always stay within the boundaries of genres I like. Something which always annoys me is when I read a review by someone who doesn't like the genre they are writing about! Fans need to hear from a fans perspective!

I see any disagreements as testement to a good album. The fact we like different songs equals a good record! I'm going to return to SAD as haven't listened in years and I want to see will I feel different about it now!

BTW my review is now on the official Geldof website I posted a link on Tina's FB page to get her opinion which she didn't give as yet but since she posted it there she must like it!

Its hard to approach music without some sort of personal prejudice. Some artists I just have never gotten and they can raise the proverbial red mist just thinking about them- never mind trying to be objective and fair.

Agree about the genre thing too. I have an aversion to heavy rock/metal - its just something I've never liked so me writing about Metallica or Saxon would be like Graham Norton covering Rugby league!

Its good to get a second opinion of SAD. I like to occasionally watch movies I haven't seen for years , or also to listen to albums again at a few years distance.
Even just being positive and picking maybe three or four tracks that work can be good.Every time we listen to music we are trying to make an emotional connection.