Track Listing

1. To the Moon & Back
2. I Want You
3. Truly Madly Deeply
4. Tears of Pearls
5. Universe
6. Carry on Dancing
7. Violet
8. Break Me Shake Me
9. Thousand Words
10. Promises
11. Santa Monica

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7507 in Music
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 1997-04-15
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
As these two boys from Brisbane, Australia, know, it doesn't hurt to be endorsed by Rosie O'Donnell. When the Queen of Nice sang the words to "I Want You" and the praises of the duo behind it, the song catapulted up the charts. Largely ignored by the serious music press, Savage Garden have cultivated a vast fan base on the strength of their music--and airplay--alone. As formulaic as it may appear, the ballad "Truly Madly Deeply" was lodged at No. 1 for week after week for a reason--it's damn catchy and a welcome reprieve from overdone rock ballads. Lead singer Darren Hayes lends the same yearning vocal style to the third--and best--single from the album, "To the Moon & Back," a slice of synth-pop genius that culminates in a dramatic crescendo of strings, courtesy of coleader Daniel Jones. --Rebecca Wallwork

Customer Reviews

Loved it!
I didn't know what to expect from this album. I thought I would only listen to the released material. One of the catchiest songs ever written I Want You, and a beautiful ballad Truly Madly Deeply. I love every song on this album. It's one to crank up, especially when I Want You or Tears of Pearls comes on. It's catchy and unique and I can't imagine anyone hating this album, it is a lot of fun.

Love, Sex, Anger, Wisdom
In 1984, the UK pop group Wham! featured its two well-kempt members on the cover of "Make it Big," the album that spawned "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and a slew of other hits to guarantee interest in the duo's continuances for years to come. George Michael, unarguably more popular, stared away from the camera, while partner in suave Andrew Ridgeley looked straight at it. Just 13 years later, Savage Garden put out its eponymous debut disc, and nearly the same pose was postured by Australians Daniel Johns and Darren Hayes, the latter eyeing the universe while the former eyed any eye to grace the black and white cover. Hayes, of course, was Savage Garden's George Michael; he was the accented lead vocalist to be remembered by face and voice as the band's heartthrob even after its demise. Johns, on the other hand, was less memorable; he and Ridgeley seemed to be mere specialists along for the ride, writing flashy hooks and danceable beats as a fallback if their partners were to lose credibility. Credibility proved not an issue for Savage Garden, as their debut sold 11 million copies (trumping the 7 million of Wham!) and yielded 3 huge hits, the prominent one being "Truly Madly Deeply," which landed the ever-impossible #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. But beyond hogging bureau space in millions of teenage rooms and dropping filler material for thousands of radio stations, "Savage Garden" is easily the best pop album of the 1990s, perfectly mixing harmony, instrumentation, percussion, sensuality, and a surprisingly effortless sense of artiness.

That artiness, perhaps the make-it-or-break-it feature absent from teen diva albums and boy band albums alike, goes far beyond the retro-cool collage work done for the CD fold-out. It is defined by Savage Garden's versatility, stretching danceable backdrops through funk, paranoid pop, hip hop, synth pop, pillow-side ballads, disco, and even indie pop. This flexibility doesn't come unwarned, however, with Hayes promising on "Violet" that he's "gonna crash into your world/and that's no lie." This track, a cleverly-maneuvered disco-pop standout, mixes deep fuzz-funk with a raw, sexual slap bass line almost three years before Britney Spears used that same bass costumed as a schoolgirl to achieve sex appeal in her "...Hit Me One More Time."

Setting pop standards, like that precursor to Spears, is what much of this album becomes, as is the case with the lead single, "I Want You." Thank Hayes' nonsensical motor-rap (highlight: "Sweet like a chic a cherry cola") for the pop-group members strictly used for raps, like Richard "Abs" Breen of 5ive or, most recently, Lil' Kim in the remake collaboration of "Lady Marmalade." Aside from the rapping, Johns' deranged percussion is the track's centerpiece, sounding somewhat like Radiohead's "Idioteque" when at its most creative. Meanwhile, "Break Me Shake Me" actually teaches how to involve frustration in a dance piece. Taking a drama-club confessional approach to the typical hard-edged pop song, Hayes does little more than whisper over foreshadowing tambourine shakes to mount an approach to his thrash choruses, which seem to gain fury with each installment. That pure emotion, revealed in Hayes' lyrics ("You abused me in a way I've never known") and garnished by Johns' brilliant multi-instrumentalism, dictates the album, providing it with a collective focal point as to never allow the listener to lose interest.

The first half of the album is the most important emotion, that of love, most excellently examined in "Universe," which not only features soft rock keyboards but also some surprisingly witty lyrics, shown when Hayes describes his physical and mental relationship as consisting of "two minds, consensual." After that section, book-ended by "To the Moon & Back" and the aforementioned "Universe," Savage Garden becomes energetically sexual with "Carry on Dancing" and "Violet," the former allowing Hayes to equate "dancing" and "romancing" over a warped piano trance that finds the ability mesmerize in its striking percussion. "Break Me Shake Me" and "A Thousand Words" are bitingly vengeful, an emotional segment that ends in Hayes threatening to spit out a horde of deceptive words, the most powerful being "damnation." Finally, with "Promises" and "Santa Monica," Hayes and Johns recover from spite with wisdom, playing the role of the owl, the much-illustrated character throughout their in-case spread. "Promises" is the album's quiet standout, as string and bell accompaniment flutters around flutes and synth effects beneath Hayes' contemplative vocals. In retrospect, after a complete listen, Hayes and Johns seem to have perfected a full transition, which with staying power is able to etch itself into the pop listener's ears, heart, and mind. This album-long transition from love to sex to anger to wisdom seems the blueprint for human life, which makes "Savage Garden" life's inescapable soundtrack.

Confessions of a Twentysomething Hipster
Okay, I'll admit it; you've found me out. I'm a closet Savage Garden fan. Behind the stylish jackets, messenger bag patches, emo-glasses, and bleached tousled hair is a guy who still has a secret longing for the songs of his middle-school youth. It was a time dominated by strong emotions, most of which are tied up in this album. But I have an excuse; Savage Garden got me listening to music besides classical-before them I never even touched modern music of any kind. I credit my current taste to the floodgates this band opened.

Even seven years after this CD debuted, it sounds fresh and new to me. It's pop in its ultimate form, but it's still stunningly original. This Australian duo wrote their own songs and lyrics, and it shows; this isn't manufactured, corporate music. It's pop to be sure, but it's inspired and unique, which explains much of this album's staying power. Deeper lyrical content and marked use of intense imagery fill every ounce of this album. Though Truly, Madly, Deeply is a love ballad, it's unique perspective separates it from the banal.

Probably the biggest standout track for me on this CD is 'Violet,' a deep, pulsing, churning, disco/new-wave inspired track that oozes pop perfection. Starting with the sounds of entering a house party, the track leaps into a deep bassline, driving dance beat and wah-wah guitar licks, as Darren croons "If there's a way / that you could be / everything you want to be / Would you complain that it came to you too easily?" Layered, complex, and addictive, it's a standout dance track.

The opener, "To The Moon And Back" deserves mention as well; more straightforward than "Violet," this song's lyrics are it's shining point. It's a melancholy song detailing the efforts of the song's speaker to break a withdrawn girl ("the bitter one") out of her shell. "Mama never loved her much / And Daddy never keeps in touch / That's why she shies away from human affection." The desolate imagery and layered synths (and piano/orchestra ending) spin an addictive-if slightly depressing-song.

The only track I had difficulty with at first was the closer, "Santa Monica." It's a more spare track, with Darren raised significantly in the mix, sounding close and personal, musing about the disconnection between people in a technology-connected world. Its musical style is very different from the other tracks on the album, seeming almost like a B-side on first listen. However, it's a song that tends to grow on you after repeated listening, just give it time.

Overall, there's not a song on here I dislike. This album is a guilty pleasure, but holds a critical place in my musical library and memories (both good and bad) of those difficult years of early adolescence. Maybe my vision is too colored by rose-colored glasses, but if nothing else this remains the rare gem of an intelligent piece of pop-far better than the boy bands that followed (and continue to edge onto the airwaves). If you're seeking solace from boring, trite pop music, give this CD a spin. You won't be disappointed.